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[Hopeful2]

Good morning ladies.

Please help 😓.

I've been blaming trying to up my oestrogel for my return of symptoms & heavy bleeding for 3 whole weeks, but this has only happened since starting the new shaped bottle of oestrogel. I did think it was different as the gel dried quicker. Am so upset with myself that I didnt realise before now as hard to believe this could happen with quality checks, it was so difficult to get up to 2 pumps because of side effects. Feel like I'm back to square one 😓. IS THERE ANYWAY THIS IS JUST A FAULTY BATCH? Or can we not use oestrogel now anymore. Been the only HRT so far I can tolerate. I have another bottle with different batch number is there any point trying it, as it is also the new shaped bottle?

[Hurdity]

Hi - sorry to hear about return of symptoms - this is more likely to do with - either you are peri and hormone levels fluctuate, or temperature changes affecting your skin or the gel (where it is kept) or other factors. Quality control is very stringent so I would doubt this is the cause?

Hurdity x

[Hopeful2]

Thank you for your reply Hurdity.

As symptoms & bleeding so bad within 3 weeks of using it. Not sure what to do now. If I could locate some old bottle type would the pharmacist exchange them for me?

[Dizzy me]

I’m also having problems with Oestrogel in the new shaped bottle I’ve been on the new bottle approximately two weeks my symptoms all came back, I do believe it is a faulty batch. A chemist will not except them back once they leave the premises you’d need a new prescription  I’ve already enquired about it  and the pharmacist was extremely rude in thier reply.

[Penguin]

Good morning ladies.

Please help 😓.

I've been blaming trying to up my oestrogel for my return of symptoms & heavy bleeding for 3 whole weeks, but this has only happened since starting the new shaped bottle of oestrogel. I did think it was different as the gel dried quicker. Am so upset with myself that I didnt realise before now as hard to believe this could happen with quality checks, it was so difficult to get up to 2 pumps because of side effects. Feel like I'm back to square one 😓. IS THERE ANYWAY THIS IS JUST A FAULTY BATCH? Or can we not use oestrogel now anymore. Been the only HRT so far I can tolerate. I have another bottle with different batch number is there any point trying it, as it is also the new shaped bottle?

You're not somewhere really hot atm, are you? Reason I ask is that I took my estrogel to Turkey mid August and it became very runny and dried extremely quickly. I had such bad symptoms and a horrendous week, even though it doesn't advise any special storage instructions. Anyway binned it when I got home, opened a new container and all was okay again.

[Hopeful2]

Thank you for your kind reply ladies.

It is very hot alright Penguin and I have noticed it gets runnier in hot weather, but I've noticed this before and been alright.

But along with bleeding & symptoms I've also not got the big spots I was getting on my legs as a side effect when it was working so it really feels like im getting nothing.

Ive asked in 2 pharmacies too Dizzy Me and they say they only have the new bottles now. So I opened another bottle with different batch number on it to see if it would make a difference, but it still hasn't made a difference.  Don't want to change product, but maybe its time to change if we can't rely on this product ☹.

[Sage 🍃]

Hopeful2, even if the weather is hot the gel is not supposed to change texture. This problem with Oestrogel is older than me  I would try Sandrena until the manufacturer make up its mind, if they have one 

[Hopeful2]

Thank you Sage for your advice. I think I will ask for Sandrena.

When changing product with 2 pumps of oestrogel would you use half of what your using & half of other one to start with, it's just I'm sensitive to change, or should I just make complete change? if that makes sense?

[Hurdity]

Hi Hopeful2

I think it can be misleading and potentially problematic for women to attribute change of symptoms to a bottle shape because it could lead women to ignore symptoms for which there could be other causes.

I say this because you mention heavy bleeding. This is very unlikely to be cause buy a different bottle and especially if there were slight differences in batches - could not have such a dramatic effect. If you are bleeding heavily then may I respectfully suggest that you get this checked out by the doctor. I'm not sure of your regime - whether cyclical or continuous but heavy bleeding can have all sorts of reasons. You said you also increased the dose of gel and depending how long ago this could potentially cause bleeding - depending on your circumstances, where you are in menopause etc.

Hopeful2, even if the weather is hot the gel is not supposed to change texture. This problem with Oestrogel is older than me  I would try Sandrena until the manufacturer make up its mind, if they have one 

I use testosterone gel - prevously Testogel which is the same formulation and manufacturer as oestrogel, and it most definitely changes texture with the hot weather. It stands to reason that gel will be a runnier consistency in hot weather and our skin will also be warmer, affecting absorption to some extent.

I have used Sandrena gel which is generally stickier so may be more stable with temperature - though the gels have all been tested within a wide temperature range from what I recall.

If you are very sensitive to change then I would change gradually but if you think the new batch is not working so well then the best course of action, after getting your bleeding checked out, is surely to increase the dose slightly. Any difference between batches of the same product if there is one, is only likely to be very minor and I think you may experience a greater difference by changing to Sandrena.

All the best


Hurdity x

[Sue1972]

I also had problems with the new shaped bottles.

I posted on this forum a few months ago about all my symptoms returning and that once I was given the old shaped bottle again I felt so much better.

I reported this on the yellow card scheme and I have received an e-mail from Bessins today asking for permission to contact my doctor

We take the safety and quality of our products seriously. As part of a pharmaceutical company’s statutory requirement imposed by the regulatory authorities, Besins Healthcare is required to follow up on any suspected adverse events that we become aware of concerning our medicines. This helps us to monitor the safety profile of our medicines.
 
For this reason, it would be useful for Besins Healthcare UK to contact your doctor or another healthcare professional regarding this report.

Hopefully the more of us who report this closer we may get to having an answer as to why our symptoms came back on the new shaped bottles🤞

[CLKD]

Good idea.  My cats  would know if an ingredient was altered in their tinned foods even if the details hadn't been altered!  With our bodies being so sensitive especially during peri, it may be that something in a differently shaped bottle may impact.  Could it be the 'plastic' leeching for example?

[Penguin]

I had this with my citalopram from a particular manufacturer, it just didn't work and felt like I was taking a sugar pill. Read up online and it can happen, pharmacist agreed and doesn't give me that brand anymore. He reported it.

[Gnatty]

Louise Newson has just posted about this on her Instagram! Do check it out. Someone has been weighing the doses from the new bottle - not only are they lower than the old bottle, they are also inconsistent.

[Peri1981xx]

I've just read a post via Louise Newsons Menopause_Doctor page on Instagram which shows the doses being weighed/measured out on a digital scale. The new shape bottle is dispensing sometimes 20% less than the original shaped bottle. She has a poll on her stories asking for women to vote if they have seen symptoms return with the new shape bottle. A lady had taken measurements from the 2 bottles for around 10 days and the new shape bottle was consistently dispensing lower than the old shape bottle.

[Scampidoodle]

Really interesting. OP I’d say you know your body and your mind and if you suspect it’s the change in bottle it likely is.

I had issues when my hrt was changed from estrogel to Oestrodose and had to report to the yellow card scheme. On the face of it the same product but a subtle change made a huge difference for me. Though went through tonnes of gaslighting telling me it wasn’t that. Spoiler alert: it was!

I hope you can get the old shape or find a new and more consistent hrt. Good luck x