D/Cing E after Orchy?

[stveee]

   So my last visit with my Endo she said that after my upcoming Orchy it may be possible to discontinue taking estrogen, if my levels are good enough I assume. 

   I haven't heard of this, nor very many other trans women speak on this, I pretty much assumed we did HRT for life.

   After a year we still haven't found my actual levels although I am having fairly good results. I am also 6 foot tall and have angular lines so the weight I put on and breasts are subtle IMO. I was thinking that my provider would be shy about progesterone, but she said that was a possibility, that it may help with mood and breast growth. 

   I seem to be getting conflicting opinions, the surgeon said I would be getting pretty much the same results as I am taking Spiro, while my Endo said it would probably help quite a bit with T out of the way. It just seems like no one really can predict anything. I expected to be increasing E by now but all we have done is more Spiro and peeing.

    I was feeling like the Orchy would generally be a big step and obviously make it much easier to get to target levels and I got PTO at work and it's a go in February. But I never heard of it being effective enough to stop E. 

     

[VickySGV]

Something does sound a little wacky there to me as far as the Estrogen goes.  Progesterone I can see going and your anti-androgen, but unless you have some other body stuff going on, I would get another opinion from a different Endocrinologist.  I will be 75 in a couple of weeks, and my Endocrinologist insists on my using my E patches which are on the low side of the scale, but that we Trans folks are teaching the benefits of in certain doses for our more aged Cis sisters.  Our bodies do produce both T and E via our Adrenal Glands but it depends on your receptor cells as to how they want to grab on to them and use them.  For me it would be time for a new consultation on things, possibly with a Trans Specialty clinic. 

[Carolyn Marie]

I agree with @VickySGVabout the need for a second opinion.  I think it's pretty rare for AMAB body to produce enough estrogen to provide desired anatomical effects.  Once your testes are removed, your testosterone levels should greatly decline, but your body still needs hormones of some type to remain healthy.  Without estrogen to replace the T, you could have serious side effects, unless your that rare person who can produce it.

 

Within weeks of having my orchi my T levels got very low, and I no longer needed any anti-androgens.  But my doctors also ensured that I kept taking estrogen.  However, it did take months of experimentation to determine the proper dose.  When you have a lab test to determine a baseline after your orchi, please be sure to not take your E (if it's a pill) the same day.  It can throw off the result by a lot, which happened to me.  If you're on a patch or inject-able, talk to your doctor about when to stop prior to the test.

 

Carolyn Marie

[Charlize]

My surgeon, Dr. McGuin, and the staff at the Pappion Center made it plain to me that after my orchiectomy i would have to always use hormones.   I would certainly makecsure you get blood tests and good care.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize