Has anyone traded the Estradiol Pill for the Patch?

I had BSO surgery in March 2012 and have been taking 1 mg of Estradiol (.5 morning/.5 night). I have done well on it other than gaining an extra 25 lbs., constipation, and joint pain. Today, my doctor ordered the patch.

For those who went from the pill to the patch, what have been your experiences? Did you lose or gain weight? Any mood swings? Any change in libido? Anything?

It sounds like you need to get a thyroid panel done... the weight gain, constipation, joint pain are low thyroid symptoms.... as is feeling cold, sluggish, fatigued, etc...

If your dr checks thyroid, make sure he/she orders more than just TSH and gets free T4, free T3, thyroid antibodies and TSH... the TSH does NOT give the full picture. And ask for copies of ALL LABWORK RESULTS.

I think the weight gain can be low thyroid or unbalanced hormones... usually low estrogen.

I've used the patch but it doesn't work well for me. For others it works great. We're all different so it's good there are many options out there.

Curious... did your dr put you on progesterone too since you had endo? My dr insisted on it if I used any estrogen due to my endo.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Calypso It sounds like you need to get a thyroid panel done... the weight gain, constipation, joint pain are low thyroid symptoms.... as is feeling cold, sluggish, fatigued, etc... If your dr checks thyroid, make sure he/she orders more than just TSH and gets free T4, free T3, thyroid antibodies and TSH... the TSH does NOT give the full picture. And ask for copies of ALL LABWORK RESULTS. I think the weight gain can be low thyroid or unbalanced hormones... usually low estrogen. I've used the patch but it doesn't work well for me. For others it works great. We're all different so it's good there are many options out there. Curious... did your dr put you on progesterone too since you had endo? My dr insisted on it if I used any estrogen due to my endo.

Thank you for responding. No, he didn't put me on progesterone.

Hi
I changed from pill to highest dose patch a few weeks ago. Still having flashes/chills and nausea. My thyroid panel is normal but my oestrogen is still low. It is still early days yet but I know some women have to wear 2 patches or supplement with oestrogen gel. Tablet form didn't work for me at all. I have lost weight but I think that's just due to the nausea at the moment.
The patch seems to be very successful for a lot of women.
Good luck

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Bankie Hi It is still early days yet but I know some women have to wear 2 patches or supplement with oestrogen gel. Tablet form didn't work for me at all.

If women have to wear 2 patches plus add estrogen gel, the body is probably not absorbing the patch. May be a good idea to switch to another method of delivery.

Kim M
I agree that if you have to wear 2 patches or supplement with gel then another method of delivery would be preferable but what if all other methods have been exhausted?

You're both very early on in your oophrectomy. I know when I first had it done, it seemed like there was not enough estrogen in the world.

But you've got to give your body time to adjust. both to the shock of surgery and then to getting estrogens a different way and also to learn to cope with the amount it's now getting.

One of the biggest hardest parts of all this is patience. Of which I have very little. It's very hard to tell yourself to give it more time, when you don't feel good and you're not sleeping well.
8 weeks is a minimum it's going to take your body to adjust to any new hormone regimen. you may feel better right away, you may not but it takes time. Anther thing I learned from trial and error, for me, if I feel good immediately from the amt of estrogen, then in four weeks time it's going to be too much.