Have you ever thought about replacing the hormones that are leaving your body?  I had been contemplating it for months, ever since my hot flashes started.  My body was bursting into flames, I could handle the heat alone, but in March, I hit a new low and began the full body sweats.  Ten to seventeen hot flashes every day!

By the end of May, I was feeling absent minded, the hot flashes were disrupting my sleep and I decided to call my Dr.  They use BioTE a natural hormone pellet therapy.  I had heard good things and was hoping it would be a good fit for me.  I went in for a consultation and found that my doctor, Dr. Amanda, takes these pellets as well (comforting to know).  They drew my blood and a couple days later, the results came in.  I am a good candidate, they said.  They scheduled an appointment for the implant.  I was still really nervous and had more questions and figured if I was comfortable by the end of the appt, they could insert the pellets, otherwise, I would wait.  My most important question was:

1. Do you custom make these pellets for each patient?  The answer is no, but they do make various pellet doses and based upon the blood results, choose the pellets that best fit your test results.  That makes more sense, doesn’t it, although, they promote that it’s custom blended for you at the time of your test results.  I don’t like the hype.

Dr. Amanda told me that BioTE does a VERY good job at determining what exactly your body needs based on the blood test and 96% of their Pellet Implant customers come back to have them put in again.

The blood test results showed my Thyroid – T3 and T4 counts were both low and that I could use some testosterone and some estrogen.

Have I mentioned that the pellets last for 3-5 months in your body?  I think this is great if they work, but if they don’t, you have to deal with whatever happens.  Find a good doctor, with a good reputation.

After speaking with Dr. Amanda, I decided to move forward with the pellet therapy.  She decided that because I have not gone into full menopause, she is not comfortable giving me estrogen.  If she did, it would send me back into having a menstrual cycle every month.  They have given me Testosterone pellets and suggested taking some thyroid medicine and DIM (which helps the body absorb the pellets). What do I have to lose?

Here  is my experience.

June 5, 2018

I got the pellets put in my bottom.  They cut a small slit in your skin and use some sort of a needle/pump to inject these pellets into the fat in your touche.  Then they put suture tape on it to hold it in place (no stitches), and a large waterproof type bandaid that seals all the way around the area. They ask you to leave it on for 3 days.  They also tell you not to do anything strenuos for a couple days.  The pellets can work their way out!  If that happens, you have to go back and do it again, more money and more pellets. (Thankfully, this did not happen to me, I took it easy)

Here’s a video of someone’s procedure (don’t watch if you are squeemish – #thisisnotmybackside).

They also gave me two additional medications, NP Thyroid 1/2 Grain(30 mg) Levothyroxine (T4) 19 mcg and Liothyronine (T3) 4.5 mcg and DIM (150 mg).  I started taking the DIM right away and held off on the thyroid meds, because I just didn’t want to start taking too many things at the same time, if there are any side effects, I want to know what is causing the problem.

After the pellet injection, I started doubting myself and wished I had tried some sort of hormonal cream or patch to see if it the testosterone was even helpful before I put 3-5 month lasting pellets in my a$$.

June 7, 2018

I got a pain in my backside (24 hours after my pellet insertion).  Not pain from the incision but pain in the sciatic nerve area.  It made me so uncomfortable at the end of every day and was keeping me up at night.  Can you say cranky?  I was thinking, omg, I can’t do this for 3-5 months.  I gave it a couple of days in case it was a fluke.

June 9, 2018

I started to panic a little bit, I hadn’t done anything that would have caused sciatic nerve pain, so I reached out to Dr. Amanda.  Her reply was that pellets weren’t inserted close enough to cause sciatic nerve pain, but take 800 mg of ibuprofin 2x/day and if it doesn’t go away in a few days, make an appt to come in.  Ibuprofin, underway!!  Oh and hot flashes are still happening, but maybe slightly less intense, hard telling with all the pain in my backside!

June 11, 2018

Sciatic pain is gone. No more Ibuprofin.

June 12, 2018

I started the NP Thyroid meds today, we’ll see how it goes.  1/2 tablet for the first week, then 1 tablet/day.

June 13, 2018

Ankles swelling, feeling gross.  Did some research on this brand of thyroid medicine “NP Thyroid”, and there are some pretty nasty reviews.  I’ll give it another day or two before making any assumptions.

June 15, 2018

Feeling worse than yesterday, ankles were not swollen in the AM, but by evening they were.  I am not happy and HATE having swollen feet.  Also I have gained about 3 lbs. (Although, she did say that this was a temporary side effect of the pellets.)

I took the thyroid medication for about three days.  My ankles were swollen at the end of every day and honestly it was making me uncomfortable all over, like my body was swelling on the inside.  I decided to stopped taking it and notified Dr. Amanda.  It made me really nervous, especially since I didn’t know how the pellets were going to impact me and I was hoping to start feeling some relief soon, and trying not to panic, you can make adjustments by adding more pellets in 6 weeks, but from all my research, you don’t want to get an improper dosage.

June 19, 2018

It seems the hot flashes are not as bad, but still present.  I am not full body sweating, but still experiencing the flush, they also seem to be less frequent.  It’s weird.  4 AM and 4 PM every day, sometimes I get them every hour, for about 3 hours and then, none for about 8 hours, and then another round at 4 pm.  There doesn’t seem to be any trigger, except for the hour of the day.  They were not this regimented before.  My mood seems to be improving, I was a little cranky for the first few weeks, but everything is leveling out.  My mind seems to be a little clearer and I feel pretty good today!

June 22, 2018

Started taking Natures Thyroid today, recommended by a friend who uses them.  They seem to work much better, no swelling and feeling a little better every day.

June 27, 2018

The hot flashes are no longer producing a full blown sweat factory on my body, YAY!! I am definitely sleeping better.  Nine out of the last 12 days I have gotten over 7 hours of sleep.  Not waking up in the middle of the night to play with the covers. The weight I gained is starting to come off.  Bottom line is that it seems to be working for me.  I do have to say our sex life has gotten a little spicier, pellet therapy or married to my best friend, who can tell.

#BioTE, #HormoneTherapy, #pellets, #hotflashes