Premarin for older women

Thank you! I just registered with Canada On Line Health and asked my doctor to fax my Premarin prescription.

Update: Insurance gave me two alternatives, Imvexxy and Estradiol. I tried both and neither worked - they caused burning and soreness that got increasingly worse, so had to stop using them. I am now in the process of appealing this to insurance, however if they won't consent to pay for Premarin ($498 a tube), though inconvenient, I will be searching for a Canadian pharmacy.

They are a superb pharmacy, very nice, very professional, very throrough!

I also have been taking Premarin happily for years, then suddenly, my insurance Blue Cross and their Pharmacy Express Scripts, denied coverage. They suggested i try Estradiol, but of course that would mean that I would have to go off Premarin, which I've been taking for 33 years. This would mean that at 81, I would suddenly be plunged into menopause. I work full time, travel, am happily married to a much younger many, am finishing my third book and my doctor told me that my health could be ruined by going off Premarin at my age. Why should I suddenly be condemned to an early death to save the drug companies money? Premarin may not be for everyone, but then why not find substitutes that prevent the ravages of menopause to older women allowing them to continue full lives? I notice that drug companies still pay for viagara. I'm in the process of finding a Canadian pharmacy with the full support of my doctor and I am beyond grateful to the Mayo Clinic for providing this forum.

@jumbley39
Hi,
I am 80 and have been using vaginal estradiol twice a week for 3 years. I never experienced any menopausal or adverse effects. I was never on a hormone after an uneventful menopause...Just sharing my experience.

FL Mary

I am curious to know what a Canadian pharmacy charges for a tube of Premarin. I recall being shocked some years ago when a tube of Premarin cost nearly $100. Subsequently, Estradiol was prescribed, and that's what I've been using twice a week since then, along with a pessary. I have had a problem with a sore and bleeding, but that has been attributed to the pessary.

I just read your response to my husband. He was appalled and kept saying "no, no, no!" I'm so sorry. I think a tube of Premarin is $42.00 at a Canadian pharmacy. One month supply of Premarin 0.45 mg is $202.00 at CVS and 90 day supply is $83.65 at the Canadian online pharmay.

Amazing! The Canadilan system seems so much more rational and less greedy.

It would be even better without the typo!

I am 74 and have taken Premarin since age 31 (43+ years), which means that I have never had any chemistry change within my system. There are 3 chemistry issues within the body: thyroid, pancreas, and estrogen. The medical community balances the thyroid and pancreas (diabetes), but not estrogen. My doctor retired and I found only ONE doctor who was willing to prescribe an Estradiol patch for the next 12 months because she is retiring at that time. I have not seen any difference with the patch. I now find that there is an enormous problem for all of us who have taken estrogen for the long term, and the result of that problem is the lack of data and/or studies to guide or advise us as to what medical consequences, if any, we may suffer if we stop taking it after more than 30-50 years. An equally important problem is what options are there if we want to continue taking estrogen because we experienced a lifetime of excellent health? Taking Premarin for more than 43 years has prevented heart disease for me since it was a result of hereditary factors. At age 43, my cholesterol was almost 500 and at age 58, with the same cholesterol level, my triglycerides were 672. I have battled those scores for more than 40+ years and they are now in the normal ranges but I still have to monitor them. My bone density (June 2021) came in with a Z-score for the lumbar spine of 0.3, neck -0.1, and hip .04, and those scores are compared to the bone mass of a 30 year old adult, the lower the number, the greater loss of bone. I have been medically diagnosed as "frozen in time" to a young/middle-aged women because of long term use of Premarin and statins. I had a normal mammogram in June 2021. The problems are "(1) what to do if I/we can't continue getting the prescription for estrogen, and (2) if hospitalization won't continue coverage." I believe going public with our "specific group of long term estrogen users" is the only way to bring these problems to the attention of the medical and pharmaceutical communities. They must work on finding a healthy solution, including producing data and studies, for our "long term estrogen group," a group that no one acknowledges or even knows exists.