About Oestrogel
Oestrogel gel is prescribed for use after menopause to treat moderate to severe menopausal symptoms including moderate to severe hot flashes. If you use oestrogel only to treat your menopausal changes in and around your vagina, talk with your healthcare provider about whether a topical vaginal product would be better for you.
What is Oestrogel gel?
Oestrogel is indicated as hormone replacement therapy (THS) for:
Treatment of symptoms of menopause, natural or surgically caused, eg hot flashes, night sweats, urogenital disorders (atrophic vulvovaginitis).
Prevention of osteoporosis (loss of bone mass) if you are at high risk of future fractures and cannot use other medications for this purpose. Talk to your doctor about all available treatment options.
Oestrogel should not be used to prevent heart disease or to increase brain power. Oestrogel is not a contraceptive, nor does it restore fertility
How does it work?
The active substance, estradiol, is chemically and biologically identical to endogenous human estradiol. It replaces the loss of estrogen production that occurs during menopause and relieves the symptoms of menopause. Estrogens prevent bone loss due to menopause or ovariectomy.
From studies, it appears that the addition of a progestin for 10 or more days of the estrogen administration cycle decreases, although significantly, the risk of estrogen-induced endometrial hyperplasia in non-hysterectomised women.
What are the benefits of taking it?
Oestrogel (estradiol) gel uses include relieving menopausal symptoms, such as:
- Hot flushes
- Night sweats
- Vaginal dryness or irritation
- Dry eyes or mouth
- Anxiety
- Mood swings or depression
- Difficulty sleeping
- Loss of libido (sexual desire)
- Osteoporosis (decrease in bone mass and density).
Oestrogel application is used on the skin, making it an excellent choice for women who do not want to take oral medications. The gel contains only estrogen (in the form of estradiol). Women who have not had a hysterectomy should also use a progestogen medication with this medication to protect the uterus from side effects.
How do I use it and its dosage?
Always use this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. If in doubt, consult your doctor or pharmacist again.
The dose should be established according to the blood levels of hormones of each patient. The daily dose is variable (depending on each individual patient) and the medical prescription must be faithfully followed.
The normal dose is 2.5 g of gel per day, that is, a measure of 2.5 g of the applicator, from 21 to 31 days a month.
The doctor can recommend other doses adapted to your specific case.
In patients with an intact uterus, estrogen should be supplemented, by a physician’s prescription, with the sequential administration of a progestogen, for at least the last 12 days of treatment with Oestrogel.
Dosage may be cyclical when estrogen is dosed cyclically with a rest interval, typically 21 days of treatment and 7 days of rest. The progestogen is normally added for 12-14 days of the cycle.
The dosage can be a continuous sequential when estrogen is dosed continuously. The progestogen is normally added for at least 12-14 days out of the 28 days of the cycle, sequentially.
Dosage can be continuously combined when estrogen and progestogen are administered daily, with no rest period.
This cycle will be repeated successively for several months, as indicated by the doctor. Since it is a substitute treatment, it usually lasts a long time.
The administration of Oestrogel must be done by the same patient, in the morning or at night.
How to use the tube and applicator:
It is preferable that the gel is applied once a day, always around the same time and after the bath (the skin must be clean, dry and without wounds or other skin lesions).
To measure a daily dose of 2.5 g:
Screw the applicator to the mouth of the tube.
Squeeze the tube to fill the applicator with the gel, until the plunger stops at the 2.5 g mark.
Detach the applicator from the tube and apply the gel to the skin.
After each application, separate the plunger from the cannula and wash them.
Side effects & precautions
Seek emergency medical attention if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat. Call your doctor immediately if you have:
- symptoms of a heart attack – chest pain or pressure, pain spreading to the jaw or shoulder, nausea, sweating
- signs of stroke – sudden numbness or weakness (especially on one side of your body), sudden and severe headache, slurred speech, problems with vision or balance
- signs of a blood clot – sudden loss of vision, shooting chest pain, feeling short of breath, coughing up blood, pain or heat in one or both legs
- bloating or tenderness in your stomach
- jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)
- memory problems, confusion, unusual behavior
- unusual vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain
- a lump in the breast
- high levels of calcium in the blood – nausea, vomiting, constipation, increased thirst or urination, muscle weakness, bone pain, lack of energy.
- Topical estradiol is absorbed through the skin of a child who comes into contact with this medicine. Call your doctor if a child in close contact with you develops swollen nipples or enlarged breasts.
Common side effects may include:
- nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps
- bloating, bloating, weight gain
- breast pain or tenderness
- headache
- vaginal itching or discharge, changes in your menstrual period, breakthrough bleeding
- thinning hair on your head
- cold symptoms such as the stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat.
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