Bleeding After 1 Year On T

[Guest Quinn]

Hullo folks. Things have continued going pretty much pleasantly for me, for the most part, but the past couple of months I got a bit of a surprise.

Brief back story - it took me an unusually long time to stop having my period after starting T regularly. Apparently most guys lose it after a month or two? Mine took at least five. You're actually supposed to see a doctor if that happens, but I'd been moving and things were hectic. I eventually got checked out and was fine. Kay. Whatever, just happened late.

Anyways, I then spent almost six months or so bleeding-free. Then last month, around that old time...I got some bleeding. Not too much, just a light spat for a couple days, but enough to sort of freak me out. See - dosage wise, I'd been on what I was told the "norm" dosage for a while, and then while in LA my doctor actually told me to go ahead and up it. So I'm already on a reasonably good dosage and all, and I've been getting all expected effects from the testosterone. Anyways, I went and saw my doctor around here, who very anticlimatically and without doing anything but some bloodwork told me that sometimes it just happens, and that we should up my dosage. I told her my dosage had already been upped while I was living in CA, before I moved back to MA. The difference in dosage she was recommending was seriously only .05, totally minuscule, but she still held to it and checked nothing else. Nice way to spend $135, eh?

Whatever, so my next shot I did the tiny amount of a higher dosage and thought maybe all would be dandy and eventually cleared up. And now, a month later, I've got my period again. I mean, seriously. Like...relatively heavy blood flow, pain in that area (which I never got before T anyways) and all that jazz. It's like it got worse. I've been on T for basically a year now, on an already higher-than-average dosage, experiencing all the normal effects...but my period has come back, worse than I ever had it when I wasn't on T. I don't get it, and there's such a lack of information about these types of things for me to research. I was just wondering if you guys had any additional thoughts, because I really don't know what to do. I'm already on a highish dose of T - is it really safe to go higher? Is that even really the issue? Gahhhh.

[Guest Raging Shadow]

i would say suck it up and find a gynecologist. trans friendly, obviously. but something sounds wrong. good luck!

[Guest Twist]

Actually, I would try making it lower rather than higher. You say you're already on a pretty high dose, and excess testosterone is apparently converted to estrogen, which could cause you to start bleeding. I've noticed that when I'm a few days late on my shot, I feel like the changes start being more significant, so I'm considering doing slightly less than I was as well. At very least, I don't think that a smaller dose of T will do anything to make things worse.

[Guest Quinn]

i would say suck it up and find a gynecologist. trans friendly, obviously. but something sounds wrong. good luck!

Well, I don't really mind the idea of getting a gynecologist. It's the trans-friendly part that's difficult. I really do want a regular doctor and gynecologist; I'm well acquainted with the fact that I need them. I'm just in the middle of suburbia nowhere. >.< That's one major downside of living in MA versus when we were in Los Angeles; LA had a lot of closer, available, affordable healthcare at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center. They had a whole transgender-aimed segment of their center, and advertised pelvic exams and such for transguys. It was an amazing place. Around where I am? ...well, there's one doctor's office in the town, really. And I tried very hard to explain to my doctor about transsexuality...she had absolutely no idea what it was, kept referring to it as my "sexuality", and had no idea what she was expected to do in regards for healthcare/what to look for/etc. I've searched and there are literally no trans-experienced doctors in my area - the closest are in Boston, over an hour away, at very large and busy hospitals I'd have to schedule a month in advance - and that still couldn't cover me as a "regular" doctor. And would probably be terrifyingly expensive. Even at this one gender center place in Boston, it's mostly aimed for pre-teens in age, and of the doctors listed that I looked up, there was maybe one with actual trans-patient experience. And they weren't accepting new patients. >.>

So! It's really not a matter of me not wanting to go or something - it's that my options out here are slim to none. Most places I try calling tell me there's a waiting list of a month or two in advance for even a routine appointment - even when I've tried stressing that it is a possibly urgent issue. -shrug-

Actually, I would try making it lower rather than higher. You say you're already on a pretty high dose, and excess testosterone is apparently converted to estrogen, which could cause you to start bleeding. I've noticed that when I'm a few days late on my shot, I feel like the changes start being more significant, so I'm considering doing slightly less than I was as well. At very least, I don't think that a smaller dose of T will do anything to make things worse.

I'm glad you brought this up, because I entirely forgot it! I remember this being said in other threads, and I'm thinking it might be worth a try to go back to my original dosage and see what happens, at least.

[KieranD]

Quinn, would you be closer to the Springfield/Northampton area?

[Guest Quinn]

Quinn, would you be closer to the Springfield/Northampton area?

I'm about an hour + away from Northampton. Where I got my prescription and whatnot from is actually in Northampton, because it was open consent. I don't think I can go there anymore, though. My insurance covers some things, but an office visit alone still just cost me $131. The woman I see also gave me bloodwork, not telling me what tests were going to be done...and then I later got a bill that says they did almost $700 worth of blood testing without even asking me, telling me what it was for, or giving me any results. My insurance only covered about half, so I'm still stuck with $330 staring down at me. Way too nuts. xD However, if you know anywhere that isn't Northampton Wellness Associates, I would definitely consider. XD

[KieranD]

I'm about an hour + away from Northampton. Where I got my prescription and whatnot from is actually in Northampton, because it was open consent. I don't think I can go there anymore, though. My insurance covers some things, but an office visit alone still just cost me $131. The woman I see also gave me bloodwork, not telling me what tests were going to be done...and then I later got a bill that says they did almost $700 worth of blood testing without even asking me, telling me what it was for, or giving me any results. My insurance only covered about half, so I'm still stuck with $330 staring down at me. Way too nuts. xD However, if you know anywhere that isn't Northampton Wellness Associates, I would definitely consider. XD

I don't have anything specific in mind. If Boston is closer then go to the Fenway Health Clinic. I think they have everything.