Menopause? Periods going away.

[andrews49]

I've been on testosterone for two months now. I got my period last month but all this month I didn't get it. When I'm about to get my period I get bad PMS. One of the symptoms is really bad depression. I get depressed for 2 weeks then once my period comes Im fine. I asked my doctor and she said that my period is slowly going away and my body is going to have to go through that change. So im wondering if you are on testosterone for a long time do you get menopause? Cause pms is before the period happens and I cant call my depression that if my period stopped. So are the depression im getting now is the start of menopause? And how long does it last cause I don't know how long I can stand this. I have not been diagnosed with depression the only times I get depressed is when my period is coming. Other than that I'm fine.

[blink]

Testosterone HRT does cause menstruation to stop. How long it takes to stop varies by individual, so it's impossible to say how much longer it'll last exactly. According to the Wikipedia article linked below, it usually stops within five months.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormone_replacement_therapy_(female-to-male)#Effects_of_HRT

[BrotherBen]

Your mileage may vary, but I found that even though there were no outward signs of it, the timing of what remained of my hormonal cycle stayed roughly the same. So, if you are anything like me, the depression should lift around the same time it would if you were still having shark weeks.

As far as the symptoms of menopause go, I believe the fact that we are replacing our estrogen with testosterone keeps us from having hot flashes, irritability, and whatnot. It's the lack of significant quantities of EITHER sex hormone that causes menopause, I think. I certainly haven't had any hot flashes, or seen any other transguys speak of experiencing them.

[Adam (birkin)]

I had a period (of time lol) where there were definitely some signs of hormones not being entirely balanced. I had days, sometimes a week where I felt a lot more moody and unbalanced. Cramping and spotting was sporadic, as were hot flashes and sweating. I found it happened on and off until the period stopped entirely, which was about 6 months on testosterone. I doubt it will last forever, as I don't experience any of those things anymore and it's been 2 years. So, I imagine for 3-6 months you'll probably deal with it on and off until your period is gone entirely.

When I dealt with it I just reminded myself it was hormonal. If I felt sad or angry, I just thought "OK since I don't know what caused this, it's probably hormones." It helped me because I just embraced the suck that is unbalanced 'mones lol, I knew it was only temporary.

[Emerson]

My period has always been very light and short. I started T while bleeding and so far I haven't gotten any sign of the whole process. It's been 2 months since I started. 

[aleon515]

I've heard of people having menopausal symptoms on T (hot flashes and so on). It may just mean that estrogen levels are decreasing rather rapidly. But not everyone has these.

--Jay

[Nygeel]

You might have some symptoms that are similar to menopause, you might not. It's a very individual thing.