so finaly got my HRT letter on the 20th YAY!
And i was wondering what are the differences between injection, pill, patch ..... when it comes to price, effectiveness, and safety?


now just gota wait until dec 18th for endo appt! 

I can only speak to pills.  I have been on them for 4 years and have had decent development.  Walmart sell my Estradiol for $10 for a 30 day supply.

I'm on subcutaneous implants of E. I don't have to worry about forgetting a pill.

In very broad terms, the pill form has to be processed through the liver so there is activation of the liver which in some people can cause problems. Hence you need a regular blood test to monitor Liver Function Test (LFT) by your treating medic. Implanted E goes straight to the blood stream bypassing the liver and acts directly on E-receptors.

I'm not up to date with injectable and patch form, they are not common where I am.

Cost varies from country to country.

Effectiveness varies from person to person.

Cindy

I've been doing sublingual pills and had lots of changed on it. I've tried injections and they were reversing my changes. However the other week I visited a doctor and she informed me that the injection dosage I was taking was a low dose. Now I'm reconsidering injections because they're easier to deal with 1 shot a week. Plus I can't seem to keep my levels in 1 little safe area no matter what dose I take sublingually. ON X mg I'll be very low estradiol level, on X+1 I'll be pretty low, and on X+2 I'll get pregnant, cry because the batteries in the remote are dead, and then smell how hormonal I am. And yes, I'm serious. I can smell the hormones. Especially after a shower, it stinks! And I honestly used to like the way girls smell. Now they smell so stale, and I have that same smell.... sometimes x10!

All that said though, development wise... I can't complain. Pills are doing the trick as far as doing what they're suppose to.

Let's be clear, nothing that enters your body bypasses the liver. What your skipping by using the patch or injections is the FIRST PASS throught the liver. This is said to reduce ones risk of liver toxicity. My Endo says there is no scientific evidence to suggest that there is a significant differenc between sublingual and just swallowing the pills.

In any case im on pills and have gotten like A cups from 2 years of hormones. Lack of T mellows me out,  Progesterone and Cyproterone make me depressed. I'm not sure what if any emotional changes estradiol has had on me. When I'm not on P or C and just on E I don't really cry too much or have wild mood swings but maybe that's because I'm on anti depresents.

As far as price goes pills are cheapest and most readily available. I hear injectables are pretty cheep too but you also need needles and of course you have to either have someone shoot you up or do it your self YIKES! The patch is the most expensive.

Great to hear you got the letter for HRT.  Now talk to the endo about what you think will work best.

Pills are good for younger girls who normally don't need to worry about medical side effects.  I think there's also a big psychological advantage to pills since they are the most interactive method of taking estrogen, and you are personally managing something each day to improve youself.  And it seems for the endocrinologist it's the easiest method for adjusting doseages. 

Injections are great since all you need to do is get the shot and go on with things.  Plus you don't have those bottles of pills, or blister packets laying around.  All I do is take a spiro in the AM and PM with a meal.  But there is a big roller coaster in emotions when you start injections, and it probably depends a lot on the type of injectable they give you, and your schedule.  I have an injection every two weeks and I can literally feel the drop in E to very low levels by Day 12.  My therapist explained it well when she said "Men always say their wives or girlfreinds get 'moody and bithcy' when their hormones change."   Yah, I guess that's it.

Couldn't stand using patches because they just wouldn't stay stuck to my skin when I was doing any physical work.  And if your skin isn't perfectly clean, and the patch isn't put on just right you'll get water under it when taking a shower.  Pretty much wasted two patches by having to replace them early, and those things are expensive to be wasting like that.

Take care.
Kathy