Estradiol Tablets
FDA-approved estrogen, one tablet a day. Estradiol is the main estrogen your ovaries make before menopause. As a daily tablet, it’s FDA-approved to treat hot flashes and night sweats and to help prevent bone loss after menopause. A licensed pharmacy dispenses FDA-approved generic estradiol; it isn’t compounded. If you still have your uterus, you’ll take it with progesterone.
- FDA-approved generic, not compounded
- One tablet a day
- Strength set by your provider
Daily tablet · from $29/mo. Prices are preliminary.
How to use it
- Take one tablet a day at about the same time, with or without food.
- If you still have your uterus, take the progesterone your provider prescribes too, exactly as directed.
- Call your provider about any vaginal bleeding or a new breast lump, and keep up with your mammograms and blood pressure checks.
- Form
- Tablet, 30 per bottle
- Strength
- 0.5, 1 or 2 mg; your provider sets the dose
- Typical use
- One tablet a day, at about the same time
- Dispensed as
- FDA-approved generic from a licensed pharmacy, not compounded
- Who it’s for
- Women in menopause with hot flashes, night sweats or other symptoms, if a provider decides it’s right for them
One active, an FDA-approved generic.
- Estradiol (0.5, 1 or 2 mg tablet): Your body’s main estrogen before menopause. Replacing some of it eases hot flashes and night sweats and helps protect your bones.
What the research does and doesn’t show
Estrogen is the most effective treatment for hot flashes: in 24 trials with 3,329 women, estrogen pills cut hot flashes by about 75% compared with placebo and made them milder. Estradiol tablets are FDA-approved for hot flashes and night sweats, vaginal dryness from menopause and preventing bone loss.
By mouth or through the skin: in a large UK study, estrogen pills were linked to a higher risk of blood clots, and estrogen through the skin wasn’t. Studies like this can’t prove cause, and your provider weighs it with your own risks.
So estradiol tablets work well for hot flashes, at the lowest dose that helps, with a progestogen if you have a uterus.
Studies: Estradiol tablets prescribing information (Teva, DailyMed setid c4936878-1643-4e7f-9b0d-e4957935aef2); MacLennan et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004 (24 trials, 3,329 women; PMID 15495039); Vinogradova et al., BMJ 2019 (oral HRT adjusted odds ratio 1.58 for venous thromboembolism, transdermal 0.93; PMID 30626577); The Menopause Society 2022 hormone therapy position statement (PMID 35797481).
What to expect
- Weeks 1–2
- Breast tenderness, nausea, bloating or spotting can happen as your body adjusts, and usually settle.
- Weeks 4–8
- Hot flashes and night sweats often ease once the dose is right, and sleep may improve.
- Ongoing
- Your provider checks in, adjusts your dose and reviews each year whether you still need it. Refills ship monthly, or order once.
Important safety information
Before you start
Your provider reviews your health history, medicines and allergies before prescribing, and prescribes only if it’s right for you. Tell your care team about any side effect, and get emergency care for chest pain, trouble breathing, or swelling of the face, lips or throat.
Side effects, and when to get help
The most common are headache, breast tenderness, nausea, bloating and spotting or irregular bleeding. Less common but serious: blood clots, stroke, heart attack, gallbladder disease, higher blood pressure and breast cancer, and, with a uterus and no progestogen, cancer of the uterine lining. Call your provider about any vaginal bleeding or a new breast lump. Get care right away for chest pain, a painful or swollen leg, sudden shortness of breath, a sudden severe headache, changes in vision or speech, weakness or numbness on one side, yellow skin or eyes, or swelling of the face, lips or tongue.
Rules that keep it safe
If you have a uterus, take estradiol only with a progestogen your clinician prescribes, usually FDA-approved progesterone capsules, because estrogen alone can cause cancer of the uterine lining. Don’t use it if you’ve had breast cancer, a blood clot, a stroke or a heart attack, or have a clotting disorder, liver disease, unexplained vaginal bleeding, or could be pregnant. Tell your clinician if you take thyroid medicine (you may need a higher dose), seizure medicines, rifampin, St. John’s wort or antifungals, or drink grapefruit juice. Tell them before surgery or a long stretch of bed rest. Keep up with mammograms and blood pressure checks, and review each year whether you still need it.
Is it FDA-approved?
Yes. Estradiol tablets are an FDA-approved generic, dispensed by a licensed pharmacy as the manufacturer makes them; they aren’t compounded. They’re approved for moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats from menopause, vaginal dryness from menopause, low estrogen from other causes, and preventing osteoporosis after menopause. In 2025 the FDA moved to remove the boxed warnings about heart disease, breast cancer and dementia from menopause hormone labels; the warning about cancer of the uterine lining with estrogen alone stays. Not every generic label has been updated yet, so the leaflet that comes with yours may still show the older warnings.
About Estradiol Tablets
Is estradiol FDA-approved?
Yes. Estradiol tablets are FDA-approved to treat hot flashes and night sweats from menopause, vaginal dryness, and low estrogen from other causes, and to help prevent osteoporosis after menopause. Your prescription is filled with FDA-approved generic estradiol by a licensed pharmacy; it isn’t compounded.
Tablet or patch?
Both deliver estradiol. The tablet is taken once a day; the patch is changed twice a week and absorbed through the skin, skipping a first pass through the liver. In a large UK study, estrogen through the skin wasn’t linked to blood clots, unlike tablets. Your provider helps you choose.
Do I need progesterone too?
Yes, if you still have your uterus. Estrogen on its own can thicken the uterine lining and raise the risk of endometrial cancer, and a progestogen protects against that, usually FDA-approved progesterone capsules.
How is it different from Bi-Est?
Bi-Est is a compounded cream with two estrogens, estriol and estradiol. Estradiol tablets contain estradiol only and are FDA-approved, with a set dose in every tablet.
What are the risks?
Estrogen therapy can raise the risk of blood clots, stroke and, with long-term use, some cancers. How much depends on your age, how long it’s been since menopause, your health history and your dose. Your provider reviews these before prescribing and aims for the lowest dose that helps.