The Benefits of Using Pellets in Hormone Replacement Programs

While pellets, creams and injectables are all options for hormone replacement therapy (HRT), there are a multitude of benefits associated with the use of pellets.

Consistent Dosing: Pellets provide a steady release of your customized bioidentical prescription to ensure consistent levels of hormone dosing throughout your entire program.  The hormone levels achieved with injectables and cream applications  fluctuate throughout day, which can lead to suboptimal and inconsistent resolution of problematic symptoms. Issues can also arise when a patient forgets to use their cream or injectable, or they don’t apply at the same time each day leading to their hormone levels experiencing a significant dip. Skin absorption rates can also vary depending on factors like hydration, body temperature, or even the specific area of application. This contributes to the difficulty with achieving consistent hormone levels with cream applications.

Convenience: Pellets are implanted under the skin through a comfortable in-clinic procedure and gradually release your customized prescription of bioidentical hormones in a controlled, uniform manner.  Patients return to the clinic only once every 3-4 months for reinsertion. Cream and injectable applications must be applied once or twice daily by the patient at home.

Safety:  Patients that use creams have to avoid applying them on any skin that will come into contact with other individuals as there is risk of transfer, whereas pellets are painlessly inserted underneath the patient’s skin and therefore have no impact on anyone the patient comes into contact with. 

No Adverse Reactions: Pellets do not cause any skin irritations or hair growth changes at the insertion site, as can be the case for some individuals using cream applications.

Dosage Adjustments:  Bloodwork is conducted at regular intervals to ensure a patient’s hormone levels remain at levels to optimize quality and enjoyment of life.  Any calibration in dosing suggested by the analysis of blood work is easily accommodated.  While the controlled gradual release of hormones using pellets guarantees that bloodwork will accurately represent hormone levels in the blood, creams and injections create hormone fluctuations throughout the day, making it more difficult for bloodwork to provide accurate results.

Physician Expertise:  Many physicians lack experience with pellets and therefore are uncomfortable providing the minor procedure performed to insert them.   Those physicians tend to direct patients to topical applications based on the ease of providing them, rather than efficacy. Expertise and experience with all available options, including pellets, is paramount to optimizing a patient’s heath and hormone levels with hormone therapy.   

Genitourinary Support:  The use of pellets creates systemic improvements throughout the entire body including genitourinary regions. Estrogen pellets can assist in increasing the thickness and function of the tissues in this area, resulting in a rejuvenated vaginal mucosa and perineal region.  This may also increase lubrication during intimacy and enhance sensitivity of the entire erogenous zone including the clitoris, labia minora and majora.  Topical applications of estrogen provide only minimal improvement in this area, while many women appreciate the genitourinary rejuvenation experienced with pellet therapy.  

Concurrent health improvements:  Hormone therapy using pellets can result in improved blood sugar levels, neurologic health, muscle and bone mass, and cardiovascular health. The use of creams has not been associated with such significant total body health improvements.