HRT - nobody gives a fuck about women

Thank you so much.
You are a star.

They were talking about menopause and HRT on This Morning today. There's a clip here of Dr Louise Newson

www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/dr-louise-is-here-to-bust-the-biggest-myths-about-hrt

but they also did a phone in (starts around 45 minute mark) which was more about the issues of getting HRT

www.itv.com/hub/this-morning/2a6292a0828

Couldn't agree more, and most GPs are woefully ignorant about the various menopause options for women and what works for some doesn't work for others, including side effects. Not to mention the difficulties getting it without what the pharmacist deems appropriate blood pressure checks, even though doctors have said it's fine. It's depressing and infuriating all at the same time.

You'll never see viagra being difficult to get.

What made you stop?

Besins

Who is the manufacturer of the gel?

But that's a well woman clinic. That we used to have. Staffed by experienced knowledgeable women. Who closed them? Probably the Conservatives, while they were closing Sure Start centres.

They believe in the free market. But not freedom of women to run their own lives, clearly. Bastards.

I stopped taking hrt a year ago. I have gel and kliovance left over. They are well before expiry date. If I take them to the pharmacy they will be thrown away. I would like to give them away on a Freesite. Not sure if is legal?

Please advise.

Exactly, ask them for a banana and they’ll give you a bloody apple. No, they don’t like doing the equation side of things, even simple ones like yours! That’s why I always give my patients a hand written note with the exact alternative medication, quantity and dose! So they can get the GP to copy it exactly as it is, otherwise you could end up with anything!

Sign!

https://www.change.org/p/menopause-mandate-make-hrt-prescription-one-annual-charge-sooner-that-april-2023?recruiter=false&utmsource=shareepetition&utmcampaign=psffcomboshareeinitial&utmmedium=whatsapp&utmmcontent=washarecopy331042399en-GB%3A0&recruitedbyyid=9fa61470-c4e1-11ec-9789-9ba532f2f28a

Really they don’t.
My DD (late thirties) has, like others on here, had her ovaries surgically removed. Running out of oestrogen is catastrophic for her. There is absolutely no comparison.

@BenCooperisaGod It might be worth having a look at somewhere like the Hackney Ark for ideas. It was built for children with complex needs and had lots of different professionals working together. A child would only have to go to one building for physio, OT, enuresis support, psychological support and social work. The teams had multi- disciplinary meetings and were able to speak to each other day-to-day as they were all in the same building.

I’ve just heard that the female health clinic I see uses a private pharmacy and they apparently still have a supply

I’ve placed an order for a private prescription this afternoon and will see if they are able to supply and I’ll PM you if I hear anything

I do have an order in the regular repeat prescription, but it’s delayed by 3 weeks and I’m not even sure if that’s firm, I’ll run out before then.

Have DMed you. No promises but will do what I can.

Shortages happen. Currently the U.K. has zero stock of over a 100 medications of all types. www.mims.co.uk/drug-shortages

So I don’t for a second believe that a HRT shortage is deliberate or caused by “misogyny”. You’re only noticing this particular medication shortage because it’s affecting you personally.

Thanks for your insight @ChloeHel



@agent765

WTAF! I mean!


GPs don't seem to be able to do the sums at all @ChloeHel (have a good friend who is a pharmacist and she tells me this is so )


I have 4 pumps of Estradiol - so 0.75mg x 4 = 3mg per day (it's not that difficult is it?). I told them the pharmacy had 1mg Sandrena Gel sachets and could I get a prescription for them? Instead, they prescribed me .5mg Sandrean (which they were told the pharmacy didn't have) - and prescribed two packets. I would have needed SIX sachets per day. When I got them to prescribe the 1mg they still could only bring themselves to prescribe enough for 2 weeks 😡

You could at least say "oestrogen withdrawal symptoms " because they ain't menopause

Just asked my Trans friend and they are on three squirts of Oestrogel a day and can't get any either. She has no testosterone so if she doesn't get it she suffers menopausal symptoms just like us.

@CheesyWeez As I said in a PP the issue is brands. HRT is commonly prescribed as a brand so you can only have that specific one whereas medication such as finasteride and tamsulosin are generic and there are about 10 different brands available for a pharmacy to give! It’ll be written generically like “finasteride 5mg tablets” therefore we can give whatever finasteride we have in stock at the time. HRT prescriptions are usually branded i.e Elleste duet, so we can only give that brand.

What I would recommend everyone doing is when renewing your HRT prescriptions, ask for the usual brand, but also ask for a generic prescription ontop of it, just in case that brand is out of stock, you’ll then have the generic prescription to fall back on! GP’s should willingly do this as they should understand how hard it can be to get hold of HRT.

I have seen so many patients at breaking point and some even being fobbed off with antidepressants instead of HRT so they have had to go private. The problem is menopause is subjective to us women, so unless the GP has a full understanding of its symptoms or has been through it themselves, a lot of the time there is no sympathy and it is just brushed under the carpet.

@Caminante Using online pharmacies can be tricky as it’s sometimes hard to speak to a pharmacist about what’s going on! What I would suggest is ring some of your local pharmacies and see if they have any in stock, then your GP can print off a prescription for you to take to a pharmacy instead.

I was told by a younger female gynaecologist that older women only want HRT to make themselves more attractive to younger men!

Then she asked me how long I'd been menopausal as it only lasts four years. That was four years ago and two years into my meno. Five years on, as soon as I try reducing my dose I get a return of my symptoms.

My partner is a little older than me and was recently offered testosterone for his low mood and fatigue. He also had a wink from the doctor as he told him his sex life would also improve.

I wonder if that GP took into account my low libido, anxiety and sore vagina as I try to keep up with his newly invigorated libido before prescribing?

When more middle-aged men discover the joys of male HRT I wonder if they'll suffer shortages?

We're second-class citizens and it's very depressing.

This is the second month of no Estrogel in my prescription (I use Pill Time). I think I've been very lucky up till now, reading about others' experiences. I'll be asking my GP for alternatives but extremely reluctantly. If alternatives are even available that is 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ok so yours would be different as Novofem is a combination pill and single pill in one packet and so you would need two separate medications prescribed, however, you can still get that as generic. Do you take 16 days of the red pill (just estradiol) then 12 days of the white pill (estradiol and norethisterone)?

If so then just write this down and ask GP to write a prescription for the following:

Estradiol 1 mg and norethisterone acetate 1 mg tablets x 36 tablets

and

Estradiol 1mg tablets x 42 tablets

These are the quantities they are available in and that would be enough to supply you for 2 months :)

What I would recommend you do is get a prescription for the novofem but also ask for the generic prescription for a back up if the brand novofem isn’t available! GPs SHOULD be understanding and aware of the current HRT issues and do this without a quarrel!

I hope that makes sense!

It's a bad situation. I went to a young woman GP and explained all my menopause symptoms. I was 52. She dismissed my explanations and said it wasn't the menopause, and I only came out with a leaflet telling me who to call if I was suicidal! Went home crying which made me even more certain I needed HRT.

Luckily for me I was able to see a private GP through my husband's work health care and I was prescribed an e-ring which is estradiol. Felt so much better straightaway. Not perfect, still had brain fog and weight gain, night waking for no reason, but it reduced the hot flushes and dryness and totally stopped the constant urine infections.

I agree with the pposter that there is probably no shortage of the medicines men need at a similar age. My husband doesn't have to ring several pharmacies to get his prostate medicines tamsulosin and finasteride.

I really understand what you are going through as took me years to get hrt also. Doctor first said I was not in peri in my 40's. Went back last year after years of feeling so out of it and low and no energy and not sleeping. He still would not listen. I went to Wellwoman clinic and got hrt but same as you have had to ring around pharmacists and it is a pain. Was lucky got 3 boxes of Divigel estrogen from one chemist. I even wrote a letter to our health minister not as if that will make a difference. Shocking I agree that women and our health taking so light hearted and so hard to get hrt and then we are left with no product. Can't they just source more or make it in our own countries. Hope you get some more. I have some estrogen patches never used if it would be of any help could post to you. pm if you need them. Is not a bother be happy to help you out.