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Other brands with the same active ingredient
These brands contain the same active ingredient (Estradiol). Strength and form may differ — confirm substitution with your doctor or pharmacist before switching.
Indications & Uses
Astrogel is indicated for:
Dosage Reference
Reference Information Only
Dosages shown are general references from official sources. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized dosing.
Adults:
Hormone therapy should only be continued for as long as the relief of severe symptoms outweighs the risk. Before starting or restarting HRT, and periodically afterward, a complete medical history should be taken and a physical examination carried out. How often and in what detail these checks are done should follow established practice guidelines, generally with a review every 6 months, adapted to the individual woman. This should generally cover the pelvic organs (including routine cervical cytology), the abdomen, the breasts and blood pressure. Whether treatment should continue needs to be reconsidered at each review. Unless the doctor has prescribed otherwise, 1 Estradiol tablet is taken daily, swallowed whole with a little liquid. Each pack covers 30 days, and treatment is continuous, so the next pack is started right after the previous one without a break. It does not matter what time of day the tablet is taken, but once a particular time has been chosen, it should be kept to every day. If a tablet is forgotten at the usual time, it can still be taken within the next 12 to 24 hours. If treatment is interrupted for longer than this, irregular bleeding may occur. Treatment can be started at any time, provided pregnancy has been ruled out. Using unopposed oestrogens at high doses or for a long time during the climacteric may raise the risk of endometrial carcinoma, so endometrial hyperplasia needs to be avoided during unopposed oestrogen treatment. For this reason, a progestogen must be added for the last 10 to 14 days of each month of treatment. As a general rule, Estradiol treatment should be stopped every 6 months to check whether the symptoms being treated are still present. It is essential to follow the dosage schedule set by the doctor and to keep all appointments for gynaecological check-ups.
Side Effects
Headache and breast pain can occur, along with irregular vaginal bleeding or spotting. Some women notice stomach or abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea, and vomiting, while others report hair loss or fluid retention. Vaginal yeast infections may also develop. Because ValenaTM Vaginal Cream is inserted directly, it can cause local reactions such as vaginal burning, irritation, or itching.
Cautions & Contraindications
Warnings & Precautions
The benefits and risks of HRT must be carefully weighed, including consideration of how these risks may emerge as treatment continues. Estrogens, with or without progestogens, should be prescribed at the lowest effective dose and for the shortest duration consistent with the treatment goal and the risks for the individual woman. If any of the conditions or risk factors mentioned below is present or worsens, an individual risk benefit analysis should be carried out before HRT is started or continued. Women who have a combination of risk factors, or a more severe form of a single risk factor, may face a synergistic increase in the risk of thrombosis, and this increase may be greater than the simple sum of the individual risks. HRT should not be prescribed where the risk benefit assessment is unfavorable.
Contraindications
HRT should not be started if any of the conditions listed below are present, and should be stopped immediately if any of them appear during use: pregnancy and lactation; undiagnosed vaginal bleeding; known or suspected breast cancer; known or suspected premalignant conditions or malignancies, if sex steroid-influenced; presence or history of liver tumours (benign or malignant); severe hepatic disease; acute arterial thromboembolism (e.g. myocardial infarction, stroke); active deep vein thrombosis, other thromboembolic disorders, or a documented history of these conditions; a high risk of venous or arterial thrombosis; severe hypertriglyceridemia; idiopathic cholestatic jaundice of pregnancy or jaundice with prior use of combined oral contraceptives or combined HRT; otosclerosis that worsened during a previous pregnancy; severe diabetes with vascular changes; and known hypersensitivity to any component of Estradiol.