I never thought I would ask this since I hate needles but due to the fact I am not going to have to self inject Humira for my Ankylosing Spondylitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis I thought now might be the time to consider Injection Estrogen.

Is it better? Does it help growth of breasts more then Oral Estrogen? I have been on Oral Estrogen for several years now and I am wondering if a shake up might help things along?

What would be the equivalent mgs of Injection to mgs of Oral?

Many people are happy with injections.

A weekly cycle might be preferable because with biweekly cycles there might be a low phase at the end, which might affect mood.

There is a calculation factor, but people may react differently so talk about it with an endo.

With oral not sublingual intake the liver may presume a leak, if it encounters estrogen in the digestive tract, and raises clotting factors.
With internal intake this falls away.

With internal intake like implants and injections some endos look for levels well in the female range, above 200 pg/ml, which by itself can drive down testo without anti androgens.

Talk all of this through with your endo.


hugs

My therapist and my doctor all recommend the injection since it's much easier on the

Quote from: pj on April 26, 2016, 12:22:43 PM
My therapist and my doctor all recommend the injection since it's much easier on the

Sorry... Liver (or is it the kidneys. I don't remember which)

My wallet is thankful since patches are not expensive than both oral and injections, at least where I live.

I like injections much better than pills. I have a hard time with needles and I got over it. The effects on IM are better than pills, at least for me.

One night at a support group meeting a survey was taken. Pill, Patches, Injection, EV, premarin. You name. THe consensus was there was no consensus.  A classic YMMV.

I like injectable EV on two levels. First, it seems to work better. Second, it's a lot less PITA for me. (Pun NOT intended. I use a thigh shot  ). I do about a dozen supplements or more a day so ANOTHER pill sucks. I hardly can eat because all the pills are a meal. So... being human (contrary to some opinions) I tend to "forget" the E. Now, of course, not forgetting thanks to shots just may be why shots seem to work better

Quote from: Rebekah on April 26, 2016, 10:22:04 AM
I never thought I would ask this since I hate needles but due to the fact I am not going to have to self inject Humira for my Ankylosing Spondylitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis I thought now might be the time to consider Injection Estrogen.

Is it better? Does it help growth of breasts more then Oral Estrogen? I have been on Oral Estrogen for several years now and I am wondering if a shake up might help things along?

What would be the equivalent mgs of Injection to mgs of Oral?

Hello,

I'm a stealth trans woman and transitioned while young, and the same holds true for my gf. Both of us started on pills and eventually went to intramuscular injections, although this was before we knew each other.

As for her, her estrogen levels skyrocketed into the 3,000-range, so they had to lower her dosage significantly. Her breasts also developed into big C's after around six months. As for me, my estrogen levels skyrocketed too. I have been on them for a month, whereas I was on sublinguals for 18months total. My breasts have gone from medium B's to big B's. I don't think this site permits us to divulge dosage specifics, but the equivalent amount of delestrogen, relative to sublingual estradiol, is really disparate because delestrogen is delivered into the bloodstream consistently.

Quote from: JoanneB on April 26, 2016, 08:58:02 PM
One night at a support group meeting a survey was taken. Pill, Patches, Injection, EV, premarin. You name. THe consensus was there was no consensus.  A classic YMMV.

I wonder though, have we seen many cases of people going from injections to pills? 

Much of what I've seen is people moving to injections.

Did much better on injections vs pills. Feel more normal, calmer, better feminization except perhaps breast growth. Skin smoother, nicer.

Levels range from 1,000-4,000 pg/ml. Doctors didn't lower dose, are fine with how things are. Blood test results came back normal.

Team PILLS reporting for duty! (LoL~)

I'm definitely okay with what they have accomplished.

My question is... is trying injections even worth it?  Key word italicized.

Like, I really want to keep an open mind and say, "just because I like strawberries, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like bananas more!"  but I've always always lived under the philosophy that if it's not broken, don't fix it.

Man, needles scare me too.  Dissolving, sweet blue pills are, y'know, painless... and stuff.

What to do?

Quote from: Ⓥ on April 28, 2016, 11:57:14 PM
Team PILLS reporting for duty! (LoL~)

I'm definitely okay with what they have accomplished.

My question is... is trying injections even worth it?  Key word italicized.

Like, I really want to keep an open mind and say, "just because I like strawberries, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like bananas more!"  but I've always always lived under the philosophy that if it's not broken, don't fix it.

Man, needles scare me too.  Dissolving, sweet blue pills are, y'know, painless... and stuff.

What to do?

Do you have a way to go on implants ? 

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,207186.msg1839243.html#msg1839243


Well you could talk to your endo, saying you want to try ... so you can switch back in case.

Its one injection once a week ... possibly no anti androgens ...


hugs

Quote from: Ⓥ on April 28, 2016, 11:57:14 PM
Team PILLS reporting for duty! (LoL~)

I'm definitely okay with what they have accomplished.

My question is... is trying injections even worth it?  Key word italicized.

Like, I really want to keep an open mind and say, "just because I like strawberries, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like bananas more!"  but I've always always lived under the philosophy that if it's not broken, don't fix it.

Man, needles scare me too.  Dissolving, sweet blue pills are, y'know, painless... and stuff.

What to do?

I'm certainly envious of how well pills worked for you.

I join Team Inject because skipping a shot is harder to do then forgetting a pill. So for me shots work better. You go have to deal with rocket ship rises and perhaps spectacular crashes of hormone levels throughout the week. (re: harder to skip above)

If patches did not irritate my skin and always fall off the folds of flab it "might" be better. I forget what 'Flavor' of E the ones I tried were.

It's all YMMV. If pills work for you, which they obviously do w/o complaints, stick (pardon the pun) with them.

I had to reduce my IM cycle time to 10 days form 14 due to lows (under doctors supervision). Now I feel fine. The 2 days after injection I smile a lot and feel so calm and tranquil.

I was on pills for 1 year or so and it is easier  to take a pill than inject until you inject for a while and it becomes no big deal.

Eventually I may go to implants but right now I need to stay with my current provider (they do not provide implants). My current providers trans services make up for the inconvenience of IM vs Implants.

Quote from: Laura_7 on April 29, 2016, 12:14:42 PM
Do you have a way to go on implants ? 

Negatory; asked already... practice doesn't do them.  They seem awesome!

Quote from: JoanneB on April 30, 2016, 10:46:16 AM
I'm certainly envious of how well pills worked for you.

Ty; I had some work done too, obv~  HRT is only half the equation.

Going to wait until next appt. and just see what doc says... if he's cool with it I'll try injections

I'll report back any differences here in this thread, but I'll probably be necro'ing the thread if so because the appt. isn't until like August, heh.

Orally ingested estrogen is harder on the liver than the injection, so that's one benefit. I take the injection, personally I like it way more than taking the pill, I don't have to remember, and it's just a tiny prick in my rear once every two weeks.

Quote
Do you have a way to go on implants ? 

Quote from: Ⓥ on April 30, 2016, 08:21:33 PM
Negatory; asked already... practice doesn't do them.  They seem awesome!

Here is enough info for them to get started :

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,200276.msg1780555.html#msg1780555

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,207186.msg1839243.html#msg1839243

Quote from: Ⓥ on April 28, 2016, 11:57:14 PM
Team PILLS reporting for duty! (LoL~)

I'm definitely okay with what they have accomplished.

My question is... is trying injections even worth it?  Key word italicized.

Like, I really want to keep an open mind and say, "just because I like strawberries, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like bananas more!"  but I've always always lived under the philosophy that if it's not broken, don't fix it.

Man, needles scare me too.  Dissolving, sweet blue pills are, y'know, painless... and stuff.

What to do?

I too, do not care for the injections. I take my estradiol sublingualy.

Studies have shown that the sublingual route lasts about 12 hours in the blood stream. When I first started HRT, I was taking estradiol twice a day under the tongue with excellent results. I did not swallow the saliva. I just let it sit under the tongue for about 10 to 15 minutes.

However, consistent blood levels are not related to long term feminization. All cis females have variable estrogen levels.

I am also on pills and I love how they make my estrogen supply consistent. Although, injections has crossed my mind but I am not in a hurry for anything and my results has been beyond from what I was expecting based on the many feedbacks that I get from some people "pills are bad for you" "injections are better" "no feminization on pills".

I have been on it for two years and with consistent blood work, my liver is operating at peak performance and estradiol levels are of a pregnant woman. Will I ever switch -maybe but pills in my opinion are awesome. Btw, I am taking the sublingual route.

April

I am on the injections and I am very happy with the results. I was told the injections are more efficient. I cant really compare as I have never being on the pills.. 

Quote from: Dani on May 01, 2016, 10:38:11 AM
I too, do not care for the injections. I take my estradiol sublingualy.

Studies have shown that the sublingual route lasts about 12 hours in the blood stream.

Here is a graph showing that levels rise fast and drop after a few hours :
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,186946.msg1665088.html#msg1665088

So spreading the daily dose in a few small doses might be a good idea.
Otherwise there might be a menopausal like effect a few times a day which might affect mood.


hugs