CLIMARA Reviews (ESTRADIOL)Average Rating: 3.6 (222 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare CLIMARA with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on CLIMARA: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR CLIMARA | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 4 | total hysterectomy 2004 | mood swings when the patch wears off, nausea at times, increased blood pressure | overall I felt better with the patch than the pills. I have to have the patch to feel better. It actually helps my depression, not makes it worse. But the patch does come off too soon and sometimes will come off with my clothes. If they fix this about the patch, I think it would be a fantastic product, I will try the tegaderm transdermol patch over it to see if it helps keep it on. Weight gain is a problem, but I have lost weight by eating better and working out continually any suggestions on weight loss and/or keeping the patch on or alternative therapy which may help with hot flashes and not increasing the dosage. I cut my patch in half because of the increase of blood pressure and anxiety disorders, but what else should I take in addition to the patch?? Please email with any suggestions, thanks!! | F | 43 | 4 years | 1/8/2008 | 5 | Total hysterectomy | None that I can identify | Definately has reduced my hot flashes, went through a period of depression but doubt that had anything to do with the patch. Very positive about the results I have seen. I highly recommend this medication. | F | 50 | 2 years | 12/31/2007 | 4 | extreme menopause symptoms | Hair Loss. | Climara worked well for night sweats, mood changes,Memory loss, and lack of sleep. I was taking prempro prior for 8 years. Went off. After 2 months of not taking estrogen I was a mess. Went to an OBGYN and she put me on Climara with Prometrium. I loved the Climara patch with prometrium at night. Most menopause symptoms vanished. After about 8 months on Climara I noticed my hair started falling out. at the time I did not connect the hair loss with the patch. I am health conscious, eat a well balanced diet and exercise 6 x a week. It is now over 2 years and finally I read that hair loss was a side effect. I have lost half of my hair. I see my Dr. next month. Does anyone out there know if the hair loss from the Climara patch is temporary or permentant? | F | 58 | 2 days | 11/23/2007 | 5 | total hysterectomy | no side effects | I have had really good luck with Climara. If you clean the area with alchol first, the patch will stay on for the entire seven days. | F | 52 | 7 years | 11/9/2007 | 3 | Total hystorectomy | It seems that it helped all of the symptoms immediately that are associated with full menopause. But I have had many health problems that I am not sure whether to blame the patch or the hystorectomy. Burning mouth symdrome, nervous breakdown, cloudy thinking, cannot sleep well. Recently I have started gaining weight and cannot lose it like I used to when dieting. My stomach hurts and is bloated and my breast are tender. Now I am becoming nauseated and I am dry heaving. I am definitely going to come off of the patch and do not no what road to take after that. | It was a better way to go than the pills and helped you to keep your sexual urges but does not help with the dryness. You have to use the prescription vaginal cream to help in that area. | F | 54 | 8 years | 11/5/2007 | 5 | Menopause Symptoms | So far, I'm loving it! | My doc put me on low dose 0.05 and also gave me a Prometrium (progesterone)capsule to take at bed time. I have post-polio syndrome and read a report on a study about PPS women having a harder time with menopause. Compared to my healthier friends, I was having worse symptoms - especially with daily headaches. The headaches are gone, I'm sleeping much better and feeling better than I have in a very long time. I'm also doing it for my bones due to my PPS. | F | 53 | 2 months | 10/29/2007 | 2 | Menopause | Severe leg cramps, external vaginal itching, weight gain, swelling of feet and hands. My PA never heard about the leg cramps. | Doesn't stay on..have had to use a large, clear "bandaid" to cover the patch to keep it on for the full 7 days. Oh, how I wish I could get the Esclim patch again...it made me feel like a new woman, but only available in Europe and Canada now. | F | 58 | 3 months | 10/18/2007 | 5 | surgical menopause | I have been on this for 3 years now and love it. No hot flashes, night sweats, or mood swings now! Libido is great! | I use a Bandaid brand Water Block Plus bandage. It comes off easily and there is usually no gunky ring. | F | 54 | 3 years | 10/17/2007 | 5 | hot flashes aftr total hysterectomy | In 20 years of use I have experienced many of the "side effects" mentioned here but none were long lasting except for hair loss (which is more likely from my thyroid disease) and in the last 2-3 years, leg cramping, which I did not think to link to the Climara. | After an uncomfortable 6 months of premarin immediately after my total hysterectomy at 39, my Dr. recommended the .05 patch. I have been 99% comfortable ever since. I eventually moved up to the 0.1mg dose but am currently gradually dosing down and watching how my body reacts. I lead a very active normal life without the severe symptoms that I see many of my menopausal friends and colleagues experiencing. I have regular check ups and any test my Dr.recommends. My bone density is good, my breasts have become less tender and fibrotic over the years and my weight has been stable (+/- 6 lbs) without any change to my medication. Occasionally the patch will buckle and loosen, which can be annoying, but if it comes off, I wait and replace it on my normal day. Your skin must be clean, cool and dry upon application. Lotions, moisturiging soaps, hair conditioners and heat all affect the way it will adhere. I find upper butt much better than tummy...In general, my early hysterectomy changed the qu | F | 59 | 20 years | 10/17/2007 | 1 | surgical ovary removal | After 8 weeks I started having severe panic attacks. It could be the progesterone in the climara pro | F | 52 | 8 weeks | 9/24/2007 | 1 | Hot Flashes/Insomnia (Menopause) | After being on this patch for 4 weeks, I was almost suicidal! I was sure glad I could again sleep at night, but the depression was unbearable. My doctor then put me on Combipatch (?). Still the bleeding and depression. I've decided to go without any patch at all, rather than walk around in that depression! | Here's what I've found on the Climara website - for those of you that say you have leg cramps and hair loss:::: Possible side effects of Climara Weekly Patch: All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome: Breast pain or tenderness; headache; hair loss; mild nausea or vomiting; spotting or breakthrough bleeding; stomach cramps or bloating. Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur: Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); back pain;breast discharge or lump in the breast; calf or leg pain or swelling; chest pain; coughing up blood; dark urine; depression; dizziness; fainting; fever; memory problems; mental or mood changes; muscle pain; one-sided weakness; painful or difficult urination; persistent or severe brea | F | 55 | 5 weeks | 9/11/2007 | 5 | total hystorectomy | Does not stick to me. I have to put a strip of 2 inch wide paper tape over patch in order to keep it on. | It is God sent. My husband has renamed it the "Anti Bitch patch" No mood swings, No more hot flashes and night sweats.. I can now stand to be in the room with myself. | F | 39 | 5 years | 9/8/2007 | 3 | menopause symptoms | hair loss | I have loved this patch for the last 2.5 years I was on it but wanted to try a bio-identical cream. Went to an endocrinologist and started bi-est cream. I didn't give it much time and symptoms were back so went off everything! Thought maybe I could handle this alone. After two months of misery went back on Climara patch .025 mg. That was in late June 2007. I began to notice my hair drying out and now it is falling out. I have always had a full thick head of hair and now it is noticeably thinner. That scares me. Went back to endocrinologist and they pointed out hair loss as a common side effect. I am thinking about trying the biest cream again. Any one else having the hair loss? When I first started the patch I don't recall seeing hair loss as a side effect. I am wondering if the make-up of the patch has changed so that is now one of the common side effects. Does anyone know? I'd love some other opinions. | F | 54 | 3 years | 9/6/2007 | 2 | surgical menopause | Would. Not. Stick. | After a TAH/BSO, my doctor gave me a generic Climara patch, manufactured by Mylan. It reeked. It was Big and Thick and Band-aid colored and the glue did not go all the way to the edge - there was a millimeter or two to spare between 'the rim' and 'where the glue begins' and it collected hideous 'belly-button-lint' at the intersect zone...after I took the patch off, there was always a big nasty gunky ring what would take rubbing alcohol to remove. And::: some of those Climara-clone patches wouldn't stick worth a s*** which is Just Disgusting at $8+ per patch, eh. GET: the Vivelle-Dot!!!!!!!! instead...is way smaller, transparent and thinner, and sticks like a Tick...the glue goes all the way to the edge. I have to look for it to see if it's still there, instead of having it STARE at me (like a Scarlet "M", hunh) like the Other One did. Very pleased! Tell your doc to switch you! | F | 46 | 2 months | 8/22/2007 | 5 | Total Hysterectomy | Occasional leg cramps | Started on lowest dose in hospital day after hysterectomy, but had big hot flashes and weepyness. Dr. upped me to .1, highest dose I believe, and instant improvement. Weepyness and unhappiness are a thing of the past. If I take a too-long hot shower, face and ears are uncomfortably hot and red, so I need to watch that. Leg cramps are not a big problem - just a bit worriesome - will mention to Dr. next time in. For the "lovely" lint ring, a soapy washcloth scrubbing helps. Although the patch gets bumpy by day 5 or so, I've never noticed a change in my mood or any physical signs. I'm thankful for Climara's impact on the mood! | F | 47 | 1 months | 8/15/2007 | 4 | Unbearable hot flashes; bleeding | Very sensitive skin seems irritated when the patch is removed. A little abdominal bloating. | I have my life back again! This was the last choice since all other estrogens caused vaginal bleeding and aggravated fibroids. I use a large waterproof bandaid over the patch to keep it on. My only complaint is the residual skin irritation. | F | 58 | 3 weeks | 8/3/2007 | 5 | Hot flashes | No side effects. | I am using the patch for hot flashes. I've found it to be a remarkable medicine...worked really fast on my hot flashes. One problem with the patch is that it does not stay on my skin and after a couple of days, I cannot stand the way it looks and feels...so I would remove it and place another patch on my skin (which is expensive). I discovered the Tegaderm Transparent Dressing patch. I place it over my ClimaraPro patch and it keeps the patch in place, keeps it dry, etc. I do wonder if there are any contraindications for using the Tegaderm patch over the ClimaraPro patch... | F | 51 | 1 years | 7/30/2007 | 5 | hysterectomy and oophorectomy | Doesn't stick well: effects last 4 or 5 days rather than 7 | I love Climara! I was suffering from early menopausal symptoms caused by endometriosis, ovarian cysts. My doctor removed everything. The night after the surgery was pure misery - hot flashes, deep sadness, I was overwhelmed. The next morning I put on a Climara patch (0.1 dosage), and my life has completely turned around! I'm calm, happy, peaceful. I want and enjoy sex. (lucky husband!and lucky me!)The only drawback - the Climara patch doesn't last for 7 days. According to the amount of aerobic exercise I particpate in, it last 3 to 5 days. Then, it doesn't stick and/or it's no longer effective. I tried replacing Climara with Vivelle-Dot. My libido dropped, my energy level dropped, I became moody and anxious, and I experienced hot flashes. For me, the fact that Climara doesn't last 7 days is a very minor thing to have to deal with. The positive effects are well worth it!! i would highly recommend Climara! | F | 44 | 10 months | 7/30/2007 | 3 | Menopausal Symptoms | Inital weight gain, minor skin irritation, heavy periods if it comes off early. | Climara has helped very well with my hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and mood swings. I did gain quite a bit of weight but now after 6 months or so with increased activity and diet have got that under control. My main concern is that it does not stay on very well and if I don't put another one on right away I start a very heavy period (which I had not had a period in over 2 years before starting the Climara). Along with the periods I have worse cramps than I ever had before. I have read other postings about putting tape and other patches over this one but I already feel self concsious running around with this on my butt and adding more layers just doesn't work for me. I wish they would work on the adhesive. IS IT NORMAL TO START YOUR PERIOD IF THE PATCH COMES OFF EARLY? | F | 47 | 6 months | 7/30/2007 | 5 | Lack of sleep due to night sweats | None | If you're active, swim and/or take a couple showers/day or have a jacuzzi, the patch does not last 7 days. Sometimes I have to ues 2/week. Had to get an extra Rx which is not covered by insurance. | F | 54 | 1 years | 7/26/2007 |