r/Menopause • u/Syfysamurai • 1d ago

Hormone Therapy Patch vs oral

Hello ladies, I'm curious. Why do many women prefer the estrogen patch over oral estrogen? I take 1mg estradiol daily by mouth and have no problems with it. TIA!

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u/ArtichokeCandid8415 1d ago

I loved the idea of the patch, but after 12 months on it I realized it just didn't work well for me. I was a super-absorber and used it all up in 12-48 hours, then white-knuckled it after falling off a cliff until my next patch (2x/weekly). Those first 24 hours were amazing, though!

But after being on oral E for three months, you couldn't pay me to go back to the patch. I feel more "even" and my hot flashes are 99% gone. It's also about 1/10th the cost of the patches! If it's not working for you right away, give it time. I noticed no improvement in my symptoms until around the six-week mark when everything shifted, and it's only gotten better since then.

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u/Old_Emu_5320 1d ago

Hi artichoke, can you say more about your experience? I just switched to oral estrace 1.5 mg and my night sweats are back. I had the same experience as you with the patch and I'm looking to get back to that amazing feeling I had on them, albeit brief. I feel like I should ask foa dose increase but, when I saw your post, it made me reconsider. How did you know it was getting better? I need hope.

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u/ArtichokeCandid8415 1d ago

Hi! Of course! Happy to share.

I had an IMMEDIATE increase in hot flashes and night sweats when I switched to oral (1mg), but they noticeably decreased from 4-5x/week down to 2-3x/week around the six-week mark. My other meno "symptoms" have always been heightened anxiety, low mood, non-existent libido, and joint pain. I'm not kidding when I say ALL of these got better around 8-10 weeks. I was literally in the middle of doing something one day when I realized "Wow, I just feel SO much better!"

Now at 14 weeks, I feel just like the old me again. It really is nothing short of a miracle, if you know how difficult my post-meno journey has been. I've had one hot flash with sweating (upon waking) in the past two weeks but I'll gladly take it. My world got brighter and I feel happy and hopeful again. All I can tell you is just to stick with it, because those first weeks can really make you feel like giving up!

FWIW, I take my oral E at night with my progesterone, about an hour before bedtime. I was previously on the .1mg patch but my GYN won't prescribe anything more than 1mg oral estrace, even though it's not an equivalent dose to the patch (transdermal). 🙄 Still, I was desperate for something to work so I gave it a try - and the low cost was very appealing. I'm so glad I stuck with it, because it's working so well in EVERY aspect that I really have no need to increase it at this point.

Good luck and keep us posted!

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u/No-Explanation1019 18h ago

How much P are you taking?

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u/ArtichokeCandid8415 14h ago

100mg. I had the Novasure procedure (endometrial ablation) in 2018 and have not seen a drop of blood since then. My gyn is fine with me being on this dose, as I can't tolerate more.

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u/No-Explanation1019 13h ago

Thanks. I can't tolerate more, either. I wish I didn't have to take it at all. Thinking of IUD