Ok...Help Me Out Here Lily

Hi Lily,
I'm on the .05 Climara and now switched to.05 Vivelle Dot....Itching my a** off.

What should I ask my doc for? In the gel form I mean. I haven't got a clue what to ask for.

He's kinda against it too, says it isn't reliable to absorb....but then again I never rely on his judgement (he doesn't even understand bio-identical hormones). At least he allows me to make my own decisions and works with me on it.

I want to be able to tell him what I want if I switch to the gel. How do you use it? Where do you rub it on?

NoNoLoLola

While waiting for Lily--

you might consider finding a compounding pharmacist who can work with your doctor and you and explain the different options.

There's a lot of information on using the creams and gels in the archives and on the boards. You basically use them where the skin is tender and there's a layer of fat underneath. You rotate the spots and you'll find the good ones for you.

Another option if you're compounding is troches--they dissolve under your tongue or between gum and cheek. Some people have found them the most reliable of all.


I know Adrite uses a patch after being allergic to the adhesive in the others. You might consider asking her about that too.

Sorry Lola, here's the reply I TRIED to post last night before the gremlins abducted my computer

Lola,
I'm just ing through tonight (downunder time
BUT here's a thread with some info that I replied to about where and how I apply gel.
http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...threadid=38983

As far as I know you will have to get a compounding pharmacist to do it for you over there, but I'm not sure - maybe there is one available that a drug company makes. If your doc speaks with the compounding pharmacy(or you do in advance) then they can advise him on a prescription etc.
Canada has just approved a commercially available estrogen gel recently I believe.
I found the absorption of the gel far superior to oral absorption for me. Why wouldn't it absorb - patches do, for pain, for hormones etc. I guess it depends on the agents used to help make up the gel though, so that's something to consider.
Good luck and have a look at the above thread, it explains a bit more.

I see that you have already sorted this out though and spoken to a compounding pharmacist. I'm sure you'll like the gel and I hope that they can give you a base for it that doesn't cause a skin reaction. let us know how you go.

Oh BTW, in way of explanation about my comments on the adrenal glands in menopause:

They produce androgens which in menopause are usually converted to a form of estrogen called E1.
Not E2 (17b estradiol)which is more potent and the usual ingredient in most HRT's (the natural kind that is).
So, my theory, and it's just a theory is that the adrenals can get tied up doing this in SOME women to compensate and add to the HRT they are taking in surgical menopause. If those women are allergy types then their adrenals are used to concentrating on cortisol production and under the added strain maybe don't do this as efficiently as when they had ovaries to help them out. So........they swing back to more allergy reactions, perhaps reverting to how you were before puberty.
Confused yet
I hope I explained this in a way you can understand.

Hi Lily,
I think I'm more settled down now. I will start using the gel and tell everyone how it is working for me. Thank you for the hyperlink about application and more on gel.

I'm a tad confused, but I understand what your theory is. Some of it I already knew. How can I thank you for helping me, along with, all of the other Sisters here swinging through these vines.....

I learned alot as I always do, too bad I don't have alot of time to read as many articles/achives that I would like to. It always seems like we wait until something *goes wrong/unbalanced* until we update ourselves about all the alternatives.

Bless You,
NoNoLoLola