Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: GypsyRoseLee on April 13, 2018, 08:43:29 PM
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Not only is my pharmacist really struggling to get hold of any testosterone gel for me, but he now tells me he can't get hold of the UK pump pack of Oestrogel i.e. the genuine stuff, not the cheaper parallel import Oestrodose.
I am beyond fed up with this. Anyone else having the same difficulties? If this carries on I think I'll ask my GP to give me a private script for my HRT and get it from the private pharmacy in London that Prof Studd uses, as they always seemed to have plenty of stock.
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Yes I was prescribed Oestrogel a month ago, just getting used to it and now it's unavailable, can't get anywhere :( Had a box of patches left so I put one on thinking need to have something but now feel truly awful!
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I had this problem about 3 weeks ago, but quickly ran to another pharmacy and got their last 2! Don't know what it's like now though :-\
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Apparently there has been a supply issue , but will be distributed again on Monday .
This is via Dr Louise Newson.
The suppliers are in Asia and it's made in Belgium.
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It's not only hrt with supply issues can you believe there's problems too with epipens? I have been waiting about a month for my 2nd epipen yo come in to pharmacist!!!! I carry 2 a time in case I need it before an ambulance arrives. I thought the pharmacist was digging themselves out of their own error but googling revealed there is a supply issue . Shocking ! X
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It's ludicrous that Oestrogel is manufactured in Belgium but is supplied via Asia.
Could you link to the Dr Louise Newson article please, Mary Jane?
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I am on a FB page that has some of her patients in it , one of them emailed her as she was panicking and that was the reply.
Re Asia/ Belgium . 😊
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The Besins Healthcare website says that their head office is in Bangkok, Thailand. Their manufacturing plants are based in Montrouge, France and Bangkok, Thailand. They do not appear to have any connection with Belgium now. Not that any of this helps those who are unable to get any Oestrogel, I just thought you'd like to know!
JP x
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Just gone back to the group where I read Asia / Belgium and the comment has changed.
I am as certain as I can be I didn't make it up 🤷♀️
It now says that suppliers have changed. Reply below .
I've emailed Dr Newson who told me it was a distribution problem (supply chain had changed hands). I was also worried as am nearly out. De N says back in stock on Monday.
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My pharmacist told me that the pump packs of Oestrodose, which are re-labelled as Oestrogel are what is known as a 'parallel import' and are slightly cheaper than the original UK pump pack.
I just feel so angry that we're fobbed off with inferior, ineffective medication.
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Hi
Luckily ive managed to get Oestrogel from my pharmacist. But I did have to request it. However he did order testogel but that hasn't turned up!
In general though, I'm having problems with my prescription for my AD's. Instead of my usual brand, I've been palmed off with horrible cheaper brands that give even worse side effects than the brand ones.
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I've had 2 weeks if oestrodose due to no oestrogel and had to stop it Thursday after going to GP with 5 days of headache, nausea, fatigue and general low mood. Have had 3 days off any oestrogen (Drs orders) and feel so much better. The oestrodose is a cheap, poor substitute that I'll never touch again.
Hoping my pharmacy have managed to get some oestrogel (by Tuesday latest they think).
I've got patches to use in case they don't. I'd got to a really good place in Mirena/oestrogel and cant believe how rubbish I felt due to the manufacturing problem. I really hope they get their act together to prevent this happening again especially in light of the fact that so many more women are using gels/patches these days.
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My gynae has also said it's not the same as oestrogel, many of her ladies can't tolerste oestrodose .
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I emailed Besins on Friday regarding Oestrogel being out of stock everywhere. They have just replied apologising, and to say that new stocks have been released this weekend so should be readily available again from this week.
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That's great news GRL, I hope everyone will soon be able to get hold of proper Oestrogel.
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GRL - that's given me a brilliant idea. Might email Besins to find out who they supply to so we can always get Oestrogel.
I'll let you know the outcome all.
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Stellajane, I think it's the carrier gel used in Oestrodose that is inferior to the one used in Oestrogel. Oestrodose feels thinner and runnier, and smells different to Oestrogel. I think this affects the absorption of the product?
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I managed to get two of my prescribed 6 pumps today, it seems to be trickling through!
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I took my private prescription to the pharmacy last week. For Wockhard brand levothyroxine and Estrogel.
They have already asked me to try a different brand of levothyroxine because they struggle to get the brand I want and have told me they don't make it in the bigger sizes anymore (not sure if I believe that). But they did get be a sack full of the small dose tablets. I didn't think to check the gel in the shop. Got to work, looked and I have 2 pump packs of Oestrodose!
I am very cross. I paid for this. The script said Oestrogel. I took it back. They argued it was just the same. I told them women didn't like this one because the carrier gel is different and seems to upset absorption. In the end, very reluctantly, the pharmacist went off to phone the supplier. Came back and told me that one supplier doesn't stock Oestrogen anymore and the other said that even if it were specified they would probably send the Oestrodose because it's the same. Even the hormone doctor who wrote the script said it was the same. These people just don't listen. I've had such a hard time and finally I'm on gel and Utrogestan and although I don't think 1 pump a day will be enough, I'm surviving so far and now I have a change looming.
When I hadn't been on levothyroxine long, I had a prescription refilled with the Teva brand. I took 5 of those pills over the course of a week and felt like I was going to die! I had a major nose bleed, major. I never have nose bleeds. I felt like death. In the end I waited out the weekend with no tablets and on Monday turned up at the same pharmacy and begged them to get the old ones. Which they did. I felt better immediately I took the old brand again. Now they want me to stop asking for that brand because it's hard for them to get! It's not fair. This wreaks already broken lives. I could have free meds because of the thyroid problem, but I pay for private prescriptions to try to avoid the switching of brands yet still I can't secure a reliable supply of what I want.
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Sue LW - did your prescription specify Oestrogel or did it just say Oestrogen gel ? I was told that if the prescription specifies Oestrogel then that's the on that they have to give you.
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Sue LW - did your prescription specify Oestrogel or did it just say Oestrogen gel ? I was told that if the prescription specifies Oestrogel then that's the on that they have to give you.
It did specify Oestrogel. But evidently, because these two products are considered the same, the pharmacy suppliers can send what they want. And they seem to want to send Oestrodose!
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A chemist told me that if prescription says Estradiol you can have either product.
When I order my Estrogel prescription I collect it from our surgery rather than it being sent over to the chemist direct, a pain but it means I can go to all the chemists in our area and ask if they have the Estrogel if not I try another one.
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Good morning SueLW
I have also had this problem so I know just how you feel :bang:
My script now says not Oestrodose version please. I collect the script from the surgery and use my local chemist and although I had a few problems at first I just referred them to script and refused the Ostrodose.
I am convinced it's a cost issue as a couple of months ago I did try another chemist and they tried to give me Ostrodose so I asked for the script back saying I would use my normal chemist and the girl said she would speak to the pharmacist again and lo and behold they suddenly found some. Perhaps you could try and get this added to your script.
I also use Levothyroxine and I am sure the reason I'm constantly tired and cann't lose weight despite trying is in part because the brand keeps changing and I'm convinced I also need T3 I have asked about T3 at my doctors and they did try to get my levels checked but the NHS labs in this area won't check T3 levels if the T4 levels are within limits even with a specific request from GP :bang:
My GP did speak to an endocrinologist but I got the same answer no in fact I got told if your levels are ok there is no need for T3 !!!! DH did manage to get some from abroad and the difference was amazing but unfortunately now he dosen't travel abroad for work so I haven't had any for a few years.
Do hope you manage to get this sorted soon as last thing you need when you're not feeling well is a battle to get the correct medication.
Take care and do let us know how you get on.
Lanzalover x
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Hi there SueLW - sorry to hear you can't get your preferred brand of levothyroxine. I know from someone else who uses this that the forumlations are different even with the same concentration and my friend is affected if he gets the "wrong" brand. There is also a difference between the two formulations of testosterone gel that come in sachets - even though both contains the same concentrations - as they contain different carrier ingredients.
In terms of Oestrodose vs Oestrogel - well you don't need to worry - because as the pharmacist says thay are excatly the same.There is no difference in carrier ingredients - it is all the same and packaged in the same inner pouch - but the external packaging is changed by the parallel importer. I think the view on this forum is that they are different products ( like your thyroid medication or the testosterone gel) even though the same concentration - but this is not the case. I have written to Besins and pleased to report that they are both manufactured by Besins in France! I'm going to post another thread on this so that anyone worried should hopefully be reassured.
I hope you feel more stable soon :)
Hurdity x
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Hi there SueLW - sorry to hear you can't get your preferred brand of levothyroxine. I know from someone else who uses this that the forumlations are different even with the same concentration and my friend is affected if he gets the "wrong" brand. There is also a difference between the two formulations of testosterone gel that come in sachets - even though both contains the same concentrations - as they contain different carrier ingredients.
In terms of Oestrodose vs Oestrogel - well you don't need to worry - because as the pharmacist says thay are excatly the same.There is no difference in carrier ingredients - it is all the same and packaged in the same inner pouch - but the external packaging is changed by the parallel importer. I think the view on this forum is that they are different products ( like your thyroid medication or the testosterone gel) even though the same concentration - but this is not the case. I have written to Besins and pleased to report that they are both manufactured by Besins in France! I'm going to post another thread on this so that anyone worried should hopefully be reassured.
I hope you feel more stable soon :)
Hurdity x
I've posted my thanks to you over on the other thread and I've printed off your explanation so I don't loose it.
The thyroid meds are a nasty situation. They are manufactured by many different companies and are nothing like the same as far as ingredients go. The brand they are pushing hard with at the moment, Teva, made me so ill in just 5 days that I filled in a yellow card against it!
Every thyroid site says to find a brand that works for you and to stick with it. It only it were that easy. This is why I panicked over the Oestrogel/Oestrodose situation.
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Good morning SueLW
I have also had this problem so I know just how you feel :bang:
My script now says not Oestrodose version please. I collect the script from the surgery and use my local chemist and although I had a few problems at first I just referred them to script and refused the Ostrodose.
I am convinced it's a cost issue as a couple of months ago I did try another chemist and they tried to give me Ostrodose so I asked for the script back saying I would use my normal chemist and the girl said she would speak to the pharmacist again and lo and behold they suddenly found some. Perhaps you could try and get this added to your script.
I also use Levothyroxine and I am sure the reason I'm constantly tired and cann't lose weight despite trying is in part because the brand keeps changing and I'm convinced I also need T3 I have asked about T3 at my doctors and they did try to get my levels checked but the NHS labs in this area won't check T3 levels if the T4 levels are within limits even with a specific request from GP :bang:
My GP did speak to an endocrinologist but I got the same answer no in fact I got told if your levels are ok there is no need for T3 !!!! DH did manage to get some from abroad and the difference was amazing but unfortunately now he dosen't travel abroad for work so I haven't had any for a few years.
Do hope you manage to get this sorted soon as last thing you need when you're not feeling well is a battle to get the correct medication.
Take care and do let us know how you get on.
Lanzalover x
Thank you for your kind message. For some reason I thought you lived in Spain. But sounds like you are in the UK. Hurdity has put my mind at rest over the gel. The thyroid meds are a different thing altogether and it's shocking that they can do it and get away with it. People have all sorts of nasty reactions to thyroid tablets, so you are advised to find one that works for you and then stick to it, but we struggle because the pharmacies try to give us any old thing.
Thyroid treatment in the UK is shockingly bad. No GP or Endo. seems to be prepared to treat without a TSH near or over 10 and a FT4 below the range. None of the labs are testing FT3. Why not? They have the blood there! The only thyroid number that matters is FT3. They just don't seem to get it. Most of us (who are able) resort to private testing to get the results we need. You can have a perfect TSH and FT4 score and still feel direly unwell if your FT3 is low because you can't convert the T4 to T3.
Do you know of Paul Robinson? He wrote the books Recovering with T3 and The CT3M Handbook. Both of those books help people to use T3 on it's own (has to be self-medicated). He's just released his new book The Thyroid Patient's Manual, available on Amazon. This one is for everyone, no matter what medication they are on or want to be on. I've just got it. His books are well worth reading. They go into much greater detail than any others. This new one is the ideal place to start and might help you get the courage to order your own T3 or NDT and self-treat. If you felt better on Levo and T3 it's not right that it was stopped. But it is what it is at the moment and we have to take matters into our own hands.