Thank you for this! My provider is tied in with BioTE and heavily pushed pellets as the new miracle treatment for all my menopausal issues, in particular weight gain. After 18 months of multiple expensive pellet treatments, I found myself 20 pounds heavier and sprouting hair on my face but loosing it on my head. I stopped seeing my provider nearly a year ago; I received a message in my patient portal which I figured was a notice that it was time for my annual appointment - much to my dismay it was a notice that the clinic now started carrying BioTE supplements! Head smack! What is worse, is this clinic is part of a district hospital, not a private clinic. Time for a new doctor!
You write, "Given 94% of women who use pellets have not tried other MHT, these are clearly not women who have tried and failed multiple pharmaceutical products. I suspect many end up with pellets because of the marketing, both by the company and on the advice of physicians who make money doing implants, or because they went to their doctor for MHT and were unfortunately told it was unsafe..."
I've been blessed with good health my entire life, and I have rarely needed health care. I anticipated I would breeze through menopause like my (much older) female siblings, barely noticing that it had occurred.
Sadly, I was wrong.
When I started suffering symptoms in my mid-40s (starting with sleep issues), I was first prescribed anti-anxiety meds. I didn't have depression (or any history of mental health issues), and this only made my sleep problems worse. Then the doctor said I could try sleeping pills, which I refused. I struggled on, doing the best I could with lavender sprays, melatonin, and other ultimately ineffective methods. Binaural beats, anyone?
After a couple years, I ended up switching PCPs (I moved to a different state), and also found a OB/GYN who would sort of listen. The pill was recommended for my menopause transition symptoms. I was told if the pill didn't work, then that was just too bad. I'd just have to manage somehow until I had stopped having periods for a full year if I wanted HRT.
So I took the pill. It made me feel even more miserable, but I stuck it out for nearly four months until I decided enough was enough. By this time, not only did I have sleeping problems, but I had headaches, fatigue, night sweats, and recurring infections. And I was already suffering low libido, but with the pill, I couldn't even imagine having sex again.
A friend recommended an HRT clinic that was outside the traditional healthcare system. Little did I know what I was walking into; it turned out to be a practice that only offered pellets, with a big focus on TRT. The solution to all my problems? I was told it was testosterone. And a progesterone pill. (Estrogen: deemed unsafe until a year after menopause.)
The only good that came out of that was a prescription for progesterone. I continue to look for a doctor who isn't against HRT during perimenopause. I do not live in a backwater, yet finding knowledgeable care obviously requires doctor shopping and it's infuriating.
Thank you for this article. I am post menopausal and have been on BioTe testosterone pellets for the last six months or so. I love what it's doing for my libido. How can I get a boost in my testosterone without pelleting?
Could I ask if pellets in America are the same as ‘implants’ in Europe and are they any better here? (From the quality control perspective? Have there been any studies on them in Europe?
Thank you for this! My provider is tied in with BioTE and heavily pushed pellets as the new miracle treatment for all my menopausal issues, in particular weight gain. After 18 months of multiple expensive pellet treatments, I found myself 20 pounds heavier and sprouting hair on my face but loosing it on my head. I stopped seeing my provider nearly a year ago; I received a message in my patient portal which I figured was a notice that it was time for my annual appointment - much to my dismay it was a notice that the clinic now started carrying BioTE supplements! Head smack! What is worse, is this clinic is part of a district hospital, not a private clinic. Time for a new doctor!
You write, "Given 94% of women who use pellets have not tried other MHT, these are clearly not women who have tried and failed multiple pharmaceutical products. I suspect many end up with pellets because of the marketing, both by the company and on the advice of physicians who make money doing implants, or because they went to their doctor for MHT and were unfortunately told it was unsafe..."
I've been blessed with good health my entire life, and I have rarely needed health care. I anticipated I would breeze through menopause like my (much older) female siblings, barely noticing that it had occurred.
Sadly, I was wrong.
When I started suffering symptoms in my mid-40s (starting with sleep issues), I was first prescribed anti-anxiety meds. I didn't have depression (or any history of mental health issues), and this only made my sleep problems worse. Then the doctor said I could try sleeping pills, which I refused. I struggled on, doing the best I could with lavender sprays, melatonin, and other ultimately ineffective methods. Binaural beats, anyone?
After a couple years, I ended up switching PCPs (I moved to a different state), and also found a OB/GYN who would sort of listen. The pill was recommended for my menopause transition symptoms. I was told if the pill didn't work, then that was just too bad. I'd just have to manage somehow until I had stopped having periods for a full year if I wanted HRT.
So I took the pill. It made me feel even more miserable, but I stuck it out for nearly four months until I decided enough was enough. By this time, not only did I have sleeping problems, but I had headaches, fatigue, night sweats, and recurring infections. And I was already suffering low libido, but with the pill, I couldn't even imagine having sex again.
A friend recommended an HRT clinic that was outside the traditional healthcare system. Little did I know what I was walking into; it turned out to be a practice that only offered pellets, with a big focus on TRT. The solution to all my problems? I was told it was testosterone. And a progesterone pill. (Estrogen: deemed unsafe until a year after menopause.)
The only good that came out of that was a prescription for progesterone. I continue to look for a doctor who isn't against HRT during perimenopause. I do not live in a backwater, yet finding knowledgeable care obviously requires doctor shopping and it's infuriating.
Thank you for this article. I am post menopausal and have been on BioTe testosterone pellets for the last six months or so. I love what it's doing for my libido. How can I get a boost in my testosterone without pelleting?
Could I ask if pellets in America are the same as ‘implants’ in Europe and are they any better here? (From the quality control perspective? Have there been any studies on them in Europe?