About Transdermals

This page is not an exhaustive resource. For more information, consult the DIY HRT Directory.

How to apply

 Transdermals are best applied to skin which is thinner and more vascular in order to facilitate transfer through skin and into the bloodstream. The ideal places to apply transdermal medication include:
  • Abdomen
  • Inner thigh
  • In the armpit
  • Onto the scrotum or labia1
  • Onto the breasts and areolae2
  • many more

1 Scrotal and labial application of medication has been shown to result in a 5 to 8-times increase in absorption of medication. However, this varies from person to person, and is highly unpredictable. This makes it useful as a delivery technique for estradiol monotherapy, but also results in variable blood levels. If you are taking transdermal estradiol monotherapy, You should regularly receive blood tests to verify your levels are in a range that you expect.

2Anecdotally(?), application of estradiol to breast tissue can aggravate existing breast cancers, and may increase the risk of developing breast cancer.

Ensure that you prime the pump fully before each application. Cycle the pump several times, until the pump is spraying at full capacity.

How to dose - Estradiol

The short

One spray is about 2mg. Ouppy recommends u apply to the inner thigh or scrotally. Start at 1-2 sprays per day, and titrate upwards or downwards as needed.

Details

Absorption for transdermal estradiol in the form of gel is similar to that of oral consumption of estradiol; however the metabolization is different in terms of estrone (E1).

For those at risk of venous thromboembolisms, transdermal estradiol is recommended by WPATH (p. 113, "Statements of Recomentations" § 12.14) as an alternative to oral dosage.

If you are already taking an oral administration of estradiol, you should be able to take a comparable dosing for a transdermal route. The sprayer that Ouppy uses should dispense about 0.11mL per spray, and the concentration of the solutions is 20mg/mL unless otherwise labelled. As such, one spray is about 2mg. Ouppy recommends u apply to the inner thigh. Start at 1-2 sprays per day, and titrate upwards or downwards as needed.

How to dose - Progesterone

 Progesterone is very hard to dose. In recent studies, oral progesterone is shown to have a very low absorption rate as compared to rectal or injectable consumption, due to the first pass through the intestines and liver. Scrotal administration of transdermal progesterone can be 10-30x more potent than rectal or oral consumption, depending on the person.

Transdermal progesterone as cream is available OTC; however use of scrotal progesterone has never been studied. The sprayer Ouppy uses should dispense about 0.13mL per spray and the concentration of the solutions is 60mg/mL unless otherwise labelled. As such, one spray is about 7.8mg of progesterone. Taking too much of any kind of progesterone can develop a dependence, so Ouppy doesn't recommend exceeding 2 sprays (~13.2mg) at any one time. Ouppy recommends starting with one spray, and adjusting based on how you feel.

If you have any feedback, please contact me! c:

My bottle looks like it has crystals in it (Crashed)... Is that okay?

 Sometimes when solutions have too high of a concentration of pharmaceutical, it will start to "crash" out and results in visible crystals. This can be aggravated by cold weather.

This is pretty benign. If you put the bottle of solution onto something warm, and agitate it a little bit, the solution should re-stabilize for a little while so you can administer the application. If you're really struggling to get it to stabilize you can submerge your container of solution in some hot water or hit it with a hair dryer.