Update on my use of hormone pellets

	Quote:
Originally Posted by 6andcounting I'm not sure that I can support this idea that you should go through months of not feeling good before you go to pellet therapy. I think a lack of support for pellets is because 1) it's difficult to find those who practice it, 2) it's terribly expensive and insurance doesn't usually cover it, 3) most doctors don't know or don't care about it and 3) when someone starts feeling good consistently, there not as likely to post.

I share the above quotes. My surgery was almost 7 years ago. I used Premarin, creams and compounded capsules. I came here a week ago looking for a doctor because I have moved to a new area. I wanted bio-identicals and someone that understands them. What I found was a new choice that I did not know about before.

I made the decision to try pellets and can't wait to report here for others to see one more experience with them. I had bloodwork done this morning and will have the pellets inserted tomorrow afternoon. I will drive 3 1/2 hours to have this done because that is my choice. Do I expect great things because of what I read on here? I certainly hope I am one of the success stories. Do I think there may be some drawbacks to this? Of course, but there where with the other things I tried too.

My decision went like this....I can try the pellets, hope for the best, deal with the complications and only have to do it once every 3-4 months. OR, I can try some more of the same old things, still suffer miserably, and have to remember to rub it on or swallow it, or both, one time, or two times or 3 times, every single day. I am 56 years old and want to enjoy the years I have left, not fight with every other method out there before I finally try the pellets.

I am not trying to persuade anyone to do anything. Just stating how I feel.

Jerry

Ditto on Cinder and TK lover's responses.

Im hoping for the best..and will deal with whatever comes with this therapy as I have with everything else I have tried.

I think 6 yrs. shows plenty of patience, but I can honestly say I don't feel anywhere near as bad as I have with other methods.. just sharing my experiences, good and bad.

No one has convinced me to do this, it was all my choice.

Hi All,

I have read the posts and I do not want to be controversial, but I do want to share my information. I stopped posting on Hystersisters 5 weeks ago because I started feeling good and it kind of left my mind. Today is my three month point and I got a hystersisters checkpoint email so I decided to see what others were saying about the pellets.

I had pellets inserted 5 weeks ago and I feel great. I feel better than I have in years, to be honest. I went 8 weeks with no hormones after my LAVH/BSO and I was miserable. Within 24 hours of the pellets the hot flashes just stopped. I was shocked because they were intense for me. After a week my sleep got really deep and now I dream a lot with out waking up during the night. I noticed, well actually people I work with noticed, a change in my skin. It had gotten very dry and now it is really soft and looks better. Comments like, "Did you get new makeup?" "Did you get a facial?" My libido is amazing and my husband and I are very happy.

My doctor has been providing the pellets for 15 years and uses them herself. She says they are safe, but I am just telling you what she said to me. She recommends staying on them until at least until I am in my 60's. I have not tried any other HRT so I do not know if this is better, but I am not going to try anything else because I am happy. I am not great at remembering pills so this is an even better solution for me.

I hope everyone finds their best HRT, but I got to tell you that the pellets have given me a lot of relief. I was so scared about having surgical menopause. Menopause? What's that?

Hope this helps.

Susan

Hi MeramecLady,

I have noticed that you also had testosterone implanted. Do you have your levels checked routinely?

s,
Kay

Hey All:

Cinder, thanks for getting us back on track.. I do have an update to report....


Just got back from my hairstylist for a cut/color. I have not had one since the second week of June (pellet insertion was June 1st). She said that I am absolutely not thinning. In fact she showed me new 'blonde' growth at my temples, nape of my neck and she said she can see healthy growth all around, so what I have been seeing is hair shedding, but not without re-growth (Thank God)

It is amazing what a fresh cut can do for your hair. It feels great! And I wont be worrying any longer. She thinks it is natural shedding. Personally, I still think it is tied moreso to the change in hormones.

She is a bit amazed at how much lighter the new growth is because I used to be pretty blonde and had gotten so dark after having three kids.

Just wanted to report in that my negative with hairshedding does not appear to be of any concern!

TK Lover:

Good, good luck tomorrow. Set up a thread and keep us posted on your experience!

I posted on this thread a couple of weeks ago concerning my experience with the pellets. I had a complete hysterectomy in November of 2006 and tried several types of therapy for six months and nothing helped. A co-worker told me about the pellets. She has been using them for seven years and absolutely loves them. I had pellets inserted this past May and have noticed great improvement. I go back to have them inserted again at the end of August. I may need to increase the estrogen a little. Hot flashes and night sweats have disappeared and sex drive is much better. I still have some vaginal burining and irritation but really feel so much better since starting the pellets. My doctor plans to see me every three months for the first year. He says the reason more doctors do not provide them is because they are fairly expensive and insurance does not cover the cost of pellets. He also says that he has never had a woman choose to go back to any other type of therapy after using the pellets. I do not know if the pellets will continue to work this well for me but so far they have greatly improved my quality of life.

Kay M:

I do get my estrogen and testosterone levels checked. I am more afraid of testosterone "bad" symptoms than estrogen symptoms, due to my fine hair.

Oopherectomy was 8/7/06 (one year ago today on daughter's 14th birthday!) I had testosterone bloodwork on 9/06, 11/06 and then 7/07. It went from non-existent to above what is considered the normal range for women, which freaked me out a little, but then my nurse practitioner who administered them said not to worry hers was even higher and to be honest I felt absolutely amazing, energy, overflowing libido and an amazing sense of well-being.

So I said I wanted bloodwork drawn again before next insertion and she said that she prefers to really manage by symptoms after a few blood test. I told her I am a 'numbers' person and really needed to repeat the test before my 2nd pellet insertion and she was totally fine with that (mentioned her husband is a 'numbers' person too)

So.. I think if it goes as well as the first insertion then I probably will agree with her and not need bloodwork everytime it wears off and I need a new insertion. She said most women who use pellets longer than a year dont bother with bloodwork unless something changes. Hope this info helps!

I don't want to scare you, but you may want to get a second opinion about whether or not you should be concerned if your testosterone levels are even a little bit above normal.

You may want to watch out for ANY of these symptoms, everyone doesn't necessarily experience all of them:

* oily skin
* acne
* facial hair
* deepening voice
* feelings of anger and aggression
* male pattern baldness
* clitoral enlargement

When my testosterone is even a little elevated, I feel like I can take on the world.

I just want you to be aware. There are meds that you can take to lower the side affects of too much testosterone.

Hi KayM:

I totally agree with you,these are all the things I am concerned with as well and anyone using any kind of testosterone should watch for. I dont have any of those sypmptoms and I am taking a very inexpensive drug called spironolactene daily as a safety precaution against some of these type of effects (from DHT).

I tried testosterone gel in November for a month and then got blood test. My testosterone was still low, my free testosterone was not good nor was m my DHT levels. I felt great the first week and then week 3 & 4 I was oily and agressive and irritated. I still got the bottle in my nightstand and havent touched it since. It was awful!!

The pellet is completely different feeling, but I will still watch it. So this is why it is important to me to test one more time at least. Will they still be high? Have they dropped a lot or a little?

My dr also said they watch very closely and I was given one of the lowest doses usually administered at 25mg est and 75mg test, but I again am from the Showme state and will be a little cautions and concerned the first year.

I do not have an enlarged clitoris. I really just feel like my old self, when I say amazing sense of well-being it is kind of like the way I felt in my mid-30s when I played racquetball twice a week and had great sex with my husband. It feels good to feel like that again but I dont feel like WonderWoman or some kind of strange Super Energy like on amphetamines. It is just a great natural feeling.