Hormone Replacement Therapy

It does seem as if everyone I know is suddenly going on HRT, and I guess the science is supporting its use. I will say I have one early adopter friend who was all in on HRT about 10 years ago- she was late 40s/early50s then and had great results. She then got uterine cancer a couple of years ago- of course I have no idea if it’s related, and honestly probably just coincidence but it did scare me off a little. I have a lot of cancer in my family history so worry about that. I do use the estradiol vaginal cream, my dr really encourages that for everyone over age 50.

I couldn’t decide whether to post here or on the insomniac thread. My pharmacy was out of progesterone and it was delayed by12 days. I was back to waking up early in the am again. Since going back on it a few days ago I’m back to sleeping better.
Also anyone else have a problem refilling their estradiol patches. CVS was out and the pharmacist said the distributor was also out and he didn’t know when they would have them back in stock. I checked Costco, Walgreens and the independent pharmacy and no luck. I found it on Amazon Pharmacy and it should be delivered tomorrow. As much as I hated using Amazon I want my patches.

I get mine at Walmart neighborhood pharmacy and I haven’t had an issue- yet. I know I’d have trouble sleeping without progesterone and estrogen!

I posted in another thread that I started HT about a month ago. Estrogen only, lowest dose patch. I think I sleep so much better now, and ny energy levels are back to normal!

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Ugh. I’m sorry. I use CVS in Northern New England. No supply issues with Estradoil patches or Progesterone yet. Knock on wood.

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I hope this is allowed. Mods please remove if not. This is a copy and paste of a public post made by an OB-gyn friend of mine:

PSA from your gynecologist Facebook friend: There is a global shortage on the twice weekly estradiol patches that likely won’t be resolved overnight. That said, you have options. You could try the once weekly patch which is a little larger in diameter than the one you are used to and reportedly comes off easier; you could switch to a gel, cream, pill or ring or try a different dosage if your pharmacy has one dose but not the other. The gel, cream and ring are often a bit more expensive than the patches. The oral form carries more thromboembolic risk.
If you are low and will soon need a refill, consider calling your pharmacy to see if they have your dosage. If not, maybe call around to other pharmacies to see if there is availability elsewhere. A couple of my patients have said they are available at Costco, but that was last week. I have also heard that small, local pharmacies can get them easier. If you can’t find your dosage at a pharmacy near you, consider asking if they have it in the once weekly version. If not, consider a dosage that is close to the dose you are on. They come in 0.025mg, 0.0375 mg, 0.05 mg, 0.075 mg and 0.1. You can explore availability of an alternative dose. If no luck, consider an alternate form mentioned above. It is easy to match the dose, but it may cost a little more depending upon your insurance. If you have done this homework prior to calling your provider, the process will be quicker and easier. Don’t panic! Also keep in mind that your physician has a million of these calls and is doing their best☺️ dont wait until you are completely out to figure it out.
Hope this helps!

It’s out…the International Menopause Societies review of and current recommendations for HRT and more

Is there a synopsis somewhere? I do have a lot free time, but this is 280 pages long!

EDIT: NM. I bet I can get that in the abstract at the beginning

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13697137.2025.2585487#abstract

And summary also on page 7 of the link

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Each section has a summary at the end.

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