It's estimated that 70% of women approaching menopause suffer from physical and emotional changes that can make life unpleasant and even unbearable.
"I didn't want to go through that so I decided to start on hormone therapy in my late 40s," said Gloria Rodriguez.
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Rodriguez recently switched to using topical bio-identical hormones to getting injections of pellets containing hormones.
"The goals are the same in both men and women,just basically take our hormone levels back to when we were younger and felt well and that's how we make everybody feel well" said Dr. Mitchell Matez, an anti-aging specialist with Sanctuary Medical in Boca Raton, Florida.
Compared to conventional topical or oral therapies, Matez said the pellets offer more even dosing.
"The pellets are designed to dissolve at a steady rate based on your blood flow and metabolic rate," said Matez.
Endocrinolgoist Dr. Fidel Henriquez said just the opposite is true. He said the pellets actually create an initial spike in hormone levels.
"What concerns me is the super-phsyiological dose you would get with a pellet which is multiple times what you would normally see in a human being," he said. "Initially when they are that high there can be problems."
Henriquez said complications with male testosterone hormone pellets can include blood clots in the lungs and legs, enlargement of the prostate gland as well as elevation of female hormones.
Henriquez said no hormone pellets are approved for post-menopausal women.
"The FDA has not found pellet therapy to be safe or effective in women," he said.
Rodriguez remains undeterred.
"There are concerns but for myself I don't want to stop," she said.
She believes the benefits outweigh the risks.
"I noticed I was more balanced, less depression, less moods, sleeping well, more strength. I feel totally rejuvenated," she said.
Because it is not FDA approved, female hormone pellet therapy is considered experimental and is not covered by insurance.
Just one form of male hormone pellet therapy is FDA approved but only for a small subset of men with specific medical conditions.