I was talking to my hairdresser last week and she loves injections. Guess she forgets enough that pills everyday are too much for her. I’m taking mine in the morning, evening and then progesterone right before bed. So, three times a day I have to take pills. Guess I’m curious what your thoughts about the differences are and if it’s just about convenience, as the injections are only once a week, or are there any other benefits one way or the other.
I can’t speak for others but I hate needles. So, the advantage of pills for me will be that they aren’t needles.
Ya I understand that. I’ve had to give myself shots in the past though. So, I can do it but I totally have to psych myself up first.
same. been on pills for 6 months now, never missed a day, levels seem mostly fine (next checkup is this week), and im very glad i only need to be touched by a needle every few months rather than every week
I do injections because I’ve heard it’s easier on your liver (or maybe kidneys I forget exactly ATM). It also has a higher absorption rate, and as a monotherapy I like not having to keep track of multiple medications.
I hated needles prior because of some traumatizing OD deaths in homeless camps (I kinda made it my litmus test to see how much I wanted HRT), but after about 2 weeks my anxiety was gone, and the benefits far outweighed the momentary ick of stabbing myself with a needle.
Monotherapy. I’ve heard that word used before, are you saying you don’t take any blockers? Or progesterone? How’s that work?
Yeah, I’m just taking a large enough dose that testosterone is nuked by itself. I can add progesterone later, but I’m early in my medical transition, and have heard it’s better to wait a bit.
I heard if you take too much estrogen your body reverts it back into testosterone and you go backwards. Arg all this is so frustrating sometimes. Sorry. I’m glad to hear this, now I want to know more cause I really dislike spiro. i asked my plume provider about injections but they only gave me onfo on how to inject and how needles work. Not really what I was looking for from them.
Testosterone can convert to estradiol via aromatase, however there’s no metabolic pathway in the other direction.
I haven’t heard anything about that, but so far my T seems very well suppressed. Random erections are gone, ejaculate is thinner and clear, breast soreness, nipples have started changing, etc.
Ya it’s very possible that info is old, outdated, and wrong. Now I’m really interested. Like I said I really don’t like spiro. And ya I didn’t start progesterone until after 18 months. I was on super low does though so I didn’t even get to an a cup. When I switched to plume a month ago they put me on 100mg prog before bed. I sleep great now it’s nice. Feels like I’m felling out a bunch now too.
I’m in Florida, wait times are long, prescriptions are expensive, and they can refuse to fill it anyway, so I have had to educate myself with resources such as diyhrt.wiki. My knowledge isn’t necessarily comprehensive.
Ya all my knowledge comes second hand as well. So, I’m always asking others that have real world experience with it. Plume was super easy and nice to get my prescription from but I haven’t gotten any info from there that was not just surface level. You know?
Oh and sorry about Florida. Ruff times down there for us from what I gather.
Removed by mod
Oral (swallowing) bad, the good way to take estradiol pills is sublingual/buccal. Absorbed in the mouth, very little gets to the liver.
Huh. Surprising that they’re not prescribed more often. I dont know of any trans women in my area who do injections. I asked for them once but was told they pretty well never prescribe them unless you can’t take oral estradiol for some reason.
Removed by mod
I believe that you have steadier hormone levels when you take pills twice a day, vs weekly injections. I don’t think that makes a big difference practically. I only have experience with pills because I also hate needles haha
As someone else mentioned, the pills can be harder on your body. I switched to shots and have no regrets. Anecdotal but my body was just not absorbing the pills well and I always battled to get my hormones right. It’s been much easier to do with shots.
I used to be on patches (until they became hard to get), not pills, so I can’t really compare, but I have observed that since I started injectable E, the effectiveness has increased noticeably.
That said, at least here in Queensland, the availability of prescriptions for injectable esters other than valerate here is next to impossible, and even then convincing your doctor to prescribe valerate is really hard.
Injectables are easier and cheaper to get diy, so I use them. I was a bit afraid of needles, but that anxiety quickly faded. Monotherapy is also a nice bonus, compared to having to buy and remember extra medicine.
