Yes, I think it's possible.
We know thet formula and the formulation should be the same, but if some women are noticing differences in texture and smell (and that's subjective), there must be a reason.
It's subjective because I understand that most women have finished a bottle by the time they realise the new one isn't quite the same. Texture and smell are subjective sensations.
The ideal situation would be to make a video of pumping both bottles at the same time on a clean surface (perhaps against a dark background) so we can really see the resulting 'blobs'. The videomaker could ask someone who has never used the gel to smell them and give their verdict.
Unfortunately, I don't have access to the gel in the conical bottles at the moment, otherwise I would make it myself.
I was thinking about this picture (I found it when I was writing my 'article' during the shortages).
Perhaps the gel is manufactured in Drogenbos, Belgium (BMB), where the main manufacturing process takes place, and part of the gel is transported to Montrouge, France, in bulk, inside special containers.
There, Besins (LBI) could be doing what in pharma is called fill&finish, filling the bottles with gel, sticking the labels and packaging them inside the boxes.
The orange and green squares could mean 'manufacturing' and 'fill& finish' respectively.
This is just speculation, because contrary to what is said in the picture, Besins factories do not produce the active substance (estradiol).
If this is the case, something may be affecting the physical and therefore chemical properties of the gel during shipping.
Anyway, I'm quite convinced that the green square means the manufacturing site at Montrouge, France.
The UK patient information leaflets are not specific about this but in other countries the other product marketed by Besins, Testogel (in some countries it's called Androgel), comes either in sachets or pumps and they say the sachets are produced by BMB, Drogenbos, Belgium and the pumps are produced by LBI, Montrouge, France. These bottles have the green square.
That said, I would like to ask everyone:
- Have you ever used or seen an Oestrodose bottle with an orange square?
- Do you have different bottles with enough gel inside and would you be willing to make a video as described above?