Is estrogen addictive?

[Seshatneferw]

Are there any studies about this?

Not too many. I don't know, of course, but it's easy to guess reasons for this. First of all, setting up such studies isn't too easy: for example, consider the problem of quantifying feelings, or the ethical issues in subjecting people to hormone deprivation. Second, while this issue has a great deal of interest for us, for the medical research community there are lots of higher-impact topics that are easier to study.

Most of the research can be summarised as

Many male-to-female transsexuals report that oestrogen treatment is associated with a calming, almost antidepressive effect and there is some support for the use of oestrogens alone as mood modulators in perimenopausal and post-menopausal women, and to augment the action of antidepressants. Male hormone replacement in elderly men may also be associated with mood modulation but the potential role of testosterone as an antidepressant is less well studied and the literature less persuasive.

(Andy Levy -- Anna Crown -- Russell Reid 2003, Endocrine intervention for transsexuals. Clinical Endocrinology 59, 409--418. References removed to increase readability.)

  Nfr

[Jeannette]

It shouldn't be.  Estrogen isn't a potentially addictive drug because its chemicals don't make it so.  Now maybe you're talking about psychological dependency, if so, it's an entirely different story.

[LynnER]

I know of 9 dragqueens localy who have taken estrogens.... I know of 9 dragqueens that quit when the psychological, emotional and physical changes became too much for them to handel...  7 of these performers now have breast implants...

They couldnt stand the moodyness... they became even more bitchy <if you can believe that to be possable> and agressive...  It caused them to go off there rocker totaly... and then when little willie stopped comeing out to play that was the push too far and well... they stopped....  When I met these people <before they desided they didnt like me> and they found out I was on HRT they would say "Im sorry...  why dont you just get implants instead?"

Really, Im far happyer on E... and stopping E for me, is physicaly more stressful and p[ainful than stoping hard drugs... the withdrawl pains themselves allmost drive me insane....  and then the psychological calming and emotional effects as they wear off leave me a depressed mass of flesh unwilling to move and unable to function....  yes E is addictive... but for me its a good thing and in a good way...  Before it, and when I stopped it, I wasnt a person...  Now I am.

On the other side, one of my friends who was a fittness not <not Bri> worked out so much and took too many supliments, some of which included T... She went off her nut too...  shes calmed down sence stopping and realizeing that the female body especialy after children is not supposed to bave 0-2% body fat.

[Rachael]

was this omniboob maud?
*giggles*

[Butterfly]

Physically or psychologically addictive?  My observation is that none of this is true because estrogen doesn't have the chemical components to turn into an addictive substance.  One may feel relieved or have a sense of elation when one takes it, but that's not what I understand of something that is addictive (as in a street drug).