This is something I have been wondering for some time.
With PMS im talking not only the mental issues:
Depression.
Fatigue.
Disorientation.
Confusion.
Mood Swings
But also the physical effects:
Bloating.
Headache.
Constipation.
Abdominal Pain.
And then cramps... and how you feel them (this one still baffles me a lot)
Oh and what coul be the reasons for this, are they monthly or...?
Dersi, I have no idea what your trying to ask in this message. Maybe you could rephrase.
Sarah
I swear I have all of that and I'm not even taking hormones... :(
but what exactly are you trying to ask? ???
~Victoria~
Just that if someone has experimented PMS and cramps.
And if so, what could be the reason?
Though my hormones have been constant (not cyclic), I have found that I retain water and feel bloated sometimes and not others. I thought my "mental state" was "stable" but my husband claimed I exhibited the symptoms of PMS!
Before I started hormones I had a couple of T gals tell me that they seem to cycle even though they are on a constant dosage. I thought that it was in their head. Until it started happening to me. To be honest, it sucks. The funniest thing about transition was that a coworker said to me (after I came out), "That explains why it seemed like you had PMS from time to time!" ;D I think I will mention it to my endoc again as I have forgotten what she said about it.
Believe me, its not in the head.
The physical stuf is the one that set me crying of pain and desesperation.
ayup. This is fairly intense with me - (I really began to notice it when my female roommate and I were both incredibly bitchy to one another around her time - I might've thought, sympathetic or empathetic response to her heavy ovulation. Until she moved out, & I found I am worse the same time, around the 20th of the month) - lunacy it's called, per monthly; WTF?! I am not on HRT, and have actually put it off accordingly til I get used to it. I get some other, more desirable effects (people who have not seen me for a few weeks assume I have begun HRT, heavy dosage, wot?), too, so no prob? Cannot deny the femaleness of my brain when it gets physical with me. She kicks my ass...
I noted that I had cycles even before I finally came out to myself. I'd have friends, family or coworkers tell me seemed really happy, or really down, and I'd be surprised to hear them say that. Then I'd notice that, yeah, lately I had been a bit (fill in the blank.)
Or maybe I'd catch myself being overly sensitive to some offhand remark by a coworker. Or notice that I was really 'up' and 'on' (extroverted), or was introverted and withdrawn.
I never could pin down the cycles to a calendar, though. Probably because I'd absorb myself in whatever I was doing and forget to make the observations. Kind of the can't-see-the-forest-for-the-trees effect.
So, I'll have cycles on female hormones even if I'm on a steady dose. Maybe being able to pin it to a calendar will be a bit of a novelty ;) .
Karen
Sorry for taking so long to reply.
Well, I had these cycles for years ago efore starting mones, they got worse once I started them and I keep a calendar on them and the cylce are close to 28 days.
At first I thougth it was all in my mind and I was creating them, or maybe my mones intake was creating a spiking effect on my body (I use inyectable) but upon switching to a more steady mones intake, the problems didnt went away...
It got worse, it changed from 28 to 21... argggggggghhhhhh
Plus, I got two time during that 21 period when I feel sick, I got them in calendar and found the mild small one is one week before the big one.
Oh and years before I was joking from time to time that I was in "my days"... not a funny joke now.
Every time I feel ok, I think its all in my mind I mean who in their rigth mind want to feel like crap. Geezz.
But when I feel all is ok and I was just allucinating and I wont feel sick again... argh, damn timely thing T_T
I get cramps after eating spicy food ;)...but that's probably not what you meant. As for PMS, I am trying to note if my bitchy moods are on a regular cycle, as I hadn't paid attention before.
Melissa
I used to be in a constant state of mood changes, day in and day out. I was either happy with everything or willing to bang heads with it. Was more or less a daily thing and it could make people look twice at me.
Since the orchiectomy last year it wasn't as bad and these days, been off mones for almost 6 months most of that is pretty much gone. I still get moody, but I don't lash out with it like I used to. I would have to say it was pretty much a symptom of the mones, and I could put on quite a rant when I didn't watch myself, but these days I'm a step ahead of it.
Like they say, you get to PMSy just drop off the mones, it works great
Terri
A medical reason for this:
You may have already had a (Unusual high) estrogen count. That would make some individuals body mimic the menstral cycle of a woman's body. I noticed this does happen on a few individuals who take Estrogen's in larger dosages because the receptors in your body which are identical to a females they just react to Testerone (or DHT the potent usable form of testorone) so when you begin intaking estrogen the female receptors pick up on this and began to alter your physology to mimic that of a female. (Ie giving some a menstral cycle Minus the egg production of course!) Some FtM transgender individuals experience this in the form of aggression and loss of there cycle while on Testorone I noticed after my DR. pointed this out my body mimics a menstral cycle i didn't notice but he did based on my daily diary.
(fortunantly I haven't had the need to buy pads or a tampon yet! :-\)
A physchological reason:
Sometimes it's just a mental thing if you convince yourself and your body your having a cycle ...
Guess what you'll have one!
A Bad girl, with A good heart
Chynna
huh. in my case it tends to vary, I notice this in Dersi's post, from 21 to 28 or 30 days.
I only noticed cycling 'cause of girls I hang with (now there may be some sympathetic vibe happening. like w sisters) similar times o' month. weird.
(I am not taking Estrogen right now either.)
This harsh hormonal mix can drive a person to do some unfortunate things...
This might be an old discussion but I found it and I'm sure others will in the future . I first started the change in 2000 I when I noticed my breast growing and a strange sensation was coming over me every time I went down the stairs at my home at first it scared me and it was getting worse as the days passed till one day I lost it shaking violently for several minutes , feeling I was having a heart attack or something I got to my doctor right away but after an exhaustive check out he found I was having orgasms from over sensitive breast . I went on with my life but a week later I woke up early in the morning to blood in my panties it really shook me up and by the time my doctor saw me everything was normal again but a month later it happened again so after several months cramping started and after a year of this we realized my body was mimicking monthly periods and of coarse it's impossible , but it was happening . I was told this by many female doctors but again test after test showed blood in my urine and the cycling was every 28 days like clock work. I could not handle the cramping bloating every 28 days as it was I was confined to the sofa or bed coiled up in pain , this lasted for 7 days at a time . I finally found a trans gender friendly doctor why right away put me on estrodial inj and it all stopped over the years I slacked off with the hormones but the periods would come back so I stay on the shots pretty regular now. It's been 15 years now and since this started I got my legal name changed as well as birth certificate to born female and was declared inter-sexed and been living full time as a woman. so to answer your question , yes we can Pms and cramp and bloat and do almost everything a bio female can.
Wow, this one is something Im experiencing at the moment...
I just started to mark the calendar to verify, but I feel I am on some sort of cycle
I don't get moody and PMSy but do have the period/pregnancy symptoms of headaches cramping bloating constipation. Definitely more emotional/sensitive/crying. Hugs Shannon
I definitely have a "period week" once a month
I think the only time I had a psuedo form of PMS was in the first 3 months of hrt when I was still full suppressing the T in my body. I am about to swap out my e for pro-e next month so who knows.
Keep us posted Prada
My roommate swears I have a time of the month.. apparently I do get moody and more sensitive at certain times of the month.
For me, the hormones have made me more sensitive and I do cry more easily.
I always have maintained that I vhad a cycle. I'd gain weight every so often. Then, I started tracking it. There it was, every 26-29 days. My psych thinks that I 've lost it and is worried. Then, just over four months ago I started this healthy living program at work. As part of the program, we track weight. Sure enough, there is the pattern, every 27-28days, I gained weight then I lost it about a week later.
Jen
Lower forms of life use pheromones to determine when the proper time to mate is. Humans also produce them but we mostly have lost the ability to detect them but it's clear that our bodies can still respond to the pheromones produced by another person. This can be proven but the fact that women living together can have their periods synchronize. It's also possible our transgender brain may be more sensitive to the chemical signal.
I have a cycle too with some weight gain. Hugs Shannon
I've never experienced anything that I could approximate to a monthly cycle.
I guess I'm lucky :D
I have experience lactating breasts though, that was quite an experience!
Lactation is something I look forward to.
been on hrt for 10 years now... and i have never experience this... im happy i dont actually :)