on PinterestThe growing demand for estrogen patches has led to a shortage that could last up to 3 years.
on PinterestThe growing demand for estrogen patches has led to a shortage that could last up to 3 years. Justin Paget/Getty Images
- The FDA’s removal of long-standing black box warnings on hormone therapy products triggered a prescription surge and supply shortage.
- All five patch manufacturers are running at full capacity but still falling short of demand, HHS told Healthline — though the federal health agency has not declared an official national shortage.
- Women unable to find patches have several effective alternatives, including estrogen gels, sprays, and oral tablets, all of which treat menopausal symptoms while bypassing the supply crunch.
Women across the country are walking into pharmacies and hearing the same frustrating message: their estrogen patches are on backorder.
Reuters reports the shortage affects major manufacturers and could last up to three years.
Estrogen patches are a common form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), or menopause hormone therapy (HT), alongside pills and other delivery methods.
Right now, a combination of surging demand, supply chain problems, and limited manufacturing capacity has left many women shopping around at different pharmacies, switching brands and dosages, and, in some cases, going without, Reuters reported.
With more than 1 million U.S. women beginning menopause each year, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the impact of a shortage has the potential to be widespread.
Here’s what’s driving the shortage, why menopausal females benefit from estrogen patches, and what alternatives can help alleviate symptoms.
Why are estrogen patches so hard to find right now?
The demand for estrogen patches has outpaced supply, and manufacturers are struggling to catch up.
Prescriptions for estrogen-based HRT have surged, according to an analysis by health data company Truveta. Patch use specifically increased by more than triple between 2018 and early 2026.
Among women ages 45–54, prescribing rates jumped 184%, and in February 2026, roughly 1 in 20 women in that age group had an estrogen-based HRT prescription, the Truveta data showed.
Several forces drove that growth. In November 2025, the FDA began removing some of the strongest safety label warnings from certain HRT products.
The warnings had been in place for more than two decades following the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study, which raised concerns about cardiovascular and cancer risks.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it initiated the labeling changes after a comprehensive review found the warnings overstated the risks for many women, particularly those who start therapy near the onset of menopause.
“We removed the black box warnings on hormone replacement therapy to tell women the truth about the short-term and profound long-term public health benefits of hormone replacement therapy,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, said in a presentation to FDA employees on April 1.
“Demand for hormone replacement therapy has surged since our announcement,” Makary said.
G. Thomas Ruiz, MD, an OB-GYN at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, said the shift has been dramatic in his own practice.
“As soon as the FDA changed its black box warning… I got so many patients who are no longer fearful,” Ruiz told Healthline. He added that the biggest concern
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