Can you measure half a pump of Estrogel accurately?

[Question7]

Hi 👋 I'm new to using estrogel, ideally I'd like to use half a pump in the AM & PM. Is there a good way to administer that from the bottle somehow?

I have very migraine which is extremely sensitive to even tiny fluctuations in estrogen, so I'm trying to keep everything as even and smooth as possible with delivery methods.

Wondered if anyone has any tips on how to just get half a pump out as accurately as possible ?

I'm topping up patches with gel so don't need a lot, just seeing if I can smooth things out a bit.

Thank you !

Ps - haven't even opened the bottle yet so sorry if there is an obvious answer !

Not really I don't think... you could do a whole pump and discard half. I just don't fully depress the top so it dispenses less than a full pump but I don't need the same level of accuracy. Unless you got some really sensitive scales?

No. I've done half a pump off and on for years when I was using 1.5 pumps and also when I was experimenting coming off it for a while.

As PP says, you can press 1 pump out onto something - a plate or saucer- and then cut in in half. But it's guesswork. you could try by putting it in a tiny container with a lid and it may be okay by the evening but as it's alcohol based it will evaporate quickly if the air gets to it.

Is there a reason why you aren't happy to use 1 pump , if your total for the day is 1 pump?

I wouldn't say it was easy to get a consistent dose just guessing.

Maybe use a small container with an airtight lid and get some very small increment scales. We have what I refer to as "drug scales" which we use to measure out 3g of yeast for poolish in bread making. You could try one pump and use half, then lid it and use the other half later.

Alternatively try using the full pump just before bed so that any migraine symptoms happen when you are sleeping.

Follow Balally_pharmacy on Instagram- he goes into great detail about using these types of meds correctly

Could you try the spray, rather than the gel? I do 2 sprays on a morning so you could just do one twice a days

Thanks to all. I will try just depressing it half way, it feels a bit neurotic to be weighing it.

Someone asked why not just do one full pump... I'm just trying to avoid any wearing off effect of it as the 24 hours come to an end by splitting the dose.

But maybe that's not an issue with gel?

I'm used to patches, and if one rolls down a bit, or god forbid I forget to put one on for a couple of hours I get raging hot flushes, migraines and spotting for a few days. I miss when my own hormones just supported me adequately!

The dose is supposed to last 24 hours.
If you're only using 1 pump I'd suggest you do it once a day.

It's very hard to press out half a pump (I've tried- for years! And it's not that accurate so you may end up with 1.5 pumps in total.)

There is some guidance on splitting the dose (personal choice really) for women using a high dose of 3 or 4 pumps where it's harder to find enough skin to spread it all once a day.

Thank you! I will give this a go. Seems much more straightforward. I probably was reading the guidance intended for women using a larger volume of gel.

One other question - does it matter what time of day you apply it? I have no trouble getting off to sleep, but wake up very early. I wasn't sure if using it at night might make getting off to sleep harder initially ?

It makes no difference when you apply it.

Once you are established on HRT it takes weeks for levels to fall, so it's not a case of getting 'highs and lows' each day.

It's a slow increase in your own levels of estrogen over many weeks, then that should remain stable if you use the dose consistently ( a missed dose is counted as more than 12 hours.)

No, although when you know what a pump looks like on your hand you can guesstimate half as you depress the pump. But 1 pump isn't very much oestrogen so I doubt it makes much difference if it's 0.5 or 0.7 of a pump.