Ovestin v Vagifem

In the official leaflet it says that Vagifem has been shown to have very low systematic absorption initially during treatment, and the addition of progesterone is therefore not necessary.

But the Tibolone I'm on has some anyway. Plus I've had a hysterectomy and it's not supposedly required.

I know Going back to my usual gyno,she gave me material that she printed out that said with vagifem doesnt have to have progesterone.I cant afford both and progesterone has loads of side affects.

Multiple treatments are expensive. Dr's don't seem educated enough and give conflicting advice which is annoying. I would go back to the one you trust.

Just a thought if you have had endometriosis that could be why progesterone is recommended.

Never had it..she even gives it with premeran

Vagifem only benefits the vagina, not the rest of the body, so progesterone is not necessary.  And you are right, progesterone is the problematic one.

I often read that UK drs are prescribing progesterone instead of oestrogen!!!!  What are they trying to do - make the women have multiple problems?  I suppose that would give them lots of business!  Sorry, being rather cynical here.

 

Hey im cynical to..im hoping my regular obgyn doesnt insist on the progesterone as then it will probab l y be in reach..the side affects listed with the progesterone is worse the with just vagifem alone

Agree with you, progesterone starts bleeding again and certainly don't need that.  There was a women's study in the U.S. that came out with HRT thru menopause was causing more cancer and recommended not using it then.  My doctor at the time was insistent that I use it so I changed doctors.  He kept saying it helps your heart, well maybe so but it caused many cancers...

Depends what hrt you are talking about.  No problems with oestradiol (bio-identical) pellet and patch for nearly 26 years.

 

I do wonder about statistics anyway as who's to know of those taking part would of got cancer anyway if they didn't take Hrt. Sometimes healthy individuals who do everything right and shouldn't get cancer are predisposed to it. It's good to be informed and make a decision based on the facts but in the end it's down to individuals taking a calculated risk in my opinion :-)

Yes, I am just reading stats taken from a uk report that says keeping a healthy weight could prevent 18,100 cancer cases per year, and being smoke fee could prevent 64,500 cancer cases per year.  I assume in the UK population.

The negative claims about hrt (and combined hrt, i.e. oestrogen and progesterone/gen combinations and tibolone are said to be the problematic ones, while oestrogen only results are inconsistent) do not explain all the cases of young women who have never taken hrt getting breast and ovarian cancer.

 

Hi glad you're having some success it seems it's always a cocktail of treatments that works. I haven't come acrosso estradiol MX 100 patches yet. What strength are they?

They are 100 ug/day.  Each patch containing oestradiol 3 mg.  One patch twice a week.  As my body really sucks up the oestrogen, I usually have to supplement with an oestrogen gel on the 7th day as the patches do not last 3.5 days for me.  Only 3 days max, then without top up I get menopause symptoms.  The brand I use is Estraderm but may be different where you live.

Actually, I have just gone back to implanted oestradiol pellets.  As they are not available from ordinary pharmacies, I had to chase up a compound chemist who makes them (using a gp's script).  I used these for years before they became unavailable.  A 12 month one lasts me 9 months as I do not have enough fat on my hips and thighs.  The beauty of them is that the body only absorbs what it needs when it needs it, plus I don't have to worry about fussing for at least another 9 months.  I am monitoring its affect and writing notes to ensure it is working for me.  The first one earlier this year, was not implanted correctly (by my gp), and I did not realise it was not working, and I became oestrogen starved with dreadful effects that took me 9-10 months to get back into balance.  So I have still got patches available this time to back me up as soon as I feel the implanted pellet is not working.  I had no problems with the ones years ago.  They were magic.

 

Thanks for that. They do sound interesting I am quite deficient on 3.5 mg at the moment as a trial. Possibly sounds an easier way to achieve what's necessary through a patch. I've heard of them but not been offered them.

Do you know how it detects how much you need?

Is it premeran cream or?

Where sre you?never heard of the pellets in the US.You arent on progesterone?

Do you have the implanted pellets,vagifem and patch all at same time??

This is new information to me.  First reaction is its a lot of estrogen which to me is a cancer question as there are not tests on these doses.  My friend Carol took estrogen years ago and developed estrogen based breast cancer so I am very cautious.   

glad you found an answer for yourself...

I guess our body is always measuring and calculating what we need and making efforts to supply.  So where there is a supply available to draw from, it will.  Same as any other function of our body.  A tablet has to go through the liver and digestion and is not always what is available at the end.  A transdermal patch, although the next best option, gives a flat rate of supply but I am not knocking them, as long as they are oestradiol, i.e. bio identical.

You will not be offered the pellet, you will have to ask for a script.  Do your homework and find a compound chemist who will supply it.  While I got mine online in my country, it was a referral from a local compound chemist who does not have the equipment to press the 'powder' into a pellet, so the supplier was quite safe.

 

Australia.  They would have existed at some time but the manufacturers found it not worth while to keep making them for some reason.  As I said to Tracy you have to do your homework and find a reputable compound chemist, then ask your dr for a script for it.  After phoning the cc to make sure everything is in order and get their process of supply, I post the script to the cc, they charge my credit card and post it to me.  If you live in a big city, there may be some local compound chemists who supply it.

Ultimately, even with postage, it did not turn out to cost much more than it did 12 years ago from the pharmacy.

 

No, I stopped the patch when I was aware that the pellet had kicked in (about 3 weeks).  But I  definitely need the vagifem and oestriol cream as well.

 

It is oestriol cream, brand name in my country Ovestin.

I am on progesterone, because a dr with very good knowledge about menopause and hrt recommended it when she found out I had had endrometriosis.  I had a hysterectomy and oopherectomy, plus all the endo that the surgeon could see removed.  This dr recommended it to reduce the possibility of the oestrogen activating the endo.

BTW, I have been on these hrts for going on 26 years now.  I have halved the progesterone tablets as I am considering not using them any more.  Surely my endo has dried up by now.  That very knowledgeable dr has long since moved away - sob!  I will never give up the oestrogen.  It is keeping me healthy and sane.

My doctor in the US would never write one.

I do not fear cancer from the oestrogen.  My maternal aunt had breast cancer, which she survived with no problem.  She never used hrt but had a very unhealthy lifestyle.

You need to read the full research reports of these claims.  Most often the women in the study have a history not relevant to you.  Don't go by dramatic headlines.

There is a lot of feral oestrogen out there in the form of plastics and some meat that we eat (they are fed forms of hormones to make them fat).  These are the problem to our health.

 

Try going armed with printed out copies of medical scientific knowledge.  Do you have a Family Planning Clinic or similar in your area?  That is where I found the gp with the best menopause/hrt knowledge.

 

My insurance doesnt pay for hrt.so I dont know if we can afford it..but if it gets horrible i will have to let it eat up my bank account.Id rather not,trying to keep that for my kids.

Very interesting information as I had the same op and Endo. At least I'm on the right track and hearing you have been on Hrt for so long is reassuring :-)

I have read that some women need both HRT and creams and things like Vagifem to be comfortable. I cannot do that because I had breast cancer. I am limited to Vagifem and my Estriol drops for the vulva. This is not enough for me. Also the new Osphena pill (US) is off the table.

It's difficult to find anything that works as well as Hrt unfortunately . Without the added worry it may increase your risk regarding breast cancer. It seems with one condition sorted another follows

I hope the treatments your able to use bring you some relief.