Male lactation

[Fudge6669]

Male lactation, I would like to experience this. Anyone have success inducing.

[MaryEllen]

Interesting topic. I don't think that's ever been discussed here before. Has anyone any experience with male lactation?  This link might shed some light on the subject.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_lactation#:~:text=Human male breastfeeding is possible,not occur under normal conditions.&text=This may be because glands,leading to high hormone levels.

 

MaryEllen

[Fudge6669]

Thank you, interested in this for years. Have tried some natural hey and other herbs

[VickySGV]

Some of the PRESCRIBED drugs for HRT will cause the discharge of Colostrum, which is a fluid produced at the start of actual lactation in Cis females after a child is delivered.  MtF Trans people have actually been able to successfully nurse children with the right combination of HRT drugs that a doctor will tailor to their physical needs.  Progesterone which is a prescription hormone can trigger lactation and we actually have some reports of it here in our archives, but that was in my early years on Forums.

 

Sadly some people have tried this with OTC "hormone vitamins" with harmful effects to themselves.  Please do not use OTC drugs for this purpose.  Petunias and other plants do not make milk for their offspring.  We do not allow discussion of those things in the forums here.

[Kristen Sehr]

I would love to have my breasts lactate! It would be great to have them actually function (even just a tiny bit of colostrum is all I am after), and just in case maybe a wee bit more breast size to them just might be added as well?

 

I am already on HRT and have begun following a regimen of "hand expression lactation" (if interested, please Google that search term for many instructions & examples). Even if it turns out not to work in the end, it is still relaxing and feels really nice to do. 

 

I also don't bother with any OTC stuff. So no issues there.

 

If anybody reading this has any luck with getting some lactation going, please respond. In the meantime I am keeping my fingers crossed that it might eventually work for me. Even if only a little bit... 😉  

[awkward-yet-sweet]

Lactation seems to be very much hormone-related.  I'm AFAB, and even though I never grew breast tissue at all, I dealt with unwanted lactation for years.  To make it worse, I never really figured out a technique to express it myself, and if it wasn't squeezed out then I got mastitis or just really itchy.  So I was stuck with having my sister or my GF press it out every couple of days.  Annoying!  It kind of went away a while back, and I haven't dealt with it at all since the introduction of a mild prescription testosterone cream.

 

My advice is that if you are thinking it might be nice or cool or affirming to deal with lactation...you might want to think longer and more seriously about the possible inconvenience of it. 

[Kristen Sehr]

37 minutes ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

Lactation seems to be very much hormone-related.  I'm AFAB, and even though I never grew breast tissue at all, I dealt with unwanted lactation for years.  To make it worse, I never really figured out a technique to express it myself, and if it wasn't squeezed out then I got mastitis or just really itchy.  So I was stuck with having my sister or my GF press it out every couple of days.  Annoying!  It kind of went away a while back, and I haven't dealt with it at all since the introduction of a mild prescription testosterone cream.

 

My advice is that if you are thinking it might be nice or cool or affirming to deal with lactation...you might want to think longer and more seriously about the possible inconvenience of it. 

 

Your being AFAB I can totally get where you are coming from. With you it was not by choice, and it hurt. And that can make all the difference. I am sorry you went through that.

 

I got lucky with HRT because my breasts got larger than many other MtF's generally do, and I would prefer not to have implants (just want the girls to be natural). I even thought it was great that they achingly hurt when they did (years of that), not that I am into pain at all but pain meant growth (in that specific time & context) and nothing harmful, according to my then-doctor. So I was happy even when they hurt.

 

From a convenience standpoint, I suppose it would be easier to do nothing. But it is not convenience that drives all this, not - I think - for either one of us. Heck, I would even have periods and become pregnant if there was a way. To each their own. In the meantime, I hope using the testosterone cream keeps on working well enough for you.

 

[Birdie]

A friend of mine (AMAB/XXY chromosomes) naturally grew F cup breasts. After a hormone imbalance due to a thyroid issue they started lactation. This person unfortunately had to deal with expressing their milk even at work, and from what I gather it was quite distressing. 

I certainly hope it never happens to me. 

[AllieJ]

I was diagnosed with hypogonadism, and it caused some strange things including genital atrophy and phimosis (almost closing of foreskin causing difficulty in urination), but for a few months, it also caused me to develop some breast tissue, and discharge a clear fluid from my nipples when I put pressure on my breasts, and sometimes for no reason. I had a couple of occasions where people pointed out dampness on my t shirts, and I was embarrassed, explaining it away as sweat. When I started HRT nearly 5 years later, I didn't need antiandrogen, and my breasts developed in a round shape rather than the typical cone shape.

 

A couple of people including one doctor suggested I might be intersex, but I had fathered 2 children so that was unlikely, so I never pursued it.

 

Hugs,

 

Allie

[Birdie]

6 minutes ago, AllieJ said:

couple of people including one doctor suggested I might be intersex

Interesting enough I also have hypogonadism, severe micropenis (less than 1"), breasts since puberty, etc...

I did manage to father 3 children somehow, but my doctors would keep bringing up the possibility of me being intersex because of what things "looked like". I finally pressured my current doctor into investigating. Had my blood drawn for further testing, and an ultrasound. 

The results came back XY but with a genetic deformity called PMDS. I have a working set of rather unusual male genitalia, but also have a uterus and fallopian tubes. Seems my blossoming out in puberty was caused by my own estrogen my internal organs were producing. Now nearing 60, I am also going through hot flashes and night sweats associated with perimenopause, and the doctor is considering low doses of estrogen and progesterone (BC pills) to address those symptoms. 

"In some cases", intersex are able to have children. I won't go into detail as to the process of making it happen. 🙄

 

Birdie 💖

[AllieJ]

13 minutes ago, Birdie said:

Interesting enough I also have hypogonadism, severe micropenis (less than 1"), breasts since puberty, etc...

I did manage to father 3 children somehow, but my doctors would keep bringing up the possibility of me being intersex because of what things "looked like". I finally pressured my current doctor into investigating. Had my blood drawn for further testing, and an ultrasound. 

The results came back XY but with a genetic deformity called PMDS. I have a working set of rather unusual male genitalia, but also have a uterus and fallopian tubes. Seems my blossoming out in puberty was caused by my own estrogen my internal organs were producing. Now nearing 60, I am also going through hot flashes and night sweats associated with perimenopause, and the doctor is considering low doses of estrogen and progesterone (BC pills) to address those symptoms. 

"In some cases", intersex are able to have children. I won't go into detail as to the process of making it happen. 🙄

 

Birdie 💖

 

Thanks Birdie, yes, I know some intersex people can reproduce, but it is not common. Unless there was a medical need, the cost of Karyotyping isn't covered and would cost me lots of$$$'s! I did have a DNA test for genealogy, which came back 'M', but I know it is far more complex that that. A great resource to see jus how complicated this can be is the video Sex and Sensibility, which everyone should watch!! 

Hugs,

 

Allie

 

[awkward-yet-sweet]

5 hours ago, Birdie said:

"In some cases", intersex are able to have children. I won't go into detail as to the process of making it happen. 🙄

I tried to get pregnant for a year before giving up.  The doctor who finally figured out my intersex anatomy told me that my hormones are different enough that the eggs don't mature at all.  And since my internal arrangement is different, complications would be very likely.  Outside I look like relatively female and I'm a normal XX with all the right chromosomes, so they were a bit surprised.  

 

It was likely my same unique hormone mix that caused the lactation.  At one point GF hauled me to the doctor after some online advice convinced her I might have some sort of pituitary tumor.  Another scary trip to be poked and prodded by people in white coats 🙄. And they wonder why I slink into a corner like a cat that doesn't want to go to the vet? 😆

 

[Birdie]

12 minutes ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

tried to get pregnant for a year before giving up. 

I'm really sorry. I wish it would have worked out for you. 

[Kristen Sehr]

I knew an intersex person, until she moved away for work and we eventually lost touch. She was one of the other patients that was seeing the same counselor I was (that counselor would, when appropriate, connect trans patients together socially for more support).

 

She told me that it was hell growing up (because her body was producing both female & male hormones simultaneously, and more) and it was a long time before anybody figured out what was going on with her. Gender-wise she identified as a female, so that was the route she took. So she was trans in addition to being intersex.

 

She was the most well adjusted and put-together trans person that I'd ever met, and became a good friend. Unless she told you, one would never have known she was anything other than a completely "normal" woman.

 

And those of you here that are dealing with the same issues she did, you certainly have my deepest respect. 

 

On the lactation thing... of course it would be embarrassing to lactate when one does not want to - especially out in public or at work. I probably never will anyway, because I don't want my doc to make the likely necessary hormone adjustments (things are just great as-is). And I may get more than I bargained for if I ever do. Still a nice dream though. 😊