Julie Macken says HRT is vital to normal functioning. She runs her own business, Neve’s Bees, making and selling natural beeswax cosmetics. Image: Julie Macken says HRT is vital to functioning properly Without medication, she feels tired, low and unable to concentrate on her work. So she was shocked when she went to get her last prescription and she was told that her pharmacy could not fill it. “A friend of mine said a few weeks ago that she was having a hard time getting some HRT gel and had to get the patch instead,” Macken told Sky News. “But I did not really think about it. Only when I went to our local pharmacist here they said ‘Oh, sorry, we’re done.’ And I had about a day left until that point. “I really started to panic thinking that I would feel rubbish if I did not do it soon. “I started to feel low. After a few days without it, I could not concentrate. I could not work effectively. People were relying on me and I was just disappointing them.” Image: Ms. Macken has her own business, Neve’s Bees, making and selling natural beeswax cosmetics. He ended up getting a leave of absence from work and driving to four different villages to get the medicine he needed. “All the pharmacies I went to – I talked to either the assistant or the pharmacist. And they just said no,” Macken added. “Many of them were even on order. A chemist I went to said, ‘Even if they had, they could not give it to me because they had so many people on the waiting list.’ “We have a problem and it is spreading like wildfire” Ms Macken is one of thousands of women affected by the shortage of certain HRT products – which manufacturers and the government say are driven by rising demand combined with raw material supply problems and delays caused by the pandemic. Medications are used to control the symptoms of menopause, which can be severe and range from fatigue to insomnia and depression as well as a variety of physical symptoms. Campaigners say some women are so weakened by their regular medication that they resort to buying drugs from forums or social networking sites or even meeting strangers to exchange drugs. Image: Claire Hattrick runs the menopause support team at ClipboardClaire.com. “We have a problem here and it is spreading like wildfire, and it has not been going on for weeks. I have known for about four months now. And it is getting worse,” said Claire Hattrick, who heads the menopause support group ClipboardClaire.com. “Women go and trade in car parks saying, ‘Oh, well, I’ll give you a pump out of this if I can get some HRT patches.’ That should not be the case. “ Lack and cost are “absolute shame” Current supply issues are an additional blow to menopausal women, as the government recently delayed plans to reduce the cost of HRT prescriptions in the UK until at least 2023. Ms Hattrick says that combined with the cost of living crisis, some women are becoming desperate. “Do you know what will happen? Mom will go without HRT – she will not have the heating on. She will take care of her family. She is a good old mom who keeps her family together and her knees will be open. It is absolutely embarrassing.” But doctors warn women not to resort to unorthodox methods to try to get some HRT. Image: Paula Briggs is a sexual and reproductive health consultant at Liverpool Women’s Hospital Paula Briggs, a sexual and reproductive health consultant at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, says taking over-the-counter medications can be dangerous. “It is never good to use other people’s drugs,” Dr. Briggs told Sky News. “It should be prescribed by a clinician, whether it is a doctor, a nurse or a pharmacist, and it should be monitored properly. “We often contact pharmaceutical companies and they reassure us that in fact, the products will be fully available in the near future. “The British Menopause Society has published instructions on similar doses [of alternative medications] “And I think that’s a better way of managing the current problem than women buying drugs on forums, from friends or using other people’s drugs.” The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare told Sky News: “We are aware of supply problems affecting a limited number of HRT products. However, most HRT products, including alternatives to those with supply problems, are available. “We work closely with suppliers and stakeholders to resolve these issues as quickly as possible and to ensure that the NHS is informed on a regular basis.”
