There is just so much bad press about HRT it's scary. But after reading the book Could It Be Perimenopause, I tried low dose birth control (the patch)... it helped a lot with premenopuase symptoms (I've been lucky not to have hot flashes... thus far. but it is supoosed to help with that). Yet the patch made me hungry all the time and bloated and the boobs got big and sore - it was like being pregnant! I went up 2 clothes sizes real fast! So I went off the patch and tried adding a more intense cardio type workout 2x week. I can't say if it's coincidence or not but I feel much better. I admit the exercise doesn't help with "memory lapses"!
Good luck!