"My sister-in-law has been using the Vivelle patch for the last year. She swears by it, can you tell me more about it?"

The Vivelle patch, an transdermal estrogen patch made by Novartis Pharma Canada, Inc., has been around since the mid '90s.  It's a small transparent patch that you apply directly, on the buttocks or the abdomen, on clean dry skin just like the other patches.  It is different from the Estraderm patch in that it is a matrix patch, with the estrogen as part of the edge-to-edge adhesive rather than in a center "bubble" as with other patches.   Both types work well for women.  As is true for all women using estrogen products with an intact uterus a progesterone/progestin needs to be taken too.  Women without an uterus do not need progesterone/progestin.

The  Vivelle patch comes in four strengths 0.037 milligrams, 0.05 milligrams, 0.75 milligrams, 0.1 milligrams.

Meet the Author
"Menopause Made Easy"
by Dr. Carolle Jean-Marat, MD
hosted by Sue Spataro
Interview & FREE Excerpt
Today's woman must educate herself about menopause and the risks and rewards of taking HRT, nutritional supplements, and homeopathic therapies. With humor, candor, and plain non-technical language, Dr. Jean-Murat discusses the current needs and concerns of midlife women, empowering us to make the right decisions. In our interview, she discusses Selecting over the counter products, Black Cohosh, and Racial Differences & Menopause and also features a FREE excerpt from her book, Stress and Depression. If you have any questions, you can ask them on our HotFlash support group.