SottoPelle - Testosterone Pellet Therapy Questions

[STEJ]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum but I was hoping that some of you may have some experience with Pellet therapy specifically SottoPelle. I've been having LowT symptoms past 2 years, after discussing with my doctor during my yearly physical she basically said i'm too young to have low T. Of course, as my symptoms continued I decided to see an endocrinologist to discuss my symptoms further. After having bloodwork my test levels came back as 265. The endo agreed my symptoms could be related to andropause but he said he wanted to 1st raise my thyroid medicine (I have hypothyroidism) to see if that will raise my testosterone levels. He wanted to do this and have me come back in 3 months and see if my symptoms were better and if my test levels went up. I came back in 3 months and my test levels were just over 300 and he said I should be feeling fine now I am within the normal range. However, I am still having constant symptoms of fatigue feeling extremely exhausted, weight gain even with diligent diet with lots and lots of exercise including cycling 4 times a week and weights 4 times a week. Also definite low libido and I have night sweats on and off in which I wake up with back of my shirt soaked with sweat. I definitely know something is going on with my body. Anyway, I starting researching some other doctors in the area that may specialize in low t and the only doctor I was able to find was a doctor that uses this SottoPelle treatment. I reached out and their process is also to get a full bloodwork panel done prior to coming in for a consult ($295). Nothing is covered under insurance other than blood work. I had to fill out a detailed patient intake form prior to coming in. Upon meeting the doctor she said she was not only not surprised at my symptoms but she said I have the test levels of a 70 year old man. My overall test this time was 260 and free test 4.4 and both flagged low on labcorb report. She told me being 45 year old man there is no way I should have levels this low and I am going to have all of the symptoms I'm reporting and more. She immediately said I definitely should have the pellet therapy and she said I would probably need 12 200mg pellets to get my going on 1st treatment. I asked questions about the process and also side affects. She told me it's all natural plant based and said there are no side affects. She then proceeded and asked if I wanted to do the pellet insertion that day literally right after the visit. I wasn't ready for that and didn't realize she would proceed that quick so I decided to hold off a week before getting the insertion of the pellets.

My question to the forum is I am somewhat nervous. I can't find any other doctors who specialize in my symptoms and my endo thinks test treatment is controversial and doesn't really appear to use any methods of low t. I know my body and I know something is wrong but can someone tell me what their experience with pellet therapy has been like? Am I being to nervous about this? I know SottoPelle is probably just a fancy name for pellet therapy but I felt it strange how quick this doctor was willing to move forward with the insertion. It is a minor surgical procedure but she made it sound simple like 10 minutes and done and you will be feeling great. I did ask if I have side affects can I go off she said I can try but the pellets cannot be removed they have to work their way out of your body. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Vince Carter]

We do not advocate and no one uses pellets around here. It's a terrible method of delivery that offers no way to adjust the dosage for the time the pellets are implanted. Also leaves guys in a low T state the last week or two before the next implant. As I said, we do not endorse pellet use. Would be especially wrong if that pellet also contained Anastrozole.
We're pretty much a community that exclusively injects Test Cypionate.

 

[nooms]

If I can add to what Vince Carter said, I started my my journey with HRT last fall, didn’t do my homework , and ended up trying pellet therapy with a company in my hometown of Columbus, OH. Without telling me they injected Anastrazole pellets as well as T pellets. The anastrazole crashed my E2 levels ( they almost went to zero) which was ZERO fun. Besides ED issues I had joint pain in my knees and hips that was severe. They refused to take out the pellets and I dealt with ED issues for most of the 3-4 months the pellets were active. If you’ve never had ED issues and they appear literally overnight from the anastrazole , it turns your world on its head, believe me. I am now with Defy and Doctor Saya and read Excel Male frequently when I have questions. Most of the intelligent conversations on HRT happen on this site. Don’t go the pellet route.

 

[DragonBits]

To me pellets sounded like a good idea in that they deliver a constant supply of testosterone for 4 months or so.

However, I would never go that route since I don't want to visit a doctor on a regular basis for any sort of treatment short of surgery or some really serious disease. Pellets also seem too expensive. I tend to go to a doctor when I need antibiotics or some other prescription meds, and I do have my own supply of antibiotics at home so technically I don't need to go for that either. I go because now I have medicare and it will pay so why not?

But in general I am pretty healthy at age 66, so that is a big factor in my not relying on doctors. I was without insurance and self pay for over 15 years.

In your situation, since you are paying out of pocket, I would go Defy Medical or Primebody, either the test Cypionate or gel. If you are comfortable injecting, go the test C route, the easy touch insulin needles (0.5 or 5/8 inch) are quite easy like a mosquito bite. I think most people here do shallow IM or SubQ.

In the past I liked my TT levels around 650-750 ng/dl, below 500 I don't feel good. But everyone can be different.

The 1.5 inch 22 ga deep 5 ml IM needles are a bit intimidating, but it's pretty rare to see anyone here using that type. I used this for 5 years and injected into the glute, but I was injecting 1000mg / 4ml of Nebido. The good thing, it was only once every 11 weeks.

 

[STEJ]

Thanks for your feedback. So the Dr. said to me that the pellets are bioidentical and plant based as opposed to the injections which are synthetic and are derived from pregnant horse urine. It really seems like a lot of folks have totally different opinions on this but what does one say to the plant based pellets safety vs the synthetic test cyp injects in which according to this particular dr says there are side effects from.

 

[DragonBits]

Thanks for your feedback. So the Dr. said to me that the pellets are bioidentical and plant based as opposed to the injections which are synthetic and are derived from pregnant horse urine. It really seems like a lot of folks have totally different opinions on this but what does one say to the plant based pellets safety vs the synthetic test cyp injects in which according to this particular dr says there are side effects from.

You or the doctor are mixing up drugs.

Premarin a drug similar to estrogen for women is made from pregnant horse urine.

The testosterone used in injections and pellets are synthetic, bioidentical and derived from yams / soy plant and is the same. The main difference is the esters they are attached to, I think the testosterone in pellets have no esters.

To me, they are all synthetic, some synthetics are bioidentical to the hormones in your body.

 

[Systemlord]

Pellet therapy is more profitable than giving you injections. Don't forget your doctors runs a business, she's not doing this for you out of the kindness of her heart. She is either lying or misinformed as T-cypionate is bioidentical to the natural hormones in your body.

The risk of infections is too great and you will also develop scaring and could be painful to sit after pellet insertion, doctors make money doing this procedure. T-Gels are also money makers and insurance companies hate T-Gels for this reason. Doctors make no money prescribing injections which happens to be the most effective lowest cost treatment option.

Injections require the most doctor skill, few know how this game is played.

 

[JimBob]

A local FNP has had women come to him begging for help due to grossly elevated t-levels. The local women's clinic gave them pellet therapy, so there was nothing the FNP could do for them. They have to ride it out.