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JUAN ZARAMA PERINI/Stuff
Kerry Gordon has been reliant on HRT since she entered menopause in December.
After, cervical cancer and a full hysterectomy in December, Kerry Gordon entered surgical menopause at 47.
She has been reliant on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), Oestradiol (Estradot) ever since.
The prescription patches release oestrogen in a continuous and controlled way – as ovaries would prior to menopause.
”On the patches I am ok, not on the patches I’m not ok,” she said.
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For years, there have been shortages of the patches, which are used by tens of thousands of people in Aotearoa to treat symptoms of menopause.
Gordon had heard of the shortages but was left “distressed” when her supply was cut off without warning.
On Friday, the Wellington woman got a text from her pharmacy saying there were no oestrogen patches nationwide.
They would not be able to fill the script till further notice, she said.
JUAN ZARAMA PERINI/Stuff
Gordon had heard of the shortages but was left “distressed” when her supply was cut off without warning.
“It just feels really wrong.”
HRT can be stopped suddenly, but is recommended to be done gradually, as it is less likely to cause symptoms to come back short-term.
Gordon would have to take oestrogen pills, which worried her as she didn’t know what the side effects would be.
The uncertainty of not knowing when she would be able to access the patches left her anxious and fearful, she said.
“I just feel like the whole system is failing lots of us, but it is harder on the people who have been through the surgical side of things.”
RNZ
Some believe menopause is the only thing holding women in their 50s back from living the best days of their lives.
People struggling to access oestrogen is not new.
In July last year, Aotearoa was out of stock of Oestradiol (Estradot) 50 microgram patches, due to logistic “bottlenecks”.
Between February and May 2021, 75mcg patches were out of stock, and the only alternative was a product not approved by Medsafe.
The 25 and 50mcg patches also ran out between August 2020 and January 1, 2021.
Demand for HRT has more than doubled over the past five years with sharp increases in demand for the patches over the past two years.
Stuff
According to Pharmac’s website, Estradot in 25, 50 and 75mcg is out of stock, with resupply of 25 and 50mcg not expected in till July. (File photo)
Auckland doctor, Sue Loughlin said in the past the patches had been difficult to get, but possible.
However, for the past few weeks it had been near impossible to get any, with lots of pharmacies out of stock, she said.
While the shortages were world-wide, the problem in New Zealand was there wasn’t much else to choose from, she said.
People had been told in the past the best workaround was to cut the patches down to get their correct dosage.
According to Pharmac’s website, Estradot in 25, 50 and 75mcg is out of stock, with resupply of 25 and 50mcg not expected until July.
Stock for 100mcg had arrived in New Zealand and was undergoing quality assurance checks.
Pharmac’s Director of Operations Lisa Williams said the demand for oestradiol patches continued to surpass the available supply.
Williams said most of the stock in Aotearoa is on allocation, which means pharmacies are only receiving a small volume each week (possibly not the full order they placed).
Pharmac had secured a stock of alternative brands to support ongoing access to treatment, but these brands were not approved by Medsafe, she said.
“We are exploring how we could reduce the impact by looking to see if there are other products we could secure and fund in New Zealand.”
“We want to acknowledge the stress this supply issue might be causing some people.”
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