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Male crossdressers taking hormones

Started by MichelleT, October 06, 2007, 08:43:25 AM

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MichelleT

I've read about male crossdressers taking estrogen and t-blockers. How do you hide your breasts when in male mode? It seems to me like it would be impossible.
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Julie Marie

Depending on your age and genetic makeup it could become very difficult to hide breast growth.  This is something transwomen have to deal with before coming out.  It's not just a crossdresser problem.

However, if one feels they are truly a crossdresser they should think long and hard about the decision to begin HRT.  Many of the changes are reversible only through surgery.  Think of all the activities where you are shirtless, the beach, working around the house, water sports.  All of that will change once you have noticeable breast growth.  And don't try to convince yourself no one will notice.  EVERYONE WILL NOTICE!  Our society is very focused on breasts and when a man suddenly sprouts them... :o

Julie
When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself.
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LisaElizabeth

  Hi all

Posted on: October 06, 2007, 09:34:41 PM
  Hi all
  Let's try this without the screwup.....

  I'm going to go out on a limb here and risk the wrath of the "T" goddessessessess...

  I would think that if someone were 'only' a crossdresser, they would have a very difficult time getting hormones and t-blockers through their doctor!
  It takes a lot lf counselling to get on hormones and IF someone has gone the 'Internet' route and is sef-prescribing.... (The single word... IDIOT!!... comes to mind...)  Self prescribing something like this is NOT a good idea, period!
  So!  Either the author/ authoress of the artricle is using the wrong term  (Meant to say Transwoman/ transexual/ TS/ etc...)  or...  the people doing this to themselves are taking a tremendous risk with their life!!
  I can only say this, You have been given one body.  There are no spare/ replacement parts that are specific to you!  They are ALL generic, one size, fits all, parts!  Sometimes they fit great, other times, well, you get the idea.
  Since you only have one body, if it doesn't match your mind, take the time to transform it with professional help and not from some hyper-sales-pitch off the internet!
  Huggs,
  Lisa Elizabeth
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tinkerbell

Hmmm....yeah well, it would be helpful if people knew about the side effects of hormones before taking any.  *sighs*  What can I say? it is like "whatever"... ::)

tink :icon_chick:
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KarenLyn

I've met several CDs from the local support groups and some do take hormones. Most are only doing it sporadically and the ones who take them all the time don't really care if someone notices their breasts. They don't seem to have any problem getting estrogen. They order it on the internet from countries that don't list them as controlled substances.

I can't say I agree with their choice but it's theirs to make.

Karen Lyn
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Keira


Well, I wouldn't call people who self-medicate idiots
unless they have not read anything about it beforehand.
The risks are very low, especially if your taking
low doses of bio-identicals. With low doses taken
a very long time and low doses of T blockers, you
actually get a lower dose of T than a man and a
lower dose of E than a woman; with that if
managed properly you may be able to have sex as
a man and have decent breasts. Your fertility
may be much lower, but some don't care bout that.



The only thing is if a CD is taking HRT and doesn't care if
he has breasts, I would question his if he's really a CD.

I think he may find out after awhile that part time is
not enough and that CD was not the right description
for his/her case.





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noeleena

hi .   i am noeleena  .    o dear why do it. did you get your base count done .o yes blood check i dont think so .  do you know what you are taking ??????  well    hrt is not to be played with ..some may not say so.    i am 60    post op    i know what i am doing & were i am at    .i am doing it. why. i am a trans female not because i want to. i need to .   some may not think that .& thats okay i am for real .i am liveing as female .....& thats it .so we see things in a way that is.   whats in side of us not just on the out side   please  do your home work check it out .   there is more that can be said .i just hope you hear what is being said ,....noeleena.....
Hi. from New Zealand, Im a woman of difference & intersex who is living life to the full.   we have 3 grown up kids and 11 grand kid's 6 boy's & 5 girl's,
Jos and i are still friends and  is very happy with her new life with someone.
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katia

this is the thing.  hrt is not designed for cd's.  i don't care what anybody says.  that's just the way it is, so deal with it people.
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Keira


Not too sure what you mean noeleena.

Many have started self-medicating, often for years,
before seeing a GP or endo. I've rarely heard bad
experiences in the internet crowd though there
are undoubtably some in the less educated
street scene (but its the same crowd which injects
street silicone, so hey, its not like HRT's the most risky thing they do...)

Most times, the DIYers studied
the compendium and studies on the subject
for the HRT they are taking
much more closely than a treating doctor would.
Not many take this on a whim and many stop after
experimenting and seing its not for them.

How much time an endo has taken in school and internship, on
administrating HRT to genetic males, 0 minutes,
so he's learning it the same way we are, experience
and studies.

The only thing that's important pre-HRT is knowing if you've
got a liver condition and genetic clotting risks. Normal
health checks tells you the first and family history tells you the second
(and tests can confirm it).
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Julie Marie

Kiera, your observations are the same as mine.  While it's certainly better to know what your levels are and know you don't have a family history of blood clotting, I know many TGs are on self prescribed hormones and I can only thing of one incident I read about where there was a seriously bad reaction, and that person had a history of blood clotting.  And doctors aren't the wizards we too often make them out to be.  The term "practice of medicine" is a very accurate description of what they do.  No two humans are identical so it's impossible to know absolutely what will work to achieve the desired results. 

When I was on transdermals I had almost all the breast growth I now have.  All my friends said go to injections and it will take your development into hyper-drive.  When I switched to injections by boobs stopped hurting and breast growth practically stopped.  On transdermals my E level was 24.  On injections it was over 350.  My blood test results were perfect but physical development suffered greatly.  My doctor was baffled but he loved seeing the results of my blood tests so as far as he was concerned I was on the perfect dosages.  When he asked if I wanted to start progesterone to further my breast development I happily agreed.  Results after 6 months?  No change.  Again, my doctor was baffled but those blood tests still looked great.  Everyone is different.  No one regimen works for everyone.

Getting back to the issue of if one is CD, TG or TS, I went through just that process.  I was at first convinced I was CD but I still had a very strong desire to be on HRT.  Then I started identifying myself as TG.  When I used this term in front of my wife and daughter they both said, "I thought you were a crossdresser!"  I tried phytoestrogens but that only made me sick.  I "got a hold" of some female hormones and took them for six weeks (I ran out).  I was pretty happy then.  When I began therapy I knew I would eventually ask for the HRT letter and I did.  Once on HRT I began to feel normal.  After I had broken down enough walls of denial I finally admitted to myself I was TS.  That was the beginning of finding real peace and happiness.

If one has a very strong desire to be on HRT it's not a bad idea to keep an open mind that maybe there's more to this than just clothing.  The moment I admitted to myself I was TS I cried because I knew what the fallout was going to be.  I also knew I had to transition and experience that fallout.  It's tough, so it's easy to see why a transperson would stay in denial as long as they can.  Fear can be a very strong motivator.

Whatever choices one makes regarding HRT is their choice but before you make that choice it's a good idea to educate yourself well so you know what you're getting into.  There's plenty of information available.  There's no reason to walk into this ignorant.

Julie
When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself.
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LisaElizabeth

This turned out to be a GREAT TOPIC!!!  Lot's of discussion, lots of viewpoints!!
  I just KNEW I would incite the wrath of the 'T' Godessess with my comment!!  lol
  I still feel that self medicating for HRT is the wrong way to go.  especially if you are not using bio-identical hormones.  Only the gods/ godessess know what is in there or where it came from.  Just my opinion.
  I also agree that if you are using a Doctor with no 'T' experience, he/ she is fumbling along the way, trying to do the right thing as they go.  So, if you can find a different Doctor with transition experience, changing to that provider would instill more confidence that you are doing things safely.
  Heart problems, blood clots, Kidney and liver problems are ALL potential risks for HRT, if you are self medicating, who will find that you are one of the 'unlucky' few that have one of those side effects?
  Please remember, that the pharmeceutical maker of 'PremPro' stopped the research study on it's long term effects because it was killing the test subjects!!  That was when used in genetic females, not certain I would EVER want to take something where the side effect was death.
  Huggs,
  Lisa Elizabeth
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Julie A.

As a crossdresser who has been on hormones for over 25 years, here is some real data.
First off, I already had a hormone imbalance when I started, (with a doctor), to try to balance my system.  I started in the late 70's on some "test drugs" and actually found one that worked--unfortunately, when the test was over, it was a "failure." So you start over again trying to find the proper formula.
End result, my body responded extremely well, and I wound up with a "C" cup within a year.  What other said it true---you have to "hide" most of the time in guy clothes and can never be naked.
My wife did not like it, so I have a mastectomy, and got back to normal.
This produced a considerable amount of emotional and mental pain, so eventually, I went back to trying to balance my system.
Found another drug that worked, has few side effects and all was well.  Believe it or not, a hurricane leveled the only plant that made the coated pill, and since the patent had long sense expired, the pharmacitual company did not rebuild it.
Starting "testing" other drugs and while I found one that worked, but eventually reduced my sex drive to zero.

Thirty years later, my sex drive an performance is still zero.  So realize when you embark on this journey, you may well wind up impotent.

The Hormones do make my feeling, emotions and body feel more balanced--but sex is the cost---

Advise,--- don't do anything without a doctor---there are way too many risk and there are plenty of doctors who can, and will help you.
Once you feel the difference the hormones make, it is very difficult to give them up---while not addictive in the normal sense, you will have  a hard time stopping.  Softer skin, breast development, rounder hips, better hair growth, etc.

It's a big committment, and I agee with the person that said no CD should take hormones---it will change you and you will move more towards a transgendered person.
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Valentina

Quote from: Butterfly on October 07, 2007, 09:56:16 AM
A CD is a man (heterosexual most of the time).  I can't imagine why a man would want estrogen.   Maybe some TG tendencies there somewhere ???

I've got to ditto this post!
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Julie A.

TO Valentina,
You are correct and I hope I made that clear in my message.  Even though I would have though I was nothing but a CD, I will easily confess I am more transgendered, that just CD.

I think your reply is great---it is not a subject to be treated lightly--and it will change your life & your body.

Very perspective of you,
Julie
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Kiwi Jayne

I tried to convince myself for years that I was "just" a CD and not a TG. That no one had to know, that I could hide it. But I wanted to take hormones. After years of denial I finally admitted to myself and my doctor that I was a TG. So I can see how a CD can start down that road....
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Purple Pimp

It's an interesting issue because it has paternalism on one side and self-reliance on the other.  Personally, I think the only idiotic thing to do is to take drugs without knowing what you're taking.  There are a lot of people taking hormones out there without prescription who are very knowledgeable about them; there are also lots of people taking ethinyl estradiol and other dangerous hormones because their doctor prescribed it and "Dr. knows best."

As far as crossdressers go, I think even if one self-identifies as only a crossdresser, this is probably denial if steps are being taken to change the body rather than just accessorizing it.

Just a couple of thoughts.

Lia
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you would do. -- Epictetus
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Julie A.



I realize that my story is not normal, but I am sure other peoples stories are not either.

There are lots or reasons that I think people are drawn to hormones---some valid and others that are not.
I have had "periods" each month since before I was a teenager, that I felt like my body had been given a tranquilizer, and my mind an upper---total conflict.
It took years and a number of physicians before someone would take me seriously, and actually run some test.  The results were an endrocrine system that was even "off their measuring chart."
First doctor suggested 6 months of taking my temperature when I first woke up, at noon, and then an night with an ovulation thermometer, (don't laugh, when you feel that bad, you try anything).  It measured temperature in tenths, and after six months produced a perfect cycle--- Here's the great part of medicine, the doctor said, "yes, you have something effecting your hormones, but I don't know what to do about it."
Four doctors later, I entered into a bind study test in Houston, by MD Anderson.
They ran a "full" hormone screen, (male and female) and found the problem.  Then it was pure experimentation for the next two years to find a formulation that would stop the crazies I was having, without side effects.  The test drew blood twice a week for over a year and the end result is that while I made "medical history" for an impossible endrocrine system, they did not have any answers as to "why" it was that way--or what to do about it, except to try to bring it into more balance.

The rest of the story is on my original posting---
Bottom line is to keep questioning and seeking help, until a doctor actually listens to you.

I realize that some people experiment with hormones and don't have physical abnormalities---but I think many CD and transgendered people might be surprized if they ever had a "full" hormone scan---

Hormones are extremely powerful, and effect the entire body--
There is more information out to the community now about them, dosages, etc, but not much about people who have long-term experience with them.

My only reason for the posting was to tell people that there may be medical causes that are not being explored--It doesn't change the long-term effects, it just provides more data for people.

I appreciate the comments and hope this will provide some more insights as to "why" some people might actually be helped with hormone therapy.

I have been asked whether I thought the imbalance in the hormone system created the transgendered issues; or the other way around.  I have no idea--but both are real and I now accept will be with me until death.
Julie

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JodieBlonde

I have a good friend...not a cd'er (not in any big way...maybe some lingerie and such, but no public outings) or wanting to go TG ....who just wanted to have breasts.

Call it what you will, he wanted them in a very powerful way..so much so that he self-medicated with depo/IM... and did it himself. I'm sure that there is some sortta psycho-babble about female form worship or that he was weaned too early or got dropped on his head during a diaper change......

His breast growth is phenomenal and his male libido is still intact. He has the ability to satisfy his wife.... ...which was the ONE caveat that his wife insisted upon.

He wears a full 38C, loves it and has no true problems hiding things. He even wears a few wired-pushups from time to time under his male clothing..even business suits.

I can see them as I know they are there, but I don't suppose anyone else has or they just say nothing.

He and I go trout fishing in the Spring in the High Sierras..and we go topless...it's a kick..OK..it's kinky..but we just have a great time..and NO..there's no maleX2 activity in the woods. We fish, drink some beer, cook trout and beans and sleep in separate tents.

We don't want to BE women..although I think I am closer to passing than he will ever be...but that's my bag and not his.

His sexual prowess..either self-admitted or told by his wife is that he is still as good ..if not more potent than before.

I am fully functional too..have had a couple of children after and even during my "treatment" so, I know that the plumbing's still firing real rounds.

He says : "Having two more sexual organs".... as he calls them, "... is extremely erogenous and a great turn-on for them both" <end quote> <ditto for me and my wife> .

Hate to run the gauntlet of wrath for the self-proclaimed goddesses, but there's people and then there's people..and I don't think anyone has a whisper of reason to judge anyone's obsession with any sexual fulfillment.

You (goddesses) can have what you want..why can't you also let others have their own way with...by the way...a body that is not yours to judge or try to comprehend. You are trying to run an exclusive club..how are you going to have any understanding if you slam doors on others with...as the public says...a phobia or a psychosis or a mental condition, that for all intents and reasons LOOKS like a perversion from the outside world?

If you are going to close ranks on people who also seek their ideal, how can you expect anyone else to offer succor for you and your windmills?

Know that the rules cannot work one way and not the other. at your or anyone else's whim. 

Live and let live. If he wants breasts, hips, a butt or a waistline like a female...more power to him.

I applaud my friend and his stalwart wife....they are pearls amongst judgmental people. .

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Lyric

This is one of the best strings I've run across here at Susan's. It is bring to light what seems to me to be a common misunderstanding between transsexuals and those of us I call bigenderists (I find "crossdresser" a rather vague description). It seems to be difficult for many of you to understand that a completion of life transition is not always the ultimate goal. Though I agree that going on hormones is an extreme measure. While I don't wish to ever stop presenting myself as a man and I love my masculine genitalia, I would absolutely love to have breasts. Having to disguise my chest in public some of time would be a small price to pay. The ideal situation for many of us would be a safe method of growing breasts while retaining our male functions entirely. While there must be many success stories such as Jodie Blonde's friend, you hear all too many like Julie A's. Personally, I believe hormones, even through a doctor's care, to be a bit too drastic a commitment for my situation. Until science comes up with a more ideal solution, I'll continue to get by with stretching exercises, underwire pushups, and silicon pads. I recently read about exposure to lavender oil causing gynecomastia in boys, I suspect it couldn't hurt to see if you get anything.

I would love to hear about more experiences with hormones by male bigendered persons.

Lyric
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." - Steve Jobs
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Keira


Jodie, I've got nothing against people taking hormones to have body closer
to female if they KNOW WHAT THEY ARE GETTING INTO. I'm not even
talking about the physical dangers of it which I feel are way overblown.

So many think hormones will effect their breast tissues and a binder will solve all,
well guess what guys, it does not. In many cases, I see it as a self-destructive
compulsion like smoking. I've known a few who didn't stop until they went too far
and one even had a breast reduction because it was causing too much problems,
not too mention his sperm count was shot to hell.
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