Is This Right?

[Reyes]

So, I've been getting a lot of advice lately to switch from my estradiol pills, to injections, and while I was reluctant at first, due to my phobia of needles, I'd much rather do one of those every week or two weeks rather then struggling and failing to remember to take pills at the same time 3 times a day.

And anyway, I checked my insurance and I found that I am covered for this estradiol valerate intramuscular oil, and just wanted to check, is that the right thing? Is that the injections most take or is it something else?

[I Am Jess]

I have been on IM injections of estradiol valerate for almost 4 years now.  There has been a shortage of that recently and my insurance gave me the option of using the name brand Delestrogen for only $10 more.  I'm not sure what the status of the availability of the generic EV is but you may want to check that out before committing to the switch.  I have had amazing results using injections and I recommend that method if you are comfortable with it. 

[Reyes]

I have a phobia of needles, and am not all to comfortable with it, but to get better results I am SO willing to give it a shot, no matter how difficult it may be for me.

Oh, and what to you mean there's been a shortage of it? Hows that work?

[I Am Jess]

Recently there had been a shortage of EV in the supply chain (some type of problem on the manufacturing side of things). 

I just checked and it seems that there is no longer a shortage so you should be good to go.  Good luck and hopefully you will get great results. 

I have a phobia of needles, and am not all to comfortable with it, but to get better results I am SO willing to give it a shot, no matter how difficult it may be for me.

Oh, and what to you mean there's been a shortage of it? Hows that work?

[Reyes]

Recently there had been a shortage of EV in the supply chain (some type of problem on the manufacturing side of things). 

I just checked and it seems that there is no longer a shortage so you should be good to go.  Good luck and hopefully you will get great results.

Man today has been a serious roller coaster. First I find out the pills I've been taking for 1 year 7 months now suck, down, then I decide to hell with it I'll try the injections, up, then I find out my insurance doesn't cover them, down, then I find out that my insurance DOES cover them and the guy I spoke to was an idiot, up, then you say theres's a shortage, down, and now you tell me there's no longer a shortage, back up, lol. :3

Thank you for checking for me.

[NatalieRene]

Your milage will vary. I had very good results with the Estrodile pills.

[Nikkimn]

I used to pass out getting a flu shot now I do the weekly EV injections. It gets easier and easier with repetition. The results I found were much better for me and I tried patch, pill first and I had a lot of problems getting my levels up. Injections are also the least hard on your liver so that's a plus.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[steph2.0]

If you are on Facebook, look for Dr. Will Powers and download his latest presentation. Around page 30 he talks about the problems about 1/3 of his patients have with oral estradiol being converted to estrone in the liver, and the effects that has on feminization. Estrone has only 4% of the effectiveness of estradiol.

It was an eye-opener for me, and when I checked my estradiol, estrone, and total serum estrogen levels they were all out of whack. If you're monitoring estradiol only you're not getting the whole picture. I switched to EV injections about 8 weeks ago, and will be checking the levels in a few weeks. I'm not sure yet, but it does feel like the breast growth has accelerated since I switched.

Note that only 1/3 of his patients have this situation. That means 2/3 do just fine on oral estradiol. Be smart and do your own research and check your levels. Injections kind of suck (I hate needles) but for me, it looks like what I need.

Dr. Powers seems to know his stuff, and really cares about us. I almost wish I lived back in Michigan so I could have him as my doctor.

Good luck!


Stephanie

[Linde]

I used to pass out getting a flu shot now I do the weekly EV injections. It gets easier and easier with repetition. The results I found were much better for me and I tried patch, pill first and I had a lot of problems getting my levels up. Injections are also the least hard on your liver so that's a plus.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The patch should not put any different burden on your liver than the injections do! 
But in reality, even oral estrogen is only a problem for your liver, if you have liver problems already.  If you liver is healthy, there are no inductions that oral taken estrogen causes any problems with the liver.

[Linde]

If you are on Facebook, look for Dr. Will Powers and download his latest presentation. Around page 30 he talks about the problems about 1/3 of his patients have with oral estradiol being converted to estrone in the liver, and the effects that has on feminization. Estrone has only 4% of the effectiveness of estradiol.

It was an eye-opener for me, and when I checked my estradiol, estrone, and total serum estrogen levels they were all out of whack. If you're monitoring estradiol only you're not getting the whole picture. I switched to EV injections about 8 weeks ago, and will be checking the levels in a few weeks. I'm not sure yet, but it does feel like the breast growth has accelerated since I switched.

Note that only 1/3 of his patients have this situation. That means 2/3 do just fine on oral estradiol. Be smart and do your own research and check your levels. Injections kind of suck (I hate needles) but for me, it looks like what I need.

Dr. Powers seems to know his stuff, and really cares about us. I almost wish I lived back in Michigan so I could have him as my doctor.

Good luck!


Stephanie

Do you know Dr. Powers credentials? 
Only because he can have a nice facebook talk, doesn't mean he knows really a lot about the subject.  I would be careful to rely on talks I have seen on facebook.  If Dr. powers has the information, any endocrinologist  will have the same resources available, and I would trust my own specialist more than somebody on facebook!

[steph2.0]

Do you know Dr. Powers credentials? 
Only because he can have a nice facebook talk, doesn't mean he knows really a lot about the subject.  I would be careful to rely on talks I have seen on facebook.  If Dr. powers has the information, any endocrinologist  will have the same resources available, and I would trust my own specialist more than somebody on facebook!

I would normally have had the same reaction. Facebook can be a cesspool of trash science. But you owe it to yourself to take a look. He is doing more original research than any other non-university endocrinologist I know about. Literally hundreds of his patients attest to not just how much he cares about them, but to the effectiveness of his treatment.

How many endocrinologists have found a link between certain enzymes that slow the uptake of estradiol and allow estrone to occupy the estrogen receptors, effectively blocking the feminization process? How many are getting DNA information from willing volunteers to help pinpoint certain genes that may show the cause of the transgender condition? How many actually document the effects of oral estradiol versus EV or the high dose patches he has specially made? How many monitor anything but estradiol levels in the blood? How many worked to find sources of EV when they were low?

You're lucky you have an endo you trust. In the first six months of treatment by a clinic that purported to specialize in the transgender condition, I had four different endos, with the last having such poor communication skills that I moved my HRT to my own physician and started self managing. My personal doc is wonderfully supportive but not well versed in HRT, so I have been doing my own research. What had been a nightmare at first has become a blessing, as I now know so much more about what's happening to my body and how to manage it. That research led me to Dr. Powers and his recommendations. Note that he's not advocating for anything radical. All I've done is switch from pills to injections, which is what this thread is all about.

It's why I recommended everyone do their own research. I trust my judgement that Dr. Powers isn't a quack. If you look at his stuff and reach a different conclusion, that's cool, but it's not fair to dismiss him or anyone else with no other information than "he publishes on Facebook."

Stephanie

[Linde]

I would normally have had the same reaction. Facebook can be a cesspool of trash science. But you owe it to yourself to take a look. He is doing more original research than any other non-university endocrinologist I know about. Literally hundreds of his patients attest to not just how much he cares about them, but to the effectiveness of his treatment.

How many endocrinologists have found a link between certain enzymes that slow the uptake of estradiol and allow estrone to occupy the estrogen receptors, effectively blocking the feminization process? How many are getting DNA information from willing volunteers to help pinpoint certain genes that may show the cause of the transgender condition? How many actually document the effects of oral estradiol versus EV or the high dose patches he has specially made? How many monitor anything but estradiol levels in the blood? How many worked to find sources of EV when they were low?

You're lucky you have an endo you trust. In the first six months of treatment by a clinic that purported to specialize in the transgender condition, I had four different endos, with the last having such poor communication skills that I moved my HRT to my own physician and started self managing. My personal doc is wonderfully supportive but not well versed in HRT, so I have been doing my own research. What had been a nightmare at first has become a blessing, as I now know so much more about what's happening to my body and how to manage it. That research led me to Dr. Powers and his recommendations. Note that he's not advocating for anything radical. All I've done is switch from pills to injections, which is what this thread is all about.

It's why I recommended everyone do their own research. I trust my judgement that Dr. Powers isn't a quack. If you look at his stuff and reach a different conclusion, that's cool, but it's not fair to dismiss him or anyone else with no other information than "he publishes on Facebook."

Stephanie

Thank you  for elaborating a little more about Dr. Powers.  I will do some more research on him.
My current endo is a douche bag.  Luckily, he gave up working as a physician.  I was switched to another endo in the organization, who I will se for the first time on Monday.  There seems to be an absolut shortage of endocrinologists around, and this is the reason that even poor performing ones  have enough patients to make a good living.  But self management will not work for me, because my normal physician, and internist, feels he does not know enough about the entire HRT thing.   That was the reason why he did send me to the endocrinologist.
I think I have to stay with an endo, because that is the only way that I can get a prescription for estrogen!