Post #15

Does delivery method make a difference?

The Chaos Report · Filed Under: Normal Operations Suspended

What the fuck is this nonsense?! It isn’t rocket science, so why is it so hard for me to get a consistent and regular flow of hormones into my body? Why do I have to battle with this petulant, self sabotaging halfwit body of mine? It’s like trying to make a kid eat vegetables, they know they’re good for them, yet they kick up a MASSIVE stink and fuck things up at any opportunity. MY BODY, meet patch, pill or gel.

How the fuck do you do?

Well, not great. These guys don’t even want to get on. Instant dislike, immediate war. BUT WHY? So, in my experience this isn’t just my body being temperamental, well it is but it’s got good reason. 1. I still make hormones, not much but enough to wreak havoc on how I feel physically and emotionally. 2. Any extra hormones my body gets from HRT it clamps onto like a newborn on a nipple, that thing's NOT FUCKING LETTING GO FOR ANYTHING! So now this is my opinion only, the body bonds with the medication intimately. More clingy than a date after a one night stand. Whether we go full on bunny boiler is an individual choice.

The bond is actually a pharmacological one, and I find whatever I started with, was what my body keeps on wanting. So if I change patch type/brand. My body goes nuts, anxiety hits the stratosphere and all the symptoms kept at bay come back worse (and ANGRIER). If I go from patch to pill, the same thing happens. I’m talking Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (maybe he was actually a female and this well-loved tale was a metaphor for menopause). So far having switched to gel from the patch, we shall see if the theory is correct.

So delivery method and application make a big fucking difference (to me anyway) and don’t let some lazy pharmacist tell you otherwise. Why is this you ask? (The application, not the lazy pharmacist). There are several reasons. Differences exist between manufacturers, there isn’t any standardization across the industry. The ratio of extra ingredients differ, such as adhesive types and amounts for getting patches to stick on for example. That affects rates of absorption. Thickness of skin (varies throughout the body), where the patch is applied has an impact too. So from belly, to thigh to ass cheeks or flanks. The buttocks tend to be fattier than the abdomen and have higher rates of blood flow and carry the hormones away in the blood more effectively. How clean the skin is or if there are folds and friction matters also.

But that’s not pills, why did my body freak out when I changed to pills? Simple answer because the conversion rate from how much active hormone I was getting from the patch was different to what I was getting from the pill. Now this one I lay squarely at the endocrinologist’s feet. He did the conversion or so he says. And like I say, I’m a MYSTIC not a MEDIC. So you need to be advising me, not the other way round! He later admitted (I know fucking miraculous!) that it was an unfortunate event. YEAH WELL wanting to hurl myself off a building for no reason wasn’t unfortunate it was almost FUCKING FATAL! Anyway we’re still working things out, but the gist is you just don’t know how your body will react with changes, so be aware they might happen and be ready to go back to an old method if they do. THEN STALK THE FUCKING SHIT out of your doctor like I did until he was the one looking for the nearest balcony for a spot of flying, a la carte! Who says being a Crone can’t sometimes have its perks? (DISCLAIMER: OK I do not ACTUALLY suggest you do this. No knuckle-dragging doc is worth it).

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