Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Pippa52 on July 31, 2021, 03:44:03 PM
-
Hi Everyone
I am due to change from Oestrogel to Lenzetto this week. Is there anyone else taking Lenzetto which I gather is quite new over here in the UK? If so how are you getting on with it? Many thanks in advance for any info - am very nervous about changing over as new medications always give me side effects to start with. xx
-
Hey Pippa52
I am using Lenzetto :)
It’s in addition to my patches as my Oestrogen levels wouldn’t come up. I’m getting on really well with it. I became a Grandma in March as I was starting the spray and the information leaflet seems to say keep babies/children away from application site. So I’m using the underside of the top of my arm instead of the forearm as suggested. I use two sprays in the morning and one at night.
Hope you get on ok - let us know how it goes x
-
I've been using Lenzetto for just over 3 months now and I love it. It's so easy to use (I couldn't get on with Estradot) and I have only positive things to say about it - it has literally been a life-saver. xx
-
Thanks so much for the replies. It's so good to know that others are having such success with Lenzetto. I started using it yesterday and so far so good. I seem to be feeling a lot more level already which seems rather a quick response but I was on quite a high dose of Oestrogel so not starting from scratch. I have been advised to start on one spray and then the Dr will re-assess now that my blood oestradiol results from when I was on Oestrogel have come back as to whether I need to put the dose up to 2 sprays. As you have both rightly said Lenzetto is so easy to use - anyway so far so good and thanks so much for the positive replies. xx
-
Thanks so much for the replies. It's so good to know that others are having such success with Lenzetto. I started using it yesterday and so far so good. I seem to be feeling a lot more level already which seems rather a quick response but I was on quite a high dose of Oestrogel so not starting from scratch. I have been advised to start on one spray and then the Dr will re-assess now that my blood oestradiol results from when I was on Oestrogel have come back as to whether I need to put the dose up to 2 sprays. As you have both rightly said Lenzetto is so easy to use - anyway so far so good and thanks so much for the positive replies. xx
Hi I just wondered how you got on with Lenzetto? I was on Oestrodose at one pump which was working wonders (had been on it for two months) then had to change to Oestrogel which brought symptoms back and was taking 20 mins to dry so my GP suggested Lenzetto. I’ve been on that for a week at one pump - which she said was equal to one pump of gel - but I’m getting symptoms again like dizziness, lethargy and the awful itchy skin and straw like hair. So gutted because all of this had gone with Oestrodose. My GP isn’t very clued up on Menopause and whilst I’m on at least two private meno waiting lists there isn’t an NHS clinic near me. SHould I up my dose to two sprays? Could it be that I’ve just started the Utrogestan part of the cycle so that may be why I’m getting more symptoms? So confusing. REally don’t think I agree with Utrogestan. I’m only taking 100mg orally for 12 days as I know my body couldn’t handle 200mg. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
-
Hi
I started on lenzetto about 2 weeks ago having previously had a 6 month break from hrt then 4 months on evorel 25 patches
I was advised to start on 2 pumps daily which I did, but found that as I've described in a previous post, my nipples were getting incredibly sore, so I dropped down to 1 spray daily a few days ago and the pain seems to be going
Apart from that symptom I'm finding it really easy to use and keeping the dreaded flushes and night sweats at bay
-
I recently changed to Lenzetto after using Estrogel. The gel took so long to dry I wanted to try the spray. Just after starting this my breasts, especially the nipple area became really sore, constant nausea, and stomach cramps started. I thought initially I had a bug but then wondered if it was the spray. I've decided to take a short break to see if that is the case. Has anyone else had similar reactions? Also had very itchy skin.
-
I use Lenzetto and was prescribed one spray but upped it to two, partly on the basis of symptoms and partly because of a question mark over the actual amount of oestrogen delivered in each spray.
Dr Louise Newson has been on correspondence with the manufacturers and they've said it's only half as potent as described. They are updating the info leaflet to reflect this.
Tender breasts and itchy skin are signs of an oestrogen issue, and it seems they can be caused by too high or too low levels.....!!
Given the issue over the strength of the Lenzetto dose I'd say you should increase by one spray and see what happens.
I changed my dose without consulting my GP but wouldn't necessarily suggest that's the sensible option for everyone.
-
Thanks for that. My doctor did look up the dosage and noted that it was weaker than the Oestrogel, so advised 2 sprays initially to be upped to 3 if needed. She also said that she had recently been on some training and that they now recommend the best place to put sprays or gels is in the small of your back.
-
I'm about to start Lenzetto spray and worry if it is weaker what its efficacy can be for poor absorbers.
-
Thanks for that. My doctor did look up the dosage and noted that it was weaker than the Oestrogel, so advised 2 sprays initially to be upped to 3 if needed. She also said that she had recently been on some training and that they now recommend the best place to put sprays or gels is in the small of your back.
Interesting... I wonder how they think you can hold the spray device in place in the small of your back.....! Contortionist is not on my skills list!
-
I thought that initially, but it is easier than you think :). The GP calculated that 1 and a half sprays of Lenzetto is equal to one of Oestrogel.
-
Just wondering whether you'd get the same 'suction' on the lower back. Plus sometimes there's more liquid and it runs so I hold my arm horizontally once I've sprayed. Imagine where it runs from your lower back, lol.
-
I thought that initially, but it is easier than you think :). The GP calculated that 1 and a half sprays of Lenzetto is equal to one of Oestrogel.
The specialist I spoke to today said they are thinking that one spray can be as low as half a pump of gel so told me to up my one spray to two. I’m hoping this works but now worried that two sprays will be too much - I was on one pump of gel before. It seems no one actually knows what the dosage is, including the manufacturers - I read somewhere that they said you don’t necessarily get the same amount each spray or it affects differently women differently! It’s a nightmare minefield and feels a little as if we are guineapigs
-
I did actually manage to use the spray on my lower back today, after a bit of twisting in front of the mirror.
As to the dose, the manufacturers are meant to be updating the leaflet, but by the sounds of it, even they don't know what it is!
The leaflet suggests that you get the same dose per spray, but I don't see how that can be because some sprays provide enough liquid that it runs, and some don't.
Fortunately I don't seem too sensitive to the variation, but I imagine it is hard if you are sensitive to it.
-
I am very sensitive to fluctuations and have never had an issue with Lenzetto dispensing. I know what you mean though, about the liquid sometimes running or not but my sense is that's just coincidence of the minute difference of the angle your arm is tilted at etc - but could be wrong of course! I used to worry that it sometimes felt you weren't getting the same with each dose but as I never experienced any fluctuations I figured it must be in my head.
Agree on the dosing though - does seem to be so much variation with what women experience!
Think I need to have a few yoga sessions before I attempt to apply on my back!!
-
It does seem that there are various views on the dosage. I was using 2 pumps of oestrogen which worked well. As directed by the GP, I started with 2 sprays of Lenzetto, but it was not as effective and I started to get sweats at night and occasional hot flushes, so upped it to 3 as advised. That was when I started getting the breast pain, nausea, and stomach pains. May be a coincidence, (apart from the breast pain),the problem is working out which symptoms are linked to HRT and which are unconnected, especially when the symptoms of the menopause can replicate the side effects of HRT! I was heartened though to hear that my GP was going on specific training, long tome coming, but positive nonetheless. I've taken a short break from the HRT to see if my symptoms subside to try and get an idea of the cause and effect.
-
I'm up to 6 sprays Meno expert said can go up to 8!!!! Very poor absorption
-
Side note but not for the first time this thread just makes me wish that hormone testing was easily and readily available for women. I completely appreciate the view that blood tests aren't everything but for me they have been absolutely invaluable on my journey, by helping me understand / correlate what's actually going on with how I feel. That understanding and correlation has also helped me get a picture of what levels I need to feel well overall. If as women we were able to monitor our levels in the same kind of way someone monitors their blood pressure it would give us so much more ownership and understanding of our bodies.
-
Very well put. Totally agree, especially for postmeno where much less fluctuation. "Understanding the levels needed to FEEL WELL" is so important and would reduce the dreaded "trial and error" which can go on for months, even years, for so many affecting them pervasively. Hopefully this new surge in profiling menopause more highly will bring about positive research and development. 🤞
-
Hi Gilla
I've never had a hormone blood test and the GP went on symptoms, but my understanding is that they fluctuate through the month/cycle so aren't necessarily helpful unless you can do them frequently.
How often have you been able to have blood tests and has that been with a friendly GP who is happy to use them on an ongoing basis?
-
Your hormone levels do fluctuate throughout the month according to your cycle (assuming you're not post meno) but they're in a pattern, they're not haphazard so I have always been a bit puzzled by that assertion. I have never - despite testing lots of times - found my hormones to vary notably up and down in the course of a day or two for example (and if they did I would blimmin well experience it!). What is true though is that you could have an E reading of 350 which falls nicely within the blood test acceptable range and yet still be horrendously symptomatic because what is a "good" level of Estrogen for one woman can be totally different for another. So that's where I understand that a blood test on its own isn't always so useful and symptoms matter more. But for me, correlating what is going on with my Estrogen levels when I've been experiencing symptoms (of either too low or too high E) with a blood test result has been absolutely invaluable because it's allowed me to understand what works for my body, and to also sense check what I intuitively feel is going on. I am quite "in tune" in general so know when my E is too high or too low, but always feel better when I know for sure otherwise you're often just adjusting in the dark.
I wish I got them through my GP! GPs will rarely test your Estrogen for you, and certainly not regularly as far as I'm aware. It would put too much demand on the NHS I suppose, the same reason why menopause is a blanket exclusion under all private health insurance. I get my tests done through medichecks at my local private hospital. I get venous samples done because if you use topical HRT it easily contaminates the reading of a finger prick test. It costs £80 a time and I've had several over the course of the last year.
I have also in the past done the Rhythm Hormone test by Genova diagnostics, which is a salvia test you do daily and tracks your hormone levels. There is debate over how reliable saliva samples are but I think what it is at least good for showing is the pattern of any fluctuations over a month and how they might correlate to what you were experiencing at any given time.
Sorry for the long reply - I really feel quite passionate about women having better access to understanding what's going on in their bodies. We don't say blood pressure testing isn't relevant...!
xx
-
Apologies if I'm going off piste and a resounding yay to empowerment, but another aspect is the waste. Many on here speak of shedloads of unused prescriptions due to the random nature of things. I already belong in a category of three differing delivery method prescriptions being abandoned halfway through, on the direction of the specialist. It seems so wasteful apart from anything else and money that could be spent on ways to make the process less random? 🤔
-
Hey Postmeno, that was going to be the topic of my next rummage on the forum!
I'm 'collecting' my empty blister packs and Lenzetto pumps while getting round to establishing whether there is a way to recycle them.
I'm sure I've seen something about blister packs in general and recycling because clearly it's not just HRT that results in lots of blister packs.
As for Lenzetto, I think I'll contact the manufacturer and ask them if they can recycle the pumps, or even reuse them.
That's of course assuming that's the kind of waste you're talking about :-)
-
I take your point, Evangelista, but I was more meaning all that waste to the "cash-strapped" NHS. All those boxes of part-used medication prescribed, not suited and abandoned. Perhaps it comes back to the three month rule thing, prescribing for three months when bloods or symptoms show sooner that something different is required?
🤔
-
That's true, and a fair point.
Even if you haven't broken the seal on a box of any prescribed medication the pharmacist won't be able to reissue it to someone else, so in some ways this new idea of prescribing a year's supply might lead to even more waste.
I've only ever had HRT in Scotland where all prescriptions are free, but I've usually only been prescribed 3 month's worth initially.
Once I was happy on whatever I was taking it went to 6 months supply, which is probably sufficient.
My current GP practice has an online repeat prescription service and when I knew I wanted to change my regime I just put a note on the repeat asking for one month's worth. That was on the basis that if I knew I was going to run out I would get myself organised, do my research and then see the GP.
Took me three months of doing that to actually get there, lol!
But yes, it's an issue and as there's not a one size fits all then I guess there will be ongoing waste
-
I'm up to 6 sprays Meno expert said can go up to 8!!!! Very poor absorption
Can I ask what you were on previously
-
I got put on Lenzetto about 7 weeks ago because there was a shortage of Oestrogel, which I'd been on for the last 3 years with no problems. It's not been a great success for me. Pretty much all of my symptoms have ramped up, whether I use 2, 3,or 4 pumps of the spray. Horrible anxiety, heart palpitations, hot flushes, and aching joints. It's been horrible, life has lost all it's colour and I can't work out if the dosage is wrong, or there's just been an increase in symptoms and the change in HRT is coincidental as most people seem to love Lenzetto. Luckily after a phone appt this morning, I've been re-prescribed Oestrogel, so I'm hoping that'll sort it out.
I'm quite disappointed as the spray was alot quicker and easier to use. Has anyone else found Lenzetto ineffective compared to the gel?