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[roseandthorn]

Might be ....it's the oestrogen only ones as opposed to the combined patches which are unobtainable at the moment. https://www.theramex.com/products/    Scroll down to the section on menopause treatments. Apparently still available.

[Dotty]

Are you in UK? If so, there are other oestrogen only patches

https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/treatafter.php

[roseandthorn]

Yes, I'm in the UK. I just wanted to stay on what I know suits me, at the same dose. It's the progesterone that is the unknown at the moment, though.... I'm still holding out forlorn hope that this is temporary.

[Dotty]

Hi rose thorn....the oestrogen in Femseven patches is the same as the oestrogen in the other patches apart from Premarin and Progynova.  All the other patches contain estradiol which is a body identical oestrogen. x

[Dancing Queen]

Can I just add a small positive note to this thread for anyone who still hasnt swapped and is dreading it..I had to change
from Femseven sequi to Evorel a week or so ago and was worried. But so far I have actually felt better my mood is more positive than it has been for many months..and Im on the prog phase. Fingers crossed you ladies are also getting on ok with the changeover x

[helen63]

I've changed over from evorel conti patches to mirena coil and evorel 25 patches as couln't get femseven conti. No idea how this will work out as the evorel 25 patch is half the dose of evorel conti 50mg so probably not enough and will end up going back to the doctors yet again for adjustemnts. No idea why my doctor gave me evorel 25 patches when I was telling her I didnt feel the 50mg everol conti patch was helping me. Only had mirena coil fitted last week so cant tell yet if its any good for me. Not feeling many benefits yet from any hrt I've had   

[roseandthorn]

That's a bit rubbish, Helen63. So sorry. I'm afraid to say, after my disastrous appointment with the GP last Friday, even though I have filled the prescription for FemSeven oestrogen patches and utrogestan, I am making an appointment with a private meno specialist GP to talk things through.

[helen63]

Yes not good as I now have to wait 6 weeks on a low dose before I can go back to GP and ask for a higher dose. Seems like it takes a while to get sorted . Hope you have a better meeting with your private specialist.

[Rosebush]

I too had to change from Femseven Conti 50 to Evorel Conti 50, I did not get nausea or headaches as I did 10years ago on them, but have felt more foggy headed, memory also much worse

My neighbours Niece in Oct was given F.S conti patches instead of sequi patches...she got a new prescription, AND still had Conti one's in her drawer, my neighbour mentioned this to me just by chance 2 weeks ago..i now have them in my drawer, she gave me 11, also 2 nice ladies on here sent me their un wanted one's, plus the few I had left so now have enough to take on holiday with me...I used first one on Saturday and my head feels so much better today, and will continue them for next 18weeks..

I expect in June I will have to go back to  Evorel  if I can still get them, so annoyed that there maybe a chance all conti patches will be stopped !! why are we treated this way

Other alternative will be Femseven Estrogen only patch and a prog tab, when I really wanted at 69, not to go down the tablet route, I only use them to help with hot sweats/flushes, have to add Evorel were not so effective in helping my hot sweats, started getting really hot around 9pm at night and flushing badly after my morning cuppa..

Ladies if any of you get any further info re Femseven would you please post, I was told by company it was all down to the adhesive, and they would be back in stock end of 2019, seems like no one is willing to tell the whole truth! xx

[Hurdity]

Hi there Rosebush

In case you or others haven't seen the whole thread - this is the response I got from Theramex on January 15th so unless anyone has heard since (re the date of resupply) this is the most up-to-date info? Looks like the earlier responses they (Theramex) made did give a date (if the responses were prior to Jan 15th) but maybe someone has had a recent response which says late 2019?

Glad you've managed to get hold of some - I think other members may well be quite envious!

I don't think Evorel conti patches are being stopped unless I've missed something 

Hurdity x

I wrote to Theramex myself the other day and got a response just now - here it is - and is pretty much as the other member whom I quoted earlier in this thread said after she contacted Teva. This comes from Theramex own medical information service based in London.

"Thank you for reaching out to Theramex Medical Information Department.

We are following up your request for information regarding the hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) patches containing estradiol and levonorgestrel (i.e. FemSeven
Conti® and FemSeven Sequi®).

FemSeven Conti® and FemSeven Sequi® transdermal patches are currently out of
stock due to a supply problem with a component of the adhesive matrix. Therefore,
the transdermal patches are being reformulated in terms of the adhesive and there
will be a period of testing before the transdermal patches are commercially available
again.

Theramex is actively working to restore the product supply of FemSeven Conti® and
FemSeven Sequi® in the future and is strongly interested to make FemSeven Conti®
and FemSeven Sequi® available again in the UK. Unfortunately, currently we are not
able to provide an exact date or time frame for the commercial availability of the
medicinal products in the UK.

We hope you find this information useful. Do not hesitate to contact us again should
you require additional clarification or for any further request."

There you have it - for the time being. Don't hold your breath - but in the meantime find an alternative product unless you can find stocks somewhere!

Hope this helps.

Hurdity x

[roseandthorn]

Well I'd add myself to the list of grateful recipients of unwanted Femseven Conti patches. Am stringing each of my precious remaining ones for 10 days instead of the usual 7.

[Marsha11]

So as Theramex are just sending a generic email and attachment to anyone who enquires about the discontinued Femseven Continue/Sequi, which isn't particularly helpful to establishing a lead time as to when it will be available in the UK again and I was rather amused at their slogan ‘Supporting woman through life's changes' and ‘seeing woman through the changes of menopause'.

My question is then and as I am getting pretty desperate  Climara (available in USA/Canada) is the equivalent, but would it be possible to get a prescription written in the UK to order it online? Yes its not cheap at around 84USD for 12 patches, but to be honest the relief at just knowing my supply would not run out, would be worth it.

Does anyone, or any doctor know the answer please?

[Dipo]

I've been on Evorel Sequi for three months because Femseven Sequi was discontinued and it doesn't agree with me at all. I had tried it before, when Femseven previously became unavailable for a time, and had the same response to it then. I find it makes me lethargic, irritable, anxious, depressed, and gives me very heavy periods.

The last time Femseven was unavailable my GP allowed me to try Evorel 50 oestrogen + 200mg Utrogestan (with checks from the specialist at the Menopause clinic). I'd heard a lot of good things about micronised progesterone, but I found the dose far too strong. It made me dopey and depressed and gave me stomach problems. I asked if the dosage could be reduced but was told it couldn't, because not enough is known about accurate dosing of progesterone as opposed to the progestogens. I then went to see a private doctor who said he could prescribe the Utrogestan at 100mg but I would need to pay for annual scans of my uterus. The annual cost of prescriptions, consultations and scans was a lot more than I could afford. So back to square one.

I've asked my GP if there's any alternative that contains levonorgestrel instead of norethisterone but there doesn't seem to be. It's getting so bad I'm now seriously considering coming off HRT altogether but I'm dreading the further disruption to my body. Something I keep wondering about is why the Femseven company stopped production, given that there's obviously a high demand for the product?

[roseandthorn]

They say they're reformulating the adhesive matrix...I don't know why. I found it fine. I have just sent another email to Theramex asking for an update. This was subsequent to my first email last November when I got the generic reply. They haven't replied as yet. I believe the Mirena coil has the same progesterone as FemSeven. I haven't tried that yet but am trying to settle on FemSeven 50 and 100mg utrogestan continuously. Side effects have settled somewhat after about a week although I still don't feel like myself yet.

[Hurdity]

Hi Dipo

 

Yes roseandthorn's right - the Mirena coil - which delivers most of the levonorgestrel straight to the uterus. Your GP should know this!

Also the other alternative is to use the utrogestan vaginally which lessens the side effects from oral use and you might be able to get away with half the dose (100 mg) vaginally as more gets to the uterus than with oral use (some studies have shown this). However as this is off licence you would need to check it was working through scans and you might not be able to get these on NHS except in cases of abnormal bleeding.

So you could get the utrogestan on NHS as well as the patch - they would just prescribe the licensed amount but you would use less, and then if you could afford to save up for an annual scan if your GP won't refer you (Babybond or Mothercare apparently - not too expensive but I appreciate not everyone has the funds and this should be available free!). You would be best to tell your (NHS) doc that you are taking the reduced dose vaginally. If necessary quote the studies - I've posted them on here somewhere and can find them at some point if you want them!

Hurdity x