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[Kate50]

Well I may even have them myself if no one wants them as am suppose to try 200 for 7 days but bad enough on 100!

[Kate50]

Let me know if you get no takers
Thanks

[lisa789]

No takers Kate, so yours if you want them. If so pm me postal details X

[Hurdity]

I've been really busy, and away etc so only just catching up with this thread which frankly I find of some concern.

I totally agree as most of us on here do - that many doctors are woefully ignorant about HRT and the menopause and a huge education drive needs to be done so that women receive the best treatment based on an informed appraisal of their medical history and current state of knowledge accessing the most up to date information and guidelines.

NICE recognises that this is a huge challenge and the medical profession is beginning the enormous task of changing practice from the top down and the bottom up as you can read here: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Menopause-implementation-getting-started#the-challenge-communicating-the-long-term-benefits-and-risks-of-hormone-replacement-therapy

In the meantime the situation is less than perfect. OK so you can't get what you want, so one can stick two fingers up at the system and do your own thing - buy what you want - and get on with your life.

Personally I think this is not the best approach - although fine might be OK for an individual in the short term.

Firstly I think it does future women a disservice not to try to help change the system from the bottom up - little bit by little bit. Far better to educate ourselves and challenge doctors who are ignorant of the current guidelines and evidence, with well-informed information. I know this is not going to be easy but that's why we are on here - to help each other be more knowledgeable and confident, so that we can challenge decisions that are made about our treatment if we do not agree.

Secondly - I know the NHS is not perfect but it's damned good - and  it is there for a reason. The system in Spain is completely different - I don't know how their health system works. However I think it is wrong to be able to obtain oestrogen without prescription over the counter without medical supervision - for obvious reasons. It might be a pain to have to get all this from the doctors in UK but at least we should be informed what the risks are, and can be reviewed medically,  scanned, investigated etc if there are any concerns.

I know it is very kind and well meaning, but I think it is irresponsible to offer to buy oestrogen gel and send it to someone else and I would urge you not to accept this from someone else. Fine if you want to go down this route yourself and are prepared to take the risks, as Stellajane said - but as she also said this is not right. It is not the answer - we owe it to other women and those less fortunate (both financially or less articulate/knowledgeable) to try to change things here in UK and get those guidelines implemented by challenging doctors and asking for referrals where we can, rather than buying them gel!

By the way the same thing does not apply to progesterone as this is harmless even in large quantities so posting this to each other is OK (eg if you have some left over).

Hurdity  x

[Kate50]

Does Dr Currie not read this forum? Surely there is enough here for an interested Dr to do something about it higher up?

[Hurdity]

Kate50 - please read the NICE link I gave in my post  below to see what is being done or suggested higher up. Changes won't happen overnight but of course it is being addressed at top level!.

I am sure Dr Currie scans this forum from time to time - and she is current Chair of the British Menopause Society http://www.thebms.org.uk/ whose annual conference for health professionals in a couple of weeks, this year is devoted to the NICE Guidelines - from publication to practice! Things are being done higher up....

I feel it is up to us to help change things from the bottom up as well ie the grass roots - women that we are - as I said in my post!!

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

In this county once medication has left the Pharmacy/Surgery they won't accept it unless it goes for burning which seems an insult when people all over the World have no access to regular health care or medication! 

We don't know how often Dr Currie drops by to see what Members are discussing. 

Buying off the internet can be dangerous. What might have similar labelling to what is prescribed in the UK may be full of rubbish.  Everything prescribed here has undergone rigourous testing before it's even considered for patient use by
NICE 

[Dr. Heather Currie]

Thank-you for bringing this to my attention. I would love to be able to contribute to this forum more often if time permitted!
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

[dazned]

Thank you Dr Currie ,I was getting a tad concerned about the way this thread was going 

[Hurdity]

Thank-you for responding on this thread Dr Currie. We are so pleased that things are beginning to change through the sterling efforts of the medical profession!

Dazned - I think many of us were.....

Hurdity

[Katia]

This is really good to know.  Wish I had a trip planned.  Does nayone know of anywhere it can be purchased online and guaranteed to be oestrogel not oestrodose?

[Annie0710]

YES
onlineclinic sell oestrogel (branded) for about £28

[Mary G]

Katia, I'm pleased you found my thread useful, at least you can bear it in mind for the future.  I can tell you that the Spanish brand of Oestraclin is as good as the UK brand Oestrogel.  It now comes with a syringe as opposed to a slide for measuring. 

Annie0710, that sounds like a lot of money, surely that's not for one canister of Oestrogel? 

[Annie0710]

Yes it's for one canister

I did it because I wanted to give oestrogel a go, think I've more or less tried every other form of oestrogen, bar a pellet lol so instead of doing Drs again asking I thought I'd sample, felt ok on it and gave permission for them to tell my gp then noticed gp had put it on repeats so don't need to go there again.  I'm going spain in September so might bulk shop my hrt !!!

[Mary G]

Annie, at least you have been able to try the gel and you can now obtain it from you doctor (NHS?) so it was a worthwhile exercise.  It sounds like it's working out for you, how many pumps are you on? 

Oestraclin (Oestrogel) costs just over €4.00 in Spain so much cheaper than a private UK prescription and one hell of a lot cheaper than the online pharmacy!