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[AnMa]

hi everyone

I'm going for a hysteroscopy on 4th Dec (has been good to read of others' experiences of that, thank you. Hoping to get local anaesthetic..), when they will also fit the Mirena coil. (Time to come off Femoston due to too many bleeds. A shame, as otherwise those tablets have been life-changing...)

So the next decision is: gel or patches for the Estrogen input??
Had a good chat with my very lovely GP today, she talked me through both options, but said it is really down to personal preference.
Patches sound a bit faffy....Gel is everyday so I may be less prone to forget (!?).

What are people's experiences, if you have tried both is there one that has worked out better..?

As ever, thank you so much. 

[Tinkerbell]

I had a real trouble with patches as adhesive irritation was really bad so have no option but to use Estrogel. I am on 4 pumps and split dose. I don't think I absorb it as well as I did on a 50mg patch, so would prefer to use patches if not for the irritation.

[AnMa]

Thanks for replying Tinkerbell.
Sorry to hear the patches didnt work out.
Could you explain '4 pumps and split dose', not sure what that means....4 pumps a day? Split dose of....?
Sorry, as you can see I haven't a clue...
And thankyou!

[sheila99]

Personal choice really. I find patches better as I'm not slathered in gel and there's less plastic waste. Gel is good for changing the dose easily until you find the optimum for you. I've been fine with both. I split the dose too on 4 pumps gel, 2in the morning, 2 in the evening. Only because I used thighs, it's too cold in my house for arms!

[Joaniepat]

I chose gel first as sometimes I'm allergic to plasters. I didn't absorb well from the gel so was switched to Estradot patches and they were fine. It seemed much easier than hanging around waiting for gel to dry, and I put a reminder on my phone for patch change day. Estradot are nice and small, and I have never had a problem with them staying stuck. However, there can sometimes be supply problems with Estradot (as now), so I have had to switch to Evorel. They seem fine too, although bigger, and stick well for me. However, some folk have problems with them staying stuck down.

Sometimes people have problems with the pump packs of Oestrogel/Estrodose; as far as I can tell, it is down to the pump not dispensing the correct amount consistently. If you decide you would prefer to use gel, I would go for Sandrena at the moment. It comes in sachets and there are 0.5mg and 1.0mg sachets, so as Sheila99 says, you could still titrate the dose.

Just giving my experience, but I've probably muddied the waters for you now - sorry!

JP x