# progestin pessaries and estradiol patches- side effects and contra indications



## coconutkym

i am at IM fro donor eggs,and they have given me evopad patches pre ec and will start utrogestan pessriesday of et and therafter. these come from spain and this means the leaflet inside about what to avoid and what to look out for is in spanish.  i have managed to find this infor on internet and include the links below in case anyone else is interested,

the info i found about contraindications of pessaries is on http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202758.html

the pessaries are described there as "progestins for non contraceptive use".

the patches info is at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a605042.html
where there are described as "estradiol transdermal" (estradiol is is drug part and transdermal means thru the skin)

thuis inf also includes the names of alterantive brands

there is stuff in this information about patches and grapefruit juice(huh?) i have had a weird cough for 4 days or so, and a runny nose for 2 days . now realise that it may be aside effect and not birdflu  

please feel free to correct me if this is incorect info. especially the first posting as utrogestan and its uk equivalent cyclogest are not listed there 

/links


----------



## roze

I didn't realise about the grapefruit juice, so that is interesting.

I'm not a medic but basically nothing is without risks, and I would have expected that your clinic would have ran through the risks of the meds before prescribing them to you, or formed an opinion from your personal and family history that you were not in a high risk group likely to be affected adversely by high intensity hormone treatment. I do think you ought to ask IM to go through this with you if you are concerned or if they have not done so.  Every clinic I attended was scrupulous about taking medical history and details of any allergies and likely contra indications, etc.

If you think your symptoms are in fact an allergic reaction to the meds then you should speak to your GP asap.

I spoke to my GP and previous fertility consultant at the Lister about the meds some time ago - I have also phoned a few drug manufacturers in my time, especially in respect of injectable progesterone, just to be sure.  Basically the main purpose of the meds is for treating the menopause symptoms hence most of the stated  risks apply to women in that category. They are also prescribed for fertility treatment however this is generally for a much shorter period that for the menopause hence the risk profile is different.

The other thing that my GP told me is that whatever the risks and issues  with  the meds, even higher doses of progesterone and oestrogen occur in pregnancy.  

The other relevant thing about side effects is the dosage prescribed, as this can vary a lot in fertility treatment according to the woman and clinic protocol.

The oestrogen patches however should never be placed near to breasts due to slightly increased risks.

The meds may vary also due to the non hormonal material used in their manufacture.

I do think you should speak to IM first thing to run through things in more detail as you need to happy about taking the meds in order to proceed. 


regards

roze.


----------



## coconutkym

i am ok with taking these drugs as they are short term for a long term gain (hopefully) i just thought it was worth putting the info source here in order to help other people find out about poss side effects in case they were woorying about something


----------



## Olly

Conconutkym - Hi there.

Ive IM'd you re a meet up over your 2ww, if you're up for it.

Great help re the risks. I too worried about what if anything I couldnt find re risks on the sheet in Spanish. I found out about the grapefruit juice effect by accident. I did for real juicing with several grapefruits and then again on a fresh pineapple a few days later. On both occasions I had gastric reflux - nasty thing( massive heartburn). Both caused by fact that progeterone can aggravate any digestive sensitivity.

( I have some, to acid things) & so you can get a reaction. The lesson ? dont go for fresh whole fruit juicing. Stick to waterered down version of ready prep'd juices. If you get symptoms my GP told me Gaviscon is safe and really effective. I carry round little handbag sized box throughout tx.

Ive taken the meds several times & have only had slight mild cold symptoms. My GP tells me that the meds can sometimes slightly increase mucus ( sorry if tmi) and that is normal..in fact just the same in early pregnancy apparently.

Thanks for the tip re placement of patches - never heard that before. The meds also increase size of fibroids if you have them but good news is this is slight and effects are reversed once you stop meds ( this has happend to me each tx round).

Good luck at IM - I always had great tx from the team & must say have never had such a yummy looking Dr as Dr O!

Cheers

Olly


----------

