Estrogen, Muscle Strength, Coordination, & Ouch!

[Guest Paradox]

My blood chemistry has been estrogen based for about a year now, but it seems like a lot of things are just now accelerating upon my consciousness.

The last few weeks of outside work has convinced me that my new body doesn't take as much abuse to damage now. Moreover, I now feel damage in a different way and there is an emotional context involving wondering if the damage will leave a scar. Two days ago, I was putting up fiber cement siding on the side of my house. I've been doing wall sections every so often for over a year in an extended house renovation DIY style. After putting up a plank, you pull the L-shaped metal support guide from under the tight plank. Last year it was quite easy. Now it seems I am weaker and my body has not yet completed a new muscle memory map to match my current strength, flexibility, and body structure angles. Long story short, the metal guide was much harder to remove and when it did come loose my hand flew back causing the guide to strike me on the cheek like brass knuckles.

I've said before that all things used to bounce off of me; now it seems that I bounce off of all things! When I recovered enough to check myself, I had a swollen scrape on my right cheek. Looking in the mirror, "will I have a scar...." goes through my mind. How odd.

Maybe this has been discussed many times and I just am too new to know, but I thought I would talk about it since it is still very new to me and each morning now my mind seems to slide a little farther into the female realm. The body changes shape, size, flexibility, thought patterns, and former coordination and or balance cannot be trusted for a period of time.

Does this make sense or strike a chord in anyone. Am I just being blonde? Will I have a scar on my cheek?.......

[VickySGV]

If you are not diabetic and slow healing, the E will have little effect on scarring as I learned from raising two daughters who are very much cis gendered female but were as likely to get bunged up as their brother. E just puts us back to our teen years. Bumps and scrapes such as you describe will follow your prior pattern although age creeps in there too after a bit. If you broke skin, take the normal first aid procedures to clean the area and put a sterile bandage on it.

On the mechanical strength issue, I have had to relearn some of my tool use too, and where in the past, brute force came from my muscles, now it comes from using heavier tools that improve my impact with their weight. The old rule "Never force a small tool!!" really fits these days, so instead of using a small tool, I get the biggest one that I can and really clobbers the situation. (Evil Grin!!)

[Guest Paradox]

Thank you for that tip about bigger tools. I will take your advice this morning and use a long pry bar instead of the hammer. I have noticed that I am starting to think more about how to do something and I have more patience.

My skin seems about 50% thinner so I was not sure if the rules had changed. I thought there might be something that I now had to do differently about skin care. I'm a believer in facing reality, good or bad, so I appreciate your knowledge.

[Guest Paradox]

Owwweeee! I smashed my thumb with that bigger hammer!

[Guest Paradox]

Ok Vicky,

I figured out my problem with the hammer. I hit like a girl!

[VickySGV]

Thats been me and baseballs for 50 years, I NEVER could throw them like a male! Sorry about the masheee.

[Guest Paradox]

Last year I used a nail gun to do the work, but this year it is too HEAVY, so that is why I was hammering, but now I have found how to do the siding by drilling a small hole and using a screw. It seems to hold tighter too. Managing flexible 12 inch wide 16 foot long planks that weigh 30 pounds and doing so by yourself is a challenge! Fortunately female ingenuity seems up to many tasks!

[Guest KimberlyF]

You should always do siding w/screws. Or deck work. Or most things. Anything with a lot o vibration is subject to nail pop.

Don't look at it as getting weaker. Look at it as working smarter. Speed and strength don't always equal the best job.

[VickySGV]

For holding something long like that, I make "mama's helpers" with simply some 1"x 2"x 8' furring strips and small C clamps.

Put the 2x end on the ground against wall measure the distance from ground to wall position of the plank, C clamp the bottom edge of the plank so it will be in place on the wall, and tip the plank into position.

The 2x/clamp combo holds the plank in place for assault with screws to mount it. Go from center to the ends, and take off the C clamps when they get in the way!!

Working smarter, like Kim said.

[Guest Paradox]

I picked up some Malco fiber cement guides for lap siding. They hold the plank in place while I attack it to the wall. I used the clamps before with some success (these are only as good as the user).