Dr. Shilpa Sayana, an internist, reports estrogen patches have been hard to find at LA pharmacies for two months. She recommends switching to compounded estrogen cream from a compounding pharmacy while supplies recover, though insurance typically won't cover it.
Having trouble finding estrogen patches in LA? Hi, I'm Dr. Shilpa Sayana. I'm an internist and functional medicine doctor. I've been in practice for over 15 years. Over the past 2 months, we've seen this issue repeatedly where I would prescribe estrogen patches or refill them, and patients are like, the pharmacies just don't carry them. I don't know if it's an LA-only issue, but it seems like it's pretty systemic here in LA. If that's an issue, consider switching to an estrogen cream, at least until the patch shortage is over. The cream should be dosed appropriately with the pharmacist. You generally need it from a compounding pharmacy. It isn't covered by insurance, but at least it'll keep you on your estrogen and help with all those symptoms that you were having before starting it. Follow for more.
