Ok how do I explain that - it's not biologically active in the form that you ingest it.
Often what we eat, or medication we take, needs to be converted into something else inside our body in order to be useful.
Our ovaries don't make estradiol valerate, they make estradiol.
The molecule in Qlaira has a slight chemical modification, that our body processes to turn it into the identical estradiol that human ovaries produce. This is perfectly safe and effective.
Younger women especially if their own hormone production is waning, often need higher doses than older women, however this is very individual and for some they may only need a small top up initially, progressing to higher doses as their own ovaries fail.
Unfortunately the NHS doesn't really have the resources to provide this individualised level of care - a GP typically is allocated 8 minutes per patient and may not have had any menopause specific education.
There are two reasons the pill is more easily obtained in this setting - one is familiarity and experience, they are very used to prescribing birth control. Most women use some form of contraception during their life but only 14% of eligible women use HRT.
The second is because the primary objective of birth control is to sleep with men, whereas hormone therapy is purely about the woman's health and quality of life. One is valued culturally, politically and medically far more than the other, and you can probably guess which.
However I personally believe the pill, used continuously, is a better option for women under 50 for multiple reasons, including the very common and serious risk of undertreatment with menopause hormone therapy, particularly in younger women (e.g. being given a 25mcg patch) whereas the doses in birth control are fixed by default and known to protect against osteoporosis.
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Topic: Testosterone and combined pill / also transdermal oestrogen dose vs oral dose (Read 1089 times)