told my mom...

[johngg]

I told my mother about this me being trans. Today. She kinda pried it out of me but she won't take
I am not going to tell till I see a doctor.   she took it well and I told her to look it up on Wikipedia like I did.
We disscused this for about an hour. I have not heard back yet, but it's a solid start. I will have to figure out exactly how I will deal with this.....without growing boobs. Is that possible? It sounds like they give hormones
To people who have extreme problems with male hormones creating problems? Is that correct? Happy Monday
To all.

[A]

Well, there's a way to have antiandrogens alone, but then you have to have a close medical follow-up, because having none of the two sex hormones in significant amounts can cause health problems like osteoporose.

[Ltl89]

Congratulations on coming out to your Mom!!!

As for the hormones, you don't have to take them if you don't want to.  However, it really does make transitioning a lot easier if you plan on doing so.  I should note that not all transgender people transition either.  Are you looking into transitioning or are  you still not sure?  Everyone has a different path, so make sure you do what YOU want.

[aleon515]

How old are you? The reason I ask is there is such a thing as puberty (hormone) blockers. They are for kids who are in the middle of early adolescence. The hormones keep the body from going thru puberty. They aren't appropriate unless, not sure what the age is, but you can't be in late adolescence. There are puberty inhibiters which slow puberty down a bit though.

If you are older they would use female hormones and anti-androgens. I have never heard of giving these all by themselves.
I also think some people are not particularly informed re: puberty blockers. So some parents might think these would be a substitute for cross-hormones. They aren't.

The purpose of them is to delay puberty a bit to give the kid time to think about it without the pressure of hormones. There are no dangerous  side effects afaik. But they are VERY expensive. The most common drug name is Lupron.

This is a good article about them: http://www.imatyfa.org/permanent_files/pubertyblockers101.html

--Jay

[Devlyn]

Jay, let's remember the guidelines:

Minors are discouraged from posting their ages on the public forums and any posts referencing the age of a minor user (under 18) will be edited out. This goes for personal profiles as well.
Please take this into consideration when asking someone's age.
Thank you.

Age and the Forums

[johngg]

I am 45 centuries young!!!

[Devlyn]

I am 45 centuries young!!!

I'm still going to need to see some ID if you want to buy alcohol. Hugs, Devlyn

[aleon515]

Sorry Devlyn, wanted to point out that in a very young person the rules aren't quite the same about hormones. So IF this person is younger than 15 or so, might benefit from puberty blockers. Don't tell us your age. You can still look at the article and get info.
But 45 centuries, sounds like it is another problem entirely.


--Jay

[Sammy]

Spironolactone which is an andro-blocker is going to grow bewbs for You anyway. So face it - sooner or later in Your transition You are going to have bewbs and all the other bewb-related stuff (they are gonna hurt, sore, affect Your movement - stairs? , You would have to change Your wardrobe etc). Scary . I want them but  I still dont know how to handle most of that stuff, especially since I wont be able to live full-time for quite some time after starting the HRT.

[A]

Uhm, no, just an anti-androgen won't give you breasts. It shouldn't, anyway. It might, if you already have high enough estradiol in your blood and the testosterone was just masking it. But as someone with almost zero testosterone and on a low dose of estradiol for over a year, I can certify that just anti-androgens don't necessarily lead to any breast growth. I even take a little bit of hormones and still nothing, so.

[ashley_thomas]

Uhm, no, just an anti-androgen won't give you breasts. It shouldn't, anyway. It might, if you already have high enough estradiol in your blood and the testosterone was just masking it. But as someone with almost zero testosterone and on a low dose of estradiol for over a year, I can certify that just anti-androgens don't necessarily lead to any breast growth. I even take a little bit of hormones and still nothing, so.

I don't mean to thread jack but how is your low dose treatment helping, I'm curious.  Physical (lack) of changes and emotional impact... I'm possibly headed that direction this year as a temporary place on the spectrum before I can fully transition.

[Elsa]

Anti-Androgens can produce breast growth - although on their own they will be extremely less - and almost non-existent and very slow.

Cyproterone and Spiro both have a tendency to cause breast growth.

So although it will happen, it should take a very long time and would not be as noticeable.

Forgot to mention that if you are only on AAs your bones get hurt more easily and you will probably end up with osteoporosis so you are gonna have to take low dose E or go on very low AA dosages.

But I am not sure if the risk of osteoporosis is worth avoiding E completely.

[A]

If you mean the low dose of estradiol, I can't say for sure. I think it improves my mood, but I've taken it ever since I've begun taking cyproterone, and the dose is pretty low. I've had a little bit of hip growth, though, and my face has changed a little. Slight nipple growth.

If you mean the whole treatment, then YES. Getting rid of testosterone and all random erections, and aggressivity, and sweating less, and having less pimples, and having no oily hair, and having less body hair, and being able to live emotions for real, and... There's no end. I just feel more myself. It helps a ton. I no longer feel depressed and hopeless and panicked that my body will worsen all the time. It's basically given me one of the basic foundations required to possibly be happy.

By the way, the low dose of estradiol isn't something I've been wanting. I've just had an imbecile for an endo.