HRT - nobody gives a fuck about women

[Missproportionate]

Angry face 🤬

Can't get Estrogen Gel for love or money. Having been on it a year I know I can't function without it - as in I have to lie perfectly still and not move for hours on end due to vertigo, flushes dizziness, palpitations... (not posting for advice as I've done lots of posting about that elsewhere and researched myself coz GPs know fuck all)

I have spent many, many hours I won't get back being misdiagnosed, minimised, etc before finally getting a prescription. Now it's totally unavailable and I have to spend hours on the phone getting GPs and pharmacists to re-prescribe whatever estrogen is available within a 20 mile radius, taking time off work, cancelling appointments for myself and all the people in my family I care for (sandwich generation of course 🙄 - = I provide free care for elderly rels as well as DCs)

I've had it and angry. Aibu to think this is a fundamentally mysoginistic problem I have and I feel like this stuff is being witheld by almost deliberate means?

Even when I do get it they won't give me enough as they are too stupid to do the sums. The pharmacist managed to work it out so I only got 2 weeks worth (when GP agreed to 3 months) and now I'm off on another phone spree round the pharmacies!
Congratulations if you've read all that. I felt this board the only one that will sympathise!

I'm also angry at the general schooling of women into health woo because we don't get our health problems properly addressed and the women I know who won't take HRT and suffer this shit because they 'don't want to take hormones' or 'GP said not suitable for me' or 'I will suffer and then take this ineffective herb and pretend it helps'

I also had everything out and am going to need oestrogen patches soon.

I really hope this crisis changes soon. I’m thinking about cutting my patches in half. Half for longer is better than full dose and none for a protracted period.

I may be also be in touch too if I can’t get any.

Besins comment here:

www.balance-menopause.com/menopause-library/what-to-do-if-you-cant-obtain-your-usual-estrogen-gel/

Thank you cleo. I was wondering where the one off charge for HRT had gone. It's an absolute bloody disgrace. Not only can women not get the HRT they need, if they can, it can be prohibitively expensive. Particularly if you have to trial a few different types to find one that suits.

I take Femoston 2/10. It was initially supposed to be a 3 month trial to see if HRT did relieve my symptoms. Then move onto a more tailored prescription. However, due to shortages I'm reluctant to do that, so my GP has been happy to continue to prescribe Femoston for the last 7 months (will be 9 in total on this script).

I really hope this crisis changes soon. I’m thinking about cutting my patches in half. Half for longer is better than full dose and none for a protracted period. please be careful cutting patches Mummyoflittledragon. Matrix patches can be cut. But reservoir patches can leak so you may not even get close to half your oestrogen dose.

I put in a repeat prescription last week and I just had a text to say it’s been passed over to the chemist. I just started a new bottle last week, so I’m good for another 2-ish weeks.

last time I was supposed to get 6 months worth, but only for 2, so let’s see what happens.

Article in the times today about this

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/5dd649ba-c4a1-11ec-96a8-ce9dac41fe90?shareToken=9e5d84acdd6e36b149af322e861086cb

Thanks, @MzHz That'd be great.

💐for all the women suffering at the moment. I'm peri now, feel really rough at times and getting worried about how much worse I'm going to feel as I get older. The thought of having no available treatment makes me want to cry.

I too am very worried about this. Started on Everol Conti patches exactly a year ago and they have saved my life (I’m not exaggerating!) I was so low, as was getting no sleep, anxiety was off the scale, it to mention the horrific hot flushes. I’ve got three weeks left but am not allowed to reorder until next week. I was lying awake last light worrying about going back to how I felt last year.

I think we will have to use our anxiety and frustration to March upon to No 10.😡

I’m another one with a spare couple of unopened bottles of Estrogel as I’ve recently had to stop using HRT (oestrogen sensitive breast cancer).

I’d like to pass them on if they could be of use but my local pharmacy will just throw them away. If anyone has any ideas where I could send them let me know.

I asked the pharmacist today about my own brand when picking something else up; she said 100 estrodots are completely out of stock everywhere (though they had 3 on the shelf as she said few use 100 -?) and the others were v low supply. I have about 6 weeks left but will be arranging the next prescription a good 2 to 3 weeks before I need it.

You should feel able to ask for support/HRT if you want it. Please don't suffer in peri menopause. It's just fucking awful, frankly.

At 8.10am on bbc this morning there is a discussion about these issues.

Quite a good section on BBC Breakfast actually

This. Does anyone have reliable info that TW account for the recent surge in demand? Because if that's the case we should all be writing furious letters to our MPs and health authorities.

This is infuriating, especially as the bastards keep falling off so sometimes you need to apply more than twice a week.

Changing prescriptions don't work for a lot of women if they're changing from patches to pills. I cannot take the pills; have terrible side effects and develop asthma like symptoms from them, as do many women, so need to stick with low dose patches. They need to sort out a way to keep what we're actually prescribed in stock.

She has no testosterone so if she doesn't get it she suffers menopausal symptoms just like us.

No your male friend does not suffer menopause.

Thread today on twitter:

twitter.com/sadiesouth3/status/1519020315086569475?s=21&t=QQB44ibLrBbU14Knzuvd-A

And I doubt they have "no testosterone".

I've been told I'm too young as I should only take it for 5 years because of the risk of breast cancer, so need to wait for actual menopause. I just took that as standard.

The book "Oestrogen matters" is a really good read regarding who can and can't take it - it seems that the newer body identical hrt is much safer but not all drs and cancer specialists know this.

Obviously under specialist guidance- not read the book and get hrt! But it does lay out the studies etc.

Are cross sex hormones the same formula as HRT though or are they manufactured differently?

Looks like this needs investigating/exposing nationally...