Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I am on HRT. I have been for 3 months. I am talking pills. Anyone think injections or patches are better. If so, how often for injections or patch vs daily pills?  Educate me on injections and patches and y'all's experiences.  I know pills long term are tough on our liver.

Thanks!

Kay

Before the opinions start rolling in, here are some facts: https://www.susans.org/wiki/Estrogen (https://www.susans.org/wiki/Estrogen)

Of course those previous facts cover a lot already - here is my personal experience

I have used pills, patches, subdermal and injected.  of all of them I prefer injected  now the pills did work fine for me as long as I was young but you have to remember to take them several times a day plus they are quite a bit more expensive and as you noted they are harder on the liver (since they pass through twice). subdermal works well as you just have it put in and forget but it has to be put in by a doctor  (advantage here, no fear of needles, or at least only one for numbing of area for the insertion)

disadvantages of the patches I found was that they seemed to not work as well for me, the dosage seemed lower and they seemed to fall off a lot, which I worked out by cleaning the area better and then cleaning with alcohol then applying the patch. Then during removal there was residue which I removed with mineral oil.

Ask anyone going this route, pellet implants are the bomb diggity.

They last 3-4 months and provide a slow release that is easy on both body & mind... it's the closest thing you can do to having ovaries (releases E directly into the bloodstream). Also, there is no daily regimen. Go to doctor every 3-4 months and forget about it.

With pellets you can feminize a lot faster, even moreso than injections or a dangerous high oral dose. And there is no mood altercation because the blood estrogen level is kept very steady (which cannot be said about injections)... it is in fact way more steady than even a cis female.

Quote from: Jennygirl on June 30, 2013, 05:05:47 PM
Ask anyone going this route, pellet implants are the bomb diggity.

They last 3-4 months and provide a slow release that is easy on both body & mind... it's the closest thing you can do to having ovaries (releases E directly into the bloodstream). Also, there is no daily regimen. Go to doctor every 3-4 months and forget about it.

With pellets you can feminize a lot faster, even moreso than injections or a dangerous high oral dose. And there is no mood altercation because the blood estrogen level is kept very steady (which cannot be said about injections)... it is in fact way more steady than even a cis female.

Dat's funny!

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on June 30, 2013, 05:12:33 PM
Dat's funny!

Lol, kinda laughed when I wrote that. It was the first word that came to mind ;)

I think it's a pretty good word for it though, kind of synonymous with mood swings!

Mood altercation, one step below mood protective custody and mood arrest!

Thanks!

Jennygirl, are you n pellets here in the USA?  I don't think they are commonly used here. Ill ask my endocrinologist if she has used them before.

Hugs,

Kay

Quote from: Just Ole Me on June 30, 2013, 10:40:56 PM
Thanks!

Jennygirl, are you n pellets here in the USA?  I don't think they are commonly used here. Ill ask my endocrinologist if she has used them before.

Hugs,

Kay

Yes! They are synthesized in Colorado :D
http://www.collegepharmacy.com/ (http://www.collegepharmacy.com/)
http://www.collegepharmacy.com/images/download/BHRTPelletFAQ.pdf (http://www.collegepharmacy.com/images/download/BHRTPelletFAQ.pdf)

My endocrinologist (Dr. John O'Dea) will do 12 max. That is what I am on now.

My endo has been talking to me about pellets as well, even though I'm on low dose.  He usually recommends it if there is a known stable ongoing dosage.  I'm actually tempted - the only thing holding me back is my tendency to form keloid tissue whenever anything is done to me.  My rear is wrinkly enough as it is IMHO. :P

Thanks. I'm going to ask for pellets. Thanks.

Personal experience, I started out with a shot of E given to me weekly by my doctor. I got the courage to give myself shots as my doc was a good drive away from me. I started back in 2007 and in next few years comboed it up with patches and gel. Saw a new doctor in 2009 and started on E pills, getting bloodwork every 6-9 months. Pills are waaaay better. Got on the combo of Spiro and E around 2010. My doc upped my dose every so often, in fact just recently. There's no way I'd go back to the needle personally.

Quote from: Christine Eryn on July 09, 2013, 07:28:36 PM
Personal experience, I started out with a shot of E given to me weekly by my doctor. I got the courage to give myself shots as my doc was a good drive away from me. I started back in 2007 and in next few years comboed it up with patches and gel. Saw a new doctor in 2009 and started on E pills, getting bloodwork every 6-9 months. Pills are waaaay better. Got on the combo of Spiro and E around 2010. My doc upped my dose every so often, in fact just recently. There's no way I'd go back to the needle personally.

At my age (50) pills are ill advised, the literature told me at 40 to change over, that is why I had changed

I take my estrace sublingually..
So in reality it's sane as shot. ...
But daily so should actually work better
Since you might run out of e half way through
A week with a shot..

In 6 months of swallowing...I developed and seemed
To have levelled off in development
Started sublingual two days ago.  Nipples started
To feel like they burning . Breasts way more sore..
And I'm a social butterfly.  Sublingual da bomb

Omg....that's swallowing estrace only

I've said before I've been on implants for ages.

Very small things no keloid build up that I've noticed. I have them in my tummy rather my bum. Takes a few minutes for the local and then seconds for the implant. Then I'm done for 6 months - though I get bloods checked every three.

Awesome!!!

I have been on patches for one week and I was concerned from what I had read that they would keep falling off. This hasn't happened. They get changed every 3.5 days but I kept the first one on for a full week just to check the adhesion (and also because I'm Scottish. I wanted to "sook oot" every last drop of E from the patch!!)

Quote from: Mollie on July 10, 2013, 06:29:12 AM
I have been on patches for one week and I was concerned from what I had read that they would keep falling off. This hasn't happened. They get changed every 3.5 days but I kept the first one on for a full week just to check the adhesion (and also because I'm Scottish. I wanted to "sook oot" every last drop of E from the patch!!)

I love that Honey!!!!!

Im on weekly shots, 3rd shot down. Each time its sore at shot apot for a few days. I dont feel any "drop" of my e levels, but then again im on an extremely high dose weekly...

Quote from: PrincessDayna on July 11, 2013, 10:28:55 PM
Im on weekly shots, 3rd shot down. Each time its sore at shot apot for a few days. I dont feel any "drop" of my e levels, but then again im on an extremely high dose weekly...

a few days?  mine only hurts that long if I bung it up, when I do it right I am fine in about an hour, then again I told the person who did my tattoos it tickled , amybe we just have different heal rates?

Quote from: vegie271 on July 11, 2013, 10:59:18 PM



a few days?  mine only hurts that long if I bung it up, when I do it right I am fine in about an hour, then again I told the person who did my tattoos it tickled , amybe we just have different heal rates?

may be needle size? and location? my wifey gives em to me in my upper arm as its where the nurse taught her to.  its a 3 inch needle too, i forget the specifics, ill dig one out later at home....i believe it can hold about 5 or 6 ml?  but also, asside from that, i should specify...it hurts as in tender/sore...not throbbing pain.

Quote from: PrincessDayna on July 11, 2013, 11:17:02 PM
may be needle size? and location? my wifey gives em to me in my upper arm as its where the nurse taught her to.  its a 3 inch needle too, i forget the specifics, ill dig one out later at home....i believe it can hold about 5 or 6 ml?  but also, asside from that, i should specify...it hurts as in tender/sore...not throbbing pain.

shots in my arm always do hurt me more true, I use my thigh and when I was younger actually my butt, (I was more flexible) mine is 3ml x 22 gauge my needle is about 3 inches long also I am just guessing here I am not about to pull one out and check it would make it non-sterile. might be 2 1/2

ok -- just gave myself the injection - teach me to measure by eye the needle is 1 1/2" tells you something about our perception of  needles!

I have three tablets(well 2 and a half) I take once a day each, so first I am hearing of several times a day. I asked my endo about injections once and she said they cost more and increase the t levels so I stayed with tablets since I can get them at reduced price but now I am wondering if it is enough because other then my skin being smoother and body hair growth slowing down and I am not seeing anything different.

Right now I'm in high Spiro...medium progesterone...low
Estrace.. and I'm develping just fine....
I take my estrace sublingually in the morning.
I can feel estrogenic effects all morning afternoon and eve .

The key in my line of thinking is high spiro means less t for
E to compete with...hence I react better even on low e

I'm doubling my estrace in about ten days...
I hope my boobs don't hurt like they did the last time
Spent a month literallyholding my shirt off my chest LOL

So I'm a firm believer in any method really. .they all get to
Estrogen receptors one way or another

Quote from: EmeraldPerpugilliam on July 12, 2013, 12:14:13 AM
I have three tablets(well 2 and a half) I take once a day each, so first I am hearing of several times a day. I asked my endo about injections once and she said they cost more and increase the t levels so I stayed with tablets since I can get them at reduced price but now I am wondering if it is enough because other then my skin being smoother and body hair growth slowing down and I am not seeing anything different.

Cost of injections vs pills must vary by location from where I am pills are 14 times more expensive than injections according to those not on any insurance, so it may vary state to state and nation to nation.

Well I get mine on PBS thanks to my disability pension when I have to get all three at once it roughly costs about 70 bucks but other times much less. I just hope she isn't keeping me on low doses so I can keep getting them at reduced prices.

OK and with all of mine together for 3 months worth just the HRT (since I also take asthma, and stuff for pain and migraine) it is $75 and that is on my SSI medicare. mailorder , and I am on full dose I know that for sure

Quote from: EmeraldPerpugilliam on July 12, 2013, 12:14:13 AM
\. I asked my endo about injections once and she said they cost more and increase the t levels so I stayed with tablets

I never heard anything about injections raising T levels.  If T is suppressed, it is suppressed.  You may end up having a higher *free T level* due to attempted increase in T production, but if you have an AA, it cannot bind and is thus pee'd out?  I'm on 3 weeks of E and have some effects that I have read take monthes to get, really.  Whats more is my spiro level is a little on the low/med range....and my E is at max I know that 110%

For my E alone without insurance it would run me $186 a month.  I think location varies the price of injections.

And to the other girl, that sounds about right for gauge on the needle, but im pretty sure mine is 3 inches.  Id get in the safe to see for sure, but they are locked up there, (E and the needles), just because we have a curious nephew, and partly because I guard my life injections like Golem does the ring lol!

All in all what works best for one person may not be the best for the other, our bodies are all differing in their receptors, tolerance, etc.  It is why self medication is so hazardous, amongst other reasons.  One dose for one girl could prove fatal for another, if not lead into huge complications.

Some women have better effects from the shots and some from patches, whilst some from pills swallowed whole, or sublingual, and some from dermal applications via creams.  I think the "what is best for all" is moot in the end, really.  Before the injections I was on sublingual, and no way would I ever "turn back".  The only thing I miss is the feeling of doing something toward this daily....instead of weekly.  But then again, I take Spiro twice daily so it works for that fix emotionally for the most part. :) Effects wise, injections all day! (I've never had the patch or the implants- when I was on my sublingual dose I had cream).  The pills/cream was a two month thing.  The injections are now into week three, week four next weds. :p

Thanks about the confirmation about the T level, I actually did not want to argue about what a doctor said (I would have with my own and brought a book)

When I transitioned before in my 30s, I was on uills in the United Kingdom, but then after moving temporarily to Australia, my GP put me onto weekly then Fortnightly Primogyn Depot injections. I then had a dramatic spurt in development as I remember after only 6 weeks on the injections running down some stairs to catch someone and for the first time being aware that my breasts jiggled with my body movements (no bra of course). Wow that was a moment.

Unfortunately when I returned to the UK, my Doctor put me back onto the pills (and my development slumped).

Then when I emigrated to Oz it was for a time back onto the injections. They I de-transitioned!.

Now 20 years later I am back on the pills (2 Estrogen daily. My GP says its OK to take them together, but I have been thinking of spacing them out  so rather than midday now 8am and 8pm as I sometimes find I am not getting the constant drip feed of E.

Like Cindy and others I think I am really interested in getting pellet implants as anything I can do to emulate the normal effect of having ovaries I think will be good for my overall well being.

However this time around, I am finding development very slow, even though I have now been back on HRT for 7 months next week and have little to show for it except soft skin and a dramatic shrinking of that stuff down there. Although my boobs are definitely a bit bigger (I was already an A Cup).

In fact I definitely pass the pencil test. Putting it under my breast - Its stays there even if I bend over!
Hugs

JudithLynn

I have been reading this thread with interest because I have an appointment with my endo on Monday to review my blood test results. I am 50 with some health issues and when the endo found out that i'm taking pills he was not really happy about that. It will be interesting to see whether he recommends the needle/patch/whatever?

for the patches

when I wore them

I showered beforehand then I cleaned off with alcohol the whole area really well then  press fwell in circles

I used the hip and buttock switching sides each week

Quote from: JulieR on July 12, 2013, 02:59:04 PM
I turn 60 in 9 days and just started on the patch 3 days ago.  My Doc preferred the patch for me so that I would maintain a steady blood level, Her opinion is that variations in blood levels of estrogen increase the threat of blood clots and strokes in older trans-women.

I've had my first patch on for 3 days, I chose a bad spot.  The manufacturer's directions say to place the patches either front or back, approximately over the area where ovaries are located, rotating the application spot each week.  Being in male mode didn't make the recommended locations practical for me.  As best I could figure they would fall under my belt line.  going above the belt line would put them in harm's way in front and harm's way as well as a potential embarrassment in the back above the belt line (plumbers disease is bad enough for embarrassing).  I chose to put my patch below the belt line on the front left side, after doing a bit of shaving there.  It has worked well up to today, but unfortunately the area folds the patch in half when I'm seated.  The patch is now starting to work it's way off, especially just after a shower now.  Even though it's not recommended on the breasts, Ima try one on the side of my chest, below the arm pit.  I think that's an acceptable change to the method given that my body isn't female.

If anyone has a suggestion for good patch location, I'd love to hear it.

My guess is that my Doc will keep me on the patch until she dials in my dose.  I'm intrigued for injections now though, maybe she'll consider them eventually.

P.S.  I just moved the patch to the new location, it seems to have worked OK.  It is still sticking well, even near the edges.  I was sure to clean the skin with Isopropyl alcohol before moving the patch.

Edit:  The patch popped lose in a few minutes, I taped it down with surgical tape.  If it still isn't working after a while, I may just toss it and start a fresh one.

On your butt cheek, away from any sort of panty or underwear line.  Like where you sit.  Put it on bent over.