Estrace Vaginal Cream - Why does tube of medicine run out before the end of 3 months?

The same thing just happened to me. My doctor prescribed Estradiol, 2 g every day for two weeks, then after that 2 g once or twice a week. It's the end of my first two weeks and I am almost out of it! I suspect that the applicator is not accurate. Fortunately I have an appointment with my gynecologist next week so will discuss this with her.

Same EXACT thing with me, it measures completely wrong so I ran out of it too soon and insurance didn’t cover it! Showed pharmacist, she didn’t understand it either. We really should start a Class action suit, find a Better call Saul lawyer. This screws with our hormones to just stop using for 2weeks and start again. And we’re PAYING for something we’re NOT GETTING, and our HEALTH is being screwed with, It’s criminal. I’m so glad to find you all, I’m taking this “evidence” to pharmacist, see what she says. Let’s look in to layers ok?

I am having the same issue..something has to be done about this!

if you order the RX from a pharmacy in Canada you will pay substantially less - likely you will pay 15% of what you are paying now -
not 15% less than you are paying rather 15% of what you are paying.
it's exactly the same thing in exactly the same package

This is very interesting as I just filled my first prescription in at least a decade. What is everyone paying per tube? When I first got a prescription for this, it was $15 copay and a tube a month. Now I’m paying $168. Someone is making a heck of a profit on my vagina.

I am new here and glad I found this thread. I just started this Rx and what I've noticed is how when I twist off the top it oozes out a bit. After pushing into applicator, there's a bit left at bottom of applicator, and when I remove that, even more oozes out of tube. I can see how easily this waste will add up! There must be a way to make this a more secure fit. I hope our doctors adjust the Rx to a larger tube. I can't believe that it is a good thing to miss days of this medication.

I started Estradiol cream 3 months ago, one tube to last 3 months, ran out in two months. Measured on gram scale and found out applicator 1 gm mark is not accurate, same as others have reported. I am going to report to FDA, I was surprised someone else did and said the FDA is not interested, this is part of their mission. Please report to FDA, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

Oh my goodness. This cream lasts me a week. I have been putting 4x as much as I should. Maybe that's why it hasn't been helping. My tube has markings that I did not understand. I am down with a suit because it is just so cheap of them to give us one applicator. This drug is too expensive for that. The women on here may have saved my life. Thank you.

If you contact your state Department of Consumer Affairs, they will send you or email you a complaint form to complete. You might want to send a copy to your state attorney general also. I don't think it will help as nobody wants to fight with Big Pharma but it can't hurt. I'm in if anyone wants to file a class action lawsuit.

Glad to find this thread.
I have difficulty with filling the applicator. After I squeeze Estrace cream into it and when I disconnect the applicator from the tube the pressure inside the tube cause the cream to squeeze out, sometimes it’s about 1gr or more. To prevent it from happening and the waist, now I put my finger on top of the tube opening immediately after I remove the applicator but it doesn’t seam right. Also it’s very hard to clean the applicator between use, need to use toothpick and Q-tips to try take off leftover cream. Also one time when the tube was half empty ,I folded it to be able to squeeze better and the tube broke on the fold. I wold love to get contact info for person in the drug company to relate this issues with them. Thank you

So glad I accidentally came across this thread! Yes, the applicator’s dosing is disturbingly and dangerously incorrect! I was prescribed 1 gram Estrace Vaginal Cream three times per week a number of years ago and have been taking that dose every week for a long time. It wasn't until about a year or so ago that I realized that the applicator was dosing too much. I had unfortunately trusted it! Because my Medicare drug insurance always refills this script whenever I need a refill, I hadn’t thought about how many doses I should truly get from the 42.5 gr tube. I was overdosing for years because of Allergan’s negligence! This is unacceptable and dangerous. Allergan, who makes Estrace, needs to be held accountable. We need to do a class action lawsuit.

Yeah, I just went over this with my pharmacist. I explained exactly how I was measuring the dose. But I ran out a week and a half before I could refill. I said the application must be wrong. He explained a gram was about the tip of your little finger. So that seemed about right. I can't figure it out nor can I find any other websites that mention this.

My concern is, instead of increasing the dosage in the prescription to account for the "missing" cream, shouldn't we be using less? The tube said the grams in it, so it should last that long. It sounds to me as though everyone is over dosing it.

I have had the same issue. I take one gram twice a week, and the 28 doses per tube sounds in line with what I was finding. On the second tube, the pharmacy gave me a ”vacation emergency refill” but that was all used up in early June and the pharmacy said my next refill couldn’t be until August! I spoke to my gynecologist and she rewrote the prescription for three times a week... I’m still to use it only twice a week but will be able to refill sooner. So grateful she believed me and was willing to work with me for a reasonable solution.