Patch frustration

[Tammy M]

I use Vivelle Dot patches and have been on them for 8 months.  In the last couple of months several of them have rolled up when I removed my panties.  I have had one or two come off before and I reapplied them somewhere else but these have balled up into such a mess as to be unusable.  I am going to try to get the doctor to give me one or 2 extra a month to make up for this and also to make up for the fact that each box is designed to last for 28 days of treatment and there are 30-31 days a month usually.  Does anyone else experience this probelm and what is the best way to avoid it?

[Laura91]

My new endo is against the idea of using patches because of things like this (among other reasons). Why are you on the patch?

[Tammy M]

I am on them because my doctor really prefers them and they are recomended for people over 40.  I initally wanted to try pills but he felt strongly about them and (at first at least) they did not have a problem sticking and worked fine so I have been otherwise happy with them.

[blueconstancy]

The Vivelle instructions say not to put it somewhere where it might be rubbed/chafed by clothing, so maybe a few of them are getting scraped off by your underpants waistband or something?  Vivelle's adhesive formulation *supposedly* hasn't changed... although we never know, with pharmaceutical companies.

You can also try very carefully cleaning the area with soap and water and then a second time with rubbing alcohol before applying the patch, in case it just isn't grabbing the skin very well.

[Carolina1983]

Yep I have the same problem as you do.


And I hate not being able to take a shower or bath without worrying about the patch.


Its a pain in the a** and I want to have shots instead. But my doctor wants me to stay on the patches for a little longer *sigh*.

[kelly_aus]

I love my implant.. No need to remember to take pills.. No issues with patches not sticking. No peaks and troughs from shots.. Just a nice consistent dose delivered in a convenient manner..

Just occurred to me that it's almost as good as an ovary.. Delivers a more consistent dose though..

[Catherine Sarah]

Tammy,

If you are having problems with the patches remaining for the duration, try covering them with a large band aid type bandage. Helps keep dust and water out and ensures it stays the duration. Awkward but effective.

Plus you don't want pills. You lose more than 50% dosage first pass through the liver. And they may overload the liver with unnecessary processing.

Hope you are getting good results

Huggs
Catherine

[blueconstancy]

Catherine - Oh! Good suggestion, and you reminded me, surgical tape also works really well. Especially with Vivelle-Dot, which is very tiny, so it only takes a little strip of tape.

[JoanneL]

I have no problem with the patches, and place them below the belly button on right and left side. Ensure they are low enough to avoid the belt area. I use baby oil to clean the residue from old patches and alcohol wipes to the area before adding the patches.

[Tammy M]

I will say that I have had very few problems with patches sticking and most of them have been recent.  I also posted this message in another forum and one person said they had the same problem with certain batches of patches.  I can say that all of these were placed around the panty band area so I will try to avoid that area from now on.  I am having good results so far so this is a minor complaint...

[kountrygurl]

I found a product at the drug store called shower shields. They are actually made for covering wound dressing when you shower but I have found it will also keep your panties waist band from rubbing off your patch as well. They have adhesive around the edges & a non sticky space in the center so if you need to take it off you can without pulling off your patch.