Estratest (generic Eemt) Made By Seton Pharmaceuticals (Page 2)

Hello: I have been a long term user of estratest HS. It has been the only medication that has helped me completely. I was very happy with it for 7 years with the brand name, then it was switched to generic EEMT made by Amneal Pharmaceuticals and I continued to be very happy with the product. But...once Amneal stopped making this medication and production was made by ANI pharmaceuticals, the medication was just not right for me. Began to have very uncomfortable systems with the ANI EEMT product such as greasy skin, and insomnia and mood changes. I decided to try and use other hormone replacement therapies and nothing helped. Then I discovered recently that the same generic EEMT product by Amneal pharmaceuticals, was being produced by Seton pharmaceuticals. The color of the pill, and the same number is on it as when it was produced by Ameneal. I don't know what relationship they Amneal and Seton have, but its the same product. So I ran to Walgreens and picked it up. I have taken three pills so far and I am back to my old self after suffering over a year to try and find a correct alternative to the Amneal EEMT. But now I have been reading about Seton pharmaceuticals pulling out of the market of EEMT! and that they will only produce the pill until the contract expires??. I am beyond upset! The only other manufacturer remaining will once again be ANI pharmaceuticals. Quite a monopoly! The ANI pharmaceutical EEMT is just not the same and I am NOT the only woman out there who has realized this. I have read from other sites, of women complaining about the same thing. It is NOT the same product and has caused unwanted side effects in these women. I have no idea why it can be so different. Is it in the types of ingredients that they using? Its just NOT the same, sorry. I just wanted to let other women out there know about this and hoping that somebody can shed some light as to if its true of Seton no longer manufacturing their version of EEMT. These are my experiences and I hope it helps someone out there.

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Hi Lucygoosie,

Thank you for all the info you posted. I have been having a major issue with my tongue, since Aug. 2015. (Burning tongue/mouth syndrome type symptoms). It is now May 2016. I am still suffering with it. Been to my primary physician many times who did all kinds of tests and blood work. Found nothing that would cause this. Then went to ear, nose and throat doctor many times, same thing, can't figure it out. Eliminated foods, stopped meds that I thought might be the problem, still no change. For five days I was out of my EEMT before pharm. and doc got prescription done. I picked it up two days ago. During the five days, off the med., my tongue starting getting better. Over the past two days it's a problem and worse than before.

I started reading about the EEMT, and how mfg. stopped making them. I knew that the color and type of pill had changed and pharm. told me it was a different mfg., but the exact same thing. Apparently not, I pulled up my medication history on CVS website and found that the new colored pill began in August 2015. Coincidence, I'm afraid not! I found the two manufacturers were different. Old was Anmeal pharm. pill type IP 78 mint green color, and new one is ANI pharm., 1490 dark green. I looked up ingredients of both. Main showed the same, but you never know, and as for Other ingredients, the original has a small list of ingredients, nothing weird. The new one that ANI makes has a huge list of junk listed. CVS uses ANI pharm. and does not use any other supplier/mfg. for this drug. Walgreens uses Seton pharm., the mint green pill, with the IP 78 printed on it.

All this time I have been suffering with this tongue issue and who knows what else it's hurting. The pharmacy said there was no difference. I should have looked it up myself.

I appreciate all the info you have written, and I am really happy to see light at the end of the tunnel. I hope Seton does not stop manufacturing this medication. I don't know what I will do. The problems taking the ANI brand are almost worse than the menopause symptoms I take it for. HOT FLASHES, waking up drenched, etc., YUCK! You would think not being able to eat would help greatly with weight loss, not with the ANI mfg., I have gained over 15 pounds. I only gained 18 with a 9 lb. baby.

Thanks again, and I hope this will help someone else.

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Hi there. Yes indeed seton is much better than ani and I hope they never stop making the seton brand which is the same formula and ingredients as the old amneal. God I hope they never stop making it! A back up plan would be covaryx brand name only which I have heard good reviews too. Sold through kroegers pharmacy or in Ralph's market in the west. But only the brand name of covaryx.

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Fluffy,

The only difference in formulation should be the "inactive" ingredients. There's a number of ingredients and combinations of inactive that can be formulated. You may be allergic to those. EEMT and Covaryx are made by the same manufacturer and is the same drug. Covaryx is the drug name owned by the distributor. No other difference.

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Lucy, Covaryx/EEMT are highly accepted and many customers love it more than than ANI or Setons products. Walgreens is starting to carry it. Remember, if you request a specific product, your pharmacy had to honor it.

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Indeed other women have been give the generic of covarynx and hate it especially when made by ani. So although it's supposed to be the same active ingredients, in comparison of the two products , the generic by ani pharmaceuticals is not as good. Whatever is the cause.

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Here's a clarification. ANI makes Estratest. Syntho makes Covaryx. The generics are both called EEMT (the abbreviation of the drugs) but ANI and Syntho make their own generics. So the generic made by ANI won't be the same as the generic made by Syntho. Each manufacturer has their own formulation as I've mentioned before but remember, according to law, the ACTIVE ingredient must be exactly the same. The INACTIVES are different but it doesn't change how the drug works. Both companies use the same EXACT formulas for their brand and generic so nothing changes except the name. I've only seen positive reviews of both of Syntho's drugs, brand Covaryx and generic EEMT. The minor difference could be the quality of the ingredients (think what makes a Mercedes a better car over a Toyota). Both are good cars but sometimes quality in craftsmanship can vary so it's similar theory in raw material ingredients. Try the generic EEMT made my Syntho instead of ANI, it's the Covaryx in generic name. Good luck!

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I have read so many post on here and know what I'm about to go through.. I has a hysterotomy at 25. Totally lost everything and after many tries Estratest worked. Now at 61, I lost my insurance, and can't be covered for a while. Medicare Part D. Guess what they want for the payment on Part D. Just a small $501.00. I get a little over $800.00 on disability. So, I am stuck. no only will I be out, but can't afford it. So now, I'm going to go through that hell I went through years ago until they found a match. My question is this. What is a women to do? Where to turn? Can't see a doctor until July to even help. I know going without this medication will cause the most horrible of thoughts and being sick anyway, is a downward hill for me. How can this happen in this day in time in America? It's not like we women are misusing this? It's hellping us cope, think, and keep us normal. If that's what you want to call it. Cause in about one week, I won't be. Thoughts to any any of you that went of something else and it keep you SANE, let me know.. Good luck to you all

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to set other posts into real life experiences: I had no idea companies had changed, I pick up my med, trust the doc, pharmacist, ....It was my health, mood, reactions that were affected. (placebo effect, as I did not know mfg changed...) Drastic difference, so it is not as easy as it sounds to some of you. Im better off without any of it, than the "supposed equal". Very dangerous substitution. Real life experiences times thousands of women experiencing it, prove the recipe is NOT good for many. I hope this helps those that haven't been thru this understand. Thank you

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Thank you for that information. Can you please tell us the name of the drug that is in question? I'm curious as to why the substitution didn't work when they should be the same formula. It will help us determine if there needs to be a change in our products. Thank you.

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Lee: have you tried paying cash for a doctors visit and paying cash for the genetic estratest? A doctors visit may be around 100.00 for one time to get a prescription and when I paid cash for generic estratest, it was about 60.00 through an Rx Savings Card. It may be a hardship for you to pay for a doctors visit but it will keep you mentally stable to get your prescription filled. I found a good match with premarin but it's pretty expensive without insurance. I think it's about 150.00 cash.

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Just to clarify, Premarin and Estratest are not equivalent. Premarin is "conjugated" estrogens, Estratest/Syntest/Covaryx/EEMT are "esterified" estrogens. The estrogens is one of the main active ingredients so that makes a huge difference. They come from different sources and have different chemical compositions as well as unique chemical compounding with other ingredients. It also differs in how your liver breaks it down. Conjugated estrogens have worse side effects than esterified estrogens. Hope this helps.

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Hi, I started having all the same problems and more. I compared the In-active ingredients in the ANI, Amneal and Seton. Have the pharmacist print that for you. You will be shocked what the ingredients are compared to Seton. I have worked with Walgreens and found another very close match of exact inactive ingredients. The manufacturer is Creekwood. Try that manufacturer and see how it works for you. Unfortunately, my prescription plan stopped covering this drug completely and I have excellent prescription benefits. Sounds to me like mfg. upped the cost and/or they are not going to cover any of them. One other note: The FDA requires a mfg to stay within a certain percentage of Active ingredient. I was told that it was approx. 3% and was increased to 5 or started at 5% and moved up from there. Even the Seton mfg could reduce the Active ingredient and I think they did. I began having major, major hot flashes and other symptoms. I went to Gyno and she told me that she was taking it and had to change. And many of her patients were having problems with symptoms the drug is supposed to fix. She changed me to a new drug called Duavee. I have been taking it for 4 days and I am amazed how much better I feel. So far so good, she wants to check with me in 3 weeks. I think this is a hit! Good Luck to you, keep the faith.

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, I started having all the same problems and more. I compared the In-active ingredients in the ANI, Amneal and Seton. Have the pharmacist print that for you. You will be shocked what the ingredients are compared to Seton. I have worked with Walgreens and found another very close match of exact inactive ingredients. The manufacturer is Creekwood. Try that manufacturer and see how it works for you. Unfortunately, my prescription plan stopped covering this drug completely and I have excellent prescription benefits. Sounds to me like mfg. upped the cost and/or they are not going to cover any of them. One other note: The FDA requires a mfg to stay within a certain percentage of Active ingredient. I was told that it was approx. 3% and was increased to 5 or started at 5% and moved up from there. Even the Seton mfg could reduce the Active ingredient and I think they did. I began having major, major hot flashes and other symptoms. I went to Gyno and she told me that she was taking it and had to change. And many of her patients were having problems with symptoms the drug is supposed to fix. She changed me to a new drug called Duavee. I have been taking it for 4 days and I am amazed how much better I feel. So far so good, she wants to check with me in 3 weeks. I think this is a hit! Good Luck to you, keep the faith.

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Debbie, the inactives are just that, inactive...meaning not effective. Maybe you're allergic to them? Actives, by law, have to be the same. As I mentioned in my previous post, conjugated estrogens is not the same as esterified estrogens. Also, Creekwood is the distributor, manufacturer is Syntho. Look for any product made by Syntho, esterified estrogens and higher quality inactives. Hope this helps, good luck!

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Yes, but Premarin has worked better for me than the genetic estratest on the market even though they are very different.

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Re: Not well on estrogen by ANI (# 10)

ANI is horrible, l too was doing very well until l was switched to ANI. If anyone is aware of a Pharmarcy where l can get alternate manufacture please help.

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