Injections are way, WAY overrated and it's the most dangerous of the 3 main delivery methods. It's no longer prescribed in many countries too. I'm on transdermal patches which people said was the suckiest( but the safest) of the 3 yet here I am, a bombshell with B cups after barely 6 months. So yeah 

Quote from: Seyranna on May 08, 2012, 05:28:01 PM
Injections are way, WAY overrated and it's the most dangerous of the 3 main delivery methods. It's no longer prescribed in many countries too. I'm on transdermal patches which people said was the suckiest( but the safest) of the 3 yet here I am, a bombshell with B cups after barely 6 months. So yeah 

My endocrinologist says the opposite. It's one of the safest methods of estrogen delivery and it's also one of the most popular methods of tradition estrogen delivery among women suffering from insufficient estrogen.

YMMV, but my results were far more effective with injections and I have bloodwork every six months. No issues here. 1.5 years of injections and D cups and no progesterone at all

Quote from: Annah on May 08, 2012, 10:00:53 PM
My endocrinologist says the opposite. It's one of the safest methods of estrogen delivery and it's also one of the most popular methods of tradition estrogen delivery among women suffering from insufficient estrogen.

YMMV, but my results were far more effective with injections and I have bloodwork every six months. No issues here. 1.5 years of injections and D cups and no progesterone at all

I've been on HRT (Pills) for over 10 years and they haven't been working as well as expected. My fat re-distribution isn't very good, the breast size is poor and I wanted to try injections as they are the only format I haven't tried. But the main problem is that they are not legally licensed in my country, so I can't get them through the normal channels and I would like to try them. I'm hoping there is a way of getting them across to the U.K somehow, so I can at least try them.

Pills are broken down too much through the digestive system so I believe they are far less effective that injections which go straight into the blood stream. Obviously you need to be medically fit to be on injections but I do think they are more beneficial. I only wish I could try them?

Sublingual pills (except the amount inevitably you swallow with your saliva) and transdermal patches go "directly to the blood stream" too, in theory, I think... So they should work precisely as well as injections. Your story sounds more like a monumental pile of bad luck.

But even though I doubt it, it is possible that the huge level variations induced by injections do help in some people. Who knows? In that case, yeah, you could try them. If your doctor is sympathetic to the idea, perhaps you could order a few vials from overseas, and despite their lack of a right to prescribe them, they could guide you into using them properly. After all, desperate situations call for desperate measures.

After all, no matter the opinion on risk/whatever, if done properly, TRYING injections for a while can't possibly do such a big harm.

Quote from: Seyranna on May 08, 2012, 05:28:01 PM
Injections ... and it's the most dangerous of the 3 main delivery methods.

My understanding of the party line here is that injections are dangerous because it is easy to OD on them. If you are an advocate for More's Law, "If more is good then too much is just right", just how is injecting a little more than prescribed or more often, any different then taking that extra pill or two a day or putting on that extra patch or two? The only validity I can see is that it is easier to go totally overboard with injections ( ie, offing yourself ) and there is no recovery mechanism. With pills your stomach can be pumped, patches get ripped off. No sucking out the venom equivalent for an IM shot.

As I've already said, injections cause great hormone level variations. That alone is reason enough for me to believe it's reasonable to at least consider that maybe it's sub-optimal/risky. After all, hormones aren't naturally released once a week; they're fairly constant. Also, some doctors (who I definitely find convincing) argue that maximum feminisation is obtained with a very slow and steady increase in E dosage, then a dose as stable as possible. Injections do the exact contrary, don't they?

Plus, an injection is generally a pain to do, and it's not even a habit you can take on daily like pills. I'd tend to think that it's really, really easy to be late, forget a shot, etc.

And depending on how and where you inject it, the way the hormones circulate through the body could differ. Depending on the tissue or area or deepness, I think the rate at which the hormones go to the blood stream can vary. Such an unstable regimen (one week huge and steep spike; the other, a softer spike...) doesn't feel 100 % healthy.

Of course, I don't have much to back myself up, but that's what I believe.

pills have to metabolize through the liver at first. Injections do not.

Yes, people can OD on injections....but I feel its silly to say injections is more dangerous because people can kill themselves easier if they OD on purpose. Don't blame a medication for someone wanting to hurry results or who wants to pump more than is prescribed into their body.

It's up to you. Injections or pills. I chose injections as well as my doc. I have had no complications on it and i am very glad I have done injections.

Sublingual administration does not pass through the liver before going into the blood. If taken sublingually (that is, if the pill is a micronized version of the hormone), it permeates through the mucous membranes underneath the tongue, through the epitheleal layer, and into the capillary bed. The hormone is now in your bloodstream at this point.

However, as this study says (which albeit is 15 years old.. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0029784496005133 ) ...

"Sublingual administration resulted in rapid absorption with significantly higher E2 levels than did comparable oral dosing. Sublingual administration resulted in a significantly lower E1 to E2 ratio during the 24 hours than did oral administration."

So if you do sublingual, it is apparently pretty important to take your doses 12 hours apart, and not 24 hours apart.

I have been taking my dosages sublingually, and I am satisfied with my results. My estradiol levels (one lab test taken about 8 hours after a dosage) were @ 640 on a moderate mg value. My doctor, therapist, friends, mother are all blown away when they see me or look back at some of my old pictures and realize the rapid changes in just 8 months.

I do wish I could take injections though, it would be easier. Maybe when I don't have things that produce testosterone I will respond to the shot better and I don't have to worry about locking a pill underneath my tongue a couple times a day

If price weren't an issue, I'd definitely suggest transdermal patches, though. Direct bloodstream administration, most stable levels, no need to stab yourself... Really, apart from the fact it's another weekly thing easier to forget than daily pills (though I don't understand why they couldn't make daily patches), it's paradise~. Well, if you don't have my sister's evil skin on which nothing sticks and most adhesives cause allergic reactions, that is.

Annah: I never mentioned overdose, though.

Quote from: A on May 10, 2012, 04:58:21 PM
If price weren't an issue, I'd definitely suggest transdermal patches, though. Direct bloodstream administration, most stable levels, no need to stab yourself... Really, apart from the fact it's another weekly thing easier to forget than daily pills (though I don't understand why they couldn't make daily patches), it's paradise~. Well, if you don't have my sister's evil skin on which nothing sticks and most adhesives cause allergic reactions, that is.

Annah: I never mentioned overdose, though.

I can get patches very cheaply here in the U.K and still have a stockpile of them. But the problem is they are not effective on me personally. I've even tried three or four on at a time but haven't felt any benefit from them. 

I really want to try shots as it's the one I haven't tried yet. It's been a huge battle to try and get them over here in the U.K and a lot of fighting with both the NHS, PCT's and authorities nodding their heads in disapproval. I'm like a pioneer trying to get something that other gender dysphoria sufferers can't get over here because of our strict licensing laws.