Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[paisley]

Hi I live in Spain & when I used to be on oestrogel & couldn't get it in Spain I did try oestraclin but I definitely found it much weaker than oestrogel & I had to use an awful lot more to get the same dosage as oestrogel.

[Blakeygray]

.....

I have never been able to buy testosterone gel over the counter and without a prescription in Spain, I was told it is a controlled substance but I think someone else on here might have managed it once.

.... That was me. A box of 30 tubes of testogel for 50 euro from the pharmacia in gran canaria.  It's exactly the same as a friend is prescribed by her GP (in London) bar the writing which is in Spanish. Thankfully I can read and speak a bit.

[paisley]

When I used to use testogel I could buy it in Spain but they wouldn't sell me as much as 30 tubes. I think she would allow me only 5 & if I needed any more she said I would have to see my doctor. I have a doctor in Spain & when I am given a prescription the medicines are normally much cheaper than the UK. I live in the North of Spain

[Mary G]

Thanks Blakeygray, I knew someone had managed to buy testosterone OTC in Spain and €50.00 for 30 tubes sounds very reasonable.

Paisley, that's interesting and what a sensible approach to allow you 5 tubes.  You are right, medication is much cheaper in Spain than the UK. 

[Katia]

Mary G pharmacies won't post to the UK they say they are forbidden to do so 🙁

[Mary G]

Katia, thanks for that information.  I have always bought it in person at the pharmacy and never actually tried to buy it over the phone with a creditcard.  I'm sure someone on here ordered some Oestraclin by mail order once?

[Mary G]

I went to my usual pharmacy in Spain yesterday and I'm afraid the price Oestrogel (Oestraclin) has increased to €9.76.  Prices of pharmaceutical products are controlled by the Spanish government and there are sometimes computer glitches but it has been confirmed from the distribution centre that this is the correct price - for now anyway.  This has happened before and it reverted back to the original price but there is no guarantee it will happen this time. 

The packaging has changed recently and the measuring slide has been replaced with a syringe but that doesn't justify this kind of price hike. 

With the pound tanking, I'm afraid this option might not be any cheaper for people on UK private prescriptions now.   

Hopefully others will post with their experiences.

[Annie0710]

Still very handy for us if we run out/forgot to pack

I forgot to pack  my elleste solo a few years ago travelling to Spain and had no idea I could've bought hrt otc, I just went without and apologised in advance in case I was moody lol x

[Hurdity]

Do you live in Spain Mary G?

When you're over 60 it's free  . Some consolation for getting old!

Hurdity x

[Mary G]

I am self employed and spend a lot of time in Spain but I am not resident so I won't get free healthcare when I am over 60.  Unfortunately with Brexit, free healthcare in EU member states is looking increasingly doubtful in the future and probably will not be open to UK nationals who become resident in EU states post A50 or end of March 2019, depending on when the cut off date is, we still don't know. 

I'm pleased everyone is finding this thread useful. 

[Katia]

Mary G, I wish I could find a pharmacy that would post.  The climodien is 2mg dienogest and 2mg estradiol, the same as some of qlaira pills.  I'm peri and struggling to find a hrt to work.  The gel is causing me to have puffy swollen eyes.  I think possibly an allergy to one of the inactive ingredients.  I'm wondering about Angeliq, but ? 

We seem to have a lot less options in the UK as there isn't enough private prescriptions for the pharmaceutical company to licence the products and the NHS will only supply a few.

I believe you can get testogel in The Netherlands.  I have been to scared to try it as yet, but think I'm heading in that direction.

[Mary G]

Katia, I was speaking to the UK trained pharmacist in Morrisons in Gibraltar (they go strictly by the book in Morrisons) and he said the same thing i.e. not as many pharmaceutical products available in the UK/Gibraltar as Spain and you don't get the new products as quickly and sometimes not at all.  As you say, this is because the system is different and in Spain you always pay for half of the cost of your prescriptions if you are in their free healthcare system, hence more choice.  I asked him about Duavive and he got out his latest manual and it wasn't listed.  He then went to the computer but again, it was not listed so not available there yet.  He had never even heard of Bazedoxifene whereas in Spain Duavive and separate Bazedoxifene are already on the central computer system and on sale - the pharmacists are all well versed on these products too. 

It is a pity they can't post products from Spain to the UK but apparently it is against the law.  You can buy Angeliq over the counter and it costs about €23.00 per pack.  I don't know if you can buy climodien but I can ask if you like? 

Are you progesterone intolerant?

[Hurdity]

I would not recommend buying over the internet or abroad. Products such as Oestrogel and Utrogestan are readily available on prescription in the UK and there should be no need to bypass the current system. If your GP is unaware/unwilling to prescribe, then ask to be referred to a specialist service. My job as chair of the British Menopause Society is to provide education so that there is a general level of understanding across primary care, and to increase the number of specialist services around the UK--we are well on the way to doing this but much is still to do.
Best wishes to you all
Heather

I know this was from a while back but thought it appropriate to post again here since there is discussion about buying HRT from the internet again. Members of this forum should not be thinking about self-medicating nor be encouraged in this respect - ie just buying a product you fancy, rather than being prescribed it buy a GP or specialist  who knows of any health conditions etc you may have.

If it is a product you have been prescribed but can't get hold of - that may well be a different matter - although surely the doc in the country you live in will only prescribe from what is available?

Hurdity x

[Katia]

Mary G, I thought I was progesterone intolerant, I seemed to be getting more symptoms. As I'd had over a week off the HRT for blood tests I had a clean start.  I started the gel. Back came the problems, so I stopped the gel and just used the Utrogestan and I have no problems. Gone are the meno symptoms too. I pm sure it will build up though and I may not be saying that tomorrow. I think I do better with tablet form of e to gel.

I saw a product, nuavelle, I think it's called. It's standard estradiol and norestimate, but it says it's for women who cannot take standard HRT, with P intolerance. It looked like standard HRT to me, but I'm not sure if it's been formulated somehow differently.  I've also read there are a few friendlier progestegens in the pipeline. Climodien, available in Europe, is equal in e and P, which seems unusual for a HRT.  I had no problems with that P On Qlaira and my body seems to be pretty sensitive and fussy.

[Mary G]

Katia, Climodien is indeed available in Spain!  It costs €12.46 per packet so not very expensive. 

It is extraordinary if this product is not available in the UK because it is not prohibitively expensive so there is no reason for it not to be licensed in the UK on cost grounds.  Presumably the EMA (currently based in Canary Wharf but soon to be relocated elsewhere in the EU27) must be approving these different forms of HRT for other member states.