Can you take Wegovy and HRT together?

Weight gain is a really common side effect of perimenopause and menopause. It’s thought to affect at least half of women during the menopausal transition. One study suggests that women could gain around 1.5 kg a year on average during the perimenopause, with an average total weight gain of 10 kg by the time they reached menopause.

Research also suggests that overweight and obesity can make some menopause symptoms worse. A total of 223 Asian American midlife women were asked about their menopause symptoms and categorized by BMI. Women living with obesity reported significantly higher symptom scores for vasomotor symptoms (like hot flushes and night sweats) than women without obesity, suggesting a link between higher BMI scores and worse symptoms.

Another study that questioned 533 menopausal women and 396 peri- or postmenopausal women aged 44-56 found that women with obesity had more frequent symptoms than those without. Physical symptoms were more associated with perimenopause, and vasomotor symptoms were associated with postmenopause.

However, a different study that assessed the symptom severity of postmenopausal women in Chennai, India had contradicting results. This study found that there were no significant differences in the severity of menopausal symptoms between patients living with obesity and patients without.

Ultimately, more research still needs to be done into how obesity can affect menopausal symptoms. But if you’re living with overweight or obesity and struggling with menopausal symptoms, speak with a doctor to see if losing weight with Wegovy could be an option for you.

While research into whether obesity can affect hot flashes is still limited, a first-of-its-kind study revealed that losing weight could be an effective way to relieve vasomotor symptoms. 40 women with obesity that reported at least four hot flashes a day were split into a weight loss intervention group and a control group, with hot flashes assessed before and after the intervention.

The weight loss intervention group achieved greater weight loss than the control group, losing an average of 8.86 kg compared to an average weight gain of 0.23 kg in the control group – and this weight loss was significantly linked to a reduction in reported hot flashes. This pilot study suggests that a weight loss program could be an effective way to relieve hot flashes in menopausal women – but it recognises that larger studies are necessary to examine the link between weight loss and hot flash reduction.

So while Wegovy isn’t designed to help relieve hot flashes, using it as part of your weight loss program helps encourage weight loss – which could in turn reduce hot flashes.

As your hormone levels fluctuate during the menopause, your body experiences lots of changes. These changes can affect your blood sugar levels, especially if you have diabetes, and this can make managing your blood sugars more difficult. Falling estrogen levels can also cause your body to become less responsive to insulin, which can drive up your blood sugar levels even more.

A common symptom of high blood sugar levels is fatigue, and this is also a common symptom of the menopause. The two can worsen each other, making the fatigue you experience even worse. This can have a knock-on effect on other menopause symptoms, too – as keeping active is really important during the menopausal transition, and fatigue can make it really difficult to maintain an exercise routine.

Changing hormone levels can cause your bones to become weaker, which may lead to osteoporosis if left unchecked. This is why it’s important to keep active, as regular strength training helps to keep your bones strong and healthy. It can also help you lose weight, which may help with symptoms like hot flushes, too. So managing your blood sugars can be really important during the menopause to limit fatigue and maintain regular physical activity.

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, was originally designed as a type 2 diabetes treatment. It mimics the natural GLP-1 hormone our body releases after eating that lets us know we’re full – and this hormone is also responsible for telling your body to release insulin when your blood sugars are high. As your blood sugar levels rise due to hormonal changes during menopause, Wegovy can help keep them under control – and this can help relieve fatigue and allow you to stay active.