Dr has only given me Everol patches

[Remmy123]

Hi - called my Dr for HRT and he has only prescribed patches alone (no progesterone) symptoms have vastly improved but a few people have said I need progesterone too - I have not had a hysterectomy nor am I on these coil. I've just googled and taking patches without progesterone vastly increases cancer.

why would my Dr for do this? I'm month 2 and now really worried

thanks

I’ve always just been on the patches, no mention of anything else. So no help but watching with interest

Some patches have progesterone in them so check the insert that came in the pack. If they are just oestrogen patches then yes, you need progesterone.

I was convinced I’d been given this but after checking them several times I realised there was two different types of patches. They looked so similar.

Are they the combined patch?

There’s different kinds of Evorel patches. There’s ones with and others without progesterone. Ask your doctor if you’re unsure.

Are they just Everol or Everol Conti? The latter are combined.

I'm on everol conti, which has both oestrogen and progesterone.

If they aren’t the combined patches you need to go back to the GP and get progesterone.

What type of patches are they?

Oh god I feel so silly - I just looked again and there are two different ones in the box and I'm supposed to take 4 of one then 4 of the other - I've been doing it all wrong - but panic over ☺️☺️

You’re not the first and you won’t be the last, I wish they’d make the packaging more distinctly different!

I did exactly the same! I was so confused and nearly rang the dr, also I wasn’t told I wouldn’t get periods anymore!

Don’t feel bad the GP should have clearly explained to you how the patches work and how to use them. It’s really poor form that they didn’t make sure you weren’t clear on what they were giving you.

Do you know what a friend of mine said exactly the same to me.

I said, no in the box there are 2 different patch types and you use 2 weeks one type and 2 weeks the other type. She hadnt been told this, didnt notice this, was probably just using the patches willy nilly.

The leaflet was about 90 pages long so I doubt people read through that. When I was given them by the doctor and I asked how they work and what do I do, she just said 'the instructions are in the pack'

Ok, thanks for the information.

Patient leaflets are there for a reason and should be read carefully for new meds. Several times my mum was prescribed medication by her Drs that contradicted her (complex) medical history or she even received the wrong medication once. We should be able to trust Drs and pharmacists but it doesn’t always work out that way.

When I got my first patches the dr only prescribed 8 patches and when I got home and opened the prescription bag they had obviously split a larger pack and there was just the 8 patches in a clear bag with no instructions! Thankfully the leaflets are also available online.

Oh you are meant to still have a period so please ignore that!

they have had no effect on me at all. Had anyone found any change after taking them?

I wrote numbers on the patches when I first started on them, to make sure I was using them in the right order.

Your Dr should have explained to you how to use them.

The main change is it stopped my hot flushes completely

in still irritable though!

I wish he did - that's a good idea I'm going to do the same!

Yup it's not till you open it and see it's a shiny backing that you realise they're different. The print/packaging is not very clear and the info leaflet is tiny print