What is Elleste Duet Conti?
Elleste Duet Conti Tablets are a type of continuous (delivering steady hormone levels without a break) HRT for women who are postmenopausal where it’s been at least one year since their last period. They contain two synthetic female hormones, an oestrogen and a progestogen.
The synthetic oestrogen replaces oestrogen hormones lost through menopause. Oestrogen deficiency causes symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, and low libido amongst other menopausal symptoms. Oestrogen can also prevent osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones. Progesterone reduces the risk of cancer in the womb by decreasing the womb lining.
How does Elleste Duet Conti work?
During menopause, your body reduces the amount of oestrogen produced. This can cause a wide range of symptoms like night sweats, hot flushes, insomnia, lower libido, vaginal dryness, low mood and anxiety. You might not experience all of them but HRT is there to help feel like yourself again.
Some postmenopausal women may develop fragile bones (osteoporosis) as a result of low oestrogen. Combined HRT can help prevent osteoporosis, especially if other medicines are not suitable. A review of the effects of HRT on osteoporosis risk from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) hormone therapy trials concluded that the current use of HRT, either oestrogen only or combined with progesterone, reduces the risk of hip and other osteoporotic fractures in mainly healthy women. [1]
Estradiol is the synthetic oestrogen used in Elleste Duet Conti and replaces the loss of oestrogen levels. In turn, it helps to alleviate the symptoms described above as the oestrogen levels are replenished.
If you haven’t had a hysterectomy (a procedure where your womb is removed), increased oestrogen levels can make the lining in your womb thicker. This can lead to a risk of womb cancer (endometrial hyperplasia). In combined HRT, progesterone is included to reduce this risk and helps shed the lining of the womb. Norethisterone is the progesterone used in Elleste Duet Conti.
Who is Elleste Duet Conti for?
Elleste Duet Conti is for postmenopausal women, who haven’t had a period for at least a year. If you’re menopausal and also at risk of osteoporosis, but can’t take other medications to help treat or prevent it, then you can use Elleste Duet Conti for this purpose.
A continuous HRT treatment means you don’t take a break from the tablets, and that all the tablets in your pack contain the same dose of hormones. You should take a tablet every day. Continuous HRT is for women who haven’t had a period in twelve months or more, so they won’t get a monthly bleed on this type of treatment.
Sequential HRT, like Elleste Duet, is for women who have had around six to twelve months since their last period or are still having a period but experiencing menopausal symptoms. You take oestrogen every day of your 28-day cycle and in the last half of the month, you’ll also take progesterone. This results in a monthly period-like bleed.
Once you let our experts know what stage you are at in your menopause journey, they can let you know the best options to help you control your symptoms.
What doses of Elleste Duet Conti are available?
Elleste Duet Conti Tablets are only available in one dose: 2mg estradiol and 1mg norethisterone. So if you need to change dose, you’ll need to change treatment. It’s best to start with the treatment your doctor has prescribed to see how well it works. If you would like a higher or lower dose, speak to our clinician first before changing.
There are alternatives, though, such as Kliofem – another brand of tablet which contains the same dose (2mg/1mg). Kliovance is another option if you want a lower dose (1mg/0.5mg). And lastly, patch alternatives like Evorel Conti are also available, which deliver a different dose through the skin.
What are the differences between Elleste Duet and Elleste Duet Conti?
Elleste Duet is the sequential (or cyclical) HRT treatment. Although the green Elleste Duet tablets contain the same active ingredients, the levels of hormone it delivers into the body are different from Elleste Duet Conti. If you’re still getting periods or it’s been less than 12 months since your last period, Elleste Duet is for you.
With Elleste Duet, you get oestrogen every day of your cycle and then in the last 12 days of your cycle (month) you get progesterone along with the oestrogen. This results in a period-like bleed. Depending on the dose, you’ll have two different coloured tablets to help you remember which one to take when – one will have just estradiol and the other will have estradiol and norethisterone together. With Elleste Duet Conti, you just get one type of tablet containing both hormones, that you take every day without stopping.
