To those who are on the E patch a question

[KymmieL]

I have a question for the girls on the estradiol patch. Any tricks to keeping the darn thing on? I have had mine come off 12 hrs after putting it on. 

 

Thanks

Kymmie

[Ivy]

Some have suggested putting tape over it.   

I don';t know myself.   I've not had problems keeping them on.  But I have had problems with the stickum irritating my skin.  Some brands seem worse than others.

[VickySGV]

My Endo upped the number of patches she prescribes and told me to change them out as they fall off, some go a few hours, others for a few days, but never as long as the week they are supposed to be good for.  They do leave a mark on my skin that feels like a film covering it for a day or so, and then I am left with a ring where it had been that requires rubbing alcohol to take off.  When the "film" has gone, the skin is rough and dry though.  YMMV is probably the watch word here.

[DeeDee]

Other than my very first attempt, which needed a waterproof sticking plaster to keep it in place, I have had no issues with this. If ot isn't totally clean shaven I clear an area first then change twice a week after I've dried off from my morning shower.

Mine stay on until I change them, and I've been in baths, hot tubs and river swimming this weekend without worrying.

What doesn't come off is the sticky mark showing where they were!

[Jani]

@KymmieL I started using a clear thin medical bandage years ago.  One brand is Tagamet but I prefer Opsite Flexifix.  I get it at Amazon.  Its less costly than the other brand and comes in several widths.  I cut off a big enough piece to cover my patches and then trim the edges to round them to remove the corners.  This makes them less apt to peel at the corners.  

 

Jani

[KymmieL]

I know what you mean about the residue. you can always see where mine was. I have found that goo gone works well too.

 

Jani, I will have to try some medical tape.

 

Kymmie.

 

[Kylie]

I tried patches for a bit and they didn’t work for me at all! Same issue, constantly falling off and insurance wouldn’t allow me to replace them earlier. I ended up breaking out and developed a skin rash so they changed me to injections. Much better option for me. 

[KathyLauren]

I started out using the Sandoz generic patches.  I needed two to get the dosage right.  They were huge!  Sticking them on my belly, below the navel, there was only room for three positions before I had to re-use a patch of skin.  So each bit of skin only got a 7-day break.

 

Falling off was a big problem.  They would often come loose in the shower, and I'd have to tape them in place.

 

A bigger problem was that the adhesive was caustic.  After a couple of years, I ended up with burn marks that would not go away before I had to re-use the area.

 

I switched to using a brand-name patch: Estradot.  They are much, much smaller, so I can go five weeks before I have to re-use the same piece of skin.  They stick better.  In two years, I have only had one bad batch, where a few of them came off.  Mostly, the stick tight, even in the shower.  And the adhesive is mild, so it doesn't burn me, and the skin gets time to recover.

 

The brand-name patches cost about $20 more per box than the generic, which insurance doesn't cover.  But I am happy to pay the difference, because the patches are so much better.  I have asked my doctor to put "brand-name only" on my prescription, and I asked the pharmacy to put it on my file.

 

[Astrid]

My experience has been very similar to Kathy's, except that I use Vivelle Dot rather Estradot.  I, too, have a brand-name only direction on my prescription and at the pharmacy.  Sandoz, which my initial pharmacy swapped in for a few months without informing me, are huge and don't stick well.  It prompted me to switch pharmacies.  The Vivelle Dots are small, are designed for 1/2 week of use (3 1/2 days), and seldom come off unexpectedly (but because the adhesive is strong, I do need to remove the adhesive similar to VickySVG's experience after taking off a patch).  The adhesive doesn't burn me.

 

Don't hesitate to work with your prescribing doctor to find a patch that works well for you.  It make take a few switches, but the effort is worth it.

[Robin.C]

Same experience here, I only use Estradot.

The trick I found was to make sure the skin is clean (I use isopropyl alcohol) before putting the patch on.

When putting the patch on, apply pressure for 60 seconds to ensure the adhesive activates or whatever they call it.

 

I did have a bad batch of patches, which after searching online found out that it isn't uncommon. So I just changed to multiples of another dose until that batch had been exhausted by the chemist.

 

The one issue I did have was related to mucho sweat and also not cleaning the area well enough. I always moisturize the previous area after I take patches off to reduce the amount of irritation the adhesive causes.

 

Also I use the same Isopropyl to reduce the black/blue residue. Once it runs out I have some Acetone which is the same stuff in nail polish remover and the commercial adhesive removers.

 

Stay happy  and safe.

 

Hugs

Robyn

[DeeDee]

I was researching last night and discovered that baby oil on the tip of a cotton bud works ridiculously well to remove the marks without rubbing the skin raw.

[Charlize]

I got so frustrated with patches that i started using a daily spray. It is sometimes difficult to find but after some years now i have few other issues.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Heather Nicole]

The advice from @Jani of covering with a clear thin medical bandage was a HUGE help for me when I was on my old patches. I have no idea what I would've done without that.

 

One other thing of course is to pay attention to placement. If it's on a part of skin that flexes, wrinkles, creases, moves a lot as you move around, or gets rubbed by clothes, etc., then that's probably not going to work well.

 

Best thing I did though was ask my doctor if she could switch me to either a different brand or a twice-a-week patch instead of once-a-week (at the very least, I figured trying to get one to last 3-4 days would be easier than coaxing a full week out of one - although 12 hours, wow, yea that's really not good ). There really does seem to be a lot of variety in the quality of different patches. My old once-a-week Mylan ones were awful - huge, not at all water-resistant like they claimed to be, and a quite a skin irritant. I've heard online that Mylan's twice-a-week are much better though, although I wouldn't know personally. My new twice-a-week Amneal "Dotti" ones are a night-and-day difference - tiny, a very strong adhesive, hardly any irritation, and I can even shower with it no problem.

 

My top recommendation is definitely to see if you can get a different brand or something you change more often. And in the meantime, take @Jani's advice. Life's too short to suffer bad patches!

[Ivy]

7 minutes ago, Heather Nicole said:

I've heard online that Mylan's twice-a-week are much better though,

That's what I have.  Not had any troubles keeping them on.  But there is some irritation, but not as bad as the Sandose ones.

[KymmieL]

Mine are a every three day Mylan brand. About the size of a large stamp.

 

Kymmie

[Michelle PJ]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am on Estradiol patches from Bayer (Clamira or Climara?).   I use two patches of **.** and another of *****.   I keep them on for a week.   I have been pretty successful at keeping them on for the entire week.   If they loosen or come off during showering, I just press them on the best I can and put on a pair of shape control panties to secure them in place.   Securing them with tight fitting panties get them to stay for the duration.   My biggest problem is the adhesive stain on my panties that do not come off.   I did try goo gone but to no avail.   The silver lining in this regimen is that it gives me an excuse to buy more cute panties!

 

Michelle 

Edited May 15, 2022 by MaryEllen
Dosage removed per rule 13