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[jaycee]

I rang my surgery, but my Dr was away,i wanted to try something different instead of Vagifem, it was suggested on the forum i try Ovestin,so that is what i asked for
The Dr who dealt with my query has given me Estrogel, and it says for external use only rub on arms or thighs

[Tc]

Jaycee. You have been given the wrong product. It has happened to me 
Do not use the eastrogel in or around your vagina. It isnt designed for that  it is estradiol. it is a systemic hormone. It's much stronger than ovestin and it's designed to enter your bloodstream and be picked up by the eastrogen receptors throughout your whole body.

Ovestin is estriol and it is,relatively weak and intended to only be absorbed locally.

You need to explain this to your doc. The problem might be the way the scrip was written 
Tell your doc you need  a prescription which says "ovestin 1mg cream"
It is estriol  and comes in a 15g tube. 
If your doc just writes "estriol cream" you will more than likely be given  "estriol 0.01".  It is still for vaginal use but its weaker than ovestin and therefore more cream is used.


Xx

[jaycee]

Thank you,i thought it didn't sound right,i did specify OVESTIN, its these new young drs i think, [all women]
I had to see one when my Dr was off a few months ago,she took my Vit D off me, and wanted to take my HRT but i said i will see my own Dr about that
Ringing them now

[jaycee]

Just rang the surgery and receptionist said this is the same and will work the same, i told her this Dr doesn't know what shes talking about, then she mentioned if you have had a hysterectomy,i said i haven't,
So she said you had better come in thenyou don't want anything else up there if the vagifem are irritating you grrr

[Tc]

Jaycee. Are you on any other HRT apart from vagifem,

[jaycee]

I was on livial,but stopped that about 2 weeks ago, again just in case it was connected with hair loss as it is androgenic, but also was feeling very tired and lethargic, couldn't sit down without falling asleep

[Tc]

Io.k. they asked you about your womb because they think you might need progesterone which you certainly would on systemic eastrogen

If you are only using local E like vagifem or ovestin I'm not sure if you still need progesterone. I think maybe not but hopefully someone else can advise. . .

The situation with the ovestin is ridiculous. I had the same thing happen because my doc just wrote "estradiol cream" on the scrip. There is no eastradiol cream. Vagifem is estradiol but the vaginal creams are estriol  so if the doc writes "estradiol cream" the pharmasist took it to mean eastrogel.
Dont let them mess you about. They only need to take the time to look at their computer to see that eastrogel and ovestin aw not the same and have different uses. Also, if they werent concerned about your womb on vagifem  then why does swapping to ovestin change that. It doesnt.

 Dont bother with the receptionist who is wrong anyway.  Ask to speak to the practice manager or to the person in charge of prescriptions.

[jaycee]

Hi TC they didn't ask me anything about my womb, it was just said as if i had had a hysterectomy
I'm not sure what you mean about not needing progesterone with vagifem, i know i don't, as it is local estrogen

The said the Dr said it would do the same as vagifem would,so they should know its local not systemic
I wonder if the chemist has read it wrong

[Tc]

 what I meant was when they ask about a hysterectomy they are asking if you still have your womb re progesterone.  I'm sorry if I was saying something you already know about not needing progesterone with vagifem

I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist. I was only trying to help from my own experience of the same issue.  Either the scrip has been written wrong or the pharmacist has read it wrong

Hope you get it sorted but I will bow out as I think you night have misunderstood what I said.

[pants46]

Quite frankly, the receptionist should not be telling you whether a medication is the same or not. Or advising you on whether to take anything else or not. What the hell do they know ... they are a receptionist, not a doctor.
Its unlikely that the pharmacist read your script wrong. There are controls in place. Everything is double checked before it is dispensed.
Hope you get it sorted. x

[Salad]

I had this with a prescription from the hospital when I was discharged.

They changed the wording to Estriol cream rather than gel and I got a big tube of estriol cream with an applicator. It was a large dose compared to the amount needed with the Ovestiin as the concentration is different.
My argument at the time was apart from Oestrogel being for external use only, it would ‘fall' out as it's so runny   

[jaycee]

TC ,thanks for your reply, i know you didn't mean i didn't know that i didn't need progesterone with vagifem, What i meant about what the receptionist said to me was that either she or the doctor were ASSUMING  that i had had a hysterectomy, no questions asked and no progesterone mentioned
all i can think is beause they thought i meant ESTRIADOL,although i never mentioned the name apart from OVESTIN
Why it was assumed i had a hysterctomy i don't know
I just don't understand why they don't seem to look at your history on their computer
I had a blood test a couple of weeks ago, and asked what it was for,and if the ferritin one was in it she said no, well it should be, as that is the main important one for me,as i have Haemochromatosis

Anyway going to see if my own Dr is back and ask to speak to him about this mixup

[jaycee]

Waiting for a call back from my own Dr, also need antibiotics as i was bitten and scartched by one of my cats on sunday as i was trying to stop a dog getting her, and he grabbed her foot so i was trying not to let go of her,so she ended up screaming and panicking ,so it was me holding onto her or the dog getting her,so got bitten in the process,on my chin,and scratched on my arms lovely bruises everywhere

[jaycee]

TC i am so sorry, just reread your post and it seems i have upset or offended you,
I know what you were trying to say, but i think we both misunderstood our posts to each other,
Anyway saw a Dr yesterday and he was horrified that i was given the Estrogel with the assumption that i had had a hysterectomy. all cleared up now and got the correct stuff, Ovestin

[Tc]

Jaycee. No worries at all. I just didnt want to cause confusion  I could've worded it better. You didnt upset me at all.

I was horrified that they were insisting it was the same. Bad mistake to make. I had the same thing with eastrogel and estriol. And I get angry about this as I've been given so many wrong things hrt wise and had so much hassle.

A gynae told my doc to prescribe "ulipristall" as progesterone.post memo.  100mg  daily on a continous basis iwhich my doc happily wrote the scrip for. The pharmasist was horrified. It's for fibroids in pre meno and the dose is 5 MG A DAY not 100. The highest dose is a one off 30mg dose as emergency contraception.
It's such a  dangerous mistake.

Anyway I'm glad you got sorted. Hope the ovestin works well for you.

Xxxxx