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[laszla]

Ladies in 2022 the EU banned the use of titanium dioxide in food which is quite a big deal as its use was so widespread but on the basis of independent scientific advice it was deemed harmful. But weirdly and maddeningly it hasn't been banned in medications which means that it will continue to be used in utrogestan which so many of us take.
Personally I could live with ingesting a dodgy additive if it was just for occasional use but given that I, like so many of us, will likely be taking utrogestan for many years I really find this a bit scary.

And the irony is that, among its many potentially harmful effects, including being a possible carcinogenic and impairing fertility, titanium has been shown to cause ovarian dysfunction and hormone inbalance (including a reduction in progesterone concentration) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389412008643

I wonder how they can justify using it in meds when it's now banned in foods but in the meantime wondered if there are any other micronised progesterone products available in the UK?

[sheila99]

Thanks for posting. This is worrying though I don't suppose fertility issues are going to bother us much. I've just changed from vaginal to oral (better sleep and no mess this way) but this makes me think it might be safer vaginally.

[laszla]

Thanks ladies. Poppy another micronised prog is cyclogest but also I wrote to Besins who, after a correspondence that felt like squeezing blood out of a stone, said that the utrogestan 200 mg pessaries do not contain titanium dioxide (which could also be a back-up for you Sheila).

The crazy thing about the titanium is that its sole purpose is to give a uniform white colour to the capsule (it's literally the same stuff that's used in paint)

[sheila99]

So is it in the 100mg but not the 200mg? I thought they were the same apart from the size.

[laszla]

Sorry Sheila, I re-checked the emails from Besins and actually it's the contents of both the 100 and 200 mg that don't contain the titanium while the capsules of both do - and unfortunately unlike some supplements you can't open and remove the contents of either of these.
Besins said the reason they won't be removing it from utrogestan is that reformulating it would cause too much disruption, but there is no doubt that it is a nasty substance.
I'm currently looking into cyclogest - so far it doesn't seem as if it contains titanium.

[Viola]

Hi, I am new. Another alternative is progestogel. It´s messy to apply, purely because of the amount needed to use to get the correct dosage

[Nataliegemini]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and wanted to thank you for starting this topic. I went into premature menopause at 39 and not wanting to do the coil/pessaries, I was also so shocked & disappointed to find out Utrogestan (and so many other millions of medications) have titanium dioxide in them. I became so disheartened I decided to come off HRT after 4 months, but am considering going back on it again, I just feel sad that the only oral progesterone option on the NHS is this.

I'd eventually like to get compounded progesterone, but as we know, without a significant bank balance this is tough for most of us.

In the meantime (and I did check with the site moderator here that this is ok to do), I started a petition to urge a ban on this nasty substance as it's time cleaner medications were freely available.

If you feel called to sign it, you can do so here: https://c.org/wLLcd78QH4

(The only annoying thing is that Change.org sends emails to ask for donations, but you can just sign the petition and then unsubscribe).

Continuing this conversation in the meantime, has anyone had any luck with using Utrogestan vaginally (which I wasn't keen on at first, but it would at least then bypass the gut and liver)? I am hearing positive things about it being able to be cycled vaginally even in full menopause because less of it is needed throughout the month when it's going straight to the womb, which I must admit would feel like some relief to me - I felt pretty spaced out on Utrogestan a lot of the time.

Thanks in advance and I'm happy to know it's not just me who was so disappointed by how these medications are being made.

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Approved by Emma