Podcast
Estrogen Delivery Methods Explained: Pills, Patches, Injections & Pellets
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How you receive estrogen matters. In this episode, Dr. Brendan McCarthy breaks down the different ways estrogen can be delivered — including oral estrogen, topical/transdermal estrogen, injections, and pellets — and explains why the route of delivery can change how the hormone behaves in your body. He discusses first-pass metabolism, estrone conversion, transdermal delivery, vaginal estrogen, injection esters, pellets, lab monitoring, and why informed consent and ongoing follow-up are essential to hormone replacement therapy. Most importantly, this episode is about understanding your options. You deserve to know what you're taking, how it's being delivered, what it may do, what the risks are, and how your provider plans to monitor you.
This content is for education and is not medical advice. It does not replace an evaluation with a licensed provider, and no one should start, stop or change a medication on its basis.
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