Mtf and nonbinary amab transition meds

[Trinity]

Short post.  Stay away from spiro and finesteride and work with E alone...

S and F have consequences and are not needed to transition.

I regret having taken both.  Finesteride causescdepression and Spiro causes pituitary damage and puts fat in the intestines that cannot be removed.

[Leena]

Will E alone stop hair loss though?

That's my primary concern. Actually have been considering F alone. Not sure depression caused by F is any worse than depression caused by my hair loss. I don't really care that much about the other effects of E, I just want to keep what's left of my hair, though get rid of it pretty much everywhere else other than the top of my head.

[Trinity]

Sept 25, 2017 23:50:25 GMT 8 Leena said:

D
That's my primary concern. Actually have been considering F alone. Not sure depression caused by F is any worse than depression caused by my hair loss. I don't really care that much about the other effects of E, I just want to keep what's left of my hair, though get rid of it pretty much everywhere else other than the top of my head.

Three things will stop hair loss- but once you start, you can't stop the regimen.

A half dropper of pregesterelle each night.  It WILL have effects, it is topical progesterone.  Your boobs and your sleep pattern will love you.

Rogain, or its equivalent, works.

The last is a dermaroller, which gets blood to the roots of the hair.  That one isn't for everyone though, because it hurts.  

Finesteride is a dht blocker- if you are on HRT and if you take high enough estrogen to counter the T levels and suppress them, which it will, then Finesteride is no longer necessary, because the progesterelle and the rogain also block dht.

dht is why we lose hair.

So....that's what I use.  It works pretty well.  And I started at 55 so my hair losses were more perment, still got a bunch back.

Enough to be she'd.

[Trinity]

Finesteride breaks nerves in the brain that help with dopamine, endorphines.... it is linked to depression.

There are lawsuits against it. The searches are out there...

One thing I hate about what spiro did to me, aside from making it hard to swallow food that is large, like meat .... don't freaking go there girls..... is that it built up fat around the intestines. That is dysphoria hell for me.

[Leena]

I'd rather have not known about either of those side effects, honestly.

I can't even work up the nerve to call any of the informed consent places around here, now I'm worrying about side effects and which ones they might prescribe. I guess I should be informed, but honestly why I've made such a big deal over any of this, when I gave little thought to smoking cigarettes with a label that says they cause cancer and other bad things. Honestly, I wish I still had the attitude I had back then and really just did what I wanted and didn't think about the consequences.

I think I'll go with what the trained doctor thinks best, if I ever work up the nerve to make the call.

[Ativan Prescribed]

Would as trained Dr have advised you to smoke?
They know more about that than some do about what is best for you.
Some just have a program that they use, put you on this and that and if it works, then good, they go on to the next person.
Good ones will work a lot closer with you, give you more info and let you ask a lot of questions.
But informed consent is just that, informed... you have to know what you are getting into.
Look at the information, consider the source and make a plan with a backup plan or two.
You decide what you are going to take, a Dr can suggest and that's about it, if they demand you take spiro, how would they know you did?
So really, they want to know what you want, what they recommend and what you'll take.
If they know what you are doing, then they can work with it, if they can't do that, go to a different Dr, you pay them for the service.

[Trinity]

Sept 26, 2017 23:36:16 GMT 8 Leena said:

I'd rather have not known about either of those side effects, honestly.

I can't even work up the nerve to call any of the informed consent places around here, now I'm worrying about side effects and which ones they might prescribe. I guess I should be informed, but honestly why I've made such a big deal over any of this, when I gave little thought to smoking cigarettes with a label that says they cause cancer and other bad things. Honestly, I wish I still had the attitude I had back then and really just did what I wanted and didn't think about the consequences.

I think I'll go with what the trained doctor thinks best, if I ever work up the nerve to make the call.

Most of the docs are old school, and yeah you need to do that with what is best.  But we know now that estrogen, which is safe and does not have side effects, is the key to transition for mtf The other stuff was added in old school for testosterone repression.  On facebook I could clue you into the secret group that has the keys on the drugs, cutting edge, run by mtf admins that have doctorates and do understand.

Its just that the medical industry doesn't really have all the data they needed, but its out there, we know what really works from combined knowledge from thousands of us, not some med school deal.

I'd still be on 200 mg of spiro, I took myself off it.  Change in t levels- zero.  Current levels- unmeasurable.  totally atrophied testicles.

You won't hear about the side effects unless you dig....

just like the DES cover up.  Who to trust, the FDA, or the thousands of lives affected by DES, and the independent research and results....

But yeah, we have to go with the endo's stuff.

I can dig deeper on this, but don't be scared of hrt.  it  always starts small and then builds, to see how you react to it.

[Trinity]

By the way, there is evidence that estrogen used alone, after spiro and finesteride is discontinued, does repair some of the damage caused by those drugs...which is darned good news. And this is enhanced by progesterone, the repairs.

Topical progesterone is excellent on the hair, used with Biotin.

[Jennifer (Tink)]

My doctor put me on spiro originally for a completely different reason than we use it for. Blood pressure, water retention issues in my legs plus a few other things. I would hesitate to stop using it because the effects of what it was intended to help are working.

[Valerie]

So over the weekend one my friends suggested to me to check out progesterone, cause it helps with nipple, and breast development, and she asked me how my mood swings are. I told her I don’t have that many. She said I might be fine on them then bc one negatives of progesterone is mood swings. But she suggested to me to ask about them when I go to my next appointment.

I been thinking it over and might want to try them if they will help in breast growth, but I been doing research, and reading on it, and there’s tons of back & forth about whether it helps or not, and in my skimming over info a lot time I came across people saying how there’s not that many actual studies/research to back up claims of them to help breast growth. But I’ve seemed to have read how it does help with breast growth, mood swings, energy, and libido, but I also read others say how it didn’t help much at all. It seems like is very personal and depends from person to person.

But I asked my boyfriend how bad my mood swings are, and he told me that They’ve lessened, but when I do have one I get really down, and it worries him. He thinks I shouldn’t try it if it’s not going to help much with mood swings. He’s right I don’t have many mood swings, but when I do they’re really intense, and I’m like a mess! I think I might ask his mom when I see her Saturday, bc she’s a pharmacist, and been pregnant twice, I figure maybe she could give me her opinion, and tell me what to expect emotionally from progesterone kicking in more.

I’m also gonna bring it up in therapy when I go Saturday, and ask him how bad my mood swings are, and if he thinks trying progesterone would be worth it, or if I shouldn’t, or just give it some more thought, and then I definitely will try to bring it, and ask doctor at my next check up appointment at planned parenthood next month, to see what they say, or think about trying progesterone.

But yea is it actually helpful in breast growth, and other areas? What should I expect emotionally/mentally taking progesterone, and would it be worth it to try? I figure after talking about it with few more people, and really thinking it over if I decide to try adding it to my hrt, then I’ll make sure to keep an eye on myself, and if I start struggling to maintain control, I’ll cut back, and wing myself off them slowly, and get at least I tried right? But yea figured I’d ask and get some opinions, and thoughts on progesterone from others on here too as well!

[Trinity]

On low dose Im not sure.

The current thinking for mtf trans is intcted estrogen, and ptogesterone. No t blockers. E levels around 350.

I will be starting 100mg micronized progesterone next month.

I know it makes you sleepy, its taken at night.

But i ho personal experience with it.

Hormones a pretty permanent after you are on them 3 monyhs. Starting and stopping isnt great.

Ymmv. And yes it can help boob growth with the proper e levels.