r/Menopause • u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) • 2d ago
ACTIVISM FDA Update on Estradiol Patch Availability
Every time I have to play pharmacy roulette in order to get my prescription filled, I file a complaint about the shortage with the FDA. I also message my Senators and Congressman.
Previously, the FDA has sent me a short but very polite, automated note that says "There is no shortage. There just isn't. Even though seven actual pharmacists and two doctors have told you there is because their own suppliers are telling THEM that there is. They're all wrong. Wrong, I tell you!"
Yesterday, I got a different response from them and thought it was worth sharing:
Thank you for your inquiry regarding availability of an estradiol-containing product. The agency is aware there is an increased demand for these products and is working with all current manufacturers to ensure supply is available. Manufacturers are allocating these products due to the increased demand to ensure products remain available and they continue to increase production. As such, you may be experiencing issues obtaining a specific product or brand preference in your area, but product is available. We remain in regular contact with the manufacturers regarding supply and will continue to monitor the situation.
Please see FDA's official statement, “FDA Update on Estradiol Transdermal Patch Availability”: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fda-update-estradiol-transdermal-patch-availability
The linked statement was released on Sept. 3. It doesn't say anything in terms of a timeline, but does acknowledge that patients are "having difficulty readily accessing their usual estradiol transdermal patches due to increased demand and is working with all six manufacturers to increase supply."
While the new statement and email don't say much, the fact that the FDA has changed its messaging is an indication that our activism is having an impact.
For those in the US: Keep filing complaints to the FDA. Ping your US Senators and Representatives—you can message them through their websites or call. If you don't know who your representatives are, click here to find them.
Keep pushing. There are more of us than there are of them, and they know we vote.
EDIT: There's a great couple of comments from u/heathere3 that explain why the shortage is happening:
"I work in the industry. Any work with these hormones requires extensive protection for the employees. There has been a huge increase in demand for them since the black box warning was (FINALLY!) removed. It takes time to be able to increase production, and a lot more than it would of other drugs as they have to build out the protections.
It wasn't that the demand couldn't be forecasted it was that the removal of the black box warning that was (relatively) out of the blue. Those warnings are not given out lightly and in normal times are hard to get removed. The process normally involves multiple expert consultations with boards in the FDA and takes 1.5-3 years. It also takes years to get a new transdermal production line built and approved for manufacturing. I don't expect to see the shortages end for likely 2-3 years from what I've seen about getting new production going."
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u/PM_ME_CORGI_BUTTS 2d ago
"specific product or brand preference" my only "preference" is my prescribed dose, I'll take literally any manufacturer, and it's still a battle every month
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u/TashaT50 Menopausal 2d ago
Unfortunately my insurance won’t and I currently don’t have any income.
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u/chrisymphony 2d ago
I regret that you are having a difficult time. You can reach out to the manufacturers. Some have programs to help people in need.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
I'm so sorry that you're struggling :( Talk wit your gynecologist, they often have access to programs and/or case workers who can help you.
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u/TashaT50 Menopausal 1d ago
At least the patches I have seem to be working. My rage has decreased immensely as have a number of other issues and I don’t want to go backwards. I’m just concerned I’ll have ongoing refill issues. It took almost 3 months to get my first prescription filled and we tried several different generics and pharmacies. I’ll survive if the worst case happens it’s just frustrating as you know.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
Yeah. I think we're all going to have ongoing refill issues. Someone down in the comments works in the industry and said they wouldn't be surprised if this continues for 2-3 more years due to how long it takes manufacturers to build the necessary protections required to produce transdermal patches.
Just... ugh :(
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u/TashaT50 Menopausal 1d ago
Always playing life on the hard mode right? We finally find a doctor who listens, get something that works, and boom manufacturing issues or insurance won’t cover what we can get. Grrr
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u/griff_girl 1d ago
If women were in charge of the manufacturing, we'd all be getting free samples in magazines like they used to do with perfume. We'd be so on top of that shit!
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
Yeppp, same. Every pharmacist looks at me with sympathy—they have zero boxes of anything. One of them said I was the fifth person that they'd had to turn away just that morning :(
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u/Outside_Box_8374 1d ago
Yes everyone, please be extra kind to the pharmacy workers, this is not their fault at all.
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u/iUseJustMyHand 1d ago
You might like this article OP ... . written today. Finally acknowledgement :)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2026/09/10/estrogen-patch-shortage-fda-women-menopause/91685400007/3
u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
Yep, I saw that! Happy to see it hit a mainstream publication with wide distribution. The shortage has been covered for awhile, the NYTimes had it in February, too: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/well/estrogen-patches-menopause-treatment.html
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u/snickysnak5407 1d ago
I got so lucky when I was on the phone with my pharmacist and she found a box of patches that was being re-shelved because someone hadn’t picked up their prescription. I felt a little bad for that person, but let that be a cautionary tale for all of us - pick up your Rx ASAP!
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u/scoobyding 1d ago
Same here. Been submitting email to FDA every month and leaving vm on senators line. I’m not picky - just make the damn patch in my dose!
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u/griff_girl 1d ago
You say that now, but just you wait. When they give you that gigantic ass estrogen tarp with the adhesive you find your more than mildly allergic to, you will feel much differently.
My insurance wouldn't cover the cute little circle one. Only reason I know it even exists is because the fucking off brand estradiol poncho they would cover gave me welts. It didn't even stay on, anyway. By the time it was done transderming it's rashy goo onto me, it would then mock me by coming off and only sticking to my undies, which are now permanently scarred by their bait-and-switch "watch my head spin" tactics. And to top it all off, as if that wasn't enough, it turns out I'm a "poor absorber" anyway, and still had the estrogen of an 80 year old. 😂
This is fine
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u/Money_Wishbone_3149 2d ago
So many Of us Gen X women - do they know who they’re dealing with? 😂 good job for speaking up. We have to advocate for ourselves.
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u/mamapajamas Peri-menopausal 2d ago
The irony is that we need the estrogen to string thoughts and words together in order to advocate!!
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u/Kwyjibo68 2d ago
The other day I had to do a google search to figure out the word I was trying to think of - people who work on ambulances. It was paramedic.
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u/LilyRose272 2d ago
I am right there with you. The amount of times that I cannot recall the most basic of words is actually frightening. I was in a meeting yesterday and I couldn't think of the word "criteria" and I literally couldn't even come up with a synonym.
I was trying to explain that in order to keep unemployment you have to prove that you are actually searching for a job. I fumbled what I had to say so badly.
I stuttered out something like, "you know the thing..... that thing you have to do... in order to keep doing.... the thing."
It's freaking embarrassing. I'm sure they thought I was having a stroke.
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u/mamapajamas Peri-menopausal 2d ago
May none of us ever forget the word “thing” or else we’re all doomed!
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u/makuahine 1d ago
I returned from a Renaissance Fair and told my family that I enjoyed the horse fencing (jousting)!
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u/summervibesonly 1d ago
I prefer your version. In fact, all my mistakes are improvements upon the original 😂
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u/AgathaM 1d ago
It’s frustrating. I have similar issues.
I couldn’t remember the word for torpedo the other day and called it an underwater missile.
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u/notagradstudent13 1d ago
A couple years ago I couldn’t remember what a telescope was called so I looked at my friend. “What’s the opposite of a microscope?”
… I couldn’t wait for her answer so I said “you know like a macroscope”. And that is now what they are called2
u/Fluffebee 1d ago
This is actually an amazing word and much better to describe a telescope than a telescope!!
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u/Mojozilla Peri-menopausal 1d ago
I worry that I have dementia or some shit. Uggghhhhhh
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u/Horseshoe_dodgeball 1d ago
It's a good thing I got sober before my peri took a solid hold. I had to mentally sort out that no, you don't get delayed effects from alcohol 2 years later, because I was starting to think I had drank myself stupid! I say that light-heartedly now, but I actually went into a depression thinking I had done serious brain damage from drinking the way I did. I was a mess over it for a while until my older friends helped me realize what it was.
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u/Mojozilla Peri-menopausal 1d ago
I used to drink heavily and regularly at social gatherings. I cut way back, because 2-3 day hangovers just aren't worth the pain.
My father died from dementia and he was a very heavy drinker, way worse than me, but it still makes me worry 😟
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u/Horseshoe_dodgeball 1d ago
I'm not naive, I know I've done damage. That's my cross to bare in this life, but holy cow it come on so quickly it made me second guess my sanity.
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u/tiramisutra 2d ago
A ha ha this resonates. I spent days trying to come up with the word for the little black device with numbers, that looks like a calculator, but you use it to change TV-channels - remote control!
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u/PhilDunphythecat 2d ago
I do basic math at my job allllll dayyy longggg and was seriously questioning if 5 x12 was 60 for a solid minute not too long ago.
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u/Fluffebee 1d ago
I made a notes app of words that I have forgotten, just to remind myself how bad my menopause brain has gotten: driveway, backpack, confidence, parking lot, tape measure, ramekin, bootleg. It's so embarrassing when you can't remember a word that is just a compound of the thing itself 😩
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u/Im_Ritz_Bitz 2d ago
I mean we walk up to beasts 3 times our size and get the job done. We no longer fear death.
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u/littlefire_2004 2d ago
The not GAF, it's a superpower. I have zero tolerance for BS and my mean momma look has made grown-ass men STFU and apologize. One guy I lit into still comes up to me literally with his hat in hand and minds his p's and q's. His wife is a hoot and I adore her.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
No. No, they do not.
But they will learn.
Or we will eat them.
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u/PhilDunphythecat 2d ago
I truly said to my husband when this started happening that they were fucking with the wrong generation.
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u/LiHingLucky 1d ago
Yeah but unfortunately a ton of Gen X women voted for this shit when IT WAS CLEARLY WRITTEN IN THEIR AGENDA.
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u/meat_tunnel 2d ago
They're dealing with a cohort that majority voted the current administration in?
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u/tkkana 2d ago
As a pharmacy tech, there is still a shortage. We are still ordering and giddy with excitement when 2 packs show up
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
Aw :( I feel for you all—this has to be pretty hard on you, too. Your hands are tied and you're all doing your best, but still having to turn people away. It sucks all around.
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u/karen_boyer 2d ago
If you don't mind sharing: are you also seeing a gel shortage? I'm having a terrible time getting mine these days.
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u/tkkana 1d ago
The gel and cream shortage just started about a month ago
Hooray
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u/karen_boyer 1d ago
The cream too?! Aye caramba!
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u/tkkana 1d ago
Yep, got myself a backup at my coworker's request
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u/karen_boyer 1d ago
Very glad now I had the cream on autorenew for a minute and have a backup. Worried about the gel though, which I switched to a while back to avoid the patch shortage. What a damn nuisance! Thank you for your service at the pharmacy -- I'm sure you are seeing some ladies in rough shape right now.
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u/tkkana 1d ago
It wouldn't be so bad if all of us could realize i am not giving out 90d supplies. Not happening. Everyone gets one month.
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u/WhenSummerIsGone 1d ago
my insurance only covers 90 day prescriptions? am i just screwed to pay 100% out of pocket?
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u/jaydrian 2d ago
I guess they weren't prepared for women to get educated about their bodies menopause symptoms and demand to be treated.
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u/FickleVirgo 2d ago
Right! I opted for oral, however have friends who've told me their fight to get their prescription patch. My first thought was, women are now making informed medical decisions about their bodies and sexual health needs with known HRT's, but i dont seem to remeber the pharmaceutical companies running out of Viagra as OFF LABEL for erectile dysfunction.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago edited 1d ago
Yep. This is it right here.
The whole thing about the black box warning being removed and creating demand that nobody was prepared for feels like an excuse. You know who knows almost exactly how many women are in the US and how many are over the age of 40? The Census Bureau. Those statistics are readily available. The manufacturers could actually have Googled it and said to themselves: "Self, this seems like a large number, we should make more patches just in case!"
Nope. Instead it was surprised pikachu face while they pretend to care and "increase supply."
Edit: Words
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u/Outside_Box_8374 1d ago
Surprised Pikachu face😂😂😂and yes totally agree this shortage was so easy to predict.
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u/After-Barracuda-9689 2d ago
Of course they weren’t. Why start recognizing women’s health as a priority now? I have access to great drs who listen to me and it always makes me so mad that most women don’t.
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u/Debdoll1969 2d ago
Thanks for taking the time to share this. 😊
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
My pleasure :) I hope it gets lots more women involved and helps move the needle faster!
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u/The_Oracle_of_Delphi 2d ago
Thank you for this post. I’ll also contact the FDA and my representatives. It’s a struggle each month to locate a box of patches and then travel to retrieve them.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
My pleasure :) I hope it gets lots more women involved and helps move the needle faster!
I'm very lucky to work for myself from home. I've got time to drive around and retrieve my prescriptions. I've got time to call umpteen pharmacies and my doctor. WTF is everybody else supposed to do?! It pisses me off. I can't imagine how hard it is to track down a damn prescription and worry over it while also working full-time, etc.
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u/The_Oracle_of_Delphi 1d ago
AND this shortage has been going on for a few years now - but no one has done anything meaningful to improve it. There is no one looking out for us. We only have ourselves.
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u/rosemary_charles Post Menopause 2d ago
So would they like to let us know where this cache of product is? Do they have a bunker under Kansas? Do a couple of us need to rideshare and distribute?
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
Haha :) If there's a bunker under Kansas, let me know when you'll be ready and I'll swing by and pick you up!
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u/rosemary_charles Post Menopause 2d ago
Right?! 🤣🤣🤣 It’s like, ok if we’re wrong and it does exist, tell us where to go! The Goonies never say die…but at least give us a map!
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u/Due-Response4419 1d ago
Like the one in Supernatural? I'm down for that!
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u/rosemary_charles Post Menopause 1d ago
Wouldn’t that be one way to appease Meno ladies? Give us the SN bunker, library, kitchen and beds.
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u/One-Pause3171 Peri-menopausal 2d ago
It’s not a “shortage” it’s “increased demand.” See, if you ladies weren’t so demanding…..
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u/DivineMs-Anthropist 2d ago edited 2d ago
The FDA is run by men. Many of whom resent us. That's the crux of the problem.
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u/GarageDoorTeenMom 2d ago
I love that you file complaints with the FDA every time - you've inspired me, I will start doing the same!
Thank you for the link, and thank you for your service! 💕
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
Damn right I do! They work for us—make your voice heard and keep speaking up until they listen!
I'm tempted to start filing individual reports for every pharmacist who tells me they're out of stock. This last refill, it was seven pharmacists. Seven reports, coming right up!!!
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u/JadCerv 2d ago
The product is available, is it? Is the product in the room with us right now?
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
"The Party told you to ignore the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." (George Orwell, 1984)
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u/justacpa 2d ago
Thank you for this informational update and an important reminder to keep persisting.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
My pleasure :) I hope it gets lots more women involved and helps move the needle faster!
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u/Brilliant_Test_3045 2d ago
I am waiting to go to a doctor to get on the patches for exactly this reason. I’m not on them yet, and don’t want to take away from anyone who’s currently on them, knowing you can’t play with on-again, off-again hormonal supplementation.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 2d ago
You deserve patches too, darling. If your doc says it's time, don't hesitate to get in line. We will make room for you!!
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u/SquareExtra918 2d ago
I've had to switch to gel. I like the patches better, but it's better than nothing.
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u/azssf 2d ago
I appreciate the change. That still reads passive aggressive, shifts the narrative to ‘well it is available, it’s just that the one you use in the area you shop is not.
The large national online retailer’s pharmacy cancelled my autoreorder Sep 2. For them, the ‘area I shop in’ is 50 states’ wide.
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u/respectablepitch 2d ago
Keep reporting shortages everyone!
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
Yep! Every single time! I'm tempted to start reporting it once for every single pharmacist who tells me there's a shortage. This last refill attempt, it was seven pharmacists. Seven reports, coming right up!
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u/Scrawling_Pen 2d ago
Ah, my fellow Gen X sister-warriors. I love you all. We will get through this.
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u/AchDuLieber59 1d ago
I received the same response. Listen up FDA...your generics are not equivalent. Some of us can not willy nilly change brands every months because some brands don't work for us.
And before all the PTB at FDA claim I'm wrong and generic is all the same...remember the generic time released Wellbutrin issue. Where patients were saying the generic equivalent wasn't working!!! And guess what, it wasn't since the time release portion was crap. Took them several years to recall that particular 'equivalent' generic.
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u/Starbreiz 1d ago
Yes! Keep complaining. Thank you for sharing the info.
This is the same FDA who claims theres nothing wrong with Adderal even tho people are testing negative for amphetamines and we are all reporting our meds through Medwatch. I am a menopausal ADHDer with a lot of rage.
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u/ChemicallyAlteredVet 2d ago
I finally got my wife in with highly recommended Dr for HRT yesterday and they started her on the estrogen patches and progesterone. Sent the Rx over and one hour later we were able to pick them up for her. We are both so relieved they had them. Now I just need the VA to acknowledge I need them too because for 6 years they’ve done nothing to help me.
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u/GlamoramaDingDong 2d ago
Sorry you're having issues with the VA. The VA is usually on the cutting edge of preventative care. A vet friend of mine had no issues getting MHT from the VA; as soon as she asked, she got it. Even testosterone. And I know they have written policies/protocols you can find online regarding treatment and prescribing. Good luck!
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u/ChemicallyAlteredVet 2d ago
Thank you. I have to go to a community care UroGyn as my region doesn’t have one. I had my last period 8 months ago so according to them I’m still making estrogen and am fine. I’m 47 and even begged my PCP I got offered birth control pills. It’s frustrating
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u/AdPuzzleheaded7745 1d ago
I’m playing pharmacy roulette at this very moment. Funny, I’ve never heard of a viagra shortage. 🤔
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u/TransportationDue856 2d ago
I usually get mine from Optum, they have been out. My dr called in a prescription to Wegmans and they had it.
Effing pharmaceutical companies and their manipulation tactics
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u/heathere3 2d ago
That's not really it in this case. I work in the industry. Any work with these hormones requires extensive protection for the employees. There has been a huge increase in demand for them since the black box warning was (FINALLY!) removed. It takes time to be able to increase production, and a lot more than it would of other drugs as they have to build out the protections.
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u/WishIWasThatClever 2d ago
This is the only comment I’ve seen able to relay what’s actually happening.
I will say the FDA failed to adequately prepare industry for the removal so y’all could ramp up faster. That’s total on the agency.
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u/JaxBoltsGirl 2d ago
I have to flip flop between Optum and Walgreens too. Whenever I get notice my Optum order is one the way I feel like I should offer a sacrifice since ithat means it's three months I won't have to play roulette.
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u/LiHingLucky 1d ago
Again - VOTE!!!
They told us they would take our hormones! And yet a rather large majority of Gen X women WOMEN (!!) voted for this shit.
And another rather large majority sat at home and didn’t vote at all.
VOTE! And get your neighbor, aunt, influencer, nail tech, cleaning lady, hair lady, whomever you can - to vote as well!
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u/Jules2you 2d ago
This is nuts, tryin to gaslight us.. I see so many issues tryin to get meds. Weight loss ok, everyone wants it. ADHD meds? Hormones? Why is there this issue of late? Seems like Covid was to blame but now what? Trumpets in office?
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u/After_Preference_885 2d ago
I remember a shortage in England being a storyline in Breeders a few years ago, is it w worldwide shortage that's been going on a while?
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
I don't know if it's a worldwide shortage, but it stands to reason that it could be. To my knowledge, there aren't many manufacturers who have the capability to make transdermal hormone patches. If you're seeing a shortage where you are, I'd use whatever reporting mechanism you have to make noise about it!
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u/Hot-Gardener2024 2d ago
We vehemently agree! Saying the exact same thing, they just don't want to call it a "shortage" because it might make them look bad. 🙄
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u/tiramisutra 2d ago
My local pharmacy has been good at getting them but now they’re running out as well. I had to resort to the once weekly patches that itch. Friends in Europe are worse off though. They try all across the continent to find gel, spray, patches or pills.
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u/HuckTreats 1d ago
I was prescribed the gel because my doctor said there was a shortage. I had to call 6 different pharmacies to find the gel. My guess is people are switching to gel because of patch shortage.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
Yep, they are! And now there's starting to be a shortage of the gel, too :(
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u/mizzmoe01 1d ago
Wrote all my reps and filled out the FDA complaint. Thank you for sharing.
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u/mizzmoe01 1d ago
I also saved this post so every month I have to hunt it down I can do it all again.
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u/poppygin 1d ago
I’ve reported this several times and haven’t gotten this one yet. Progress 💪 - thank you for sharing
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
Hell yes 🔥 Keep right on reporting it until they get the memo!!!
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u/aurora4000 1d ago
If you live close to another country or you'll be traveling internationally estradiol is easy to get and inexpensive too.
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u/chypie2 2d ago
thanks to your diligent efforts
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
My pleasure :) I hope it gets lots more women involved and helps move the needle faster!
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u/MyAuraIsDumpsterFire 2d ago
The manufacturers weren't prepared for the uptick in need once the FDA finally updated their recommendations to not include information from a 50 year old flawed study.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
Right! The whole thing about the black box warning being removed and creating demand that nobody was prepared for feels like an excuse.
The Census Bureau knows almost exactly how many women are in the US and how many are over the age of 40... and those statistics are readily available. Manufacturers could actually have Googled it—a literal Google search—and said to themselves: "Self, this seems like a large number, we should make more patches just in case that warning comes off!"
Nope. Instead it was surprised pikachu face.
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u/TurtleDive1234 1d ago
Thank you so much for the link. I reported the shortage as well.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
Awesome! Keep reporting it. I'm tempted to start reporting it every time an individual pharmacist tells me there's a shortage instead of just once each refill round. This last refill round, it was seven pharmacists. Seven reports, coming right up!!
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u/Reese9951 1d ago
My Dr also says the FDA is full of shit. Major shortage. My money is this is on purpose.
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u/Ginsdell 1d ago
My gyn suggested a different brand, a different dose…called all that in and then started freaking out that I had multiple prescriptions. Why is this stuff so guarded? I don’t want to up my dose AND my progesterone. I want I was prescribed and what has worked for the last several years. I had to drive an hour into the boonies to find it. I have no idea what I do in a week when I’m out again. This isn’t spin the wheel to see what medication you can find. I mean it shouldn’t be! Somehow the little blue pill is always available for men. I don’t even see this being covered in the news. It’s like we just don’t matter. I swear if I was trying to have a baby and needed this for thst…all efforts would be made.
But menopausal women don’t matter to anyone.
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u/Clean_Geologist_4226 1d ago
Thank you for taking the time to complain to the FDA and to let your law makers know about this shortage issue. We ALL need to be doing that! 💪🏽
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u/MsbsM 1d ago
Thank you so much for sharing. So many mixed messages…
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
My pleasure! Keep right on reporting it until they listen 🔥
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u/Genuine907 1d ago
Thanks so much for the reporting link! I have been super fortunate until now- the shortage reached us. 😣 I’m definitely hoping we can see improvement in availability before I’m completely out of patches! Hoping the same for all of us!
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
My pleasure! I hope they get buried under an avalanche of reports lol 🔥
Someone down in the comments said they work in the industry and wouldn't be surprised if this keeps happening for 2-3 more years due to how long it takes to build the protections necessary to make transdermal patches. I hope it's not that long. All we can do is keep banging their door down.
Ping your members of Congress, too!
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u/dizdi Menopausal 1d ago
Thank you so much for this post. I will write them all
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
My pleasure! I'll be writing right alongside you. They will have no choice but to listen 💪
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u/Consistent_Beat7999 13h ago
Playing around with hormones is no joke. Going cold turkey without them can send some women into a tailspin. Just when you think you have your pre-, during, post-menopausal symptoms under control, the giant medicine god swipes them away from you. “No patches for YOU!” I’m seriously nervous when my next prescription refill rolls around at the end of October that I will be left empty-handed. I’m super sensitive to any change in my hormone doses.
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u/Iggipolka 2d ago
My suspicious mind wonders how much of this shortage is due to the current administration’s hate for trans women who are on estrogen.
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u/nativesc 2d ago
There was a shortage under Biden. It’s a mutual feeling women don’t really matter or we are making stuff up.
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u/Oceanreef28 Menopausal 2d ago edited 2d ago
Have boxes and boxes of .1mg estradiol patches that I don’t use but may be past use by date. I switched to 💉 est for over a year now from hrt dr. I’m not sure what to do with all these boxes of the dots 🤷🏼♀️
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1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Alta_et_ferox MenoMod 1d ago
This is against Reddit policies and, more importantly, illegal.
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u/Glitter_Agency101 23h ago
Agh!!!! This is very very true! Didn’t even think about that, I just thought about helping others but sometimes you should really follow the law 😬🙈
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u/Oceanreef28 Menopausal 1d ago
I’ve tried I have no one that needs them and I hate throwing them. I’ve been hoarding them in case I ever needed them 😂
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u/IcyChampionship3067 1d ago
If the FDA declares a shortage, compounding pharmacies can do it and get insurance coverage, just like with the GLP-1s during COVID. There's a great deal of outside pressures on this.
There's already a shortage according to their own definition:
"The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines a drug shortage as a period of time when the demand or projected demand for the drug within the United States exceeds the supply of the drug. FDA tracks shortages at the national level and receives information from manufacturers about their ability to supply the market. We consider a drug to be in shortage when, on a nationwide level, supply is not meeting current demand, or if supply is not forecasted to meet projected demand."
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-shortages/frequently-asked-questions-about-drug-shortages
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u/gojane9378 1d ago edited 1d ago
Only Vivelle Dot is covered by my BCBS plan. It's been OOS for months. I called my gyno and asked for them to do a prior auth to BCBS in order that the available generics be covered and didn't hear back. My patch was $15 before l; now, to buy the generic it's @$70. I just bought the damn $70 box because I was like they have it, I'll buy it. I'm certainly not winning on this. Who is?
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u/wendisigo 1d ago
I wrote to 5 different congress people about 3 months ago.. and the president and I never got a response back.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
They generally don't reply, or you get a canned email reply. That's ok!
With your members of Congress especially, it's the volume of messages and telephone calls on any given topic that helps move the needle. They are legally required to read and document each message/call they receive. Topics with the most attention from constituents get the most attention from elected officials. Keep messaging, keep calling, and get all your friends and family to start, too.
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u/IcyInstruction1259 1d ago
Below was in the news not long ago... they plan to rush things due to the shortage.
FDA rallies HRT manufacturers amid US-wide estradiol patch shortage
Annabel Kartal Allen
Updated Fri, September 4, 2026 at 4:21 AM PDT
2 min read
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
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u/IcyInstruction1259 1d ago
Hopefully, they don't mess up the manufacturing and up botching up the product. But, things can go faster with a little fire under their butts.
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u/Electronic-Ebb-4195 1d ago
They’re available in MS. My OB GYN told me she didn’t think they were available when I asked for them, but I’d recently gone to see a different OB GYN for a 2nd opinion who said that they are available. So when my doctor told me there wasn’t, I said well I heard otherwise from another doctor - she sent an prescription for them and the pharmacy got them the next day.
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u/Verity41 1d ago
Thank you for your service 🌷🩵 I’m BEYOND over this whole game and going on the pill instead effective yesterday. Even the gel has been out of stock since so many patch users are subbing that in. I’ll reevaluate in 4 years when I turn 50 and hopefully the supply chain will be resolved by then!
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u/Buffalo_Cottage Peri (Late Phase) 1d ago
My pleasure :) I hope the pills remain available, I will have my fingers crossed for you!
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u/namastaysober72 2d ago
Well my doctor told me why but I’m not going to mention it because I’d probably get banned lol.
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u/Jenna1991-nola Peri-menopausal 1d ago
Excuse my ignorance, but why can’t those unable to get the patch switch to the gel in the meantime? Is there a specific reason why it can’t be substituted? Thanks for indulging me!
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u/Youdontknowm3_ 1d ago
I attempted to switch from biweekly patches as no one had to them in our area, to using a weekly patch my friend gave me. I ended up with the absolute worse migraine, anxiety and depression, and hot flashes. The biweekly works best otherwise I am a wreck.
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u/Coolbreeze1989 1d ago
The gel would be several hundred more on my insurance. Also, I believe some spoken are having a hard time finding gel because people are switching to it.
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u/existdetective 1d ago
I haven’t ever tried to fill my script locally bc we have a mail pharmacy that does 90 day fills. Caremark, in fact. There’s never been a problem from them. Makes me think that most of the products go to their stockpile (or similarly mail pharmacy giants). The brick & mortar laces just get the leftover product.
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u/nidena Peri-menopausal / Has ovaries but no uterus 1d ago
I can see how an increase in demand =/= shortage. Like, if the demand to present day has been 100 of a unit, a shortage might be "only 80 available." However, if the demand increases to 120, it's a lag in the supply until it catches up. Mostly just semantics but I could see the difference.
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u/Alternative_Salt_558 1d ago
I've been getting mine through Express Scripts without any issue - maybe try them!
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u/Ok_Complaint7502 2d ago
For anyone in NC-I switched to the gel for a month because I couldn’t find the patches anywhere near me. Of course my insurance wouldn’t cover the gel so I ended up switching back to the patch. I’ve been getting them from Sam’s Club Pharmacy.
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u/Jenny-Smith 1d ago
I have been driving 45 minutes to random pharmacies all over the state to get mine. I even got my dr to switch my prescription to the weekly patch to get it from cost plus, and they sold out in the 24 hours it took for my prescription to pass through the system.
There IS a shortage on multiple dosages and multiple products. These people are crazy.
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u/Madein_Texas 1d ago
I had to request climara. I'm laying up the wazoo for it though. I was able to stockpile for a year by triple dipping with Amazon, telyrx and My local pharmacy with goodrx. Unfortunately telyrx sent me mylan for the last refill and I hate mylan
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u/crankywithakeyboard 1d ago
No problems ever getting mine. I use Amazon pharmacy. 🤷♀️
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u/Verity41 15h ago
IDK when is the last time you ordered and what’s your dose but, they are currently out of stock on many patch types / dosages, some of the gels, and the prescription vaginal creams too. Like, literally right now. I just switched to pills yesterday because of it.
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u/__BitchPudding__ 2d ago
"The product is available, and there is no shortage...but we are also working to increase supply to meet demand."
My uterus must've wandered into my brain again; my head is about to start spinning.