Is Hormone Pellet Therapy Better or Worse Than Other Forms of Hormone Therapy?

Should You Consider Hormone Pellets?

Hormone Pellets do not stack up well when compared to other forms of hormone replacement therapy.

Hormone replacement therapy is used to treat men and women who are suffering from age-related hormone decline. Hormone replacement therapy is available in several different forms.

Hormone therapy can be given via injections, topical creams, or skin patches. Some forms of hormone replacement can be taken in pill form.

There is a relatively new form of delivering hormone replacement therapy, known as pellet therapy or hormone pellets. It involves the placing of small rice-like pellets under the skin that release the prescribed hormones.

How does hormone pellet therapy compare to other forms of hormone replacement therapy? Not very well, for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, the risk of side effects is far more severe with pellets than any other form of hormone replacement therapy.

According to a study published in Endocrine Today, when compared with patients using any other FDA-approved hormone therapy, those treated with estradiol and/or testosterone pellet therapy experienced six times the number of adverse side effects.

Women, in particular, have had some quite serious side effects using pellets, such as abnormal uterine bleeding and vision loss. Other side effects that are more common in pellets than in other forms of HRT include:

• Tiredness
• Loss of libido or sex drive
• Acne
• Increased facial hair (women)
• Headaches
• Breast tenderness

Men and women have also reported increased aggressiveness, mood swings, or irritability during pellet hormone therapy. It is also not uncommon for scar tissue to form at the insertion site leaving a permanent bump or mark on the skin.

Other Problems With Hormone Pellets

The issues with pellets do not stop at an increased risk of side effects. Another big problem with hormone replacement pellets is that your doctor cannot adjust the dose of your medication once inserted.

There is no way to regulate your dosage if your needs change – and they usually do – throughout your therapy. With pellets, you could be receiving too much or too little hormone, with no way to adjust it without surgical removal and reinsertion of the pellet – a risky and invasive procedure.

And finally, HRT is not a one size fits all kind of solution. Each individual is different and can require different hormones or different combinations of hormones.

The variety of doses and hormones available in pellet form is far more limited than in other HRT delivery methods, such as topical creams and gels.

A Safer Alternative to Hormone Pellet Therapy

At NuLife Institute, we prefer to offer men and women seeking hormone replacement therapies (HRT) in the Greater Miami Area safer and more effective alternatives to hormone pellets.

For women who are looking for HRT to treat perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms, we prefer gels or creams to pellets, and here is why. The topical creams and gels we use at our Miami-based hormone clinic are much safer and have far fewer side effects than hormone pellets.

As compared to pellets, more types of hormones and any dosage required is readily available with topical forms of HRT. Also, with gels and creams, the dosage can be adjusted rapidly and easily. Gels and creams are entirely non-invasive, and they do not require nearly as many office visits as pellets.

Men who need testosterone replacement can also benefit from creams and gels, or they can get the direct and most effective hormone treatment with testosterone injections.

At NuLife, we realize that not all patients experiencing age-related hormone decline are the same. Unlike some other facilities, we never take a cookie-cutter approach to hormone replacement but tailor your program to your unique needs, goals, and lifestyle.

Our medical director, Dr. Luis Dominguez, has used his unique, customized approach to help thousands of patients reverse the clock on aging and enjoy a whole new lease on life.

Dr. Luis Dominguez has applied his inquisitive mind and passion for evidence-based Integrative Medicine to focus on utilizing a whole-body approach that provides life-changing results.

“I have been a client of Nulife’s for several years. At 54 years old, I feel and look as great as I did at 30! I have told so many of my friends and family about NuLife, and all of them are as happy as I am.”

Elaine, S. Aventura, FL

If you would like to learn a little bit more about the many life-changing benefits of hormone pellet therapy, please contact us today by calling (305) 400-0005.