Thank you Michelle for your story in Paradise Mag. I like you have been tearing my hair out wondering what is going on with me. I finally put my foot down and demanded answers. I am 49 yrs old and was just told I am in menopause! I am reseaching the product SottoPelle the Bio Equivalent Hormonal Replacement Therapy. If anyone has some insite to the use of SottoPelle I would love to hear about it.Thank you Barbara
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Wow..i was beginning to think i was the only one with some of these side effects. Actually i can handle the hair on my lip and face,a few pimples,the spike of RAWR from the pellet inserts at first.(been getting the pellets for over a year now)I have all my female parts.Im 51 and was diagnosed with premature menopause 4 months after having my only child at 34.(Took prempro for years so i had no period). I take 200mg of progesterone for 12 days 4 times a year..having a period every 3 months i could handle that..one time last year had a little breakthrough bleeding one time then not again My main problem now is 2 1/2 months ago i had breakthrough bleeding just like a period for a few days and last month the same way..also cramped but i could handle it but i wasnt suppose to be having a period those months. So i called my obgyn..went in..had a vag ultrasound..showed a few fibroid tumors which he said probably been there for years and maybe the bleeding is coming from those..in 3 weeks im having a endometr biopsy just to make sure not cancerous..even though he said most all the time are benign. Just took the progesterone for 12 days this month..on the 9th day started my period..just like a heavy period...but past few days felt awful,fatigue,cold,sleepy,severe crams that rarely let up.He ask if i was passing clots..i dont guess i am..its been years since i had periods since i took the prempro..i dont even know what a normal period was actually..all i know is im having breakthrough bleeding and its not lightly and it last for a few days then i spotted then it stopped.. then when i have the period i should im feeling exhausted and was in the bed the past weekend most all weekend. I just wish i knew what to do..i actually think its a enbalance of the estrogen or progesterone somehow...i just dont know. he actually told me to just play with the progesterone and take it everyday if i want to if i thought that would help me stop bleeding. :o I really think maybe some doctors just dont know what to do about all this breakthrough bleeding women are having from the pellet/progesterone treatment. Other than that i have to say the pellets gave me back my life that i lost so many young years of raising my child. Just thankful i have hope now..just praying to get this breakthrough bleeding under control. I love the pellets just hate the breakthrough bleeding thats just started for me july and august. I was concerned and happen to find this site on the internet..and glad i did :)
September 14, 2011 - 6:23pmThis Comment
Went to the doctor and had the vaginal ultrasound and then the biopsy. The ultrasound showed the fibroids that he said have probably been there for years and that having the pellets make them show up more..and thats probably where the bleeding is coming from. The edometri biopsy was fine. I never had any problems before the pellets..and also didnt have any problems actually on the pellets untill over a year later.I had felt like i found my miracle cure for all the years of HELL from menopause at such a early age. So from reading on here from a reply i suggested to my dr. i take the 100mg of progest daily to see if that stops the bleeding..he seem fine with that like yea try that. He said take it for 2 weeks( then see if i have a period..the nurse said that will clean me out so it will be a fresh start) then stop for one week then start back continuously. I was taking 200mg of progest every 3 months for 12 days. Its like they honestly dont know what to do..and it seems mostly for us that are having the breakthrough bleeding issues..seems like alot are ending up having to have a hysterectomy. I just dont understand why its affecting so many women that way and they cant give an answer really why. But of course because other than that i can tolerate most the other symtoms im having because i do feel better except for the bleeding and the symtoms that come with having a period that are extremely worse than they normally would be for most people or what ive ever been use to years ago. I had some bleeding after the endometrial biopsy but it finally went away and i wasnt bleeding anymore..but i started the 100mg progesterone and now on my 9th day im spotting and i guess about to start a period..not really sure. I am all crampy and dont feel that great and have alot of symptoms that come with a period.
October 17, 2011 - 2:01pmIve noticed its hard to find much negative information anywhere of what people are experiencing on these pellets because it seems theres not enough info from doctors. So everyone keeps running back and forth to the doctors with the side effects they are having in hope for some answers. I guess alot of people including myself didnt expect the bleeding issues to be as bad as they are.
I really wish the doctors had more information on all the problems so many women are having especially the bleeding issues. Just feeling of some hope of some kind would be great.
I just didnt expect for the treatment to be so great then end up have the bleeding issues. Then more than likely going to have to have surgery(hysterectomy) that i never intended to have to be able to continue the pellet therapy.
I guess i will take it from here and see what happens and pray that this will work so i dont have to have surgery and have a hysterectomy. But if that becomes my only option then i guess i will so i can continue the pellets.
Would love to hear from you if youve had bleeding issues since being on the pellets.
I figure it wont be long before this is going to be one of the biggest talk shows on t.v.
<3
This Comment
Ktlynn,
September 30, 2011 - 6:35amI am 58 years old and my hormone specialist has me on 100mg of progesterone and told me never to quit taking it while having the pellet. I have never had any bleeding. When I first get the pellet, I have tenderness in the ovaries but it goes away in a couple of weeks. I would suggest to stay on the pellet to quit the episodes of bleeding.
This Comment
Ktlynn,
October 6, 2011 - 10:51amHow long have you been doing the pellet? I am going to a hormone specialist in Southlake, Texas and was wondering if you have experienced any hair loss. I am also 58 years old and take the same dose of progesterone and she also said never to quit taking it. Just wondering if you go to the same one I do.
This Comment
I just read all 170 posts on sotto pelle and no one has mentioned hair loss as a side effect. I just turned 50 and I recieved my third round of pellets last month. (The first month was a booster dose and I've received 2 injections since then). I also have thicker hair above my lip and more chin hair in addition to shoulder and back acne and in the beginning alot of chest acne.
I was suffering so severely from perimenopause side effects when I began the pellet therapy, that I felt like I just wanted to crawl under a rock and die. I found that I felt great after the 2nd injection up until the last month before the third injection was due and then all of a sudden I emotionally plummeted, my energy plummeted, my libido plummeted right back to when I began which was extremely distressing! Obviously the pellets were wearing off, which I could have lived with but also my hair began to significantly fall out!!!! I have been on the 3rd injection now for 1 month and I feel that just this past week its stopped falling out so much.
The doctor gave me spironolactone to counter my hair loss, which makes me feel very, very tired because it's primary use is as a high blood pressure med and so my blood pressure is probalby very low b/c I have low blood pressure to began with. Spironolactone has the side effect of being an anti-andorgen and it's used to couteract the effects of high testosterone. I wonder why this doctor didn't lower my testosterone dose after I told her my hair was falling out? this doctor continued me on the same dose as the previous injection. My levels read 118 of testosterone and 30 of estrogen. It seems the testosterone level is too high??? and maybe the estrogen dose too low??/ Can anyone else comment on their levels? They also sold at the sottopelle clinic vitamins for hair growth, which would lead me to believe that many women must face the same problem? I love the effects of the pellets but I can't allow this therapy to make me go bald!!!! Has anyone else experienced this alarming side effect?
I now wish that I hadn't gotten the third round of pellets...I should have listened to my intuitions and not contininued when I noticed the rapid hair loss, but unfortunately I didn't listen to myself!!! Please can anyone respond who has also experienced this side effect and if so did your hair grow back in after stopping the pellet therapy? I'm going to try BHRT creams next and pray they help with the perimenopause but with the advantage of controlling the testosterone dose so there is no hair loss. Thank you so much for anyone who can offer advice or a similar experience!
July 25, 2011 - 11:39pmThis Comment
I too suffered from awful hairloss 2 weeks into the 2nd insertion. (was given 137-T).. Did NOT go for the 3rd insert because I felt awful and dreaded touching or washing my hair. Was sorry that I had ever started this therapy. Have been off of the pellets for 6 months now, and finally hair loss has stopped. Am taking lots of supplements for my health, including clean eating, no smoking, drinking or sweets. No dairy either. Feel pretty balanced now. I work out 5 days ago w/ lifting and 3-4days of dreaded cardio. One day of Pilates for the stretch. Am a 53 yr old woman, 5'5", 120 lbs AND finally feel balanced w/0 these pellets. Good luck to you!!!
March 20, 2012 - 11:55amThis Comment
lizziebug, I too have started having hair loss due to high testosterone and was wondering since its been a while since your last post, how that's going. They put me on propecia to stop the dht from the testosterone so I hope it helps. Can you let me know how your doing?
October 28, 2011 - 7:50amThis Comment
lizziebug I feel your pain. I received my second pellet last month and told the doctor I was concerned that I was losing hair. She said that was probably from low thyroid and increased my dose. I asked her if too much testosterone would cause that and she said no. I now find out from reading this blog that it can. I hope I don't lose any more hair because that scares me. She also has me on Progesterone and I noticed several of you only take it so many days. She said never to stop taking it or I will get an ovary infection. I'm so confused.
October 6, 2011 - 10:45amThis Comment
Lizziebug - this is the "anonymous'/Seniorsrock person who, if you read all the post, had a severe reaction to the testosterone pellets. One of my issues was hair loss. We lose more hair as we age anyway, but when I was amped on too much T, every morning I'd find hair in the shower drain. Also, hair sprouted on my upper lip like weeds. I think now that I've been off the homones for over a year that some of the hair has grown back, but I stil think I have less hair than before I started the hormones. I'd considered just doing estrogen pellets following my hysterectomy last December, but am concerned about ovarian cancer since my ovaries couldn't be completely removed due to adhesions from a ruptured appendix years ago. However, since my overall hormone replacement experience was pretty crappy, it's probably for the best. My suggestion to you is much less testosterone to diminish hair loss.
August 7, 2011 - 7:06amThis Comment
anonymous and lizzybug: same thing occurred with me. After 2nd insertion. @ weeks later, my hair loss became so evident. I really liked the pellets and the way my hot flashes and insomnia dissapaited. BUT, the hair loss can not live with! My T was arouond 190. Dr said that was fine. FINE!!! not for me. she kind of blew that off and wanted to still give me a little more T. No way. At 2 @nd insert- she gave me 137 of the T which i assume was too much for me and turned into DHT. Now using Estogel with the Promentrium. Miss the T, but miss my hair more. Hopefully it will grow back. Thinning slowed down, BUT not all the way. So upset over this
January 14, 2012 - 2:52pmThis Comment