For anyone who has had not been able to get an estrogen patch, please contact the FDA to report the shortage- publicportal. Hopefully, if enough people go online to make a report, they will finally take action. I am also going to contact the Senator in my state. (If there is already a thread, please merge).
It is hard to comprehend the number of women who are going to suffer without the patch and yet nothing is being done. GRRRRRR!
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This site shows shortages plus possible alternatives
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Thanks for the link. Walmart (my pharmacy) and they said they don’t have it and have not been told when it will be available again. I checked CVS, Walgreens, Cost Plus (Mark Cuban’s company), and Amazon. They are all out of stock. I’m going to call Costco tomorrow. I am guessing you are in the medical field- do you have any idea where I could find the twice weekly patch? Changing brands has been difficult in the past and using a different form does not provide the consistent release that I need to prevent migraines, night sweats, etc.
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Amazon was out of it but I was able to get it refilled at CVS.
Local Costcos are out of Dotti and Lullana biweekly patches in any strength. 
And CVS can’t tell if any are coming either.
Can your doctor prescribe you estrogen cream? I’ve been using bioidentical estrogen cream for several years now, no shortage there.
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Notice no shortage of Viagra or testosterone supplements. 
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These generics makers are missing out on a bunch of easily made $$$!
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My generic was unavailable at Amazon
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I have tried the cream but my symptoms are so severe that the cream is not effective. The patch provides a steady release which helps with unmanageable migraines, night sweats, brain fog, etc.
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I was prescribed the once weekly lowest dose patch last month and got it from amazon, is it a dose issue?
The once weekly patch should be available. The big shortage is in twice weekly patches. Some (not all!) can be cut in half depending on their delivery system.
The shortage stems from the removal of black box warnings (all the dire possibilities of taking a drug) from estrodial. The number of prescriptions being written just went sky high.
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That’s what I heard as well. The way the adhesive is attached and to be peeled off, its meant to minimize fingers contacting the meds on the patch, so it might mess up the distribution of the medication if it were interfered with by cutting it in half.
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I’ve been very lucky so far in being able to get a twice weekly patch through Express Scripts pharmacy. It seems that the generic Estradiol patch manufactured by Mylan which they have been sending me is not one of the ones in short supply, for some reason. My prescription is for the lowest dosage of 0.025 mg.
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If the patch is cut in half, the half that goes back into the pouch is no longer sealed so the adhesive is exposed to oxygen and can deteriorate. Also, even though the API is evenly distributed in the adhesive matrix, the protective backing on the patch is split into two uneven pieces (Dotti and Lullana), so cutting is tricky. One might easily end up with unusable half.
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I use the .375 bi weekly patch and I can’t find it anywhere. My pharmacist doesn’t think it’s available at any pharmacy. I will try anything, but my symptoms are terrible- night sweats so bad I soak through my clothes and have to change 6 times a night, debilitating migraines, brain fog. I am going to keep calling everywhere, but I’m guessing I will not have much luck.
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Where are you located, @mompop ? I just got mine (same dose - but I think it is 0.0375, correct?) refilled at CVS this past week. Wish I could share some of mine with you!
Have you tried Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus pharmacy?
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Kentucky. I am calling Costco tomorrow and I’ll call CVS again. Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus is out. I’ve read this might be an issue for a year. I’m glad you were able to get it!
This is a personal question, but an honest one because I’m clearly behind the times. When did women start taking estrogen again? Is this just to get through menopause or for other benefits. I read some time ago that they had decided HRT was not necessarily as bad as they claimed years ago, but I’m about to turn 70, well past menopause, and neither my GYN nor PCP (internal med) have ever said anything about it. Would love to see any benefits if safe at this age.
If you can’t get ahold of the biweekly patch, would you consider the weekly one to at least have something for a while? Does it not work for you?
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