[quote]JLWilson wrote:
I think some guys like pellets because of convenience and less peaks and valleys. Even on weekly injections, you are subjecting yourself to somewhat of a peak and valley 52x a year. [/quote]
why would you compare pellets cycles to the known bad rollcoaster swings of weekly injections?
Why would you not compare pellets to shots E3D or EOD since that is best practice?
I had researched pellets and wanted to try them but the doctor I was seeing wouldnāt and I got on shots instead (thankfully).
Why go through a medical procedure and spend $$$ when you can take a simple shot EOD that gives you steady T levels? (shots are not painful if you do them correctly).[/quote]
Some of us consider shots to be inconvenient, do fine with gels and pellets, have health insurance, and go to doctors who havenāt prescribed injections for over a decade.
It is a good thing that there are so many options to fit different preferences - and they are all viable for certain people depending on their genetic makeup, but I would ask how do you know that shots are so inconvenient since you have never been on them vs pellets which you have also never been on?
If I am remembering correctly you have also championed T-gel (since you have been on that for over eight year with no issues) and never needing Arimidex or HCG (kind of discouraging other from looking at those as possible options). Why the new interest in pellets?
Because some people may not want to inject EOD to produce stable levels of T. Your doctor wouldve been foolish to start you on pellets, especially if you had an allergic reaction or had hyper-responded.
Even compared to EOD, my main point was that pellets should be for veterans who prefer convenience. I could compare them to EOD but that would just further prove my point that pellets provide the same stable levels with less injections into your quad and less of a hassle. The majority of people Iāve talked to are on a 100-150 mg of T-cyp 1x weekly protocol so that is why I used 1x weekly.
I donāt know that younger guys should be on them either since active lifestyles can increase extrusions.
Also, you canāt micromanage your TRT on pellets. You are at your doctorās mercy.
As far as cost, insurance does cover Testopel. A least my BC/BS does according to their website. It should at the least cover the cost of the doctor visit.
In conclusion-if done correctly, pellets can provide a more convenient and perhaps equally effective mode of TRT.
Idk how this got turned into an injections vs. Pellets thread bc both are great methods of TRT.
It is a good thing that there are so many options to fit different preferences - and they are all viable for certain people depending on their genetic makeup, but I would ask how do you know that shots are so inconvenient since you have never been on them vs pellets which you have also never been on?
If I am remembering correctly you have also championed T-gel (since you have been on that for over eight year with no issues) and never needing Arimidex or HCG (kind of discouraging other from looking at those as possible options). Why the new interest in pellets?[/quote]
Injecting every other day is far more inconvenient for me than rubbing on gel. Iām not scared of needles, but I donāt see why most people would take injecting themselves 3 to 4 times per week over rubbing on something that absorbs into the skin like hand sanitizer in less than a minute.
I also take the advice of my doc, who did away with prescribing injections a long time ago because of the cons of using them.
I never needed Arimidex. When I first saw my doc, he put me on clomid for a few months. I used HALF A TAB and that caused my T to go from 240 to 790 ng/dl - a tripling of T with HALF A TAB.
He doesnāt like using clomid for more than half a year at a time, so Iāve been on the gel ever since.
I didnāt champion the use of gel. I simply follow my docās orders and communicate how I feel with him.
MOST top urologists/andrologists donāt prescribe injections anymore, at least not the top ones I know of in the NYC and LI metropolitan areas, and we have some of the best docs in the world here.
[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
Anyone have any experience with Testopel?
KS, do you know anything about it? Pros, cons? [/quote]
Why donāt you ask your doctor? I heard all you get on here is āBro scienceā[/quote]
He mentioned it briefly during my last visit before I was leaving.
I asked about othersā experience. [/quote]
Youāve been all over this forum telling people not to listen to people on th internet, now itās āKS, do you know anything about it?ā
Many are injecting hCG as well as T. For those who should inject hCG, if they understood, they should be injecting hCG when using pellets. Then it seems stupid to inject hCG and not inject T to avoid injections.
The 3-4 month slump in T levels is a significant issue that will affect mood and libido.
With T levels changing over time, one cannot fine tune anastrozole doses to carefully manage E2 levels. As a result, E2 management with anastrozole many not work well. Long term drift in T:E2 ratios will affect mood and libido.
As long as hCG needs to be injected, the alternative delivery systems, transdermals and pellets, do not seem to have any justification for existence. In my mind, these products are expensive simply to be expensive and these products are forced into the medical care environment to make huge profits. If you take insurance coverage off of the table, few would pay for these products out of pocket. This then makes these products then look like schemes to make money specifically from insurance plans. I ethically disagree with the notion that one can use these very expensive products/procedures because insurance will pay. This attitude is part of the cost crisis we have with health care. Doctors do not help in this regard at all.
The baseline is T+IA+hCG. Pellets make AI problematic and injecting hCG makes pellets serve no purpose at all.
Pellets still carry the risk of deep seated infections and can hurt past the āhealingā time.
[quote]JLWilson wrote:
I think your doctor is full of shit. [/quote]
Iāll tell him that when I see him for my next visit this Friday.
Apparently he came to be full of shit after treating thousands of patients medicinally and surgically and lecturing at first rate medical schools and for major academic societies (see here: http://www.impotencespecialists.com/dbfls/cvs/mellinger.htm) and conducting his own peer-reviewed research (see here: PubMed).
Oh and p.s. My doctor teaches at a highly esteemed teaching hospital, has written books on hormones, has been asked for input on age related declines in testosterone by national mainstream media , and is considered by many as an āexpertā in testosterone replacement by his academics yet he had never heard of HcG being used in males. He was full of academic shit.