Desperate for remedies

New Zealand’s chronic shortage of oestrogen patches has left women scrambling to get the HRT they need to manage menopausal symptoms.

- Nicky Pellegrino

"I spent two weeks without oestrogen patches in January and just went to pick up my repeat prescription but the pharmacy was completely out of stock again... I've given up on my local pharmacies as there are very sporadic supplies and I'm driving for an hour and a half to fill my HRT prescription.... I'm worried about the future if this doesn't get sorted ... I've been told there's absolutely none available... My sister in Australia is sending me her oestrogen gel because I'm desperate."

These were just some of the responses via the Menopause Over Martinis online forum when founder Sarah Connor asked New Zealand women to share their recent experiences of accessing hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The consensus was that oestrogen skin patches are in very short supply, no matter which part of the country you happen to live in.

Anna Fenton, an endocrinologist in Christchurch, says her clinic started getting calls from women reporting a problem back in 2020, at the outset of the Covid19 pandemic, and supplies seem to have ebbed and flowed since then.

The pandemic isn't the only reason demand for the Pharmac-funded patch, Estradot, continues to outstrip supply. Rising numbers of midlife women have been asking for HRT to ease the symptoms of the menopause transition - such as hot flushes, aching joints, brain fog and mood swings.