I talked with my naturopath about taking Estrace.....but told her I wanted to research it b4 I had her prescribe. So I called this morning and she isnt there, but the office person said that it is only available as a compounded Rx. I have found conflicting info on this, bc another site said there is a version made my Mead Johnson. My insurance said its covered, but I didnt specify if it was compounded, so now Im not sure. I called the pharmacy, and the guy there said that doctors he talks to dont consider Estrace that isnt compounded to be "natural". He said anything that ISNT compounded isnt considered BioIdentical or natural.

Im confused. anyone have info on this?

forgot to add.........

will I have to get my Rx from a MD?

Hi WaterGoddess - I take NHRT and neither the estrogen nor the progesterone are compounded. I take estradiol (generic, because there is no brand name) and Prometrium, brand name because there is not yet a generic. Both are available by prescription only. I get mine from the pharmacy at one of the major drug store chains. I take mine in pill form. I believe that some hormones are available in other forms - patches, sublingual tablets, etc. The pill form works well for me though less well for others. Insurance covers my prescriptions. Hope this helps.

Cesca

Thanks for responding, yes that does help.

I have a feeling my naturopath will not write me a Rx for these forms of estrogen. Only the compounded versions (which my insurance most likely wont cover and are very expensive). Which means Ill have to wait out the next 5 weeks until my GYN appt.

I also called the pharmacy that my naturopath uses for compounded Rxs.....and he said that yes there are natural versions...... plant based......but these doctors dont consider them bioidentical or even natural.

Well......im jumping ahead.........guess i have to wait till I talk to her tomorrow.

The NHRT I take is compounded and requires a prescription from the doc.

Hey Cesca.......where "near SF" are you? I used to live in Sonoma County for many years and miss it terribly!

Hi WaterGoddess - I'm in San Carlos, just south of SF. You lived in Sonoma County - I haven't spent any time there. My sister and her family live in Solano County. That whole region is growing by leaps and bounds - housing is more affordable there, altho I still think $400K for your basic house is hardly reasonable. <_<

Cesca

Watergoddess,

I get my prescription from my naturopath for the bioidentical estradiol and progesterone and just ordered a 3 month supply for both, cost me $120.00 total which I pay out of pocket. They seem to give a break in price if you order more than one month supply because the first time I ordered, I paid $80.00 for a one month supply. Anyway, I am trying this formulation for at least 3 months so I filled the prescription for 3 months.

I have seen a 75% improvement on how I feel.

Plumeria

Guess what Im confused about is that for Estrace.....there is a regular Rx version that is "natural" but not compounded......and also a compounded version.

My doc has still not called me back. I have a feeling she will not write me a Rx for the one that isnt compounded.....but I have to go with what my insurance will cover. Esp since my insurance gets worse year by year, eliminating what they cover this year, next year.

Hi all,

I havne't been here much but I do know from my experiences over the last 10 years that Estradiol is Estradiol is Estradiol. It is a chemical formula -- so, just as H2O is water whether it is H2O out of a tap or a bottle or a stream (ok, I'm getting a bit broad with my generalization here!) it is all the same.

Did you know that just one or two companies make "raw" estradiol? (It all comes from plant (wild yam or soy) sources.) A compounding pharmacist is goign to order the same bulk estradiol from the same supplier as the pharmaceutical company that puts it into a patch or a pill.

Follow the money...... If a doctor will ONLY give you compounded estradiol, are they selling them directly out of their office? (....More $$$ for them!!) It will most likely be the same doses that you can get from "standard" Rx products that our insurance DOES cover!

One other thing that I've learned is that pharmacists are NOT the ones to be prescribing HRT -- the prescription needs to come from a doctor. Well, this is a bit of a sore spot for me since I feel that many women spend a lot of hard earned money for something that their insurance won't cover when they could get the exact thing that IS covered!!

Follow the money. Ask what makes "their" estradiol different from, say, the etradiol in a Vivelle dot or Climara patch?

I hope that this helps a bit. The same applies to progesterone.

I hope that you do well!

This are exactly my thoughts what I came up to recently after reading books, articles, and reading some more. In order to have Rx for compounded hormones, you need to go to a private dr, and most of them don't take insurance. They will Rx you BHRT in any form, some like oral, some sublingual, others - creams and gells. But the phrmasist buy a raw material from pharmaceutical co. like 17Beta Estradiol and micronized Progsteron, and they just either compound it in one pill or cream or separately, which will cost even more. They also use estriol, which they claim is protective against breast cancer along with stradiol but estriol in low dose does not do anything, and IMHO is a weak science.
There are many site on the web you can buy Estrogel made by Solvay Pharm, which is bioidentical and Prometrium, which is bioidentical progesteron and is avaialbe in US too. Also climara and villet dot patches and progesteron cream can also be purchased over the web.
Again,
JMHO.