Moisture under estrogen patch

[Miyuki]

I've been using Vivelle Dot patches for the past three months or so, and overall I've been pretty happy with them. My emotional stability have been much better with the more consistant estrogen levels a patch provides, and I've gradually been noticing improvement in my fat distribution and breast size (things are still moving pretty slowly though). But recently as the weather has gotten more hot and humid, I've started to have trouble with moisture collecting underneath the patches. They still stick well enough to stay on okay, but the patch peels off very easily when I take it off to change it, and the center of the patch on the side that was touching my skin is wet to the touch and not sticky at all. I'm not sure if this is actually a problem or not, because the patch does seem to stay in contact with my skin well enough, even if it isn't actually stuck to it that well. I have tried covering the patch with Tegaderm film a few times to keep it on better, but this makes the moisture problem even worse (the patch isn't even sticky at all when I take it off after having it covered). I don't have an appointment with my endocrinologist for another month, so I'm not sure if this problem has actually been affecting my estrogen levels at all. I have noticed my breasts haven't seemed quite as sensitive lately as when I first started the patch, but that could just be my imagination playing tricks on me. Are there any other patch users here who have had a similar experience?

[Jessica Merriman]

I see you met the dreaded sweat monster! I am running into the same problem myself and next appointment I am going to inquire about the pellet method. The problem is when the sweat leeches out of the patch it takes some of the "E" with it and minimizes the dose you are getting. Patches are great in the winter, but nothing except a pain in the summer. If I can't get pellets I may see about injectable for the hotter months. I do like the patches though.

[Miyuki]

Ungh, I was afraid of that. Well, lucky for me I live in Minnesota where winter lasts six months out of the year. Unfortunately, getting on pellets might be a problem for me, since I don't know of any endocrinologists around here that administer them (unless someone happens to know of one?). In the mean time I think I am going to ask my endocrinologist about getting more patches prescribed so that I can change them every two days instead of every three days. I'm hoping that will at least minimize the problem.

[xNatasha]

I use sandoz estradot ( loves em )
I leave them on no issues
Actually the issue I have is getting them off my butt

edit: no dosages

[allisonsteph]

I see you met the dreaded sweat monster! I am running into the same problem myself and next appointment I am going to inquire about the pellet method. The problem is when the sweat leeches out of the patch it takes some of the "E" with it and minimizes the dose you are getting. Patches are great in the winter, but nothing except a pain in the summer. If I can't get pellets I may see about injectable for the hotter months. I do like the patches though.

Great, we are set to have our first 100 degree day of the year and I will be spending most of the day outside. As if I wasn't having enough problems getting them to stick. I have been using Climara patches and my doctor offered the Estrodot patch as a replacement because of the adhesive problems, but my medical insurance (Medi-Cal) only covers Climara.

[Tessa James]

I have been "on the patch" for almost 15 months and they are a challenge.  As previously noted sweat can loosen the adhesive, cause them to bubble and be less effective.  I have that same problem with a hot tub soak or a hot shower.  And then there is the problem of what our insurance  (in the USA) will cover and is another good endorsement for finally getting single payer universal care.   I have found it helps to pretreat the area with an alcohol swab and letting it dry prior to applying the patch.  Patches do give us that  "consistent" level and minimize the roller coaster effect, hepatic (liver) metabolism and risks of thrombus.  The pellets are a great alternative, IMO, but i know of at least one friend who has a bunch of little insertion site scars.  I suppose that depends or many factors such as skill and method of insertion and our individual skin response.

And still it is all totally worth it eh?

[KayXo]

There's also gel (Estrogel)...or injections. I personally hate patches...so inconvenient and impractical, with the sweat and all, not sticking properly, who knows if levels are really that stable?

[Jenna Marie]

The adhesive on the patch is actually the estrogen delivery method, but the thing is, it doesn't have to be *sticky* to continue to deliver E. I checked with my endo and pharmacist, and both said if it falls off that's a problem, but a bit of sweat underneath it won't interfere. Manufacturers build a little tolerance into the patches because they know it's impossible for them to work perfectly on humans outside of a lab, too. So the amount provided is *relatively* stable, but there's going to be a teeny bit of variation over the course of a day as we move, sit, etc.  I second the recommendation for an alcohol cleaning of the site beforehand, and I had some luck with surgical tape when I was using Climara (haven't needed it on Vivelle).

Jessica : That's basically true, but the patches only need to provide a tiny amount of E per hour, so losing a little to sweat (a very, very little, the pharmacist says) is not a problem. It's the same thing that happens when the patch loses contact due to skin wrinkling, and is within tolerances.

[Miyuki]

I have found it helps to pretreat the area with an alcohol swab and letting it dry prior to applying the patch.

I had actually been doing this all along, so no worries there.

Patches do give us that  "consistent" level and minimize the roller coaster effect, hepatic (liver) metabolism and risks of thrombus.  The pellets are a great alternative, IMO, but i know of at least one friend who has a bunch of little insertion site scars.  I suppose that depends or many factors such as skill and method of insertion and our individual skin response.

Hmm... but I don't think a few small scars are really that bad, as long as they are in a place that is usually covered by clothes. If they ever got too bad, I've had good luck removing scars with chemical peels in the past, so maybe it would work on small incision scars too.

The adhesive on the patch is actually the estrogen delivery method, but the thing is, it doesn't have to be *sticky* to continue to deliver E. I checked with my endo and pharmacist, and both said if it falls off that's a problem, but a bit of sweat underneath it won't interfere. Manufacturers build a little tolerance into the patches because they know it's impossible for them to work perfectly on humans outside of a lab, too. So the amount provided is *relatively* stable, but there's going to be a teeny bit of variation over the course of a day as we move, sit, etc.  I second the recommendation for an alcohol cleaning of the site beforehand, and I had some luck with surgical tape when I was using Climara (haven't needed it on Vivelle).

Jessica : That's basically true, but the patches only need to provide a tiny amount of E per hour, so losing a little to sweat (a very, very little, the pharmacist says) is not a problem. It's the same thing that happens when the patch loses contact due to skin wrinkling, and is within tolerances.

Ah, that's a relief. I wonder then, which would actually be preferable. To wear a covering over the patch which causes moisture to destroy the adhesive but keeps the patch in full contact with my skin, or to stick with no cover which keeps some of the adhesive intact but leads to wrinkling and loss of contact. Definitely going to have to ask my endo about that the next time I see her.

[Miyuki]

There's also gel (Estrogel)...or injections. I personally hate patches...so inconvenient and impractical, with the sweat and all, not sticking properly, who knows if levels are really that stable?

They have actually done blood tests on people using estrogen patches in order to monitor the levels of estrogen in their body. The levels are a little less constant at the higher doses (this effect can be mitigated by using two patches), but overall the levels stay pretty solid for three days, after which they do start to decline. I think there is much more of a decline with 7 day patches, which is why they created smaller patches that don't last as long, but deliver a more consistent dose. For what it's worth, when I was using gel, it felt like my levels were completely crashing every morning, which was really detrimental to my mental well being. I haven't had that problem at all since I started on patches.

[Jenna Marie]

Personally, I would - and did - go with full contact, as it's the actual skin contact that delivers the medication. But definitely do go by what your endo says! It may also depend on brand; my impression with them was that the generics were not nearly as good about adhesive and therefore estrogen delivery.

Yes, I noticed the same thing about E levels, too. After about a month on 7-day patches I begged to be switched to the twice-weekly/3.5 day ones again (without listing specific dosages, it's possible to do that by simply doing half the dose on the 3.5-day patches, so from X weekly to 0.5X twice weekly). I had wicked PMS for the last 3 days of the 7-day cycle, and it was driving me (and my wife!) insane. I'm fairly sure that the patch was losing effectiveness rapidly after the 4-day mark. That was also on the generic of Climara, which was huge and awkward and not as effective for me anyway, though.

[Stochastic]

I love my Vivelle patches and have not run into the same problems described by others. My wife has been using generic patches and had problems with them coming off. She found that Nexcare absolute waterproof tape helps to secure the patches. I use a tiny strip to barely cover the patch. Too long and the tape tends to bunch. It says it is waterproof, breathable, and sticks when wet. I have only been using it for three months and have not had a problem even when working outside in the heat. - Julia