Femring?

[Anonymous]

This is basically a spinoff from the other thread, where we were talking about having a hard time accessing our estradiol patches because of a shortage.

I switched my prescription from CVS to Costco, because CVS was just not getting my patches in stock. Because of the shortage. Unfortunately, I was given a weird brand from Costco, and my hot flashes came right back on these wonky patches. I contacted my doctor about it, and she said two things: first, she said that CVS is the main pharmacy having trouble getting estradiol patches, and that they should be available at other places, and that she could try to find another pharmacy, but second, she said, I could try the femring, which is a vaginal ring that works the same way as the patches and works for three months.

It’s the Femring. It is different from the vaginal inserted rings that only provide local estrogen, it has enough estrogen to give you systemic dose that treats the hot flashes. I don’t think I even knew this existed — have any of you got it? Advice on it?

[Anonymous]

Never heard of it, but I like the idea of it. So sick of the patch residue. And with a new generic, my hot flashes are back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never heard of it, but I like the idea of it. So sick of the patch residue. And with a new generic, my hot flashes are back.

Just checked my insurance portal. My insurance doesn't cover it and it would be > 900 for 3 months. Bummer.

[Anonymous]

I love estradiol gel. It has to be applied daily which is annoying, but it dries after my morning shower while I brush my teeth, or dry my hair. It’s easy, I can get it easily, it doesn’t irritate my skin.

[Anonymous]

Argh. Was excited reading this but the ring isn't covered by my prescription plan. Let us know how it goes! How do you know you're getting the right dose from the gel?

Can't help but think that if men went through perimenopause, this all would be a whole lot easier to access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Argh. Was excited reading this but the ring isn't covered by my prescription plan. Let us know how it goes! How do you know you're getting the right dose from the gel?

Can't help but think that if men went through perimenopause, this all would be a whole lot easier to access.

The gel comes in little foil packets for each day. I guess there could be some left in the packet, but I’m pretty careful to squeeze out as much as I can. It’s not in a big container for you to measure - it’s dosed for you.

I think I paid (after insurance) $10/month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Argh. Was excited reading this but the ring isn't covered by my prescription plan. Let us know how it goes! How do you know you're getting the right dose from the gel?

Can't help but think that if men went through perimenopause, this all would be a whole lot easier to access.

The gel comes in little foil packets for each day. I guess there could be some left in the packet, but I’m pretty careful to squeeze out as much as I can. It’s not in a big container for you to measure - it’s dosed for you.

I think I paid (after insurance) $10/month?

Ohhh...so interesting. That makes much more sense. Sounds really manageable. I'll ask my doctor about it because I'm over this whole wild goose chase every 90 days to find patches. Thank you PP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Argh. Was excited reading this but the ring isn't covered by my prescription plan. Let us know how it goes! How do you know you're getting the right dose from the gel?

Can't help but think that if men went through perimenopause, this all would be a whole lot easier to access.

The gel comes in little foil packets for each day. I guess there could be some left in the packet, but I’m pretty careful to squeeze out as much as I can. It’s not in a big container for you to measure - it’s dosed for you.

I think I paid (after insurance) $10/month?

Ohhh...so interesting. That makes much more sense. Sounds really manageable. I'll ask my doctor about it because I'm over this whole wild goose chase every 90 days to find patches. Thank you PP!

I used the patches for a few months, but the adhesive caused a rash, I had a hard time keeping them on, it was annoying. And on top of that you can’t get them anywhere.

The gel had to be ordered, so took a few days, but doesn’t irritate my skin at all, and honestly seems to work just as well as the patch dose wise. I’m glad I switched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never heard of it, but I like the idea of it. So sick of the patch residue. And with a new generic, my hot flashes are back.

Just checked my insurance portal. My insurance doesn't cover it and it would be > 900 for 3 months. Bummer.

Ugh.

On mine it is covered, but barely, but there is a huge discount for going with the online mail order pharmacy so I did that.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

My ring is ordered. I'll try to update this when I use it and see how it goes.

One wrinkle already is that the ring dosing is a bit higher than my patches, and I got a message in the portal from my doctor's assistant saying I need to go up in dose to 200mg on my progesterone. But I already tried that once, and couldn't deal with the sedation. We'll figure it out, though.

I'll update when it makes sense to do so.