Hello all, this is my first post here on MM.
Before anything I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to all the posters, and Hurdity in particular, for the posts/advice/knowledge and patience. My HRT journey started 6 weeks ago, despite having been offered it by my GP nine months before then. I feel so much more knowledgeable, reassured and better prepared for what my body might do next
I wanted to add to this Oestrogel/Oestrodose thread, but in no way to contradict what has come before.
My first two gel packs were Oestrogel. All fine. I went to collect my next prescription the other day and was given Oestrodose. I questioned it in the pharmacy and the pharmacist told me it was the French brand name but was exactly the same product, but if I wasn't happy to come back. I felt reassured so came home.
I read the threads here and Hurdity's feedback that Besins said it was the same product, and yes the ingredients appeared to be the same. The order in which the ingredients were listed on original labels on the bottle varied (and I thought in EU countries at least the order was significant?). The other thing was that the Oestrogel contained triethanolamine whereas the Oestrodose contained trolamine. Google is a bit ambiguous but it looks like they are the same thing. But I don't know for sure. Despite my nervousness about trying the Oestrodose I did think it was worth giving it a go. I primed the pump and the consistency seemed to be the same as Oestrogel so again I felt reassured.
Even though I still have a few days worth of Oestrogel in my pump I decided to try the Oestrodose today. Two pumps. It absolutely stank of alcohol in a way that Oestrogel doesn't. And the alcohol smell lingered/tingled as it dried on my arm. I don't normally get that.
Again I decided that I shouldn't let myself be influenced by what might be small variations (I'm an asthmatic and I know that as much I prefer getting Ventolin there are other salbutamol products that work just as effectively...). But I started looking at the labels for the two products to see what was different. The Oestrodose bottle is identical in size, shape and colour scheme to the Oestrogel. The pump seemed the same too. The only noticeable packaging differences are the box and the label on the pump pack. The UK importer (B&S) had added their own label onto the bottle (which said Oestrogel on the label) and that's when I noticed that the PL numbers on the Oestrogel and Oestrodose were different. The Oestrodose new label says that the product has been repackaged by B&S Healthcare. B&S' website says they: "hold the UK's largest Parallel import licence portfolio, controls bespoke specials manufacturing laboratory, is the country's largest independent distributor of generics"
Oestrogel was PL 28397/0002
Oestrodose was PL 18799/2141
According to Huffington Post and Martin Lewis (and no, neither of these are specialist medical sites, but...) the PL number is an important indicator of what's in the product (
https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2018/07/martin-lewis--a-drugs-bust-up---stop-letting-big-pharmaceuticals/)
"While the active ingredient is what does the business, there can be other differences, such as how it's delivered. Even then, often inside the packaging, tablets are IDENTICAL - not just the same active ingredient.
On the side of the pack you'll see a product number (or PL number) - this is a unique licence number given exclusively to a particular drug made by a particular manufacturer (eg, PL 12063/0104 is a cold and flu remedy). If two have the same number, they're the exact same product. They have the same active ingredient AND the same formulation."
I took the Oestrodose back to the pharmacy and pointed out that the PL number was different from the Oestrogel, and that even Dr Newsom's website says that some women report that Oestrodose is less effective, and they exchanged them for me.
Surely if the two products were identical, and from the same manufacturer, the PL numbers would be the same? I have pictures of both bottles but don't seem to be able to add them here.
As I said, not trying to challenge what has been said before but genuinely puzzled by all this!
anneaug
Author
Topic: Oestrogel and Oestrodose - they are exactly the same (Read 45480 times)