My low dose HRT experience (was 9 month low dose HRT)

[luna nyan]

It's now been close to a month since my E implant went in and there are some changes worth reporting.
There is a definite palpable lump over where the implant was inserted, and the skin over the area is still somewhat red - my skin's poor healing ability rears its ugly head again. Some fibrous tissue has formed over the area, I'm hoping that it may dissipate over time.
Medication wise, my spiro dosage remains unchanged, but pellet is definitely causing more changes, which in my case I have mixed feelings about given my aims.

Notable changes:
1.  I'm definitely feeling more emotional on the implant.  Although I don't weep at the drop of a hat, I do feel closer to being on the edge of doing so.
2.  Although my nipples haven't increased in size, they're much firmer.
3.  Further breast tissue development is occurring - I had basically stalled for 6 months, but there's now new tenderness, and they are definitely fuller.  I feel indifferent to this change - I'm happy they're there, but the development isn't really what I was aiming for.
4.  I feel that I'm more prone to issues with my jaw joint compared to prior to HRT.  Previously, my night grinding was showing through wear on my teeth.
5.  I'm definitely bruising a lot more easily now.

My initial feeling about being on an implant for low dose is that I do like the fact that I'm down to only having to take spiro.  Not having to stick a tablet under my tongue for 5 minutes is a godsend.  The downside though, is that I now only have one control for moderating how much I feminise, and that's my spiro dose.  On the other hand, there are sufficient health reasons to be on a pellet that I may still decide to go ahead with a second one later on.

[Christinetobe]

I am so glad you girls are maintaining this thread.  I am thinking this is what my current path will lead me to for at least the short term.  I am really hoping I can at least calm my mind down and anything else would just be a bonus as long as it was a small change.  I am seeing my therapist next week and may finally ask him what he thinks about this.  We really have not spoken to much about GID to this point as I was just trying to stabilize myself enough to function with other radical changes that had suddenly occurred in my life.  Thank you for sharing your own personal stories.

[luna nyan]

Time for another update!
I was originally going to post after I had my bloodworm results and seen my endo, but I've been making a habit of updating every 3-6 months so here it is.

So I've now had 3 months on the pellet, same dose of spiro as before, and there are a few changes to note.

Emotional - I am definitely feeling more emotional, and have been on the verge of tears on occasion.  I probably feel more comfortable talking to women than men - just can connect better.  Libido is pretty much non existent and I find I need emotional stimulus in order to assist arousal.

Physical

the moobs/boobs have grown.  Prolly getting very close to A cup, but the width of my chest cage tends to mask them somewhat.  Nipples and aereola haven't changed much.

I've gained some weight and it's hard to shift - I used to get away with either eating a little less or exercising and the weight would drop off, but now I need to do both it I want to lose weight.  There definite change in the shape of my hips and thighs.

Most certainly, I feel physically a lot more vulnerable - I've now noticed a drop in strength.  Some physical tasks are definitely harder now.

Body hair follicles have thinned significantly and come back at a slower rate.

As far as downstairs is concerned the flag can still be raised, but the troops have surrendered.  There is effectively zero production now, and there is definite testicular atrophy.

I will update again once I have seen my endo and bloodwork.  I like where I am emotionally, but I do have some concern about whether the amount of feminisation I'm getting may be one inch too far.

[luna nyan]

I saw my endo this week.
Since March, I have been on a progynova pellet, and taking spiro - same oral dose as previously.

The nitty gritty blood work results were E just a tad under 500, T at close to 0.5
All other blood work was in safe ranges.
That's the hard data out of the way.  My levels are effectively in the transition range, particularly the T.

Physical
1.  Weight gain - I am finding it hard to shift the weight gained.  This is because of:
2.  Lean muscle mass loss - I've definitely lost some bulk around the shoulders.
3.  Skin is more translucent, and I now bruise very easily.
4.  Pores on the face are finer.
5.  Nails keep breaking! >.<
6.  Moobs are now a cup.
7.  Fat distribution is basically everywhere... It's a bit of a mess.
8.  Leg hair is now fine and takes a while to regrow.

Mental

This is hard to quantify.  The dysphoria is mostly gone, it's more the occasional wishing to pursue things further that I have to hold in check. I'm far more connected to my emotions in recent months.

Libido is pretty much low now.  I've noticed now I am more stimulated by emotional stimuli than visual these days.

The pellets work well.   Almost too well.  My endo and I had a discussion about managing my dosages on pellet.

1.  The pellet I had was low to medium dose.  For those on low dose wanting to go on pellet, lower dosages are available, but it would mean 3 monthly replacement rather than 6.  As I heal poorly, I'm going to stay on the current dose for now.

2.  Spiro dose is medium, but my T is almost completely suppressed.  I have the option of dropping it altogether and starting it back up later.  An alternative is to consider progesterone pellets.  Other means are available, but not cost effective.

I'm going to sit tight for the next few months.  Seriously considering progesterone and dropping spiro altogether next time.  I'm sick of taking tablets.

[Cindy]

As far as pellets. OK I'm not on low dose, but I react horribly to the implants, more the local than anything. I rub 1% corticosteroid cream over the site and that relieves the itch and pain.

Luna, I'm not too sure what the effect of the AAs would be for you anymore, it may be worth a conversation with your endo. depending of course on your desired effects. But your T should be quite low, at least free T.

[luna nyan]

I'm probably going to drop spiro completely.  But I'm going to taper it, otherwise funky things happen BP wise.  We did discuss it as I'm tiring of taking tabs every day - hence the consideration of progesterone pellet @ next appt.

My T is way low.  0.6 was the reading.  Bye bye spiro - I'm not going to miss your taste.

[KayXo]

5.  Nails keep breaking! >.<

Seriously considering progesterone and dropping spiro altogether next time.  I'm sick of taking tablets.

Progesterone may help with brittle nails.

[luna nyan]

Progesterone may help with brittle nails.

Keeping them short because I play piano would help too! 

Cindy - I get the occasional itch over the implant site as well.  Because it's a fibrous capsule around the implant, when my dermatographia plays up, the mast cells in the area join in as well.  I hit the loratadine (good old claratyne) when that happens.

I don't like steroids much - when I need to use them, I go straight for something heavier for a week and get it over and done with.

[KayXo]

I don't like steroids much

Aren't estrogen and progesterone sex steroids?? 

[luna nyan]

Aren't estrogen and progesterone sex steroids?? 

You know which type I meant! 

[luna nyan]

It lives!

Not much time to spend here, but I'll update.

At the 8 month mark - levels were: 350E 0.9T
I had tapered off my spiro about 2 months prior so in my situation, a high enough level of E is sufficient to pretty much suppress T completely.

I had the E pellet replaced, same dosage, but with a smaller package.  This time the incision was small enough that surgical tape was sufficient to stabilise things and I avoided having to remove a stitch later.  My endo and I discussed progesterone, agreed to give it a miss for now as apparently there's about a 10% rate of reaction to the progesterone pellet.  With my last blood test, it was probably not necessary anyway.

Changes have continued to be very slow and gradual and minimal as before.  I did get a male fail recently where someone thought I was a drag king, but that was more the exception than the norm.
Breasts are still tender, I've lost a bit of weight with exercise, and it seems that the fat is really starting to migrate downwards.

[Emily R]

Luna,

Just found your discussion and I am very interested as I plan to also have low dosage HRT without fully transitioning, at least that is what I think right now.  The future may change!

Please continue providing information for as long as you can on major changes or medical visits.

I really appreciate your time and effort.

Emily

[islandgirl]

Thanks, Luna, for the information. Your post was suggested to us in response to my post on Low dosage HRT. Great to have your experiences to learn from and to aid in my planning, as i have my referral in place with an endo. I now have more info going into that session.

[luna nyan]

I'm glad that some people are still finding this thread to be of assistance.  Sometime when I update this thing, I feel as though I'm speaking into the aether.  I'm not here as often as before for multiple reasons, but will try to continue updating so long as there is interest.

Seeing that I'm posting I may as well update.

Since last post:

E levels are likely starting to peak.  I've had no blood work, but there are a few indicators:
1.  Increased emotional lability (I'm more likely to be testy, but hold it back well)
2.  Breast tenderness has increased again.

Physical changes
1.  I have to concede that fitted shirts are no longer a clothing option for me.  The girls are big enough to look like small moobs found on obese men, but I don't carry enough weight to have moobs...
2.  I've probably reached an andro presentation.

A few notes on my meds:
1.  Dosage has been the same, but the capsule is smaller compared to previous.
2.  As a result, a smaller incison was made, that didn't require suturing, only taping.  This agrees with my skin more - there has been less itching and scarring compared to last time.  I think this is something for people who scar easily to bear in mind.
3.  I've eliminated spiro altogether and in my personal situation, I suspect that my T levels are unlikely to recover unless I cease HRT for an extended period of time.  The usual implications for libido, virility, etc have occurred, but "function" remains under appropriate circumstances.  YMMV.
4.  Not much muscle mass has been lost since last update.

[Paige]

I'm glad that some people are still finding this thread to be of assistance.  Sometime when I update this thing, I feel as though I'm speaking into the aether.  I'm not here as often as before for multiple reasons, but will try to continue updating so long as there is interest.

Hi Luna,

Please keep posting on this thread, I've been talking to my doctor about starting low dose.   I'm a little worried though that once I start down this road the desire for a full transition will be unstoppable.   Your experience with this approach is quite informative.  As you know, there's not a lot of information out there about low dose as a possible solution to Gender Dysphoria. 

Thank you for taking the time to do this,
Paige

[Balerie]

Luna,

Thanks so much for your updates. I just subscribed to this thread after wading IslandGirl's post. I'm wanting to start low-dose E. Don't know when I'll get approval as I'm really very overweight. My urologist though did tell me that because I don't smoke I should be able to take E without issues. He said that smoking and taking E was a very bad combination. Anyway, thanks again. This thread is helping me get ready.


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[wired22]

Very cool to hear that even low doses have positive effects. we must all proceed at our own comfortable pace!

[Destiny Marie]

Wow a lot of great information here. Thank you to all who have described their experiences on low dose HRT, as it has answered a lot of questions for me.

[DalennBurgess]

I've also found this thread quite helpful. I just started low dose the other day and reading your progress over the past few years is an excellent resource and answered a lot of questions I had up front. Definitely keep it going, it's especially interesting and valuable since it currently spans over two years.

[AnonyMs]

My endo and I discussed progesterone, agreed to give it a miss for now as apparently there's about a 10% rate of reaction to the progesterone pellet.

I had the same discussion (and same endo I think), but chose to try it. Unfortunately 3 months later the progesterone pellet has popped back out.

Rejection doesn't sound so bad, but I didn't know what it really meant. Its a lot of low level discomfort for several months, and if I'd know where it was leading I think I would have had it removed earlier, although that sounds bad too

After the first E only implant I found the implant site healed pretty much completely in about 2 weeks. With this one it didn't and after 2 weeks it was getting very red and painful. I went back and got a steroid injection to help the rejection and and antibiotics in case it was infected. That help for a while, but I never got to the point where I couldn't tell the implant was there (as with the E implant). Not sure when exactly but it started getting more and more noticeable, until it got very tender again (red and a bit swollen). Lying on it in bed was uncomfortable, and eventually I accidentally scratched the site and broke the skin. I thought it was infected and squeezed it to get the puss out, and out popped the pellet instead - it looks like a grain of rice, white, about 5 by 1 mm, and very hard. The site healed up quickly after that.

I had a blood test about 2 weeks before it came out and my progesterone level was quite low.

I think its worth a try for a 90% chance of it working, and its such a pity it didn't. Back to twice a day Microgest for me.