FemSeven Conti not available

[ohnofootballagain]

Hi everyone,

I started on these patches a few weeks ago. However when I got them from the pharmacy I could only get 12 patches as there is a shortage, and the manufacturers are not releasing new batches until Jan/Feb next year.

So my GP said start anyway as there’s nothing else as good.

I have been loathe to take HRT as I thought I was through the menopause (no period for 18 months) but oh my goodness, having taken it I realise I was still being affected by symptoms that have now stopped. Eg mood swings, tears, anger, foggy thinking, feeling outside & looking in in life...........you all know the stuff.....

Anyway I realise I’m going to be left with just 1 spare patch and run out the week I am back from holiday which makes me nervous. Occasionally a patch comes off early and needs replacing. I am going back to the docs in 2 weeks to discuss an alternative before my hols.

Just wondered if anyone has had to stop this due to lack of supply and what alternatives have worked or them if this one was working good.

New to mumsnet, came across the Femseven conti thread by chance and I’m so glad I did! After very severe hot flushes and night sweats, foggy brain, anxiety and just being cross all the time, Femseven conti made me feel human again, I felt amazing! Had my last lot of patches November’18, GP Prescribed Evorel conti which caused the return of night sweats, fog on brain and I developed heightened anxiety and started having panic attacks.
Today went back to GP and was prescribed Utrogestan 100 capsules and Sandrena 1mg gel sachets........fingers crossed it helps. Will definitely be back on FemSeven conti when it reappears.
So comforting reading all your posts.....thank you girls!

I called the company and they are unable to give a date when Femseven Sequi will be available. Thank you for the info and please do let is know how you get on.

I’m still looking for femseven conti patches and would be grateful if you could let me know where you found them?

Many thanks
Julia

I have been on Femseven Conti for a year and now you cannot get it anywhere. I have been prescribed Evoril Conti and after five days I cannot take it anymore, I feel anxious, bloated, sick and jittery. Femseven was such a good match for me, it changed my life, if anyone knows when it is coming back please let me know, meanwhile I will have to go cold turkey, god help my family.

Great to read everyone's input on these elusive Femseven Conti patches! I am so frustrated as it's taken over a year to find something that works for me as I've had adverse reactions to other combinations and find Conti works best.

In desperation I've decided to buy some Climara Pro which although very expensive does have the same estradiol/levonorgestrel combination which I can tolerate. I've discussed with my GP using a half patch combined with a Femseven half patch which should give around the same ratio as in a Femseven Conti patch..........it's worth a try, I'll let you know how I get on!

Hi, spoken with Theramex who have advised that Femseven Conti and Sequi have been pushed to 2020 as they still have issues with the manufacturing. I don't understand why they cannot use the original Teva formula and how a company who is supposedly so supportive of women's health can be so dismissive of the issue that Theramex have taken on a licence to manufacture a product they have listed on their website as one of their products but not deliver the actual product. I wonder if the issue would be something the Media would be interested in as there isn't a suitable alternative - if it was viagra I am sure there wouldn't be an issue, in my view this is dismissive of women and Theramex should in the very least issue a statement on their website and show that they are actually doing something about the manufacturing issue. To note Theramex take down details of the person calling, including their phone numbers and dob and I wouldn't be surprised that they would be prepared to take legal action against anyone they deemed to be damaging their name. So this statement is merely how I feel. I will happily move away from anything that is not Theramex if I can find a suitable alternative , I don't feel that Theramex are acting like their corporate statement 'Theramex is a global speciality pharmaceutical company solely committed to supporting the health needs of women' when they can't even issue a statement or put a notice online that the products they have advertised on their website are actually not available.
Any new products on the market that can replace Femseven Conti ? I'd love to hear about them.

Janice1965 I agree with everything you say. It's disgusting that they can just withdraw a product that we were relying on just like that. The whole system just doesn't work.

My GP renewed my prescription without knowing it's no longer made, I go to the Pharmacist who doesn't know it's no longer made, so I have to try and get in contact with my GP again (3 week wait for a phone convo!), she didn't know much about alternatives but luckily sought the advise of a gynaecologist. (She had wanted to take me off HRT actually before speaking to him but thats a whole other thread!). I did my own research and between my GP, the practice pharmacist and me we have come up with something that hopefully works. We'll see!

And do you know what I don't have any problems with the patches sticking once I'd perfected it!

I was on Sequi and have got Estrodot and micronised progesterone (Utrogestan). I start on Sunday so we'll see!

Theramex have been like a stonewall over this. I’ve just written again asking for an update. Janice that feels so depressing.. yet another delay. I am on femseven 50 oestrogen only and 100mg utrogestan continuously now, early days but ....I don’t feel myself at all but have to persevere somehow.
Juliet, my DSis in the US was going to get climara pro for me but I balked when I realised the different dosage. Where do you buy yours from if you don’t mind my asking? Does the half patch plus the FemSeven half patch work for you? I assume you mean the FemSeven 50 oestrogen only patch which is still available? Sorry for so many questions!

Rosenpants - I'm still waiting for my delivery of Climara Pro patches.....hopefully any day now from the US.

Yes the plan is to use a half FemSeven patch (50mcg estradiol released per 24 hrs) and a half Climara Pro patch (45mcg estradiol/15mcg levonorgestrel released per 24 hrs) which hopefully should have a similar effect as a full FemSeven Conti patch (50mcg estradiol/7mcg levonorgestrel released per 24hrs).

I have used half and quarter patches FemSeven Conti in the past when I've needed to adjust the dose slightly and it has worked fine although I realise the plan above is not ideal, especially with the cost of the Climara Pro patches!

I am one of the unlucky one who has found I am highly sensitive to seemingly all progestogen, including Utrogestan, apart from levonorgestrel. I also need to have as consistent a delivery of the hormones as possible, which is why patches work so much better than tablets and even gels. If the Climara Pro plan doesn't work for some reason, my consultant in London, Mr Panay, has suggested I try the FemSeven or other transdermal oestrogen patch together with Levonorgestrel tablets or even having a Mirena coil inserted.

I am just hoping that this Climara Pro regime can tide me over until the FemSeven Conti patches return......but will need a re-think if it becomes clear they aren't going to be produced anymore!

Will keep you posted on how I get on! Anyone else who has feedback from using Climara Pro would be appreciated, many thanks!

Does anyone have any news on Femseven Conti being re-available yet? Desperate tried others absolutely awful this is the only HRT that suits me

I had a generic attachment in an email from Theramex saying the date has now been put back to Jan 2020. Which is pretty awful for those of us who did so well on it.
Juliet I’ll be interested to hear your progress on Climara Pro and FemSeven half patches. Which American online pharmacy did you order them from?
I am having the Mirena coil fitted privately on Tuesday. I’ve done really badly on Utrogestan and had a huge bleed, cramps etc. I’m hoping that as the Mirena has levonorgestrel like the FemSeven combined patches, (which I felt very well on), I’ll be better and then I’ll just continue with FemSeven 50. I am also reminded that years ago when I was on the pill, I did well on Microgynon which also had levornogestrel although obviously in much higher dosage but I was ok on that too.
Louis have you considered the Mirena?

Ouch44 , thanks for your suggestions. I spoke today with my specialist who has suggested utrogestan oral tablets with an estrogen patch - either femseven or estrodot - I wonder how difficult it will be to get estrodot.. Rosenspants mentions this protocol as well but it doesn't sound like the femseven 50 and utrogestan is working so well for her, so perhaps I will speak to my pharmacist regarding availability of estrodot - as I have been given a generic estrogen patch protocol from the specialist to discuss with my gp and then combine with the utrogestan. I must say that compared to 5 years ago, it is far easier to discuss HRT and be prescribed this through the NHS, and that the problem is really with availabilty and limited options. Louis2019 , if you call Theramex on the number that is detailed earlier on this message board, they will tell you that they do not envisage any production until 2020.
Thanks for all the advice everyone, I'll come back with my comments when I start my new HRT.

Janice1965 I think the Estrodot should be easy to get hold of. They had half my prescription in stock at local pharmacy and ordered the rest in.
I like the Estrodot. It is tiny about an inch by half and it is sticking no probs. Just got to remember to change twice a week!

Hi. I am joining the conversation about the withdrawal of FemSeven sequi. I have been on it for 3 months and all my symptoms significantly improved. I have not been able to find an alternative and once again find myself unable to cope etc. So I wrote to Theramex asking about the withdrawal of this fantastic product. To be fair they did respond within a few hours. But i am outraged to find the reason it has been withdrawn is becuase they are unhappy with the adhesive quality. And they dont expect it to be back on the market until 2020 !!! So i was hoping that if as many of us as possible could also write to them or phone them regarding this matter they might return it to the market quicker. I just stuck a plaster over the top to keep it on. Nothing like a disgruntled group of menopausal women to get things moving ..........

My DH who works in A&E was talking to one of the GPS there the other day and talking about how Brexit has really effected the availability of drugs and HRT is the worst!

It's got me wondering if the withdrawal of Femseven is actually caused by this? Did it get delayed further when Brexit was delayed. Am wondering if Brexit pushed up the costs and profits are affected but they are blaming it on adhesive instead? Just a thought.

So far my Estrodot/Utrogestan combo seems ok. Am awake and hot but was finding this was happening sometimes before. Don't want to increase my dose.

Re pp, Femseven 50 plus utrogestan resulted in very heavy bleeding and after a scan when all was well, thank goodness, I’m now taking Femoston Conti. It’s a lower dose than FemSeven Conti but no return of symptoms so far.
I too was fine with the adhesive on FemSeven patches. I’m really angry with Theramex. Various other HRT preparations are also in short supply too.

Any suggestions for a substitute for femseven sequi? - the only progestogen I don't have an adverse reaction to is levonorgestral and F7S seems to be the only HRT with that.

Atlanta the Mirena coil has levornogestrel. I was going to have one before this awful bleed, but we’ve delayed it as I have a fibroid, and am seeing how I get on with Femoston.

Thanks Rosenpants I should have said I'm really not keen on the coil and would prefer to go without if that was the only option. My GP has mentioned it a couple of times but I would prefer to source a gel / patch or tablet which would only be for 8 months or so (allegedly) until F7S is made available again. It just beggars belief that these products have been taken off the market without any notification or regard to the women who were doing great on them and had no issues.

I’ve managed to source Climara Pro patches from the US which have the same levonorgestrel/estradiol combination as Fem7Conti but a higher proportion levonorgestrel (15/45 compared with 7/50). I am now seeing if half a patch Climara Pro and half patch Fem7 50 (all estradiol) at the same time work for me as this should produce similar proportions to Fem7Conti. All going ok but the major downside is the effort and very high price to get the Climara Pro through International pharmacy. This regimen has been supported by my GP and consultant Mr Panay with the caveat that you can never be sure you’re getting exactly a half dose when you cut transdermal patches. Will keep you posted if this continues to be a good alternative route at least for the very short term. I found I could only tolerate Fem7Conti none of the other patches and the coil is not my preferred route. Best of luck to everyone trying out different alternatives to Fem7Conti, not surprised that utrogestan hasn’t suited for some, I had the most horrendous reaction to it!

Thanks I'm afraid I'm not sure what the difference between conti and sequi is / was...I had better check both formulations. Is it that one is for post and one is for peri? Anyway, it wasn't conti I was on, it was sequi. I am happy to pay for something /source it from abroad but I am still unclear as to what that "something" should be.

Conti is for post. Atlanta I’m the same as I felt levornogestrel really suited me, and I now know that Utrogestan is a disaster for me. I also felt terrible when I tried Everol... I think the progestogen in that is norethisterone which I’m avoiding like the plague. Femoston which I’m trialling at the moment is ok so far...the meno specialist that I see worked out that in the distant past I had been on Fempack (now discontinued) when I was still on a Sequi regime ...and I’d been ok on it. The progestogen in that was dydrogesterone which is also in Femoston so logically it was worth trying.
Juliet I’m following you with interest. Climara Pro suitably doctored re dosage is my Plan C. Thanks for posting about it.

Don't know what I would do without this and the menopause matters forum! So, if I've not had a bleed for a couple of years I'm probably post now too which maybe means there are more options although I don't want to take prog continuously. I've got a GP appointment later today to talk over my options but I need to go in with as much info as I can and know what questions to ask as although my GP is very sympathetic this isn't her specialist area. Thanks for your help.

Regarding femseven conti patches and their unavailability, what have you been switching over to, I have been prescribed elleste duet conti tablets but am reluctant to try, I felt really good on the femseven so it’s devastating now.

I too can only tolerate Femseven Conti which I think uses a superior progestogen,(levonorgestrel]. Very depressingly I contacted Theramex last week & the latest update on availability of FS Conti is END OF 2020! Utterly disgraceful. I am having to put up with Evorel Conti & have bled nearly every day for 10 months. Can’t tolerate Femoston tablets either.

Read that Theramex are in negotiations with Johnson & Johnson [ distributors of Evorel products to purchase their licence too. Their only interest is commercial gain. Their attitude to women’s healthcare products is lamentable. Wonder what they would do if they held the distribution licence for Viagara & there was a shortage......