I went for my first ‘insertion’ and it went well. I was nervous. The nurse I met with called me back and explained my lab results to me. I believe that she used the description ‘bone dry’ to describe my hormone levels. She explained that I would be getting two pellets, one with estradiol and one with testosterone. I would also take a dissolvable tablet at night before bed, this was progesterone. I am looking forward to the progesterone because she said it would help me sleep. I was then instructed to get up on the exam bed on my side and and pull my pants down a bit, but not all the way off.
The nurse practitioner came in and cleaned off my upper thigh/buttocks area. She talked me through the entire process, she could tell I was a bit nervous. Then she gave me a shot to numb the area, it stung for just a few seconds. She prepared the implant while the area numbed. She asked me if I could feel anything in that area, I did not. She chatted with me while doing the implant. I felt nothing at all, other than her touching me. She also gave me a B12 shot, for energy. I was in shock about my lab results, it made so much sense. What I was so surprised about was that nobody wanted to help me until now. My doctor told me I was ‘normal’, but normal for a woman my age is not what I wanted! I wanted to feel like I did when I did have energy and motivation. I do not want to be 20 years old again, but I don’t want to feel like I want to give up on life either.
When the implant was over, which took all of 3 minutes, she put a bandage on it. She told me to avoid getting it wet for 24 hours and to take the bandage off in a few hours. There were steri-strips on it too, I was not to take those off until around 1 week. She told me that I would feel sore when the numbing medicine wore off, but it shouldn’t be too bad. She also told me to expect a bruise in that area that should resolve in about a week. I didn’t bruise at all. I was sore the next day, like I had bruise though. After the soreness subsided, I was fine. The steri-strips started to roll off on their own after about 5 days, I removed them after day 6. So now, I wait. I wait for the levels to slowly come back up after being in the tank for so long.
I have a follow up in a few weeks for more lab work and a re-evaluation of my symptoms. She explained that at my first follow up I may not feel anything yet, depending on how my body distributed the hormones. She said it could take a couple of implants to get a lot of relief. I will be patient and keep a journal of my symptom changes. I am going to start a new diet and exercise plan in conjunction with my treatment. One thing I have learned in all of this is that I have to take care of myself, I am aging there is no stopping that. I just can’t take my youth and health for granted anymore. To be continued!
