Without her medication, Tris Raouf vomits, breaks into sweats and has migraines so painful, it feels like her head is being stabbed.
So when she discovered it was out of stock almost a month ago, the 75 year-old was petrified.
![Tris Raouf needs hormone replacement therapy and becomes bedridden without it.](/web/20170417201601im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/j/a/f/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvkyjv.png/1492265442461.jpg)
Ms Raouf has been prescribed oestrogen patches for more than 20 years.
The hormone replacement therapy is mostly used to treat women with menopausal symptoms, which can include mood swings, hot flushes, vaginal dryness and aches and pains.
![Tris Raouf has been prescribed oestrogen patches for more than 20 years: "They think we are funny old chooks, but I'm ...](/web/20170417201601im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/j/a/f/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvkyjv.png/1492265442461.jpg)
But a shortage has left more than 60,000 Australian women struggling to buy it.
"This is devastating for many, many women," Ms Raouf said. "In some cases it literally keeps them alive and in others greatly improves their quality of life."
Ms Raouf, who will need the patches for the rest of her life, is angry she wasn't warned.
"If it was Viagra, it would have been solved overnight and there would be one heck of a stink," she said. "They think we are funny old chooks, but I'm virtually dead without it."
![Illustration by Matt Golding.](/web/20170417201601im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/l/j/y/z/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gvkyjv.png/1492345048023.jpg)
The Health Department has confirmed a shortage in the oestrogen patch Ms Raouf uses, called Estradot, along with another type which combines progesterone, called Estalis.
The manufacturer, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, would only say there was a "disruption in supply".
A spokeswoman said it was working to resolve the issue but did not provide a time frame.
There are oestrogen tablets available as an alternative, but they are more likely to cause blood clots in menopausal women.
"It's pretty risky for no good reason," said women's health expert Dr Roisin Worsley.
The Jean Hailes endocrinologist said many of her clients were being forced to drive to multiple pharmacies to hunt the patches down.
"It's a big problem," she said.
The Health Department spokeswoman said 63,972 women had been issued a prescription for at least one of these oesterogen brands in the last financial year. The figure could be higher including private prescription.
The doctor agreed the shortage wasn't being taken seriously by authorities, and that this was because it's a female issue.
"Many women feel invalidated," she said. "[Menopause] is sometimes treated like a bit of a joke."
Those on Estradot could try two other patches that also only contain oestrogen. One of those patches had also been in short supply but a Health Department spokeswoman said that issue had been resolved in January.
However, Dr Worsley said swapping to another type of hormone replacement treatment often came with complications.
Ms Raouf, for example, found the alternative patches didn't agree with her.
Dr Worsley said it was even harder to find alternatives to Estalis, as this would mean combining progesterone medications that were more expensive, less convenient and harder to find a doctor with the expertise to prescribe.
"If someone finds a treatment that works for them, changing it is not that straightforward," she said.
Ms Raouf has managed to track down six months' supply, but fears what will happen once she runs out again.
"I felt totally alone and stranded and with nothing and no one to support me," she said.
"If doctors and pharmacists can't offer any hope or support or time frame, who can? Is there anyone who even cares?"