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[Cassie]

I think this has been discussed before possibly has anyone done the change from the gel to the patches and how did it go?
Am thinking as discussed in a previous topic that one can not really go lower than half a pump of gel which delivers approx .37mg of oestrogen. But on a low dose patch one is getting, if I am not mistaken 50ug of oestrogen daily which is way way lower....does this dosage prevent symptoms and help with osteoporosis prevention etc?
If so, am going to consider asking my Dr to change me over to a low dose patch, so that I can stay on it up to 60 if not over...

Is there a list of the available patches?

[Annie0710]

50mcg patch to my knowledge is enough to help bones.  Whether it takes away your symptoms is unique to you.  For some people its enough but for others they need higher dose to be as symptom free as possible

[Cassie]

I am bumping this thread up a bit, Hurdity you may be able to give some feedback, I am so confused. The lowest dose one can take on the gel is approx half a pump, which would be approx,  37.5mg, but I see the patches are in micrograms, which is even less than a mg, is that correct, so what is the lowest dose of patches one would get and how much stronger is lets say 37.5mg as in half a pump of gel compared to a patch containing, 37.5mcg, very confused between the micrograms and the milligrams...

[KatyB]

Cassie you might want to see my post about equivalent doses of transdermals today.

[Hurdity]

Hi Cassie

It is confusing! The figures you are talking about are not comparable. This has been discussed before eg on this thread:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,31159.msg494347.html#msg494347 Oestrogen gel versus patches

The dosage for patches is expressed in micrograms that are absorbed from the patch daily. The actual patch contains far more oestrogen. For example a 50 mcg Estradot patch contains 0.78 mg oestrogen but Evorel contains 3.2 mg but they both deliver on average the same amount of oestrogen into the system. These are designed to be changed every 3.5 days. Gel on the other hand - is at a much large dose because a lot of it is not absorbed - it dries on the skin before it can do so. In addition the amount absorbed is dependent to some extent on the area spread with a given amount of gel.

It also will depend on the body size of the individual (taller and bigger will mean the oestrogen in more diluted - there is greater blood volume for the oestrogen to circulate around). Also women vary enormously in how much they absorb from the different methods - sometimes by a factor of 10.

There is no absolute equivalent which is why they are classed approximately as low, medium and high dose. The starting point is to go to the equivalent dose and see how you get on - modifying up or down if necessary to achieve the same symptom control.

On this site these classifications are not given (for gel) but the standard dose for gel is 2 pumps (of oestrogel)  which I think is generally assumed to be medium dose (on average) as is 50 mcg patch. Dana posted this link to Australian equivalents but I have seen other date which vary slightly re equivalence - it is not a precision thing!!!

https://www.menopause.org.au/hp/information-sheets/426-ams-guide-to-equivalent-hrt-doses

What dose of gel are you taking now? You can't really go wrong by changing to 50 mcg - but for some women this may give them less than 2 pumps of gel - others more.

Hope this helps

Hurdity x

[Cassie]

Thankyou for that info, appreciate. Have had a good read, I am currently on only 1 pump of gel, which according to my sums delivers roughly,  .75mg of oestrogen, am presuming this is a low dose, but was wondering if the patches would give even lower, now that I have read the info, seems pretty much of a muchness, so will probably stay on the gel if it is working, which it certainly seems to be, just wanted to take the lowest possible amt of Oestrogen and hopefully my Dr will let me keep taking it up and into 60.
Thankyou.

[Hurdity]

Well patches do come at 25 mcg which is a  very low dose - but it does depend on how you absorb it. How old are you now Cassie. I am 64 and taking 62.5 but actually docs think I'm only on 50 mcg - GP said the extra 12.5 mcg wouldn;t make any difference but I did increase it due to taking the T gel too.

Are you feeling good on this amount of oestrogen? I am wondering if/when to start winding down - but would need to gradually stop the T first and dread the consequences (mainly in muscles and energy).

Hurdity x

[Tempest]

Hi, Cassie.

In a previous conversation with my Consultant, I was told  that 37.5 mcg Estradot offers bone protection if that's any help. 25mcg is possibly not enough. I hope that helps a little. xxxxx

[Cassie]

I have entered my 50's but have been on the oestrogel since 40 due to early meno, started off at 2 pumps in my 40s then going down to 1 pump in the last 3 or so years and have no symptoms at all, feel great, but not sure how long I could stay on this safely or if I should ask my gynae for a lower dose patch at my next appt. Thankyou ladies.

[Cassie]

Sorry posted on the wrong thread...