Latest hormone saga

Well I bought the saliva test kit from a company here in town called Vitamin Research. They develope and sell suppliments worldwide. Anyway I will be sending it off Mon. So am anxious to see what the results will be. I got the kit that will test estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol. Since being on the estrogen patch this past month, I have had good results, no more hot flashes, sleeping good, no more PVC's, But there it ends, Have had side effects too, tender breasts, no wt loss even with diligent dieting for 4 weeks, on low carb, which has worked well for me in the past, fingers swelling, Very irritable, just ask Al. ha ha. no kidding, and the last couple weeks I notice my hair coming out alot more than just normal shedding. I read the info with the estrogen and those are all side effects. Great..... Got to be a better way. I know I need the balance with the progesterone, but am wanting to wait till I get the test results and consult with my Dr. I would like to get a natural estrogen prescribed in a cream that I can adjust the amount to how I feel the best. So that is my plan to get to where I need to be. It seems funny to be going thru all this now, when I have been on hormone replacement for years in the form of pills, but never had very good results. Only for a few months, them the flashes would be back and sometimes worse than ever. I just trusted my Dr. and he would increase the dose or change brands. Well enough of my health issues. Just want to share my experience in this area. dc