S1 Ep51: Transdermal vs Oral Estrogens- What’s the Difference?

Systemic estrogen, unlike local estrogen, affect every single cell in the body which means there is an impact on not only hot flashes but also your bones, your brain, your bladder, and your cardiovascular system along with your vulva and vagina. While there is a long list of benefits with both oral and transdermal systemic estrogen, the potential complications are where the differences come in. So, the decision to take an oral estrogen versus using a patch, spray, or skin gel is not just about personal preference, insurance coverage, and convenience, it’s also about safety. It’s about potential risks. It’s about your personal medical history.

In this episode, Dr. Streicher discusses: 


The BENEFITS of oral and transdermal systemic estrogen
The DIFFERENCE between oral and transdermal estrogen

RISKS that are specific to ORAL estrogen products

BENEFITS that are specific to ORAL estrogen products

BENEFITS that are specific to TRANSDERMAL estrogen products
Why the FDA label lists risks for estrogen products that are NOT TRUE


TRANSVAGINAL systemic estrogen

PROS and CONS of specific transdermal estrogen products
Estrogen PATCHES 
Estrogen GELS 
Estrogen SPRAY 




TOP TEN QUESTIONS my patients ask about transdermal estrogen

For more information on this topic: 
Hot Flash Hell: A Gynecologist's Guide to Turning Down the Heat
Links to other episodes on this topic: 



Episode 2:Think Your Hot Flashes Can't Kill You? Think Again!


Episode 31 The TRUTH About Hormone Therapy: Does it CAUSE or Does it PREVENT Breast Cancer?


Episode 21: Say Yes! to Testosterone for Women


Episode 35 Compounding Hormones: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly  https://apple.co/3TLM8s7


Episode 46 Finding a Menopause Clinician Who Will Listen 



Lauren Streicher, MD is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and the founding medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause. She is a certified menopause practitioner of the North American Menopause Society. 

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Dr. Streicher is the medical correspondent for Chicago’s top-rated news program, the WGN Morning News, and has been seen on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, NPR, Dr. Radio, Nightline, Fox and Friends, The Steve Harvey Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News Now, NBCNightlyNews,20/20, and World News Tonight. She is an expert source for many magazines and serves on the medical advisory board of The Kinsey Institute, Self Magazine, and Prevention Magazine. She writes a regular column for The Ethel by AARP and Prevention Magazine. 


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Books by Lauren Streicher, MD

 Slip Sliding Away: Turning Back the Clock on Your Vagina-A gynecologist’s guide to eliminating post-menopause dryness and pain

Hot Flash Hell: A Gynecologist's Guide to Turning Down the Heat

Sex Rx- Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever

The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy