Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Gilla999]

I've been using Lenzetto for 18 months - initially I started on 2 sprays, gradually needed to increase to 4 and have currently settled on 3.5 sprays. However it's started to give me an eczema like rash where I'm applying it on my inner arms so I'm considering making a switch. In the summer I tried switching from 4 sprays to a 75mcg patch which should have been the right dose switch but I could feel an increase in Estrogen (which fits with the theory that Lenzetto is not as strong as previously thought) and I couldn't really lower the patch dose without either potentially going too low or having to minutely cut up patches!

Oestrogel seems the only other alternative to try and I wondered if anyone had switched from Lenzetto to the gel and if they had any advice/experience on dose equivalents? Louise Newsom's guide says "2 pumps is roughly equivalent to 2-3 sprays of Lenzetto"... which for someone who is mega sensitive to the slightest change is quite a broad range 

If I assumed 2 sprays = 1 pump then 3.5 sprays would mean 1.75 pumps.... but is it even possible to use half a pump of Oestrogel? One of the benefits of Lenzetto is that I can tape over the dispenser to get half a spray or less...

Really not loving this nasty rash on my arms but no idea what to do to get a decent dose equivalent of something else!

[Pippa52]

Hi Gilla - yes I switched from Lenzetto to Oestrogel  last July but unfortunately the gel just did not work for me and my blood level plummeted to 53 plus the longer I was on it the worse I started to feel. I was so puzzled as I had been on it previously until the shortages for over 20 years but it clearly does not work for me  personally anymore.  I had a telephone consult with the Meno consultant and she has swopped me onto Estradot patches which so far seem to be helping.  I am on the 37.5 patch at the moment.  Evorel patches which I tried earlier in the year sadly did not suit me as I re-acted to the adhesive in them plus they gave me bad migraines.  Do hope the gel works for you.  I understand that for some people Sandrena gel seems to work better than the Oestrogel - it all seems to be so much trial and error finding what suits each of us xx

[Gilla999]

Thanks Pippa, lovely to hear from you and hope you've been keeping well!

You're of course right, it's so individual for everyone. I know a lot of people don't get on with Lenzetto but it really has been a life saver for me. The problem is purely this rash it's giving me and it doesn't feel right to keep on using a product my skin really doesn't like, especially after the horrendous urticaria I went through in the summer. Although no idea why Lenzetto would suddenly be causing me a rash after 18 months! (It's happened gradually over the last 2 or 3 months but is now quite bad). Can you remind me how many sprays of Lenzetto you were on? I'm curious to know what sort of Lenzetto dose worked with a swap to a 37.5mg patch for you 

[Pippa52]

Hi Gilla  999 - lovely to hear from you too .....so very sorry to hear that Lenzetto has caused you skin problems and such a shame for you as I remember you saying how well it had worked for you otherwise. Completely understand you would not want to carry on with bad rashes.  There is quite a strong sun screen type ingredient in Lenzetto  called Octisalate and maybe that might be what you are re-acting to as I remember looking it up when I was on it and noted that it can cause skin problems so it could possibly be that?  I suffer from dermatitis anyway hence am always having to be careful what I put on my skin.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6834784_Allergic_Contact_Dermatitis_from_Octisalate_and_cis-3-Hexenyl_Salicylate
Lenzetto also has  96% ethanol which I understand can also cause skin problems in some people.

I was on 1 1/4 sprays of Lenzetto which towards the end was not enough and it was these symptoms that caused me to seek further advice. I understand that Lenzetto has turned out to be a bit weaker than was originally thought. I was then switched onto Oestrogel which I had previously been on before all the shortages for over 20 years.  Sadly the make up of Oestrogel has changed and it caused me not only to feel increasingly ill but also dropped my blood level of oestrogen down to 53 which is so low its off the scale for someone on HRT and basically I was not absorbing it at all even after being on it nearly 4 months. I  was on 2 pumps of Oestrogel but also on 3 earlier on.  The Consultant swapped me onto Estradot patches just over a week ago and thankfully the bad symptoms I had on Oestrogel are going and I am feeling considerably better.  I have another blood test booked in March and depending on that and if I am feeling ok by then the Consultant will decide if I need to go up to a 50 patch or not. It is so bizarre the way different people suit different application methods and what suits one doesn't suit another.... I guess its how well different people absorb different types of application.   I hope so much you find relief and the right one for your very soon.  Please let us all know how you get on.  xxxx

[Gilla999]

It really is strange about how different things absorb differently for everyone, I've observed so much of that too.

I'm so glad to hear that since starting the patch things have improved for you and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it continues!

I suspect it is the ethanol causing the issue - when you use 4 sprays (2 on each arm) every day for a long time, ethanol is quite a harsh chemical on a delicate piece of skin!

I came across some info (Louise Newsom and a couple of other sites) that says it's ok to apply Lenzetto to the inner thigh and I'm wondering whether to give this a try before switching to another product. Have you ever tried that Pippa? I'm wondering if absorption might be different and if so how (higher/lower). I really don't fancy any upheaval at the moment as I've been having such a good run of it lately and I'm also wanting to start slowly reducing my antidepressant and prefer to only change one thing at a time... so trying to work out how i can cause the least upheaval!

[Pippa52]

Gilla 999 oh gosh TOTALLY understand what you say about any further hormone upheavals!!  I used to apply the Oestrogel to the inner thigh with no rash problem but never tried it with Lenzetto. I cannot see why it would not work there just as well and maybe the skin might tolerate it better?  Certainly worth a try for sure.  Do let us know how you get on and fingers crossed for you.  The higher dose of the patch hit me today 6 days in but bearable so far so intend to stick with this dose and let my system get used to it over the weeks.  Hope so much the change of application site works well for you xxxx