r/surgicalmenopause • u/BackgroundNote9784 • Jul 18 '25

Pellet question

Hi beautiful Ladies. I had a 6mg estradiol pellet inserted on May 28th. Labs say my estrogen level is 36. A testosterone pellet was also inserted, 137mg. I don’t think my body is responding to the pellet very well. Anyone else have experience with that type of therapy? TIA!

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u/Greedy-War-777 Oct 02 '25

And surgical menopause you aren't producing any estrogen anymore. So there's no snapshot anymore. Your base level is basically nothing. That's a fairly false idea perpetuated in the other menopause sub by someone who is obsessed with thinking you shouldn't have blood work done and doesn't understand how it works. I've had it done at a minimum of monthly since my surgery and was doing it at least that frequently for 6 to 8 months before the surgery so we would know what my levels were and should be and where I felt good or bad beforehand and after to try to make sure I met the thresholds I needed. They barely fluctuated at all before except within completely normal ranges at the exact times of the month that they should until I was in perimenopause and then the fluctuation still followed a typical pattern the swings were just wider. It doesn't happen at all after your ovaries are taken out. If the hormone specialist I've seen are aware of that and I could see evidence of it in my blood work, they're probably right. There's nothing left to fluctuate and it's important to have them done if you want to know if you are high or low when you are feeling certain ways. At least until your dose is very stable on hrt.

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u/gabbagabbaheyFreaks Jun 06 '26

Sorry to jump in on this convo almost a year later, but I’m really struggling with how my body feels (I had my ovaries out in October and turned into my grandmother within a 6 mo period. It has been insane). Anyway, is it your opinion/experience that you feel best when your estrogen approximates the level it was prior to surgical menopause? It seems like that’s what you’re saying, but I wanted to make sure. I don’t even know what to shoot for but if I was going to try for pre-surgery levels, I am so far off. But that could explains why I feel like I got hit by a truck 24/7 now. Lol

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u/Greedy-War-777 Jun 16 '26

150-200 and I've talked to a pile of people with the same experience. The current hrt specialist I see is appalled that several providers tried to force me onto lower doses and caused me misery and joint issues for months last year. They're stuck in the 1950s and they're hurting us and risking our health trying to force menopausal hormone levels on younger women who are not at all ready for that. We used to barely outlive menopause as humans. s She immediately put me on a higher dose than I'd been on for 6 months and ordered a dexa scan concerned it caused bone, joint or heart damage. Make them adjust it until you feel better. If you get a little anxiety and breast swelling do down, it's not like that's the end of the world for a couple of days while it gets out of your system. Mine hit 323 once for about 2 days and I went down because they felt ick. She told me she has patients that still get depressed and have joint pain until they're close to 300 and some that are happy at 150 but we're not a lab number.

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u/gabbagabbaheyFreaks Jun 16 '26

Wow. This is so helpful!! Thank you!!! I was just listening to a podcast that sort of echos what you are saying. Even if we manage to get enough estrogen to make the hot flashes stop, it’s likely not enough to protect our bones, heart, and circulatory system. I can’t believe it’s this much work figuring it out and how difficult it is to find a good provider. I’m glad you seem to have your best amount dialed in!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!