Fucking Hot Flashes

(Yeah, language warning in this one.)

As I mentioned last month, earlier this year* I had switched my estrogen patches for gel formulation, only to find that it wasn't working the same way. 
*Specifically, on May 7, aka the day the elevator broke. What a day.

For those who might not know, there is a shortage of patches this year, in the US at least. An old study that showed their use caused increased heart attacks and strokes was debunked, so more doctors and patients are willing to try them. But since women's health is a joke these days, that doesn't mean more patches are actually available, so they've been hard to get.

I ended up being on the gel for over two months; I messaged my doctor at just under 8 weeks to ask for a patch prescription because the symptoms were returning, and then there was a slight delay in getting the prescription filled, but I was able to get back on it a month ago. However, my damned hormones are still not settled down back to where they were*. 
*Let us not consider that they may not do so easily. Leave me this hope.

• The mood swings, otherwise known as incandescent rage at small annoyances, were my first sign, and have very much not settled down. 
• The hot flashes started off as occasional, but are happening more often. I had one this morning and I, who loves a hot shower, kept turning the water temperature down and down and down. Argh.
• The joint pain in hips and shoulders maybe isn't as bad as it was for a while there. What with having arthritis, it will probably never go away completely, but it isn't awful. Today.

I don't have any conclusions, or anything more to say. Just need to vent, because this fucking sucks.