Hello all,
First of all, I'm El, 16, and I'm about 98% sure I'm non-binary. I was assigned female at birth, and although I don't really intend to do any medical transitioning at least until I'm 18, it's a topic that's on my mind a lot, and I've had some questions, specifically about hormones, that I've had a hard time getting answered.
I suppose most of my curiosity comes from my understanding that you need to have either testosterone or estrogen to prevent osteoporosis. At least that's what I can gather from the bit of information I learned in my human anatomy class and some internet sources. The thing is, I don't overly want either...
Part of me figures that maybe once I get my breast removed I could use some sort of birth control that would stop periods, but I've read that a lot of them can increase progesterone and increase the intensity of secondary sex characteristics. At this point, I really don't think I could handle that, but it also seems that when the breast tissue is removed, it can't really grown back, so maybe once that's been done I could handle it. On the other hand though, I already have enough dysphoria around my hip area, that if my coxal bones spread any further I'd be horrified.
So from that, I thought maybe I'd get a hysterectomy and take the bare minimum amount of estrogen to keep my bones healthy and hope it doesn't do anything else. Of course, money would also come into play here, but right now I'm figuring out what would be best for me if money was out of the picture.
Now, I've also heard about hormone blockers, and I've mentioned taking them to my mom, but part of me feels it's too late, cause that puberty stuff already happened. The other part of me is worried that it's not over yet, though, and that it's gonna get worse. I also understand, however, that there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of long term research out there. I suppose if I went this route for the rest of my life they could use my body to do some research, but I'm not sure how much I wanna risk it. So for now, I figure, I'll see if I can take hormone blockers to give myself a little break from androgens for a short period of time while I figure this all out, but I'd rather my bones didn't collapse on themselves, so I doubt I'd be able to take hormone blockers for that long.
The thought of taking testosterone also occurred to me, and I decided, I wouldn't mind (in fact, might even enjoy) a little bit deeper voice and some bigger muscles, but just like I don't want to look female, I don't want to look male either. So, I figured maybe I could just take a little?
Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that I don't want a lot of testosterone, and I don't want a lot of estrogen, so I kinda just want to rip out my overies and start from a clean slate. And hey, maybe my reproductive parts could help scientist figure some stuff out and if medical knowledge and technology has advance enough, I could even give them to a transgender woman. Though I also wonder if hormone blockers could give the same kinda clean slate for less money and health risk. I don't know, I just know I don't want a period, breast, big hips, but I also don't want a crazy deep voice, facial/chest hair, or any of that. I mean, if cats and dogs can get fixed and live a normal life, why can't I?
It seems to be, though, that I'd have to take something, and I'd like that something to be the bare minimum. So I suppose what I want to know is, could I take either estrogen or testosterone in a small enough dose that it would keep me standing but also not cause secondary sex characteristics to start growing like weeds? If that's not an option, could I take estrogen and testosterone 50/50, or are they unable to work together meaning I would need to take a certain amount of at least one to keep my calcium where it's needed? Basically, is there a way to get the hormones needed to prevent osteoporosis while also remaining as androgynous as possible? If so, how, and if not, what can be done to minimize it as much as possible?
Welcome to Susan's Place. This is something you will have to work out with your doctor. The problems with Testosterone is if you take enough to have an effect, it will masculinize you so unless you want to go there, it would be best to avoid Testosterone. I can understand your adverse to estrogen however it has the advantage that more isn't likely to have much more of an effect on you. Probably the best approach would be a Progesterone based pill. Progesterone doesn't contribute to feminine development and it will stop your periods. Often FTMs will use this approach to get some relief from periods until they are ready to start Testosterone. Unfortunately there isn't a good non binary approach to hormones so you need to pick from the lessor of several evils.
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Quote from: El. on June 17, 2018, 08:06:44 PM
I suppose most of my curiosity comes from my understanding that you need to have either testosterone or estrogen to prevent osteoporosis.
There are several non-hormone medications that are used to prevent osteoporosis in both men and women. The most common are:
Alendronate (Fosamax)
Risedronate (Actonel, Atelvia)
Ibandronate (Boniva)
Zoledronic acid (Reclast)
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Part of me figures that maybe once I get my breast removed I could use some sort of birth control that would stop periods...
Birth control will not stop your monthly period. Extreme dieting will stop your periods when you get your body fat level below 10%. This is not a cut off level, but rather women get irregular periods when their body fat goes that low. This is extreme starvation and not recommended.
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I've also heard about hormone blockers...
Estrogen blockers are available and some FTM do take them. Here is a few that are commonly available:
Cyclofenil
Danocrine
Nolvadex (tamoxifen citrate)
Teslac (hydroxylactone)
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The thought of taking testosterone also occurred to me, and I decided, I wouldn't mind (in fact, might even enjoy) a little bit deeper voice and some bigger muscles, but just like I don't want to look female, I don't want to look male either. So, I figured maybe I could just take a little?
This is the most common hormone used by FTM. Testosterone works so slowly that you can either stop of reduce dose when you get just enough to bring you where you want to be.
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I mean, if cats and dogs can get fixed and live a normal life, why can't I?
You can, but keep in mind that dogs and cats only live to be 10 to 15 years old. Dogs and cats that are "fixed" do not take any hormone therapy. People are in a different situation.
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It seems to be, though, that I'd have to take something, and I'd like that something to be the bare minimum. So I suppose what I want to know is, could I take either estrogen or testosterone in a small enough dose that it would keep me standing but also not cause secondary sex characteristics to start growing like weeds? If that's not an option, could I take estrogen and testosterone 50/50, or are they unable to work together meaning I would need to take a certain amount of at least one to keep my calcium where it's needed? Basically, is there a way to get the hormones needed to prevent osteoporosis while also remaining as androgynous as possible? If so, how, and if not, what can be done to minimize it as much as possible?
You really need to see an Endocrinologist who is familiar with FTM hormone therapy to get authoritative answers. The earlier you start the better your results will be.
I have to admit that I do not fully understand non-binary, but I do share your feelings of gender dysphoria, at least until I had my GCS. We are all unique and we must do what we must to live as we wish.
In my experience, the people who look androgynous are people who have naturally low hormone levels of either type and remain thin through diet and aerobic exercise.