Pellets vs Injection vs Gel

[Chicago_Cop]

Has anyone out there had experience with Pellets?

I was diagnosed with very low T about 1 year ago. My endocrinologist put me on Androgel. At first it was 5 pumps per day, then it was 7. This got me into the lower end of the "normal" range. I did not feel any better but I did notice that I had to start shaving again.

About three months ago I answered an advert for a Men's health clinic that claimed to be able to cure ED, (I hadn't had an erection for about 10 years). While there, they did a blood test which showed that my Testosterone level was in the low side of normal. They asked me how I "felt". I said that I usually feel like sucking my pistol and that this is normal for me. They suggested that I try injected Testosterone and gave me a shot of that along with a shot of vitamin B12. About a day later I felt pretty good. By the fourth day, not so good. By the fifth day I had to lock up my pistols again! I have been getting these shots every week now for about three months but my Testosterone level is still around 450. The doctor at the Men's health clinic wants to try implanting Testosterone pellets and my insurance company has agreed to pay for 70% of it!

My GP, who has been a friend of mine since the 7th grade, is absolutely livid that I am taking any Testosterone Replacement. He says that it isn't necessary for my physical health and that it is really, really dangerous. He is barely speaking to me now.

 

[Megatron28]

Give this a read. Should answer a lot of your questions.

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/testosterone-replacement-therapy/662394-basic-trt-overview.html

 

[Chicago_Cop]

Hello Mega:

Thank you for your reply. I had read that overview and I noticed that the writer was not enamored with the pellets - but his reasons were the expense and the pain.

Since my insurance is going to pay for the pellets, (up to 4 times a year), cost is not the driving consideration for me. My driving concern is whether or not this will help me feel better and get me off of this roller coaster. I am willing to put up with a little physical pain for this.

I just want to know if there is anyone out there who has had experience with both the pellets and the injections.

 

[Chicago_Cop]

BTW: The reason that I am up this late at night is that I am just trying to hold on for another 6.5 hours until I get my weekly testosterone injection from the Men's health clinic.

 

[Megatron28]

BTW: The reason that I am up this late at night is that I am just trying to hold on for another 6.5 hours until I get my weekly testosterone injection from the Men's health clinic.

If you inject twice a week you will get off the roller coaster ride. And you should start self-injecting. What are your TT and E2 at on injections? What are you taking and how much?

If you search here, you will find threads by guys on pellets. They work. Just cost a whole lot and hurt a bunch. You will have to keep going back to you doctor too to repeat the procedure periodically. You will have to play around to see how many pellets you need implanted too. I don't know about them over the longterm. Nobody has posted here about pellets after years of use.

 

[JOWS7]

Has anyone out there had experience with Pellets?

I was diagnosed with very low T about 1 year ago. My endocrinologist put me on Androgel. At first it was 5 pumps per day, then it was 7. This got me into the lower end of the "normal" range. I did not feel any better but I did notice that I had to start shaving again.

About three months ago I answered an advert for a Men's health clinic that claimed to be able to cure ED, (I hadn't had an erection for about 10 years). While there, they did a blood test which showed that my Testosterone level was in the low side of normal. They asked me how I "felt". I said that I usually feel like sucking my pistol and that this is normal for me. They suggested that I try injected Testosterone and gave me a shot of that along with a shot of vitamin B12. About a day later I felt pretty good. By the fourth day, not so good. By the fifth day I had to lock up my pistols again! I have been getting these shots every week now for about three months but my Testosterone level is still around 450. The doctor at the Men's health clinic wants to try implanting Testosterone pellets and my insurance company has agreed to pay for 70% of it!

My GP, who has been a friend of mine since the 7th grade, is absolutely livid that I am taking any Testosterone Replacement. He says that it isn't necessary for my physical health and that it is really, really dangerous. He is barely speaking to me now.

Could you post lab values with reference ranges? Curious about your values of 7 pumps of Androgel putting you at the lower end of the reference range! Maybe most of it was converting to Estrogen? Are you on an aromatase-inhibitor?

About your friend, look for information that supports the use of TRT. There are many scholarly articles that show a positive correlation with higher levels of testosterone that fights off heart diseases, depression, dementia, alzheimer's and a myriad of other diseases. Remind him/her that you aren't injecting yourself with body-builder levels of testosterone but HEALTHY levels! If your thyroid hormones are low, you medicate with replacement thyroxine. Post-menopausal women who are low in estrogen medicate with replacement estrogens - and other hormones that might be low. Why can't guys who are experiencing symptoms and are deficient in testosterone medicate with testosterone replacement therapy?

 

[JOWS7]

Oh and pellets would be a pain the ass - no pun intended - to get dialed in properly. Opt for injections that you could do yourself. Plus it's cheaper. A bottle of test cypionate (around $60-$75) could last you 2-3 months depending on your dosage.

 

[Virginian]

I am just 5 months into TRT, and it is working very well for me.

I do subcutaneous injections twice a week. I started sub q because the IM injections hurt and I had to do them at a doctor's office because I didn't have the courage to jab myself with the big IM needles. I find that sub q with an insulin needle is easy to do and almost painless. I recommend it.

 

[calzini]

I did pellets once. Brought my levels way up to like 1200. Got acne on my back, was VERY libidinous. (Too many were implanted.) BUT the effect decreases for the last 3-4 weeks. So you have to supplement with a gel to keep your levels from dropping.

Pellets are a doctors financial dream; he gets paid for an in office surgical procedure. It is painful (you must ice the area to prevent bruising and reduce pain and swelling) and pellets do come out if not done properly. I lost three pellets in the first week or two. And there is a chance of scarring. I have one. It looks like a round, dark, pea sized dark spot.

Finding how many pellets you need is a crap shoot - it can take months. And you still have to supplement with gel at the end. Think about how many holes will be made in your body if you continue pellets.

I'd recommend frequent sub Q injections - which I am on now. It's easy, painless and you can maintain stable levels. Presently, I do 30mg Test Cyp, EOD. Waiting to see how my BW looks.

My recommendation: Stay away from pellets. They are more trouble than they are worth.

 

[jomamma007]

I am just 5 months into TRT, and it is working very well for me.

I do subcutaneous injections twice a week. I started sub q because the IM injections hurt and I had to do them at a doctor's office because I didn't have the courage to jab myself with the big IM needles. I find that sub q with an insulin needle is easy to do and almost painless. I recommend it.

I Don't want to blow your mind but you can inject IM with insulin needles too. This is what I do, virtually painless and scarless . IM works for everyone, subQ doesn't seem to work for everyone. Wouldn't chance my T levels, but glad it's working for you

 

[jomamma007]

BTW: The reason that I am up this late at night is that I am just trying to hold on for another 6.5 hours until I get my weekly testosterone injection from the Men's health clinic.

Inject twice per week my friend and avoid the roller coaster. Since test cyp has a half life ~5-7 days, you are experiencing a pretty decent swing in your levels.
Dont put yourself through this kinda crap when there's a very simple solution.

Your GP is clearly un-educated in this field so pay no mind.
As others have stated, stay away frompellets.

Is that 450 test level tested the day before your injection. Would make sense.
What is your current protocol and dosages>?

You probably going from a 7-1000 test level Day 1-5 then dropping to 450 by day 5 and this is why you feel cruddy.

 

[Chicago_Cop]

To answer some of the questions you guys have asked.

When I was using the Androgel 1% gel I was using 6 pumps per day or 7.5 grams. This got my level up to 400. My endocrinologist was happy with that. I still felt very bad.

When I started with the TRT clinic about three months ago they prescribed 200mg of Testosterone Cypionate once a week with IM injections that I was doing myself. I would feel great from the evening after I got the shot until the end of the fourth day, and then I would start to slide down again. After doing this for about a month they tested my levels again. At the end of the cycle my level would be at 400. The TRT doctor said that this should not be. He says that at the end of seven days my level should be much higher than this. He had planned to do the pellets this month but until he knows what amount of Testosterone will give me a good level he doesn't want to implant the pellets. I asked him if I could split the dose and inject twice a week. He said that he did not want me to do this and that it should not be necessary.

First he thought that perhaps my injection technique was to blame. So, for the last three weeks he has had me drive to his office in downtown Chicago to have one of the technicians do the injection.

Today I told him that I was still on this horrible roller coaster and felt terrible. So now he theorizes that the anti-depressant I have been taking for the last ten years (Cymbalta), is preventing me from retaining the testosterone - that it is, in effect, making me burn it up. So he wants me to ask my GP to take me off of the Cymbalta. (But my GP is adamantly opposed to taking the TRT so asking him to stop the Cymbalta in order to help that treatment is not going to go over well at all!). I guess that I will just have to stop taking it without telling him about it. I sure hate to do that. It is like lying to my GP!

So, today I got a shot of 200MG of the TC and tonight I feel much better. The TRT doctor agreed to let me start self-injecting again -but he wants me to inject 200MG of TC twice a week, for a total of 400mg. At the end of two weeks they will take another blood test and see what my retained testosterone level is then. Does that sound like too much TC to you guys?

For those who asked; my last blood test showed the following were high: (I don't know what the significance of "Platelets" is but I never had any of these high test scores before starting TRT)

- WBC 12.2
- Platelets 444
- Neutrophils (absolute) 8.7
- Gluscose, Serum 110
- LDL Cholesterol 106

The blood test showed that the following was low:

- HDL Cholesterol 34

Other test results were:

- PSA, Free 0.19
- TSH 2.080
- Thyroxine (T4) 6.0
- Testosterone, Serum 416
- Luteinizing Hormone 0.1 (Low)
- Estradiol 23.1

So, any thoughts would be appreciated.

P.S. I don't care about the cost of the pellets if it will allow my body to draw on the testosterone when it needs it and doesn't cause this horrible roller coaster. I have over 15 surgical procedures in the last 10 years so I am not afraid of the minimal pain of a 3mm slit in my skin and a three inch trocar!

Randy

 

[Chicago_Cop]

Sorry, forgot; someone wanted to know if I was taking an "aromatase inhibitor".

I don't know what that is and as far as I know I am not taking anything like that.

I take four prescriptions:

Prevacid for GERD
Diovan for High Blood Pressure
Xyzal for allergies
Amlopidine (a second drug for Blood Pressure that my GP added two weeks ago. My BP is still averaging 157 over 110!)

 

[Megatron28]

Chicago: just read this already - all of it. It will answer your questions such as what is an aromatase inhibitor and why you feel like crap on day 4.

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/testosterone-replacement-therapy/662394-basic-trt-overview.html

All you need to do is split your injections up into two per week.

You need to donate blood. Exogenous testosterone increases hematocrit.

You are hearing us, but you aren't listening. I don't care if you put yourself through everything that comes with pellets. Go ahead if you want. Or try doing injections the way everyone is recommending so you can feel better. There is a reason why most guys prefer injections over other forms of treatment.

 

[Chicago_Cop]

Well that is what I am going to do starting this week.

The doctor wants me to try doing 200mg twice a week at home, Tuesday night and Friday morning. I will do that. And I am willing to do it for life if that what it takes.

 

[Chicago_Cop]

I would like to donate blood but Lifesource place won't take mine because of all the weird places I have been deployed to over the last 10 years, I have had a number of Tattoos, and I am over 50. I wish I knew of someone who would take my blood. It seems like such a waste to not donate.

 

[Megatron28]

Well that is what I am going to do starting this week.

The doctor wants me to try doing 200mg twice a week at home, Tuesday night and Friday morning. I will do that. And I am willing to do it for life if that what it takes.

200mg every 3.5 days is going to put you way above normal levels for Total Testosterone. There are not many guys that do more than 100mg every 3.5 days and they ate pretty big in size.

 

[Megatron28]

I would like to donate blood but Lifesource place won't take mine because of all the weird places I have been deployed to over the last 10 years, I have had a number of Tattoos, and I am over 50. I wish I knew of someone who would take my blood. It seems like such a waste to not donate.

You will probably require a prescription for phlebotomies then. Keep a very close eye on your hematocrit. Don't let it get too elevated.

 

[methos0123]

I would NOT do 400mg/week! Your HCT is going to skyrocket along with TT, E2, RBC, and HGB. If you can't donate blood, you need to stay at a lower dose, like 50mg twice a week or something around that number. 400/week is what some would call a "cycle". Your doctor doesn't really know what he's doing in my opinion.

 

[Chicago_Cop]

I want to thank all of you for your help and concern. I have thought about it all day. I think that you are right. I don't think that I should take 400mg a week. I think that I should take 100mg every 3.5 days like you suggest.

How can I find a doctor in the Chicago area that I can trust and who will prescribe this for me? I have good insurance, someone ought to be willing to take it!