Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: shrosphirelass on August 02, 2018, 07:11:55 PM
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I have just started HRT and the Dr advised to cut the patches in half. Do I use both halves in sequence, or do I discard the one once it has been cut ? I wasn't sure if it would still be effcetive days after it's been cut. Thanks for the help
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That's a good question. Firstly it's a good idea to cut in half to start with - I went from nothing to a full patch and it was too much in one go. I was later advised that you can cut these type of patches!
When I did it was just over half a patch so I didn't use the other half! There was a time when I was on quarter of a patch and I popped the remainder back in the packet - I think I just found it hard to find an edge to peel the backing away!
Hope this helps. I see no reason why you can't use one half for the first few days and then the second half straight after. Mine was continuous regime so I guess you'll have to be careful that you're using the right ones and you are cutting them fairly accurately for the oestrogen only and the combined bit.
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Hi shropshirelass
:welcomemm:
As Sunnydays says - OK to cut them and OK to keep them until you next use them. I used to cut up 50 mcg patches into 4 and add the extra bit to a 50 mcg patch so then I would keep the cut ones for 2 weeks.
The main thing is to maintain the 4 week regime ie don't use up all the oestrogen only patches before starting the combi (conti) ones, so if you're doing half patches, still do 2 weeks of oestrogen only and then 2 weeks of the combi ones - so that your cycle will hopefully stay to approx 4 weeks ( depending on how much your own hormones kick in) and your packet will last 2 months instead of one,.
Hurdity x
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Thank you both :)