HRT Shortages ...AGAIN!

We are experiencing HRT shortages yet again. There has been intermittent supply issues over the past three years, since we first opened the doors of The Menopause Hub. However, the shortages that began last November 2021 are still continuing and it has been at crisis level for many women.

First Evorel Conti went short, resulting in a knock-on increased demand for the alternative oestrogen elements of the HRT alternatives, such as Estradot, Evorel, Oestrogel and Divigel. This has led to a crisis for patients and an increased workload for doctor and pharmacists. Our doctors have been writing and rewriting prescriptions ad nauseum. So much so, that to be on the safe side, our doctors wrote prescription for all alternatives in the hopes that some product would be in stock.

Our phones and emails were hopping, with women trying to source their HRT. Women were going up north to Norther Ireland to have their prescriptions dispensed. Women reported that they had to phone up to 20 pharmacies in the hunt for their supply. Women resorted to going abroad, to the UK, Spain, Portugal and France. The anxiety levels for many were through the roof.

Why? Because for many women the decision to seek help, after suffering in silence for so long, is a big one. Then once started on HRT it can sometimes take time to find the optimal dosage. Women tell us all the time that HRT has turned their lives around, that they have gotten their old selves back. They do not want to go back to their pre HRT days. The fear is palpable. HRT is not a lifestyle drug. For many it is a critical to their quality of life.

We at The Menopause Hub have been advocating for a HRT Tsar and Taskforce like they have in the UK, led by Madeleine McTernan, who was a member of the Covid-19 Vaccine Taskforce. Since her appointment she has secured supply of Oestrogel from Poland and has changed the law to allow pharmacists to substitute an equivalent HRT product should the product not be in stock, without having to go back to the doctor for another prescription. Plus limits have been put on the number of months prescription dispensed to each woman at any one time.

We in Ireland need the same level of pace and urgency as the UK. Unlike Viagra there are no generics available. And we need a short term solution as well as a guarantee of continuity of supply for the longer term.

If you have been affected by HRT shortages, please contact the HPRA and also contact your local TD to voice your concerns. We are more powerful together as a united voice.