Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

MtF HRT Woes


rainflower

Recommended Posts

I'm a bit frustrated with my HRT regimen. I'm on a higher dose of estradiol pill just to get into the ~120 range for estradiol (and sometimes it would dip into the 90's). My T is fine, it is always lower than 30. I was struggling with some side effects that I thought might be HRT related. So, about a month ago I halved my spiro dose, lowered the estradiol by a small amount, and added ______ prometrium at night. After about three weeks I wasn't feeling very good, so I upped my estradiol again, then started feeling better. I had labs today and my E was only 59 :( What the heck happened?? I feel like it is so hard for me to get into that 100-200 range. At one point a while ago I just wanted to give up. Has anyone else had an experience like this? I just don't know what to do...

Edited by Carolyn Marie
Redacted dosage information, per Community Rules
Link to comment
  • Admin

Each of us is different, and worrying about your levels, and more dangerously changing them without consulting your doctor is not going to help you as most of us have found out.  It takes 3 to 6 months for the hormones to start working, and once working it takes time for the body to put them to use as they would have if you had had a female puberty which in my Cis daughters ran from age 11 in one to age 25, and age 9 to 22 in my other one.  It takes time for your body to learn to use the new hormones, they are not new gas in an old car.  I have always been on a dose most of my friends thought would be ineffective, but my development and change kept pace with their sky high stuff and I am happy as can be today.  You will develop faster by letting the 'mones do their thing when you aren't looking.  (Sort of like the old "A watched pot never boils saying. I have been on hormones for close to 12 years now FYI.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

Seconded. My Endo tells me to follow a pill regimen and as far as I'm concerned that is direct from the lips of the Goddess to my ears. Though my endo said about two months for a dosage change to take effect. If there's a problem of any kind, make sure that your endo knows about it and follow their advice. That's what you pay them for after all.

 

Personally, my dose is pretty typical. It's not fast by any means, but it's getting me to where I want to be and I feel fantastic. So yeah, communication. Tell your endo about any problems you're having when they arise and then follow their instructions. They are there to look out for you.

 

Hugs!

Link to comment

Talk to your endo and if you can deal with needles, ask to switch to injectable form. Injections are highly effective and as a side bonus you might be able to forgo spiro. 

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

Please do listen to your doctor.  As several folks have already said puberty takes time.  That time also varies between people.  Trying to speed up the process is certainly understandable.  I know i was tempted to push just like a child who wants to grow up so they can do the "fun" stuff.   Pushing the process is often what causes the dangers HRT can cause.  

This site exists in part because of the terrible side effects others had experienced.  Slow down and enjoy the journey.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator
3 hours ago, Charlize said:

Please do listen to your doctor.  As several folks have already said puberty takes time.  That time also varies between people.  

I struggled to get higher numbers but I saw changes so follow your doctors instructions and trust your body will respond. 

Link to comment

Thanks for the replies. I think there is a misunderstanding. I'm not trying to megadose or rush things. I'm just trying to get into the WPATH recommended range of 100-200 pg/ml Estradiol. I'm worried about being at far less than the minimum, which is 100 (and my labs yesterday showed a 59, which strangely is even lower than my first 90 days on hrt with a low dose of Estradiol, I was at almost 70). All the changes I've made have been in communication with my endocrinologist. I was trying to mitigate side effects, which I'm not sure are caused by the HRT now (my endocrinologist didn't think they were, I think he is frustrated with me wanted to change things). Maybe I should just drop the progesterone and go back to my original spiro dose, which was higher. I was getting good results (not really breast wise tho), but I kept reading things online and all the mass conflicting info about hrt really messed me up.

Link to comment

Also it doesn't help that there is some scary info out there, like basically if you do your HRT wrong you can mess up your breast growth.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator
1 hour ago, AwesomeClaire said:

my labs yesterday showed a 59, which strangely is even lower than my first 90 days on hrt with a low dose of Estradiol, I was at almost 70

I was worried too when I first started. It does take time. Vicky mentioned it takes 3-6 months to get your levels to where your endo wants them. It took me a little over 6 months before it got there and because of dosage adjustments and changes in method of ingestion/absorption, it took even longer to stabilize.

 

Susan R?

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator
1 hour ago, AwesomeClaire said:

Maybe I should just drop the progesterone and go back to my original spiro dose, which was higher.

 

My endo has said to me that progesterone isn't for everybody. I'm getting good results with it, but two other patients stopped taking it on the same day I asked. She specifically said she doesn't prescribe it unless somebody asks for it because the results are so varied.

 

1 hour ago, AwesomeClaire said:

Also it doesn't help that there is some scary info out there, like basically if you do your HRT wrong you can mess up your breast growth.

 

I've read that too, which can be maddening because breast growth can be so gradual, especially in older gals. I think we're all hoping we're that one girl from school who came back from summer vacation with D cups. You need to remember that it was maybe one or two girls who got that early visit from the breast fairy. The rest of us have to wait. I keep reminding myself that I was a late bloomer the first time around. There's no reason to expect that I'd be any faster for second puberty.

 

Work on your trans-girl zen. "All things in good time. Nature will come to me when she is ready. This is fine. I am at peace."

 

Then after 3-5 years, get breast augmentation if you're still not happy. Implants exist for a reason.

 

Hugs!

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator
1 hour ago, AwesomeClaire said:

Thanks, I will try to be more patient. What good results have you got with it?

 

The waters of my femininity have grown deeper. The mental effects have been subtle, but profound. Breast growth has continued and I feel fantastic. It's hard to describe but it increases my feelings of being "right." I love it lots.

 

An intersex friend of mine describes it (she gets a progesterone shot every couple of months to stimulate menses) as making her feel more like a girl for a couple of weeks.

 

But like I said, others have described it as being "too intense" so mileage varies wildly. It works for me. My friend needs it to reduce the risk of uterine cancer. Other people don't care for it at all.

 

Hugs!

Link to comment

Hm, ok. I'm not sure how I feel on it yet. I think I feel less feminine on it actually. But then, I never had a lot of the effects many others talk about from HRT in general, such as the emotional changes, feeling things deeper, intense orgasms, etc. I feel like HRT just made me look a little more like a girl and made a me a little more moody.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

The changes can be subtle, but they deepen with time. I mean puberty takes years and some of us take to it faster than others. I mean with round one, I didn't start to fill out until my 20s. Heck, my voice didn't start to change until I was fifteen and that was while I was taking massive doses of steroids (and they were massive, like unsafe for human consumption massive) for my autoimmune problems.

 

Give it a minute. Your endo will eventually work out a dosage plan that works for you. We're all a little different so there's some hit and miss with dosing. That's one of the reasons we have our rule about not putting the dosages of our medication in posts. What works for you might give me liver damage while what works for me might not work for you at all.

 

Hugs!

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   5 Members, 0 Anonymous, 114 Guests (See full list)

    • KathyLauren
    • Miss Cormac
    • Maddee
    • Susie
    • Willow
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.5k
    • Total Posts
      767.2k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      11,944
    • Most Online
      8,356

    Melissa_J
    Newest Member
    Melissa_J
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. Amyjay
      Amyjay
      (58 years old)
    2. bettyjean
      bettyjean
    3. Breanna
      Breanna
      (52 years old)
    4. Emily Ayla
      Emily Ayla
    5. JET182
      JET182
  • Posts

    • Willow
      Good Friday Morning    I will be spending a good portion of my day at church today.  I don’t know how any of my family would have been with me.  They all passed before I figured myself out.  I often think my mother and sister may have figured it out before I did but maybe it was just my depression that they saw.  I don’t know and never will.  My grandfather Young unconditionally loved me but he passed when I was 9.   Same with my wife’s parents, both gone before.  We’ve never had the greatest relationship with my wife’s brother but we do see them occasionally.  They words and actions aren’t always in sink when it comes to me.   Sour kraut or boil cabbage were never big even with my parents so that was something we were never expected to eat.  Nor was anything with mustard.  My mother hated mustard and it turns my stomach. My wife tried to sneak it into things early in our marriage but I could always tell.  She stopped after a while.   well I wave to go get ready to go to church.  I have a committee meeting at 10 and then we have a Good Friday Service at noon.   Willow
    • Mmindy
      Good morning everyone,   @KymmieLI hope you're misreading your bosses communications. As you say keep plugging a long. Don't give them signs that you're slow quitting, just to collect unemployment.   I have a few things to do business wise, and will be driving to the St. Louis, MO area for two family gatherings.   Have a great day,   Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋
    • KymmieL
      Good morning everyone, TGIFF   It seems like I am the one keeping or shop from being the best. According to the boss. I don't know if my days are numbered or not. But anymore I am waiting for the axe to fall. Time will tell.   I keep plugging a long.   Kymmie
    • KymmieL
      In the warmer weather, Mine is hitting the road on the bike. Just me, the bike, and the road. Other is it music or working on one of my many projects.   Kymmie
    • LC
      That is wonderful. Congratulations!
    • Heather Shay
      What is relaxation to you? Nature? Movie? Reading? Cuddling with a pet? Music?
    • Heather Shay
    • Heather Shay
      Having just a normal emotional day.
    • Heather Shay
      AMUSEMENT The feeling when you encounter something silly, ironic, witty, or absurd, which makes you laugh. You have the urge to be playful and share the joke with others. Similar words: Mirth Amusement is the emotional reaction to humor. This can be something that is intended to be humorous, like when someone tells a good joke or when a friend dresses up in a ridiculous costume. But it can also be something that you find funny that was not intended to be humorous, like when you read a sign with a spelling error that turns it into an ironic pun. For millennia, philosophers and scholars have been attempting to explain what exactly it is that makes something funny. This has led to several different theories. Nowadays, the most widely accepted one is the Incongruity Theory, which states that something is amusing if it violates our standards of how things are supposed to be. For example, Charlie Chaplin-style slapstick is funny because it violates our norms of competence and proper conduct, while Monty Python-style absurdity is funny because it violates reason and logic. However, not every standard or norm violation is necessarily funny. Violations can also evoke confusion, indignation, or shock. An important condition for amusement is that there is a certain psychological distance to the violation. One of the ways to achieve this is captured by the statement ‘comedy is tragedy plus time’. A dreadful mistake today may become a funny story a year from now. But it can also be distant in other ways, for instance, because it happened to someone you do not know, or because it happens in fiction instead of in real life. Amusement also needs a safe and relaxed environment: people who are relaxed and among friends are much more likely to feel amused by something. A violation and sufficient psychological distance are the basic ingredients for amusement, but what any one person find funny will depend on their taste and sense of humor. There are dozens of ‘humor genres’, such as observational comedy, deadpan, toilet humor, and black comedy. Amusement is contagious: in groups, people are more prone to be amused and express their amusement more overtly. People are more likely to share amusement when they are with friends or like-minded people. For these reasons, amusement is often considered a social emotion. It encourages people to engage in social interactions and it promotes social bonding. Many people consider amusement to be good for the body and the soul. By the end of the 20th century, humor and laughter were considered important for mental and physical health, even by psychoneuroimmunology researchers who suggested that emotions influenced immunity. This precipitated the ‘humor and health movement’ among health care providers who believed that humor and laughter help speed recovery, including in patients suffering from cancer1). However, the evidence for health benefits of humor and laughter is less conclusive than commonly believed2. Amusement is a frequent target of regulation: we down-regulate it by shifting our attention to avoid inappropriate laughter, or up-regulate it by focusing on a humorous aspect of a negative situation. Interestingly, amusement that is purposefully up-regulated has been found to have the same beneficial physical and psychological effects as the naturally experienced emotion. Amusement has a few clear expressions that emerge depending on the intensity of the emotion. When people are mildly amused, they tend to smile or chuckle. When amusement intensifies, people laugh out loud and tilt or bob their head. The most extreme bouts of amusement may be accompanied by uncontrollable laughter, tears, and rolling on the floor. Most cultures welcome and endorse amusement. Many people even consider a ‘good sense of humor’ as one of the most desirable characteristics in a partner. At the same time, most cultures have (implicit) rules about what is the right time and place for amusement. For example, displays of amusement may be deemed inappropriate in situations that demand seriousness or solemness, such as at work or during religious rituals.
    • Heather Shay
    • Heather Shay
    • Heather Shay
    • April Marie
      Good morning, everyone!!! Two cups of coffee in the books and I am just feeling so wonderful this morning. Not sure why, but I'm happy and smiling.   Enjoy this beautiful day!!!
    • Heather Shay
      A U.S. dollar bill can be folded approximately 4,000 times in the same place before it will tear. -You cannot snore and dream at the same time. -The average person walks the equivalent of three times around the world in a lifetime. -A hippo’s wide open mouth is big enough to fit a 4-foot-tall child in. -Chewing gum while you cut an onion will help keep you from crying.
    • Susan R
      Love it! This is great news. We need more of this to combat the excessive hate-filled rhetoric and misinformation. 👍
  • Upcoming Events

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...