The content of this podcast is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as,

nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.

This is Karen Nichol, family nurse practitioner in for Ichi and Bicci,

a podcast answering questions about health and health care that you may have, but are afraid to ask.

I thought about doing a podcast today on a red, white, and blue theme for the Fourth of July,

but realized that most medical conditions that cause problems that are red, white, and blue are

pretty gross. So I thought better of that, and I moved on to a different topic. So you are welcome.

So I thought maybe I would talk today about hormone pellets and using pellet form for hormone

replacement. I have many patients and listeners who have asked about the use of hormone pellets

for their replacement and what are the advantages and disadvantages and the safety factors involved

in using pellet form to replace their hormones. So first of all, what hormones are used in pellets?

So bio-identical hormones are used in pellets when we use them for hormone replacement and

bio-identical hormones are hormones that are molecularly identical to the hormones your body

produces when they are producing hormones. And these hormones are plant-derived and for women,

the hormones used in the pellet form are estradiol, which is one of the three estrogen forms we have

in our bodies, and we also use testosterone in women. And typically, progesterone, the third type of

hormone we have in our bodies, women have in our bodies is included, but it's usually used in a

capsule or a cream form. For men, testosterone only is the form of pellet that is used.

And pellets are about the size of a fat grain of rice, and they are inserted under the skin

using a device called a trocar, and it's inserted by a skilled medical professional.

It involves a minor surgical procedure in which an area of skin at the top of the buttocks is

numbed, and a small incision is made, and the trocar is inserted just under the skin,

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