HRT automatic alarm clock

[Rachel]

It is time for my meds. I know when it is time without an alarm. Does anyone else just know it is time?

[Miss_Bungle1991]

I used to be that way in the past but not anymore. Not when it comes to my E. It's a bit different with the Quetiapine. I have to take that at the same time. If I miss it by an hour or something like that, I feel weird. I wish I didn't have to take it but, oh well. That's life.

[JLT1]

Cynthia,

I'm on estrogen patches (Changed every 3 ½ days) and spiro in pill form each day.  I can tell when a patch accidently comes loose and I can tell when it's time to change patches.  I can tell when I missed a dose of spiro but I can't really tell the first day.  Really sensitive to changes in E.

Jen

[Just Ole Me]

Cynthia,

I'm on estrogen patches (Changed every 3 ½ days) and spiro in pill form each day.  I can tell when a patch accidently comes loose and I can tell when it's time to change patches.  I can tell when I missed a dose of spiro but I can't really tell the first day.  Really sensitive to changes in E.

Jen

Hi Jen

Are you happy with you results from patches?  I'm considering patches.

Hugs

Kay

[JLT1]

Hi Jen

Are you happy with you results from patches?  I'm considering patches.

Hugs

Kay

Kay!  Hugs!!

1.  They are easier on the liver than pills.

2.  I think patches work just fine if one can get the correct dose.  A patch on a 140 lb girl gives different levels of estrogen in the blood than it would on a 200 lb girl.  So, levels have to be checked and adjusted but there is a reluctance to go above a certain dosage. I had a real hard time with dosages.

3.  Cleaning my skin after I remove them can be difficult and requires some scrubbing.

4.  Patches are somewhat expensive.

In the end, once I got the dosages correct and figured out how to keep them on as well as how to clean the left over goo when I took them off, I became very pleased with them.

Jen 

[LordKAT]

Removing leftover goo. Before showering and as soon as possible after removing the patch, apply Vaseline or Ponds cold cream. NOT noxema. Use a gauze pad (4X4)and rub in a circular motion. It loosens and removes the goo. After, wash as normal to remove the oils. sometimes if you use the cold cream, you can just wipe it off until you shower.

[Jill F]

I take a couple of clicks of gel every morning.  If I forget, I am reminded by mid-afternoon.  Bitchy, irritable, off.  If it has to go longer, hot flash.

Almost forgot this morning. Got 15 miles from home and had to turn back, mostly at my wife's suggestion.

[Eva Marie]

I am constantly leaving the house and forgetting my daily meds. I finally just started carrying a mornings assortment of meds in my computer bag every day, which is easier than driving back home.

I haven't really noticed the alarm clock thing when I miss a dose.

[sushitime]

This is really interesting to me, because I was also concerned about time of day for dosing. When I asked my endocrinologist about what time of the day would be the best, or whether or not I should split up the dose, he said "it's more of a buildup sort of thing" and that dosing time is pretty much irrelevant. On the other hand, on the Estrofem box, it says pretty clearly that it's best to take them at the same time every day, so what's the deal?

[TessaMarie]

There's not a hope of me being able to remember my meds.

I use my phone to sound an alarm every 12 hours, and I make a point of not dismissing the alarm until I have actually taken my meds.  Even if I think "I'm on the way right now", it's just too easy for me to get distracted and completely forget that I was about to take meds (no, it's not alzheimer's - I've always been like this).

So far that has been working well.  I haven't missed a single tablet since I started setting that alarm.

I may not be taking the meds exactly when the alarms sound, but I do take them within a close enough time.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

This is really interesting to me, because I was also concerned about time of day for dosing. When I asked my endocrinologist about what time of the day would be the best, or whether or not I should split up the dose, he said "it's more of a buildup sort of thing" and that dosing time is pretty much irrelevant. On the other hand, on the Estrofem box, it says pretty clearly that it's best to take them at the same time every day, so what's the deal?

When I started taking my HRT meds, I was taking them at 10 am everyday like clockwork. Once my sleeping patterns changed, I would take them anywhere from 10 am to noon. It didn't make any difference at all.

[sushitime]

When I started taking my HRT meds, I was taking them at 10 am everyday like clockwork. Once my sleeping patterns changed, I would take them anywhere from 10 am to noon. It didn't make any difference at all.

So do you think that some people are affected and others are not, or that "feeling off" when dosing time is off is placebo effect?

[Miss_Bungle1991]

I think it depends on dosage level and the drug itself.

The antidepressant I am on WILL make you feel weird if you miss a dose. It's not fun. As far as HRT stuff goes: I had an instance back on August 8th and 9th, 2009 where the drug companies screwed up and shorted me two days of Spiro and Finasteride. I had a slight headache from the absence of the Spiro but I felt AWESOME not having that damn Finasteride in me. (It was causing all kinds of problems with suicidal thoughts and SEVERE depression). With the E, there was one time the insurance company was screwing me around and I went without E for 5 days straight. I had horrible hot flashes, night sweats and just felt "off". I had a horrible emotional crash late on the 5th night that came out of nowhere. It totally sucked. Once I had my E back on track, I was okay from that point onward.

[Jenna Marie]

Nope, but I'm another on patches, so I have some leeway. I *would* notice if I skipped more than a few hours without a patch on at all, though. But since Vivelle is a time-release method, it's not a case of levels dropping immediately to zero after the patch is used up; there's a bit left over in there that continues to provide a gradually decreasing amount of E even after it should have been changed.

(I'm very happy with patches, both b/c of the constant steady dose and the fact that I only have to remember to "take" it twice a week. Vivelle is also very tiny, and I have no problems with either getting it to stick or getting the spot clean afterward.)