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[hrthelps68]

I've been really concerned by the thread insisting that Oestrogel and Oestrodose are exactly the same. They are not. Anyone who feels different on one and better on the other is NOT imagining it or experiencing natural hormonal fluctuations.
I was doing great on oestrogel, then was given the parallel import by my pharmacy and went rapidly downhill. Got a fresh prescription and insisted on the uk non-parallel import (pharmacist now looks out for my prescription and makes sure she doesn't get the import) ... back to feeling great again.
Don't listen to ANYONE who insists there's no difference - THERE IS!!
And you don't need to take my word for it - follow this link, which takes you to a post from the eminent menopause expert Dr Louise Newson explaining why - and more importantly, how to get the right version of the gel for you: https://www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/menopause/oestrodose#

[CLKD]

  how long B4 you noticed a difference?  Hours, days, a week ........

[hrthelps68]

I can't be exact, because it was almost a year ago now. But I remember feeling myself on a steady upward trajectory until my first three month prescription ran out, which was from a private doctor, and then getting my second prescription from my own practice, which was administered by my local pharmacy - over days into weeks I started to go back to feeling how I had prior to going onto the gel.
I said to my husband that I felt like it had stopped working. It was different packaging to what I'd got privately - that came in a cylindrical pump while the local chemist one was in the shape that all oestrogel comes in now. I came on here looking for answers ... read the thread saying they are exactly the same and let it convince me I was imagining my return of symptoms.
Then my husband suggested going back for another private prescription - did that, it arrived in the same shape packaging to the one I'd got locally and I thought 'well, it can't be the gel then - it must be me.'
However, I abandoned the chemist version just in case and went onto the privately bought gel ... within a week I was feeling great again and back on that upward trajectory. Brain fog gone, energy back up, sleeping well. I know my pharmacist very well and talked it through with her - she said 'I gave you a parallel import last time - next time I'll give you the UK one and see how you get on'. That's what we did. It worked just the same as the private clinic prescription gel.
After this experience I will always insist on non-parallel imports WHATEVER the medication I've been prescribed.

[Mary G]

hrthelps68, you are right, there is a difference because all the women who report problems with Oestradose can't be wrong.   I've no idea what the difference is between the two types of gel but clearly there is a difference.   This may not be a problem for some women but is obviously it is for people like me who are extremely sensitive to oestrogen spikes and generic hormone instability.

Thanks for the link.  It's good that Dr Newson his acknowledged this problem.

[CLKD]

Well done on being experimental and well done on the Pharmacist listening!

[Jeepers]

I have posted quite a few times on this, and I can also affirm that they are not the same. I was forced back onto it in lockdown, as I could not get anything else. After a couple of weeks I experienced a bleed, as well as other returning symptoms.

Worryingly, the boxes had Oestrogel  printed on them ( not a sticker added), but inside it was definitely oestrodose,  with a sticker on the bottle

Jeepers xx

[pricey]

Hello all,

I also started breakthrough bleeding which I have now tracked down to happening on the months I was given Oestrodose rather than Oestrogel (on which I'd done pretty well). I wish I had known at the time because I got so fed up I reduced HRT and stopped a month ago. I have had problematic bleeding ever since! I checked with the pharmacist at the time and she insisted they were the same.  This was also confirmed here, so I decided the regime just wasn't working and after trying pretty much everything else I might as well stop! 

As if we haven't got enough problems!

X

[CherrySG]

I've only ever used Oestrodose. I was wondering why I needed 3-4 pumps of it to remain comfortable when half an Evorel 50 patch does the job and more besides.

No way is 2 pumps of Oestrodose equivalent to an Evorel 50 patch. An Evorel 50 patch is so strong I have to cut them in half.   

Having read this thread, suddenly the above makes much more sense.

[hrthelps68]

I think the lesson here is not to let anyone else persuade you that you're wrong - however much of a mission they seem to be on to do so - when you've been beyond convinced that something isn't quite right. If Oestrodose and Oestrogel really were the same then private doctors like Louise Newson wouldn't make sure that their patients only got Oestrogel when giving them their private prescription.
Also, interestingly, my pharmacist has another lady in our community for whom Oestrodose works better for than the Oestrogel. She insists on it the way I insist on mine, so she must have been similarly affected by getting the 'wrong' version.
The other thread on this subject managed to convince me that I was wrong ... thank God my husband could see for himself the change in me and was concerned enough to apply logic and come up with a suggestion that put me back on the right path. Otherwise, I think I would also have given up on HRT and decided it wasn't worth taking.
And actually, it wouldn't have been worth taking because it wasn't working.
Have faith in what your own body is trying to tell you - forums like these are great, until they send you on the wrong path ...
 

[CLKD]

It makes me uncomfortable when a pharmacist isn't aware that there is a difference 

[DS68]

Will the pharmacy exchange it. I've just collected a.prescription of 2.

[CLKD]

Unlikely as once a product has left the confines of the building it is seen as 'contaminated'  .  Even when in the packet, you could try ...... but don't be surprised if it's a 'no'.

[Scampidoodle]

I have to say the same, I went rapidly down hill after a day or two on Oestrodose. I also started to have bad nausea and vomiting and felt like I had post natal depression again! My consultant said there may be an issue with the bioavailability.

I had one pharmacist completely disagree and maintained they were the same but asked for a refund as I was still in the shop. I got Estrogel from another pharmacist and within two days I was ok again.

[Jeepers]

I find it so hard to get the Oestrogel now.  I've tried find a pharma, but they are a long way away, and my GP makes us nominate a pharmacy where they send the script. 

LLoyds dont have it on their list of stuff they can order, and I suspect Boots are the same

Jeepers xx

[Dandelion]

I buy my oestrogel privately, got oestrodose but didn't want to use it.