Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: walkingthedog on August 12, 2017, 09:24:44 AM
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Hi
Having switched to evorel patch in April due to difficulties obtaining estradot, i have no idea if it's back in supply or not ? Id prefer to use it over evorel .
Can anyone update me , thanks
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Hi WTD, I have just been prescribed Estradot patches again after a few months back on Evorel Conti & was astonished to be able to walk into our village pharmacy on Monday & get them there & then (Estradot 50) without the long wait & repeated probs I'd had getting Estradot 75 in Spring this year. Had previously nearly always used a large chain pharmacy in our nearest market town as our tiny local one had had problems getting several meds I routinely need in the past, so I imagine if this little shop had the Estradot 50 in stock, that strength at least must be fairly readily available at present.
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Thank you wrensong
It's 75 i use and I'm not due a prescription fir another month but good to know estradots back in circulation.
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The pharmacy I use haven't had a problem supplying me with Estradot 100.
I've been giving them my prescription early to give them time to order the patches from the Estradot Manufacturer 'Novartis'.
Good to hear the distribution issues are resolving though :)
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For the last few months I have been rationed - even at our rural pharmacy at my doctors ( small market town). I have to go in monthly to get one box at a time (each prescription is for 3 months' supply). It's a right pain!
Hurdity x
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Hi
Does anyone know if estradot patches can be used on the buttocks or do they have to go on the abdomen ?
I'm getting swelling in abdomen u see little bloated and want to try using on buttocks as wouldn't mind swelling there . Lol
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Hi
I've only ever used alternate butt cheeks - no problems apart from residual adhesive that doesn't bother me as I can't see it ;D
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Ditto!! Butt cheeks all the way!
However no can get any from my dispensary and I will see tomorrow what is offered instead as I am down to last two patches - apart from some out of date 50's whuich I will use if necessary!
I wouldn't have thought the application site would affect any bloating issues though as it is absorbed systemically so will circulate through the bloodstream. Gotta be worth a try though!
Hurdity x
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Hi Sammiejane - I was surprised to read on the Estradot PIL when I started them that the application site should be abdomen as I'd previously used butt for patches, having read some years ago that better absorption was achieved from that site. I recently read on here that a member got better blood levels from applying patches on her tummy & as I'd had poor absorption from Evorel Conti applied to the butt, decided when I went back on HRT a few weeks ago to follow the PIL for Estradot to the letter & for the first time started applying on lower abdomen. However, I'm not getting adequate symptom relief so have just reverted to butt in the hope I'll get better levels that way. You may be interested in this link from a study that found better absorption from butt application, though it's not specifically for Estradot.
Wx
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10993035
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Hi ladies
So just to clarify as I have meno brain that needs to reassured and told 50 times for it sink in that estradot patches can be applied to the buttocks ?
Thank you for your help and support !
Another question re the estradot I feel fine on them slight bloated feeling but the last day or so I've been getting a glaze over my eyes and this happened with the elleste solo patches I tried at the start of my journey which ended in blurred vision I'm a bit worried that this is not good , I changed from estrogel as had been on it 7 months but want obsorbing well and my estrogen levels dropped from 195 to 104 I tried increasing from 2 to 3 pumps but had bad fatigue and anxiety I used to apply to my inner thighs but also got dat deposits well the gel went but wonder now if I've jumped the gun a bit I was also experiencing shedding hair or thinning hair on the gel but had slowed down after 5 months but now I've swapped to the patch the shedding is more and thing it may of triggered my hairloss as I have the bulk of it on nape of neck and receding hairline behind ears on top has thinned slightly and down the sides to but I feel sore along my hairline behind ears which normally means for me it's activated and will recede more .
What do I do stay on patch little longer and see or go back to gel and try increasing or applying to arms
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Yes Sammiejane estradot patches can be applied to buttocks or anywhere on lower trunk really.
They contain estradiol and so the side effects should not differ markedly between the different brands except for some differences in absorption maybe. I suggest you start another thread for you other concerns as this thread is specifically about Estradot patch supply so best to keep to this topic.
Good luck with the Estradot!
Hurdity x
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Hi Sammiejane - I was surprised to read on the Estradot PIL when I started them that the application site should be abdomen as I'd previously used butt for patches, having read some years ago that better absorption was achieved from that site. I recently read on here that a member got better blood levels from applying patches on her tummy & as I'd had poor absorption from Evorel Conti applied to the butt, decided when I went back on HRT a few weeks ago to follow the PIL for Estradot to the letter & for the first time started applying on lower abdomen. However, I'm not getting adequate symptom relief so have just reverted to butt in the hope I'll get better levels that way. You may be interested in this link from a study that found better absorption from butt application, though it's not specifically for Estradot.
Wx
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10993035
Thanks for posting this Wrensong - I did know this somewhere in my brain and have probably even posted that link before but I post in such a hurry these days and my brain doesn't seem to work as well as it used to so GREAT that you posted this :). Interestingly I seem to recall that a similar study was done for Intrinsa patches for tesosterone which found the reverse and I remember thinking how odd it was. Maybe the sample sizes ie groups of women are too small and you need a few hundred to get a true picture of the best body location?
Hurdity x
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Sammijane - sorry if my post was confusing, but as Hurdity says - yes patches can be applied on the buttocks or anywhere on the trunk below the waist.
No prob Hurdity :) Like you, I have facts squirrelled away in my brain (tho nowhere near as many as you & a far smaller brain to store them in!) but it's rare that I can remember where I've bookmarked a link to post to back them up!
Maybe the sample sizes ie groups of women are too small and you need a few hundred to get a true picture of the best body location?
Yes could well be. There also seems to be so much contradictory research out there on most things menopause that the picture seems to get more confusing the longer you google!
Often wonder whether absorption/storage is affected by how much body fat we have, either at site of application or in general throughout the body. Does anyone know?
Post-BSO, with what a surgeon recently described as "no significant subcutaneous body fat", resistant meno symptoms & osteopenia, I need to get my E levels up & as I failed to do this over a 2 year period pre-BSO (bloods showed only 113 on a 50mcg patch) finding the best site for absorption is important to me. Sorry - this is off topic for the original purpose of this thread but follows on from Sammiejane's query above.
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Thanks Wrensong - re brain size - it's just a question of age or rather stage - been reading about this for a long time that's all! Not sure about the body fat question but low weight/smaller women should achieve higher concentrations anyway on average as lower blood volume - as it's one standard dose, but not sure of the effect of fat.
Re Estradot supply - someone on another group wrote to Novartis and has given permission for the message to be reproduced:
“Good Morning,
Thank you for your email.
Novartis are supplying as much stock as possible into our two Wholesaler's, this is above the normal expected demand for the brand.
Due to global supply issues on the Generic HRT variants, Novartis is not able to backfill the Generic shortages with Estradot, as the demand
now being placed on the brand is beyond our supply capacity.
Unfortunately we are unable to accept direct supply orders from the pharmacy.
Kind Regards
Customer Care
Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited etcâ€
The woman concerned wrote again to Novartis because Estradot is not a generic - it's a brand so even if they supply a generic their answer is irrelevant because it is the brand Estradot which is in short supply. Following her second letter she got another reply here:
“Novartis are supplying as much stock as possible into our two Wholesalers, this is above the normal expected demand for the brand. Your pharmacy would need to order from the wholesaler however the demand now being placed on the brand is beyond our supply capacity.â€
However getting it does seem to depend on the pharmacy as my in-house dispensary cannot get it and have just swtiched everyone to the product they can get which is Estraderm. I have yet to try this but needs must!
Hurdity x
Edit I've found the product info for estradot and patch but don't want to take this thread far off topic as it gets annoying for others looking for specific info especially in current circumstances re supply! I might tag into onto another old thread about site application....
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Well I wrote myself to Novartis and got the same unsatisfactory reply!
"Novartis are supplying as much stock as possible into our two Wholesaler's, this is above the normal expected demand for the brand.
Due to global supply issues on the Generic HRT variants, Novartis is not able to backfill the Generic shortages with Estradot, as the demand now being placed on the brand is beyond our supply capacity.
Unfortunately we are unable to accept direct supply orders from the pharmacy. "
(Note the misplaced apostrophe and poor punctuation and capitalisation - doesn't bode well for their comms!!!
So I have written back again, and presumably will get the same reply as I posted from another group ....always worth trying in the hope that someone actually reads them rather than some admin person just cutting and pasting a standard reply without reading the message properly....
Hurdity x
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Counting myself lucky, as I got my Estradot today :)
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Thanks for chasing them, Hurdity. :) Dreading not being able to get mine. Put in an order before we came away for 2 weeks, so should find out this weekend whether the pharmacy can supply when we go home, though they couldn't last time. If so, I may have to ask almost immediately for a higher strength for better symptom control - awaiting approval to increase from the Cons who prescribes for me. If he's amenable, will use up the lower dose 1 1/2 patches at a time to make up the higher dose. Too precious to waste any.