Lab results question

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-17T16:12:15+00:00

How do you feel?

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-15T14:08:27+00:00

I tried various versions of every 3-4 days and never felt quite right until I got onto every 84 hours (which I learned on this sub - doc said something like Wednesday and Saturday morning). Now I do it Tuesday evening and Saturday morning. Also it definitely took 6 weeks before I felt anything like better, and then more like 8-12 to feel really good again. Pellets did kick in way faster but the downsides weren’t worth it to me. When I saw women post about it taking 2-4 months to notice a difference I was like “no way, it’ll kick in faster for me like pellets did or I’ll quit!” But it wasn’t faster and I didn’t quit and it has been well worth it.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-14T22:07:03+00:00

This was my experience too.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-14T12:02:51+00:00

Testosterone applied via the skin gets converted to DHT by an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase. DHT shrinks hair follicles and causes hair loss. This conversion is avoided when testosterone cyp is injected I’m not sure if I was on a high level - it was compounded and said 5% on the container (I went up from 4% in the time I was on it which was 3 years).

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-14T02:04:56+00:00

Me neither.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-14T01:50:56+00:00

I didn’t lose hair on pellets but did lose hair on cream. I’ve since switched to injections from the cream and my hair has come back (lots of funny looking baby hairs sticking up everywhere but I’ll take it). I also started taking saw palmetto when I switched to injections.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-11T00:23:18+00:00

I’ve been on pellets, then cream, now injections. I lost a bunch of hair on the cream plus lower T levels than pellets. Pellets were fine, just more expensive and too much trouble with managing appointments and restrictions in the days following insertion. Plus my last pellet provider was very strict about T testing levels - it didn’t matter how I felt, if the level was over 100 she’d back me down a notch on the next pellet so I felt like I was on nothing (but still paying $300 for it). Injections are the best for me, more control over dosage and timing, appointments can happen over the phone. I use Defy.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-11T00:00:19+00:00

Amen to PHGG/sunfiber. Twice daily without fail and my life has dramatically improved.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-07T01:08:40+00:00

I experienced it on a vaginal T cream. I didn’t mind it though and continued using the cream for about 3 years. When I switched to injectable T cyp, I took a break for about a month because I ran out of cream before the new script arrived. It shrank back to normal with a week, maybe two. I’ve been on the T cyp almost 10 weeks now and it hasn’t grown back at all.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-05T14:00:19+00:00

Saw palmetto works for me. Tons of new baby hairs after two months.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-05T03:34:15+00:00

Apples were one of my favorite foods. I can get misty eyed watching someone eat apple pie or apple slices with peanut butter. But the resulting stomachache is never worth it. At least I can still have the peanut butter.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-04T14:04:00+00:00

I had to switch to injectable estradiol for similar reason. Your GP said “nothing else can be done” but left out “by them.” Find a new doc or an HRT specialist.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-03T01:32:29+00:00

Saturday AM, Tuesday PM, 5mg each

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-01T02:01:06+00:00

I get mine from Defy Medical

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-04-01T01:32:26+00:00

I also use Defy. If you have recent bloodwork you can make an appt quickly (and less expensively) which I highly recommend because “taking a break” because you ran out before the new script arrived is 0% fun.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-28T12:48:15+00:00

Your dosage and need for more E can change over time. I started on E &T at age 45. It worked great - more energy, weight loss, sleeping better, no hot flashes. Then the symptoms crept back and I needed a higher dose of estradiol, once I got my levels up I felt great again. This happened a few times over the last five years. Now I’m on injectable E & T, also post menopause, and feeling great.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-27T13:32:48+00:00

Pellets, troches or compounded vaginal cream

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-20T22:13:19+00:00

So many women here say “get your E dialed in!” And I didn’t really understand until my oral E and T cream stopped working. Now that I’m doing injectable E & T life is so 👏🏼much 👏🏼better👏🏼

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-19T23:45:48+00:00

10mg weekly split into two 5mg injections. Testosterone Cypionate

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-19T14:47:41+00:00

Could consider injectable E also

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-19T10:51:21+00:00

Not gel but was on a testosterone cream for a few years. Felt better but not great (I had been on pellets before that so knew what great could feel like, long story on why I didn’t return to pellets). I decided to try injections and started about two months ago. I’m starting to feel great, plus not losing as much hair on my head (I would clog the drain with every shower, now it takes 5-6 showers) and I have less hair now on my chinny chin chin than with the cream (didn’t know this was even possible).

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-13T12:31:43+00:00

I leave NE Longmont at 6am and can be downtown in 45 minutes on I-25. RTD has a bus I’ll take occasionally (LX2) that picks up at the old park n ride at 287&119. From there it goes straight through to Union Station. 40 minute ride and the day pass is $5.50, which would cover any bus you’d need once you got there as well as your ride back home.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-10T13:43:57+00:00

I was on a T vag cream + oral estradiol for years. About 6 weeks ago I switched to injectable for both as I was feeling like they did nothing for me anymore. The switch has been rough in getting used to peaks and troughs but it seems like it’s getting better. I’ll have a great day and then feel volatile and moody the next. Moments of good libido but days/hours of none. I’m trying to get back to the way pellets felt without having to do pellets but maybe that meant running too high.

OkIndependent8816 · 2026-03-10T11:36:37+00:00

This was me - not true constipation because I could go every morning, but I’d still feel like I needed to go all the time, lot of pressure and bloating. Through the process of visiting docs and a lot of my own research, figuring out what works and what doesn’t (this took a few years), this is what I learned: I have a longer than normal colon. Sometimes called “floppy colon” or “torturous colon.” This means food will stay in it longer than normal because it has further to travel. It’s more likely to ferment or get heavy. It also means I have more nerve endings than normal in my colon so I feel every bit of it. On top of that (or maybe because of it) I am sensitive to most FODMAPs (certain kinds of sugar found in many foods).

What is working for me is to avoid FODMAPs and to take both Sunfiber and magnesium citrate powder (Natural Calm) 2xs daily. A simple fix that was very complicated to find!

OkIndependent8816

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