I just had more blood work done this week and my Es levels are just not reaching female normal range using patches after 14 months of trying. I exercise daily and wonder if the exposure to perspiration is causing them to be less effective or perhaps some other factor. I am seeing "some" results with patches, for example I am developing beyond A cup now.
Now my doctor has now prescribed injections. I never really liked needles, but am going to have to get used to them. The good news is my T levels were very low and in female normal range. I wish the patches would have given me the Es levels I desired, they are just so easy to use, however it's just not to be. I really like my Doc, she has been great. She left the door open to return to patches after one year.
Anybody else have issues with low Es using patches ? I realize this is an individual thing.
Any tips with injections ? I will be on a 2 week injection schedule I understand, and will be tested again in 2 months.
Thanks,
Cindy -
Best advice for a two week rotation, alternate the shot site. I just use each butt cheek myself, I hate giving myself a shot in the thigh due to all the nerves and what not. I just pinch my butt and inject at a downward angle, rarely even feel it.
I will warn you with this, when you give yourself a shot don't hesitate, just push the needle in. If you try to do it to slowly it'll hurt pretty bad. If you do it quickly tho you won't really feel it and you'll get use to it fairly quickly. G'luck!!
Thanks so much for replying to my post. I will be getting some training on how to give myself injections. This will become the new routine. I don't really look forward to it, but we do what we have to do. Makes me glad i get my blood checked at regular intervals and my Dr is quite good and caring.
Yeah 4 patches seems excessive and yes they can be expensive without insurance. I am glad my insurance is picking up most of the cost, with only a small co-pay.
Kind regards
Cindy -
samantha is right. in the tooshie quick and fast
Well I did it, right into my thigh with a one inch needle. The adrenaline rush after doing this was more significant than the shot it's self ;-)
Have to say I do kind of notice a feeling of E bliss now (must be rising levels)
Cindy -
welcome to the club
Thanks Tristan
Have a great day
Cindy -
anytime. my shot day is in the morning. not really looking foward to it. but it goes by fast
Patches are working just fine for me. Matrix>>>>Resevoir, though. And you can wear them up to a week: they say wear them for half a week, but they release constantly for 7-8 days.
Quote from: rachl on September 27, 2012, 09:25:25 AM
Patches are working just fine for me. Matrix>>>>Resevoir, though. And you can wear them up to a week: they say wear them for half a week, but they release constantly for 7-8 days.
I found this old topic from years ago, wow. I ended up using IM for 6 and 4 months and it was very cost effective, and beneficial. I realized nice results.
But have to agree the with post above having gone back to E patches this year, they just so easy to use, and I don't miss needles !
Have a wonderful day
C -
Quote from: rachl on September 27, 2012, 09:25:25 AM
Patches are working just fine for me. Matrix>>>>Resevoir, though. And you can wear them up to a week: they say wear them for half a week, but they release constantly for 7-8 days.
While they may continue to release for up to a week, you need to look at the package inserts under the pharmacokinetics section and read what it says about concentration over time. they often have a graph with multiple lines to show the various concentrations they provide. the graph will tell you how much of the hormones you are getting over time. depending on the system these numbers can drop off very fast. So depending on which transdemeral system (and manufacture) you are using the amount you are receiving after 4 days may be extremely minimal. its important to check either the package insert or a websight that has pharamcokinetic information on various types of medications. I've included a few of the graphs for some of the systems. you can see how quickly the last two drop off.
<No dosages Please
Admin>
Sadly, i too have been having a problem with my hormone levels. i started off and they jumped up a little bit before plateauing around the 30s for the first 3 months. i let the doctor know that at my 3 month checkup. she doubled my dosage . I should have my results on saturday and hopefully my levels will have changed dramatically. especially distressing is that after My Testo levels dropped to the upper 90s but then shot back up to normal male range.
So a couple of days before i started HRT my hormones were at
363ng/dl Testosterone (the highest ive ever seen it) and
23 pg/ml of e2
at 1 month hrt
it was 96T/35 E2
at about 2 months hrt
237t/29 E2 (?!?)
and at about 3 months hrt
209t/32 E2
Now my e2 has been doubled and she added prometrium. hopefully things will change soon or i too may need to switch.
<No Dosages Please Moderator>
Quote from: chikiko on March 15, 2019, 05:51:05 AM
and at about 3 months hrt
209t/32 E2
Okay so this is totally weird: after reading your E and T levels I thought to myself " Those numbers look awefully close to mine"
So I looked mine up and, yup, guessed it: you and I are almost EXACT opposites body chemistry: I'm 205.9 E and 32 T
Gave me a chuckle. (and a little twilight zone music in the back ground"
I've been on sub lingual tablets for my E and regular tablets for my spiro since 2-22-19 no other forms.
Sophia
Well i'm glad to report that one week in to the new dosages and there was a quick turn around.
now i'm at 42T / 50E2
Just an update on my HRT thread. I had my Dr visit and blood draw this week, this was the first time since switching to E patches, and my level was in the lower "normal" range 82 pg / ml, which is above post menopausal, and exactly where my Dr wants me. The first thing she asked me was "how do you feel ?", and my response was great, no issues, taking E levels down later in life, is probably best...
Cynthia -
I started inter-muscular injections about a month ago. I may need to adjust my dosage as I had an abnormal for me, display of anger. In the past I got angry but mostly internalized it. This never happened on the pills in fact I bragged about the stability they brought me.
Quote from: DawnOday on April 11, 2019, 02:15:37 PM
I started inter-muscular injections about a month ago. I may need to adjust my dosage as I had an abnormal for me, display of anger. In the past I got angry but mostly internalized it. This never happened on the pills in fact I bragged about the stability they brought me.
Hi Dawn, it is an adjustment switching to IM. I'm sorry to hear about your loss of control, that does feel regrettable later. I had some pretty high initial readings > 500 pg / ml before having to dial it way back, that brought me long the term stability, but the first 6 months was a roller coaster. I went from 2 week schedule to once per week that helped me.
take care
Cynthia -