It depends. Does it have progesterone in it? If so, you should be aware of the dose. High doses of progesterone are given to some people to increase their appetite in order to gain weight. It could also be fluid retention, just as is experienced during PMS. Have you been eating more than usual? Being that it's only two weeks since you started taking it, my guess would be water retention.
Mrs H

It has 1 mg estrogen, and 0.5 mg progesterone. I also started staining over the weekend. I thought I was retaining water because I can't get my rings on. That was never a problem with me.

My husband got very angry with me over the weekend because he's been seeing the weight gain (I've gained about 5 pounds since the summertime), and feels that I don't care about myself. I don't think I pig out, but if I say to him it's part of menopause and HRT, he'll say I'm using that as an excuse. Obviously there are other issues here that I won't go into, but it's upsetting me that I keep gaining. I need some kind of help.

Wow, I am sorry Cheerful, can your husband actually see, visually, 5 lbs. I can put on 4 lbs in fluid in one day. I am sorry you dont have more support than you do. But feel free to rant away. As far as weight. Well, I am sitting with 15 extra this holiday season. My husband doesnt have a hard body either. Does yours? :-)

cheerful1, is your husband a health minded person, or is he obsessive about looks and body? It sounds pretty unreasonable (to me) for him to get angry over 5 pounds of weight gain. Are there other things about you that he criticizes, or is it just the weight? Is he at all interested in what is going on inside your heart and your head? If he is genuinely concerned about you and your health, that could be positive. If, otoh, you are overly sensitive about his criticism, and you don't feel good about yourself, it could just be that you are feeling particularly sensitive. I know I have that tendency myself. I have a habit of expecting perfection out of myself, and I tend to over-react to anything I perceive as negative from DH (or anybody else for that matter). I have worked really hard at correcting this, and it is somewhat better, but that old habit tries to creep back in with persistence. Is the weight really an issue with you, or is it just bringing other stuff to the surface?
I'm truly sorry you have having to deal with this, and I wish I could do or say something to help. Just go ahead and express all the frustration you need to here. We're all in this at the same time, and we are happy to listen :)
Mrs H

Mrs. H - you're on target with a lot of your points.
He's concerned that I'll end up like my mother and sisters, who are all heavy. They all let themselves go. Right now, I'm at 5'3", 129 pounds. I also am overly sensitive nowadays, and don't feel good about myself. I'd love to know how not to over-react to a perceived slight.

Shotzy - The weight gain is mostly in my stomach and hips, and to me it does show. My husband does not have a hard body, but he does try to keep his weight down. I think he meant well, but he has a habit of being too honest, to the point of having no tact.

My God, cheerful1, you are not at all overweight. I'm 5'2" and right now, weigh in at 123#. I was way underweight 2 years ago, and just now look like I'm healthy, so don't sweat it. I figure just being able to maintain my weight at this age is quite a feat. Many many women have much more difficulty than we do as far as weight goes. The battle to self-acceptance is a difficult one for some of us, myself included, and it starts with beginning to understand that perfection is not all its cracked up to be, lol. I have actually learned to like some of my faults these days.
Mrs H

Right now I'm at 125 and hoping I can stay level. My husband gave me the same litany the other day about my weight and how I'm going to end up like my mother and sisters (all overweight). After that litany he acknowledged he needs to lose weight also. He couldn't understand why I was so upset since he was talking about both of us. If he had only said in the first place, "we both need to take better care of ourselves" instead of what he did say, I wouldn't have been so upset.

He prides himself on being honest, but he has no tact.

I'm back at 129 pounds, and it seems like whatever I eat goes right to my stomach and hips. I feel like my metabolism has slowed down to a crawl. Part of me wants to stop the HRT (been on it for almost 3 years), but I'm afraid the weight gain will get worse. My self-esteem is not the greatest to begin with, and I'm obsessing too much about the weight gain.

I am also experiencing weight gain on HRT. Perimenopausal I had no weight gain (maintained the same weight for years) but after 4 weeks on FemHRT I've gained 9 lbs. I'm freaking out.

I've been on hrt for a year now and birth control pills for the year preceeding. I use the combi patch but started with activella and then prempro. It's taken time to find the right dosage and combination. Each one made me feel better but not as good as I used to feel before menopause. I gained 9 lbs that will not come off. I can gain several lbs overnight! The strongest combi patch works best for me, in fact I would use 2 at a time if my doctor would let me. Also, no more carbs! Strict Paleo! Meat, veg, fruit, nuts and seeds. Losing weight & not hungry. :-)

Haven't posted in a while, but started looking at what I wrote. I'm up to 131 pounds now. I stress eat a lot (going through a marital rough patch now). Still on HRT, but don't know if things will get worse if I go off it. I have a hard time figuring out the connection between estrogen and weight gain.