Three weeks ago my gyno prescribed the Vivelle Dot .0375 and gave me 2 weeks of samples.  I had breast tenderness start immediately as a side effect but by the end of the 2 weeks other perimenopausal symptoms were decreasing.  I was having fewer migraines and the hot flashes at night were virtually gone.  When I got my prescription filled, my pharmacist gave me the old patch instead of the dot which really didn't matter to me.  However though after being on it for a week I don't think there is any estrogen in these patches.  I am waking up with hot flashes again and the breast tenderness that I was experiencing as a side effect with the samples is totally gone.  I read on here that some people have had this happen to them with the Dot.  But my experience seems to be the opposite.  I don't think these patches have any estrogen in them.  Does anyone have suggestions?

Cheryl:

I used Vivelle Dot for about 6-8 months.  I can tell you that sometimes it seemed the patch didn't work right and I'd suffer for 3 days til I changed it and would feel better right away.  Eventually, I figured out to just change it and not be miserable.  I did learn the hard way they are very sensitive to heat and daily trips to the hot tub did affect them too.  In other words, they didn't work right!  The next time you are putting a new one on hold it up to the light.  It should be cloudy all over the patch.  I found that if there were areas that were clear it meant it wouldn't work as well.  Be sure to put it on a different spot on your skin each time, too.  I hope it works for you.  I found some relief for a while, but it just stopped working all together.  In my experience, though, it is the best patch available as far as sticking and the kind of estrogen it contains is more like one that the body produces.

I cut a .01 mg. patch into fourths and just use a fourth<br>at a time. &nbsp;These seem to make the flashes <br>tolerable. &nbsp;Press down on the patch when you<br>apply it. &nbsp;I'm probably just getting a itty bitty<br>dosage of estradiol, but that's fine by me.<br>I cannot tolerate progesterone/progestins,<br>so have to keep the estradiol dosage LOW.

Hi Chris, I don't believe they make a .01mg Vivelle dot. Do you mean the 0.1 mg size? In which case, cutting it in quarters, would bring you to the 0.025 dose, which is what the lowest dose patch delivers. I have been using the 0.025 dot for 3 weeks now and I am ELATED with how much better I feel. No more hot flashes, no more waking up several times a night and much more energy. Mood and concentration much better too. No headaches either like I got with the transdermal Bi-est/progesterone drops that I used to use.  I used the 0.0375 patches for a few weeks, but those gave me breast sensitivity and some uterine discomfort.  The smaller dose has only resulted in a little breast tenderness, which I can handle. Like you, I cannot tolerate progesterone. Since I have a uterus, I have to take the progesterone sooner or later.  What I plan to do is take it every 3 months, preferally through a vaginal route, such as Prochieve. However, since Prochieve is quite expensive, I may have Pete compound it for me since they make a similar product. I believe someone on these boards once mentioned that their doctor did not think the 0.025 dose patch would cause much endometrial stimulation. I hope that is true. At any rate, the quality of my life is so much better on these patches and there is a lot to be said for quality of life.  Now if only my libido would return, I would be in hog heaven, as would my hubby!!