The Independent Pharmacy

How Long Does Kliovance Take To Work? & Other Questions Answered

Andy Boysan
Andy Boysan
BPharm GPhC 2047716
Director & Superintendent Pharmacist

If you’ve been prescribed Kliovance to treat any distressing or difficult symptoms of the menopause (such as hot flushes, night sweats or irritability), then you’ll probably want to learn more about this HRT (hormone replacement therapy), such as how long Kliovance takes to work.

That’s why we’ve written this guide — so that you can get a clear idea of how this HRT works and how well it works. We’ll be answering questions about Kliovance benefits, as well as how long it takes to work, and whether Kliovance is a low dose HRT.

Read on for some helpful information on how long Kliovance takes to work and anything else you need to consider before starting this HRT treatment.

What is Kliovance?

Kliovance is a continuous combined type of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that is used to treat symptoms of menopause.

Kliovance contains a lower dose of hormones compared to other HRT treatments, which makes it suitable for people who are more sensitive to hormones.

Kliovance tablets contain two active ingredients which emulate the female sex hormones: estradiol, which is a type of oestrogen; and norethisterone, a version of progestogen. Each daily tablet contains a dose of both hormones.

Because these hormone doses are constant, taking Kliovance means you will not have a monthly bleed. Therefore, this type of HRT (continuous combined) is suited for women who have already reached menopause or who are post-menopausal but are still suffering from difficult symptoms.

If you still have some sort of menstrual cycle or you have had a hysterectomy, your GP will recommend a different type of HRT for you.

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Does Kliovance work?

In short, yes — Kliovance is very effective at treating a range of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, osteoporosis, vaginal dryness, irritability, and depression.

In some cases, Kliovance may not contain a strong enough dose to help with your menopausal symptoms, although it is usually enough in most cases. If you’ve been using Kliovance for three to six months and you don’t think that your symptoms are getting better, then it’s a good idea to speak to your GP. They may suggest changing to a slightly higher dosage HRT.

Women using any form of HRT should have regular check-ups and review their use of HRT with a doctor at least once a year.

How long does Kliovance take to work?

Like all HRTs, Kliovance works very quickly to relieve symptoms of the menopause.

You should start to notice a significant improvement in your symptoms within the first 10 days to two weeks of starting your treatment. Many users have extremely positive experiences and are happy with how quickly Kliovance starts to work.

For some users, it may take longer to feel a difference in their symptoms. It may take between three to six months of continuous use to feel the full benefits of Kliovance. That’s why it’s important to keep taking your tablets every day at the same time, to ensure that they work as effectively as possible.

During this initial period, you may experience some side effects as your body gets used to the new hormone levels from the HRT. These are normally mild and will subside as your body adjusts to the treatment. The most commonly reported Kliovance side effects are breakthrough bleeding and breast tenderness or pain.

Side effects don’t affect the majority of Kliovance users, but it’s worth being aware of them just in case. You can read more about these possible side effects on our Kliovance side effects page.

How do you use Kliovance?

Kliovance tablets are very easy to use.

You take one tablet every day at a similar time, to ensure that your hormone levels remain steady. This will help to alleviate any difficult menopause symptoms. Taking your tablet at the same time every day will help you to remember to take it better too.

Swallow the tablet whole with a drink (like water). Kliovance tablets can be taken with or without food — it’s up to you and it won’t make a difference to how effective the HRT is.

Once you finish a pack of Kliovance tablets, you should start a new pack the following day without any break. If you don’t start a new pack straight away, you’re more likely to experience side effects such as breakthrough bleeding.

If for any reason, you forget to take a tablet, you should take it as soon as possible. However, if you have forgotten and it is more than 12 hours since you were due to take a tablet, you should skip the Kliovance dose that you missed (and take your next tablet as normal).

You should never double your dose to compensate for a dose that you have missed. Doing so could have adverse effects on your health.

As with all HRTs, you should have regular check-ups and treatment reviews with your GP at least once a year.

Kliovance dosages: is Kliovance a low dose HRT?

Compared to other HRT treatments, Kliovance has a lower dose of hormones. This makes it well-suited to women who tend to be more sensitive to hormones, and who might suffer more easily from adverse side effects. You can read more about the possible side effects of Kliovance here.

The active ingredients contained in Kliovance tablets are 1mg estradiol (as estradiol hemihydrate) and 0.5mg norethisterone acetate.

As you can see, the Kliovance dosage of hormones is much lower than in other HRT treatments. A similar combined continuous HRT called Kliofem contains 2mg of estradiol (as estradiol hemihydrate) and 1mg of norethisterone acetate — double the Kliovance dose. Likewise, Elleste Duet Conti contains twice the Kliovance dosage with 2mg estradiol and 1mg norethisterone in each tablet.

What's in Kliovance?

The active ingredients contained in Kliovance tablets are:

  • 1mg estradiol (as estradiol hemihydrate)
  • 0.5mg norethisterone acetate

These are the two hormone supplements that treat your menopausal symptoms.

Kliovance also contains the following inactive ingredients to make up the complete product:

  • Lactose monohydrate
  • Maize starch
  • Copovidone
  • Talc
  • Magnesium stearate
  • Hypromellose
  • Triacetin

Each packet of Kliovance tablets comes with a patient information leaflet if you feel like you would like to know more. Alternatively, you can contact us if you have any further queries.

Alternatives to Kliovance

If you haven’t used HRT before, it can be hard to understand the difference between different products and understand which is most suitable for you.

If you’re unsure where to start, you can either seek medical advice from your GP, or one of our qualified pharmacists or visit our menopause treatments page.

In a nutshell, these are the three different types of HRT treatments available to treat menopause symptoms:

  • Continuous combined HRT (like Kliovance): this type of HRT is recommended for women who have reached menopause or are post-menopausal (those who haven’t had a period for over 12 months). It involves taking both oestrogen and progestogen supplements every day without a break.

  • Sequential or cyclical HRT: this form of HRT is recommended for those suffering from menopausal symptoms but who are still experiencing some type of menstrual cycle. This type of HRT is made up of two types of tablets or patches which release different hormones throughout the month, mimicking the hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle.

  • Oestrogen-only HRT: this form of HRT is only recommended for people who have had a hysterectomy; taking oestrogen on its own increases the risk of endometrial cancer (cancer of the womb or uterus). However, if your womb has been removed, oestrogen-only treatments won’t carry this risk.

The HRT treatments available at The Independent Pharmacy are:

If you are taking Kliovance but you feel like it isn’t the right treatment for you, you can talk to your doctor about trying other HRT treatments.

If Kliovance doesn’t appear to be alleviating your menopausal symptoms after using the HRT for a while, your doctor may suggest changing to a treatment with a higher dose of hormones. Or, if you seem to be suffering from side effects from your HRT, your doctor might suggest changing to another low-dosage HRT.

Summary

Kliovance is a continuous combined type of HRT (hormone replacement therapy) that is used to treat menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women and women who have already reached menopause.

One big Kliovance benefit is that it contains a lower dose of hormones (1mg estradiol and 0.5mg norethisterone) than other HRT treatments, which makes it a suitable medication choice for women who are more sensitive to hormones.

However, Kliovance is still effective at alleviating difficult menopause symptoms and does not take long to work. Like other HRTs, you will start to notice a difference in your symptoms within a few weeks of starting your course of treatment.

If you think it might be the HRT treatment for you, you can buy Kliovance from The Independent Pharmacy. You just need to fill in our free online consultation form; it’s quick and easy to do. Once you’ve completed your questionnaire, one of our qualified prescribers can issue your medication for next-day delivery.

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Andy Boysan

Authored by

Andy Boysan
Andy Boysan
BPharm
2047716
Director & Superintendent Pharmacist

Andy is a co-founder and the Superintendent Pharmacist and Director at The Independent Pharmacy.

Daniel Hurley

Reviewed by

Daniel Hurley
Daniel Hurley
MPharm IP
2078790
Pharmacist Independent Prescriber

Dan is an experienced pharmacist having spent time working in both primary and secondary care. He currently supports our clinical team by providing robust clinical governance review of our internal processes and information.