Weekly injections, daily creams, the pill organizer that never quite gets refilled on time. If you've already decided hormone optimization belongs in your care plan, the next question is what kind of delivery actually fits your life.
Hormone pellet therapy at Sante Health is a small, bioidentical pellet placed subcutaneously in a 15–20 minute in-office visit. It releases steady hormone levels for 3 to 6 months, prescribed under medical oversight only when it's the right delivery for your physiology and your panel.
Pellets aren't the answer; they're a delivery option. They tend to fit when daily and weekly dosing has become friction, or when steadier hormone levels would matter more than the precision of a weekly titration.
If most of these resonate, a consultation is the right next step.
You want sustained-release delivery without daily creams or weekly injections
You travel often and would rather not coordinate dosing schedules around flights and time zones
You'd rather consolidate care into two or three in-office visits a year than manage daily admin
A hormone pellet is a small, compounded cylinder of bioidentical hormone, roughly the size of a grain of rice, placed just under the skin (typically in the upper-buttock area) during a brief in-office procedure.
"Bioidentical" means the molecule is structurally identical to the hormone your body produces. For men, pellets are compounded testosterone. For women, pellets are estradiol, testosterone, or an estrogen and testosterone combination, prescribed based on lab values, symptoms, and clinical indication.
Pellets work for adults who already need hormone optimization and want low-maintenance delivery. Candidacy looks slightly different by physiology.
For men: Pellet therapy can fit men on, or considering, testosterone replacement who want an alternative to weekly injections or daily creams. Good candidates typically have a documented diagnosis of low testosterone, a stable response to a known dose, and a lifestyle where consistent self-injection is impractical. Monitoring includes hematocrit, PSA, and estradiol on a schedule aligned with reinsertion. Pellets aren't appropriate for men with a personal history of prostate cancer, untreated obstructive sleep apnea, uncontrolled polycythemia, or active fertility goals without a fertility-preserving plan.
For women: Pellet therapy can fit women in perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause who have already established that hormone therapy is the right intervention and want sustained delivery instead of daily creams or sublinguals. Good candidates typically have a clear clinical indication (vasomotor symptoms, sleep disruption, mood and cognitive changes, low libido) and a panel that supports estrogen, testosterone, or combination dosing. Pellets aren't appropriate for women with a personal history of breast or other hormone-sensitive cancer, active clotting disorders, undiagnosed abnormal uterine bleeding, or pregnancy planning in the near term. These are conversations to have at consultation, not blanket exclusions.
Every Sante program moves through the same five-stage process, the ADORE Framework, adapted to the clinical question in front of you.
A telehealth intake reviews your symptoms, history, medications, and goals. A comprehensive hormone and metabolic panel is ordered to a lab draw site near you, so the prescription is built on your physiology rather than an average.
Results are interpreted in context, not against a generic reference range. We translate the panel into the specific question pellets answer for you: whether sustained-release is the right delivery, what hormone or combination, and at what starting dose.
If pellets are indicated, we schedule the insertion at our Westlake Village office. The procedure takes 15 to 20 minutes under local anesthetic. Dose is calculated based on your panel, body composition, and prior response to therapy if you have one.
A follow-up lab and telehealth review at roughly 6 weeks confirms levels are tracking where they should. Subsequent reinsertions land in a 3 to 6 month window depending on how your body metabolizes the pellet, with maintenance labs aligned to that cadence.
You leave with a predictable schedule, clear data on how your body is responding, and the reasoning behind every dose decision. Most patients run on labs once and an insertion two or three times a year, instead of daily or weekly dosing logistics.
Insertions happen at our Westlake Village office. Consultations, results review, and follow-up visits are conducted via secure telehealth across California, and labs are drawn at a convenient local site between visits.
Ready to get started? Call 805-370-0000 or Book Pellet Therapy Consultation →
Hormone Optimization at Sante is led by Lovelle Valencia, a board-certified Nurse Practitioner (NP, FNP, PMHNP) with specialized training in functional medicine (IFM), metabolic health (A4M), and psychiatric mental health.
Pellet therapy sits at the intersection of three things this practice is built around: a full hormone and metabolic panel before any prescription, a procedural delivery performed by the same clinician who interprets your data, and a follow-up cadence calibrated to how your body actually metabolizes the dose. Insertions, dosing decisions, and lab interpretation are handled by Lovelle directly. Pellets are recommended only when they're the right shape of care for the patient in front of her, not as the default.
Professional affiliations: AANP, ANCC, A4M, IFM.
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Sante Health is a cash-pay practice. Pellet therapy is priced per pellet, with the total based on your prescribed dose; we walk through the specifics at your consultation so the cost is clear before you commit.
Superbills can be provided on request for select visit types so you can submit to your insurance carrier for potential out-of-network reimbursement. Accepted payment methods include Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and Zelle.
Pellets tend to fit patients who have already established that hormone therapy is the right intervention and want low-maintenance, sustained delivery. If you travel often, dislike weekly injections or daily creams, or want steadier levels between doses, pellets are worth discussing. The clinical answer comes from your panel, your history, and a consultation.
Most patients are reinserted on a 3 to 6 month cadence. The exact interval depends on physiology, dose, and how quickly your body metabolizes the pellet. Follow-up labs at roughly 6 weeks after the first insertion confirm levels, and subsequent reinsertions are scheduled based on the pattern your body shows.
The visit takes 15 to 20 minutes. The insertion site, typically upper-buttock, is cleaned and numbed with a local anesthetic. A small incision is made, the pellet is placed just under the skin, and the site is closed with a dissolvable adhesive. Most patients return to normal activity the same day, with brief restrictions on heavy lifting and submersion.
Yes. For men, pellets contain compounded testosterone, typically prescribed for documented low testosterone. For women, pellets contain estradiol, testosterone, or a combination, prescribed based on the clinical pattern (perimenopausal, menopausal, post-menopausal). Dosing, monitoring, and candidacy criteria differ by physiology, so the consultation is tailored.
Pellet therapy is priced per pellet, and the total depends on your prescribed dose. Pricing is reviewed transparently at your consultation, before any insertion is scheduled, so you know the cost up front. Sante is cash-pay; superbills are available on request for potential out-of-network reimbursement.
Risks include site infection, pellet extrusion, bruising, and the standard hormone-related risks of testosterone (elevated hematocrit, PSA changes, estradiol shifts) or estrogen and combination therapy (clotting risk, breast or uterine considerations). We screen for contraindications, monitor labs on a schedule aligned with reinsertion, and titrate dose based on data and symptoms.
Often, yes. Patients who have established a stable dose on injections or topicals are frequently good candidates for pellets, because we already know how their body responds. The transition involves timing your last injection or topical application around the pellet insertion and confirming levels at 6-week follow-up. We map this out at consultation.
A considered decision deserves a real conversation, not a questionnaire. Book a consultation to review whether sustained-release pellets are the right delivery for your physiology, your panel, and the way you actually want to manage your care.
This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized guidance.
