What was your T level at the beginning of HRT

[xterra]

What was your T level at the beginning of HRT?

[Theo]

759 ng/dl. My therapist almost didn't believe it, as I look very androgynous.

Heck, a female colleague at work even said that I'm the least testosterony guy she knows (not out to her -- I smiled ).

[JennX]

190-200 ng/dl.

[AbbyJamz]

I'm pretty sure mine was in the 500's somewhere.  I guess that's pretty normal... for a guy.

Edit:  517 ng/dl to be exact.  Is this high or low?

[Alainaluvsu]

1031 ng/dl, funny enough kinda like theo it was checked when my therapist sent me in to see if I had low T (I went along w/ it cause I wanted to know my level.. sux he didn't think to check my LH

Maybe you have Mild Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. That causes high levels of T.

[Theo]

Maybe you have Mild Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. That causes high levels of T.

That was my suspicion as well, but as I had some stuff dumped into liquid nitrogen prior to starting HRT, I know that at least under the microscope certain elements functioned adequately (lower limit, but still). It is my understanding that even a diagnosis of mild AIS would imply sterility; hence I think I'm pretty much borderline AIS, but without actually hitting the formal criteria.

[Jenna Marie]

200 ng/dl. I'm guessing that's one reason why HRT was effective - it took only a low dose of estrogen to get my T down to 30-40 ng/dl (which is within female norms).

[Alainaluvsu]

I have no idea of what my T was pre hrt. 2 months of a full dose got it down to 25 ng/dl and it never rose above that since, with it usually testing in the single digits. Due to a number of factors, I wouldn't doubt that I have some sort of intersex condition. The doctor doesn't want to test me for it though, citing "it wouldn't matter anyways, your treatment wouldn't change!"

[Jamiep]

@xterra

I believe I was in the low 700's. I just had a blood sample taken & will be interesting to see the results at my Dr. appointment May 30. I'm very sure my Dr. will start me on Estrogen about two months earlier than I expected. It depends on how I am coming along on Spiro, been 5 weeks now.

[Alainaluvsu]

The doctor is telling you the truth especially if you have some type of mild/partial AIS, my endo was having a very tough time trying to lower my T levels and raise my E levels without hurting me (she did not know I had GID), I was warned of gynecamastia, fatigue, loss of libido etc, etc.. I was put on a low dose of E then she got scared and switched me to a low dose of spiro, then got scared again and wanted to switch me back to an even lower dose of E.

When I finally came out to her and told her I had been dealing with GID my entire life and had personally seen four psychologists/psychiatrists to try and deal with it over the years, well you should have been there it was probably one of the only times a doctor ever smiled and breathed a sigh of relief when a patient told them they were Trans.

She immediately upped my dosage and since then things have been much better!

LOL!! That's awesome!! Screw the letter, huh? Have the results been to your liking? Was / is it difficult to nuke your T?

The only reason I'd want a test is because being intersex is probably easier to explain to people that it is a biological issue and not a mental issue. "Well I have xx chromosomes" is easier to say "I just hate being a boy" ... not that it really matters much anyways, most people who meet me can tell there is no boy inside of me anyways

[Alainaluvsu]

Trust me even after you find out there will always be people who will say that it is irrelevant (my Mother). There are closed minded bigots everywhere who will always find a reason to say it is all your fault (I sometimes wish they had to deal with GID), schizophrenia was diagnosed at one time as "demonic possession" nowadays neurologists can easily show what a schizophrenic's brain looks like, but there are still some religious sects that are convinced it is demonic possession and the brain is altered after the fact.


Also mild/partial ais is not easily diagnosed, and from what I was told they cannot always detect it, but I do believe this could be a cause for our GID. there are some studies that seem to back this up. This new MRI research being done in Spain seems to possibly offer us hope to prove (without a postmortem) that there are physical differences in the brains of FTM's and MTF's:
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1473581/Transsexual-differences-caught-on-brain-scan

Maybe someday we can get the insurance companies to recognize this!

Honestly I wouldn't doubt it if I had something different at the chromosomal level. I don't think I had AIS because my facial hair and body hair grew in pretty masculine (indicating no resistance to androgens), but my testes are small, my voice dropped yet can still be very feminine with very little effort, and my skeletal structure never filled out like a male would. I have a friend with de la Chapelle Syndrome (XX male) and we have quite a few things in common.

We can all hope that insurance companies will recognize it. As far as the truly ignorant, they will be who they are but most of society will laugh at them for being that way. For the most part, I haven't had trouble when people found out that I was trans. Most are shocked for an hour or so but after that, still treat me like a female. I guess if I knew I was intersex (especially XX), I could be like "I have the same chromosomes as a girl, what do you expect?"

I think you live in the NOLA area? (I have never been there I really want to visit someday, maybe we could meet), I love Creole/Cajun food I have gotten pretty good (I think) with some of my dishes, I make most of my seasoning/sauces from scratch but I have recently started using something called CajunPower sauce (I have read it was made by a very famous creole chef) I heard it is used/available in a lot of restaurants in NOLA, have you ever heard of it?

I do. The place is worth a visit. It's one of those places where, if you like it, you'll never want to leave. But I've never heard of Cajun Power. I just get the crap from Walmart.  I can usually work miracles with those alone And yes, if you're ever in town, you need to hit me up.

[Alainaluvsu]

Actually they are born with testes. They may or may not have smaller than normal or undescended testes, too. Many masculinize the same as cis men do, too.

[Carrie Liz]

I don't have an official T level measurement from before HRT, but I have very good reasons to suspect that my T levels were abnormally low. Such as, not really having a lot of body hair, having a rather pear-shaped body that still managed to have a waist-hip ratio in the "healthy" range of the mid-0.8's despite being 270 lbs, pretty much no sex drive whatsoever, very low muscle mass, and a general lack of defining masculine features. And I also do know that when I started HRT, my T levels were down even below the female "normal" range after only 3 months on the absolute minimum dose of Spiro. So yeah, methinks I was pretty testosterone-deficient way before I started HRT. I don't have official levels, but I'm guessing I was at the very lower end of the "normal" male range before starting, if not lower.

[kyh]

Lol wow, apparently it is pretty common. It's like a club!

xD what should we call it?

[Kelly J. P.]

 My testosterone was somewhere in the high 800s pre HRT. Now is it basically non-existent.

I was surprised at just how high the level was... I had thought that I'd've been a lot more masculine than I turned out to be based on T levels alone, but I was lucky I suppose.

[kyh]

My testosterone was somewhere in the high 800s pre HRT. Now is it basically non-existent.

I was surprised at just how high the level was... I had thought that I'd've been a lot more masculine than I turned out to be based on T levels alone, but I was lucky I suppose.

You can join the club too

[Kelly J. P.]

You can join the club too

I pledge my soul and sword to the prosperity of the Club, my lady.

/dorkface

[kyh]

I pledge my soul and sword to the prosperity of the Club, my lady.

/dorkface

Yay! Slumber party!

/sillyface

[Beth Andrea]

My T pre-HRT was about 130-140. Normal male range iirc is 250--1100.

[kyh]

My T pre-HRT was about 130-140. Normal male range iirc is 250--1100.

Yours was extremely low! Omg :O nice!