Is there a difference between Estradiol and estradiol valerate???

[K Style Addiction]

I've been taking estradiol valerate and haven't felt much change in me except for mainly my skin. I've been thinking of switching to Estradiol, now would that help with my HRT or would it make no difference? Please Help!!!

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

Estradiol is the main estrogen produced from the ovaries. It is an 18 carbon chain. Sometimes another substance is attached to the "alkyl" group at carbon 3 to allow for different forms of administering the estrogen such as injectable versus oral. The valerate that I'm familiar with is an injectable estrogen. That would make it last longer than "normal" estradiol. But estrogen is estrogen. In comparable dosages, the effects and risks and benefits would be the same.

Hope that helps.

Janet

[Asfsd4214]

There was a thread on this topic a while back you might get good information from.

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,116683

Estradiol Valerate is Estradiol bound with Valerate ester. I am not 100% sure why the pills are available bound with valerate, but for injections which are usually estradiol valerate it's likely because the valerate ester increases oil solubility improving its application as depot injection. Your body metabolises the compound into its parent compound Estradiol so it functions identically.

[justmeinoz]

According to my Endo, the only detectable difference is that the most commonly used biochemistry ananlysers can't read the synthetic level accurately, so they look at the effect on T level instead.  The naturally produced version is measureable though.

Karen.

[JoanneL]

From reading I am under the impression that estradiol is the stronger of the two

[Asfsd4214]

From reading I am under the impression that estradiol is the stronger of the two

It's no different, it's metabolized into estradiol in a virtually dose-identical way.

According to my Endo, the only detectable difference is that the most commonly used biochemistry ananlysers can't read the synthetic level accurately, so they look at the effect on T level instead.  The naturally produced version is measureable though.

Karen.

I believe you may have misunderstood your endo. They're right to say that synthetic estrogens may not show up on a test for estradiol, and it's true to say that estradiol valerate is a synthetic or at least semi-synthetic compound. But it's metabolized by your body into its parent compound estradiol. Which a test for estradiol will pick up regardless of how it came into the body.

Your endo likely meant that synthetic estrogens like ethylestradiol won't show up on an estradiol test because they're a different compound despite all being estrogen receptor agonists.

[AbraCadabra]

It's no different, it's metabolized into estradiol in a virtually dose-identical way.

I believe you may have misunderstood your endo. They're right to say that synthetic estrogens may not show up on a test for estradiol, and it's true to say that estradiol valerate is a synthetic or at least semi-synthetic compound. But it's metabolized by your body into its parent compound estradiol. Which a test for estradiol will pick up regardless of how it came into the body.

Your endo likely meant that synthetic estrogens like ethylestradiol won't show up on an estradiol test because they're a different compound despite all being estrogen receptor agonists.

May I confirm this first hand. I take "EstroPause" (Estradiol 17b, valerate) oral, and it certainly showed up during my last blood-tests as Serum-Estradiol 259 pmol/l...

It is also called 'estered' estradiol (E2) and not to be confused at all with Ethinyl Estradiol (EE)

I have read that estradiol (valerate) has a slightly higher efficacy than estradiol 17b (non-estered) i.e. a little more bang for the buck

Axélle

[Asfsd4214]

I have read that estradiol (valerate) has a slightly higher efficacy than estradiol 17b (non-estered) i.e. a little more bang for the buck

Axélle

I'd be curious what that's based on. The problem with comparing the two is often it's estradiol pills vs estradiol valerate injections. Rather than estradiol pills vs estradiol valerate pills. Which is hard to compare because they result in quite different blood level pattern over periods of time.

I suspect the pills of both compounds are for all intents and purposes the same. Once metabolised into Estradiol the molecule should be treated the same regardless of its origins by the body. So ultimately, get your blood serum levels of estradiol checked. As always your physician should ensure they're at least within normal female ranges. Provided they are, it likely makes very little difference how you get there.