Moving abroad, living between two countries, or spending months somewhere else — and your hormone therapy is prescribed in a system you are no longer in. Product names differ, availability differs, and the clinical advice you were given may not match what you are told next. Here is what actually transfers and what does not.

Where we stand: Menova is an independent publication. We sell no services, we are not your doctor, and this is general education, not medical or legal advice. Rules on prescriptions, imports and travelling with medication differ by country — check the specific ones that apply to you.

What transfers: the generic name

Brand names change across borders. The active ingredient, dose and route do not.

Write down and carry:

  • Estradiol, 50 micrograms per 24 hours, transdermal patch, twice weekly
  • Micronized progesterone, 100mg, oral, nightly
  • Estriol or estradiol vaginal pessary, twice weekly

That is a prescription any clinician anywhere can work from. "I'm on Evorel" is not — see HRT types and forms and keep your own health record.

Also write down why you are on that route. If you are transdermal because of clot risk, migraine with aura, high blood pressure or levothyroxine, a new prescriber will not know unless you say — see HRT and blood clot risk and HRT and thyroid medication.

What does not transfer: the guidance

Menopause guidance genuinely differs between countries, and so does prescribing culture.

  • Availability differs. Some products are common in one country and unavailable in another. Micronized progesterone, testosterone for women, and particular patch strengths vary considerably
  • Testosterone for women is licensed in a few countries and prescribed off-label in many others — see testosterone for women
  • Compounded "bioidentical" prescribing is far more common in some markets, and specialist bodies are consistently cautious about it. If you move somewhere it is the default offer, our position is unchanged — see compounded versus regulated HRT and hormone pellets
  • Vaginal estrogen labelling differs, including how the class warning is worded — see is vaginal estrogen safe
  • Cost and coverage differ enormously, from free at point of use to several hundred a year — see HRT cost and insurance

If a new clinician says something that contradicts what you were told, it is worth asking which guidance they are working from rather than assuming one of you is wrong. NICE, The Menopause Society and ACOG broadly agree on the substance and differ in emphasis.

Before you go

  • Get a printed summary from your current prescriber: diagnosis, products with generic names and doses, why that route, and any relevant history
  • Ask for a longer supply, where the system allows
  • Check import rules for your destination — hormone therapy is ordinarily unproblematic, but rules on quantity and documentation vary, and some countries require a doctor's letter
  • Keep medication in hand luggage, in original packaging, with the prescription or letter — see menopause and travel
  • Note your screening status — when your last cervical screening and mammogram were, and what the results showed. Programmes and intervals differ by country, and you may be entering a different schedule; see health screening in your 50s and cervical screening after menopause
  • Get a copy of recent blood results, with the numbers and the lab's ranges — see reading your own blood test results

Finding a clinician in the new country

  • Menopause societies publish directories of clinicians with menopause training in several countries. That is the most reliable route
  • Expat groups are useful for practical navigation and unreliable for clinical advice — the same test applies as anywhere: does the group ever tell you not to buy something? See finding menopause support that is actually useful
  • International or private clinics are often the quickest route while you establish yourself, and are not necessarily better
  • Ask what training they have in menopause specifically — see finding a clinician who knows menopause

Telehealth across borders

Tempting and legally constrained.

Most menopause telehealth services are licensed to prescribe only within specific countries or states, and cannot legally prescribe to you where you now live. Some will consult but not prescribe.

Check before paying. And be wary of any service willing to post prescription hormones internationally without a proper consultation — that is the same category as buying hormones online, which is the shortcut with genuine potential for harm; see how to get HRT online and telehealth versus your own doctor.

Do not let treatment lapse in the gap

The practical failure mode: a few months between systems, supplies run out, symptoms return, and by the time you are registered somewhere you are starting again.

  • Build a buffer before you move
  • Register with a local clinician early, before you need something
  • If you have a uterus, do not run out of progestogen while continuing estrogen. That is the one combination with real risk — see progesterone in menopause
  • Do not stop vaginal estrogen during the gap. Genitourinary symptoms progress and are harder to reverse later — see how to use vaginal estrogen

If supply genuinely fails, the approach is the same as any shortage — see HRT shortages.

Climate and practical changes

Worth anticipating rather than discovering:

The one-page thing to carry

  • Every medication: generic name, dose, route, frequency
  • Why you are on that route
  • Allergies and previous reactions
  • Clot history, migraine with aura, cancer history
  • Last screening dates and results
  • Recent blood results with numbers

Our free printable visit prep sheet is designed to be that page, and it works in any country because it is written in generic terms.

The free 2-minute Menova self-check organizes your symptom picture — no account, not a diagnosis, and your answers never leave your device.

This article is general education, not medical or legal advice. Prescription, import and travel rules for medication differ by country and change — verify the rules for your destination before you travel.

Sources: The Menopause Society, NICE NG23 — Menopause, ACOG — The Menopause Years, and NHS — HRT.