WeIRd GoInGS oN.

[Dee Marshall]

The silly subject heading is to point out how this is making me feel right now. I can't even begin to guess where this might belong.

As some of you know I'm mid 50s, testosterone started dropping in mid 40s. Never tested but probably never very high, I was never that fertile. Didn't realize I'm trans until last December. No HRT yet but hopefully next month.

In an attempt to be ready I've been eagerly reading the threads on what to expect. Now this is where it starts to weird me out a bit. I'm showing some of the results others are talking about already, long before HRT. These aren't all things that have been around a while. The latest has only started the last week or two.

I've had A or B cup breasts basically since the start of puberty, not man boobs, real breasts. My skin is very soft, my libido is way down, probably due to the low T. I don't smell at all when I sweat, certainly nothing like the funk I used to exhude. Over the last little while my sense of smell has been getting acute. I was attributing it to the reduction in my depression since I became aware of dysphoria, but I've been pretty depressed the last few days and it's stronger than ever. This morning I was sitting here in a t-shirt I use to lounge in, I admit I've worn it it few days. I started catching a faint whiff of a bad smell and finally tracked it down to the shirt, not strong but really offensive. Needless to say, the shirt is in the laundry.

Is this something others have experienced? Could low T without E explain it? I used to have an iron nose.

Am I just slowly going mad and imagining all of this?   

[KarynMcD]

It could be normal aging causing an increase in estrogen levels.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/305870-does-a-mans-estrogen-level-rise-as-his-testosterone-level-gets-lower-after-40/

Estrogen in Men
Along with testosterone, men also produce small quantities of estrogen throughout their lives, writes male hormone specialist Rick Cohen, M.D., on the website International Anti-Aging Systems. Men require small amounts of estrogen for a healthy heart, brain function, bones and libido. Estrogen and testosterone are held in balance, but as testosterone levels drop during middle age, estrogen production either remains steady --- thus increasing the proportion of estrogen to testosterone --- or estrogen levels may increase

Causes of Increased Estrogen
Increases in estrogen production in men may result from normal aging, a high degree of body fat, hormone replacement therapy or medications, nutritional deficiencies or excessive alcohol use, Cohen states. Dropping testosterone levels worsen the hormone imbalance. When testosterone levels drop too low, as they do in older men, estrogen attaches to the receptor sites on cells that are normally occupied by testosterone. As estrogen levels continue to increase and testosterone to decrease, Cohen says, testosterone is unable to stimulate the cells.

[goldphantom]

I feel like I am going through something similar. Although I am only 26. I have a small frame and my waist to hip ratio is in the middle of the averages of men and women. My hands are small and it's hard to find mens shoes in my size. I think I had low testosterone while growing up.

I can't say I have breasts but my friend measured me one day and she said I was a 34A. I am of below average body fat. One thing I have noticed recently is that I can't hold water as well as I used to. I heard estrogen makes MTF people's bladder shrink. (I'm not sure if that's true) My sex drive is also lower than most men. I don't know maybe it's all in my head.

[Jess42]

The silly subject heading is to point out how this is making me feel right now. I can't even begin to guess where this might belong.

As some of you know I'm mid 50s, testosterone started dropping in mid 40s. Never tested but probably never very high, I was never that fertile. Didn't realize I'm trans until last December. No HRT yet but hopefully next month.

In an attempt to be ready I've been eagerly reading the threads on what to expect. Now this is where it starts to weird me out a bit. I'm showing some of the results others are talking about already, long before HRT. These aren't all things that have been around a while. The latest has only started the last week or two.

I've had A or B cup breasts basically since the start of puberty, not man boobs, real breasts. My skin is very soft, my libido is way down, probably due to the low T. I don't smell at all when I sweat, certainly nothing like the funk I used to exhude. Over the last little while my sense of smell has been getting acute. I was attributing it to the reduction in my depression since I became aware of dysphoria, but I've been pretty depressed the last few days and it's stronger than ever. This morning I was sitting here in a t-shirt I use to lounge in, I admit I've worn it it few days. I started catching a faint whiff of a bad smell and finally tracked it down to the shirt, not strong but really offensive. Needless to say, the shirt is in the laundry.

Is this something others have experienced? Could low T without E explain it? I used to have an iron nose.

Am I just slowly going mad and imagining all of this?   

Yes. this is me to a "T", no pun intended. Never no children, low T levels I suspect from forever. Now I know for sure. Grew little boobs during puberty. Except for the part of knowing. I always knew something wasn't right or normal for me from an early age. Just count yourself somewhat lucky that nature provided you with somewhat natural HRT. I do.

[Dee Marshall]

Thank you all, this makes me feel somewhat better, except for the niggling doubt that I would not identify as trans were it not for a T/E imbalance.

I'm quite sure that's not true. I've been feeling dysphoria that I recognise from before puberty. If anything, T masked my condition from maturity to the mid 40s.

[Jess42]

Thank you all, this makes me feel somewhat better, except for the niggling doubt that I would not identify as trans were it not for a T/E imbalance.

I'm quite sure that's not true. I've been feeling dysphoria that I recognise from before puberty. If anything, T masked my condition from maturity to the mid 40s.

Dee, don't worry too much about it. Definitely don't overthink it. We are born the way we are. That sounds like BS I know. But it is just a fact of life. Just embrace who you are.

BTW I don't know where you are but in the US now there are plenty of commercial with lawyers suing for guys that have taken testosterone treatments and suffered heart attacks, strokes and death. So yeah, it seems that "T" can be deadly. I'm kind of glad my "T" levels have never really been that high. It does suck that I never have been able to have children and basically am sterile. But if I ever meet Mr. Right, we can always adopt and I'll have a chance to be a Mom.

[Brenda E]

Dee, I don't think you're imagining it.  I'm on spiro and the lowest dose of estradiol - it's like next to nothing - but the first thing that I noticed was a change to my sense of smell.  For some reason, even the tiniest changes in your hormones will screw with it.

I was literally like a sniffer dog within 24 hours.  I could smell guys a mile away.  Now, whether this is because the smell is just one that I notice now (i.e. I always smelled it, but now it bothers me), or whether it's because the smell somehow registers differently in my brain (i.e. I can now smell things that I could never smell before), who knows.

It is weird, but the balance of our hormones is extremely delicate.

As for the part of your post where you say you have a "niggling doubt that I would not identify as trans were it not for a T/E imbalance"?  Hmmm.  I was the same way - I once thought it was a natural drop in T that was causing me to experience a desire to be more feminine.  But when you take E, it's like you realize that your body actually needs it and functions properly with it.  In other words, you're physiologically trans on some level - it's something that hormones can correct, but the correction is to make you realize that you are 100% trans, rather than 100% male.

[helen2010]

Yup, similar experience.  I was given additional T (shots and androgen) to deal with naturally decreasing T levels.  At one stage my breasts became really sore so I was given a mammogram to see if there were any abnormalities.

The only abnormality was that diagnosed by my therapist,shortly thereafter, when we talked about my lifelong dysphoria and cross dressing.  Diagnosed as trans*, been on low dose hrt for nearly 2 years.  My sense of smell is way better, I just keep smelling the roses!

Life is so much better.

Safe travels

Aisla