Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Wrensong on September 29, 2023, 07:24:21 AM
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Tests over past 18 months have shown very inconsistent absorption from patches, so, still symptomatic, I'm currently adding a pump of Oestrogel to try to get my oestradiol level up. I've never felt well on gel so have not used it long term in the past though have had several trials with it over the years. Today though, I had a problem with it I've never encountered before - the gel went into tiny balls as I spread it & fell off my thigh onto the floor :o! I'd showered approx 20 mins before, no moisturiser applied, skin of legs & hands clean & dry. I applied gel to the other thigh from the same canister yesterday morning, under the same conditions & it went on smoothly, as expected. Yesterday was the first morning using Oestrogel as well as a patch (this time around - I have used this combo in the past) but I'm using up a canister that was first opened a long time ago. It was dispensed in Dec 2021, but is well within its use by date of Sep 2024. I can see nothing in the PIL that says an opened canister should be discarded after a certain time.
Has anyone else had this happen with Oestrogel? Any idea what might have caused it?
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I have nor had this specifically, but I have had the estrogel completely change consistency when on hol and go so runny it just evaporated in my skin. Didn't work either so I binned it. Storage indtructions don't say it has to be kept within a certain temperature range but it must have been impacted by heat despite us having air con in the room.
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Thank you Penguin. Some of the HRT products I've had over the years do say not to store above a certain temp, 25C comes to mind. I've not taken the Oestrogel out of the UK, but we are in a part of the country that gets extremes of temps & it has been way up in the 30s here at times this summer & last, though the cupboard I keep my HRT in is relatively cool & dark, but of course I can't be sure how hot it got.
I'm a bit stumped tbh as the gel from the same canister went on smoothly as usual yesterday. That said, I had no sense of having had any extra oestrogen from that application, so wonder whether something has happened to degrade it in the time since it was first opened. The dodgy canister is relatively light, so probably not much left in it, so I'm binning it without too much guilt & starting on a new one tomorrow, also from 2021 but never opened & more than a year to go on the expiry date. Fingers crossed.
Would be interested to know if anyone else has had Oestrogel behave like this though.
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:bighug: no advice though :-\
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Thank you CLKD. Hugs always appreciated.
Wx
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This happened to me once with the gel, and I decided it was a duff bottle and discarded it. Only other thought is whether you had some product on your hands that reacted with it. ..
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Ah, that's interesting Gnatty, thanks. Though sorry to know you also had a duff one. Skin on hands & legs squeaky clean. Only 20 mins out of the shower when I applied it & no other products used since then. New, as in unopened, bottle today - went on fine as it always has in the past.
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We both definitely had duff bottles then. Mine was exactly as you describe, bobbling and sliding off.x
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Hey
This is an issue I’ve had with the gel for around a year off and on. It only seems to happen some days and not others and I cannot for the life of me find a pattern! Some days it’s so runny it drops right off and also as I rub it in it goes into tiny little gritty crystals!
I’ve switched to lenzetto and going to see if that makes a difference.
😩
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Thanks for your response Madge79, it's helpful to know I'm not the only one who's had this happen. It is odd though isn't it?
I hope you get on well with Lenzetto, it's certainly very easy to use & dries quickly. I've used it in the past but its reputation for being relatively low strength did seem to hold true with me as it didn't control symptoms & I felt as if I wasn't on any HRT. If you only need a low dose though, it could be a very good alternative to gel for you. Fingers crossed for you.
Wx