Low Testosterone

[Vicki]

So, with my appointment with my doctor coming up in two weeks, I have some questions I'm hoping you girls can help me out with. I kind of hesitated posting this, but I really have no one else to ask.

Let me preface this by saying this will be a little graphic, but I need to go into a bit of detail to explain; I'll try my best to keep in PG. Okay, so here we go~

During my late teens and early twenties I found that all my sexual interest in other people had disappeared. I literally have no sex drive at all, it's like sex doesn't even really register with me. Additionally, I haven't had "morning wood" since I was going through puberty, which is a little odd. Also, the final piece is that I've never masturbated in my life time, I'm actually dead serious. Given all the details, it kind of leads me to believe that I might have low testosterone. The last physical I had 2 years ago when I was 25, I didn't mention this to my doctor, but she took a blood test and everything turned out okay. Bare in mind, she was not looking at hormone levels

Normally, I would argue that this is a very good thing, but I'm a bit concerned what this will mean for me going on hormone replacement therapy. Obviously, I've never been diagnosed with low testosterone, but do any of you think this will cause issues when I start HRT? My main concern is that it will be related to a defunct pituitary gland, and I really would hate for that to cause me not to be able to proceed with my transition. I'm obviously going to discuss this with my doctor in two weeks, but I was curious if anyone else had something similar to this problem, or knows anything about.

Thanks!

[suzifrommd]

As far as I would imagine, having low T would be a good thing on HRT. Less T to block means lower dose of blockers.

[ErinWDK]

Vicki,

My first reaction is to agree with Suzi.  You should bring this up with your doctor.  He/she may need to do a rather comprehensive hormone study to make sure the HRT is fine tuned right for your body's metabolism.

Good luck!


Erin

[Jenna Marie]

As you've rightly noted, it depends on *why* you do. If you have nothing amiss with your endocrine system, it should be a benefit.

(I was shocked to find out that my pre-HRT testosterone levels were well below the bottom of the male range, because I actually never had any of the signs/symptoms at all. But the only result was that it turned out to be a blessing : I responded very quickly and easily to HRT, and never had to take anti-androgens at all.)

[CosmicJoke]

So, with my appointment with my doctor coming up in two weeks, I have some questions I'm hoping you girls can help me out with. I kind of hesitated posting this, but I really have no one else to ask.

Let me preface this by saying this will be a little graphic, but I need to go into a bit of detail to explain; I'll try my best to keep in PG. Okay, so here we go~

During my late teens and early twenties I found that all my sexual interest in other people had disappeared. I literally have no sex drive at all, it's like sex doesn't even really register with me. Additionally, I haven't had "morning wood" since I was going through puberty, which is a little odd. Also, the final piece is that I've never masturbated in my life time, I'm actually dead serious. Given all the details, it kind of leads me to believe that I might have low testosterone. The last physical I had 2 years ago when I was 25, I didn't mention this to my doctor, but she took a blood test and everything turned out okay. Bare in mind, she was not looking at hormone levels

Normally, I would argue that this is a very good thing, but I'm a bit concerned what this will mean for me going on hormone replacement therapy. Obviously, I've never been diagnosed with low testosterone, but do any of you think this will cause issues when I start HRT? My main concern is that it will be related to a defunct pituitary gland, and I really would hate for that to cause me not to be able to proceed with my transition. I'm obviously going to discuss this with my doctor in two weeks, but I was curious if anyone else had something similar to this problem, or knows anything about.

Thanks!

In my teen years, I thought alot about this, being as I was clearly not going through a male puberty, the reason why never showed up. Once I got on the hormone replacement therapy, I started becoming much happier and much more secure and comfortable with the person I was, so it didn't even matter. The moral of the story is, it will probably just make you feel much better when you get there rather than anything else. It sounds like you're more disturbed by the being male aspect than anything else, which is entirely possible why your body just naturally resists it.

[judithlynn]

Hi Vicky;
Having low Testosterone levels is actually very good if you are TS. Like JennyMarie, when I restarted on HRT about 12 months ago I had my blood work done and discovered that in fact my T levels were at a very low male range in fact only just above the entry point for males being just 5.15.

This meant that I didn't need to take any Testosterone blockers. Certainly my doctor started me on a low dosage of Oestrogen at first because of my age, but over 9 months increased it three times and it was only a Health scare in December that meant I had to stop taking the "Girly tablets". Luckily I just got the all clear last week and am starting back on HRT this week. The interesting thing is that despite being off Oestrogen since late December (for 3 months), I have still been feminizing albeit more slowly.  My breasts are building - I was already a small C Cup and my hair is still growing on my head on my MPB, and I have definitely put on weight on the bottom and thighs. My doctor said that this is because  I have so little T now (less than 1.5) that my Oestrogen receptors  are just working favourably as my body has adjusted so well. So the message is , having a low testosterone level is a really good thing as it means that taking low dosages of oestrogen will be much more effective. My only regret is that I haven't been able to persuade my doctor to allow me to have oestrogen pellet implants, which would be so much more convenient and although I have asked for a low dose of progesterone to help round out my breasts, my doctor is concerned about the potential side effects, so will not prescribe it.

[Jennygirl]

My only regret is that I haven't been able to persuade my doctor to allow me to have oestrogen pellet implants, which would be so much more convenient and although I have asked for a low dose of progesterone to help round out my breasts, my doctor is concerned about the potential side effects, so will not prescribe it.

Good girl! I think that is a wonderful tip to be on I hope your endo wises up!

It's so silly because pellets have been around much longer than the pill forms of HRT! And it seems so much safer for our bodies all-around.

As far as low T, yes that would probably be a good thing. I wouldn't worry at all about the masturbation. I was a verrry late bloomer and never understood why. Then suddenly about a year and a half ago everything started to make sense really, really fast! I think I probably had low T as well, but now who cares. It's great! Low T is a blessing if you identify as MtF