I'm new to Femring...have a few questions

I just picked up my Femring yesterday and inserted it. My Dr wanted me to try the .05 first to see how it goes. I've honestly not seen anyone talk about using the lower dose. Is there anyone who has found that dose to be adequate? I was also wondering if there is anyone who feels that the ring actually lasts the full 3 months? Has anyone's partner had an issue with hormone transfer? Do you remove it for intimate contact?

I used Estring and liked it, but it was expensive. You leave it in all the time neither you nor your partner will feel it. Mine lasted the 3 months, I didn't change it any sooner. No impact on partner... maybe someone else has tried the one you are on

Hi , Why did you stop the estrace vaginally ?
are you still trying the progesterone?
Good Luck,
Beck

I just want to mention that Femring and Estring are alike in that they are both vaginal estrogen rings but Femring is a systemic hormone therapy product while Estring is prescribed for treatment of vaginal dryness/atrophy. The dose of Estring is much lower than that of Femring. Either can be removed before intimacy and replaced after.

Hopefully you'll get some feedback from some members who use Femring.

I stopped the estrace vaginally because I had a really tough time breaking the tiny pill into 1/8ths and 1/16ths. I really needed to split the dose into twice a day otherwise I was a mess by late evening. A dose of 1/8 twice a day was giving me serum levels of 176. In trying to cut those pieces into smaller ones....well....trying to shove powdery particles up there was a losing battle! I also couldn't keep a consistant "feeling" going. Some days it felt like so much and some days I felt so deficient. I did love the vaginal route though. I first tried to go back to the Vivelle Dot patch for a few weeks. I felt absolutely awful. I did get the patch to stick with the alcohol wipe and dry first then topped off with Tegaderm. I was having severe breast tenderness and swelling, feeling incredibly hot all of the time, and a worsening of the insomnia. I finally threw the towel in on that as well. I WOULD use the vaginal estrace in a pinch. It's been the most effective way to get the estrogen in. The Femring was the next logical step for me.

I tried using a dab of Progest every morning. I kept it up for about a week. I'm not going to use it while I'm getting started with this Femring. I want to know what I'm dealing with while settling in. I may try again later.

I used Femring and liked it but it only lasted up to a month for me. I tried both - removing it and leaving it in for sex. My dh said he did feel it so we ended up removing it. I don't know about transfer to your partner - it's estradiol acetate and apparently only converts to estrodiol once absorbed into the bloodstream. You could remove it if you're concerned. One plus with Femring I noticed is that it helped hold prolapses up to a degree. I thought it helped with my cystocele. But, due to a rectocele, I also had issues with it being displaced after BMs. I used the 0.1 strength.

Calypso, Did you feel that it did a good job with menopause symptoms? Did you have to supplement it at all? I am noticing today that I'm feeling a bit "funny" in the head. Did you notice an adjustment period? If so, how long did it take before you felt pretty level on it. Thanks!

I have used the .05 Femring. The .1 was too much for me and made me feel really bad. I had no problem with the Femring becoming displaced. I removed it for sex when I planned ahead, left in it was fine also. I really had no problems with it other than the cost and the fact it did not last long enough.

Hi, I felt funny in the head with the estrace vaginally, and I know what you mean with trying to cut the pills , i sure hope this works for you.
God Bless...

Hi E2Me2,

Femring 0.1 is still working great for me, takes care of my menopause symptoms well. Much better than anything else I've used. I had a little off feeling the first few hours with my very first Femring but no problems since. There is a big surge when you begin using it that lasts a couple hours but I don't notice it any more. I'm just about at the end of my third ring. My second ring lasted just one week short of three months. I've noticed, as with any delivery method, that I can use up my estrogen with exercise or stress. I'm very careful to make sure I'm not jumping the gun and thinking the ring has run out when in fact I just used all my estrogen at that time. If I have any hot flashes, I can usually find some reason for them--exercise or stress.

It seems to me that I'm getting more E from the 0.1 Femring than I got from the 0.1 Vivelle Dot. Maybe the .05 will be enough for you, give it a month or so if you can. It takes me at least a month to settle into a new hormone before I can pass judgement.

I can't imagine that there isn't some estrogen transfer during sex while using a Femring, even if you remove it. I think a little estrogen is good for DH. Leaving it in isn't a problem.

Hope it works for you and you find your balance.