Does HRT permanently damage testicular function over the years?

[Detransition]

Let's say I began HRT (Spiro/E) in my late teens and spent nearly 5 years on it. If I were to stop, would testicular function (T production, I already know about the infertility part) return upon stopping HRT entirely? How long would that take? Would it be as high as it was before HRT?

[Jessica Merriman]

If you stop HRT some should return. If you have been on it that long though make sure you have medical support and clearance to stop HRT. You will probably need to be weaned off of it or suffer tremendously. 

[Detransition]

Has there been anyone on these forums who stopped HRT after being on it for multiple years, and if so could they please share their experience in relation to my questions?

[Randi]

I'm much older than you, but when I backed off on HRT I found my free T levels were lower than normal for a 65 year old woman.

I was hypogonadic to begin with, with total testosterone level of 150 on a 300 to 1100 range, so your results will almost certainly be different.  I need HRT of one sort or another for the rest of my life.  I can take testosterone, estradiol or, as I prefer, a bit of each.

I do not have the option of NO HRT.

Randi

[Jenna Marie]

It did for me; by the time I had GRS, with three years on HRT, the pathologist said my testicles were completely nonfunctional. (This is also borne out by the fact that I had higher T levels immediately post-op than before, despite stopping HRT for weeks pre-op! That suggests that all my T was being produced in the adrenals, which ramped up immediately after to compensate for close to zero sex hormones circulating.)

I was also low T beforehand, coming in at 190 on that "normal is 300 to 1100 scale" Randi refers to, so I don't think my testicles were all that active to start with.

(I was 32 when I started HRT.)

[mrs izzy]

Yes Hrt in the cross hormone dosages will basically chemical castration.

[jname]

Ask an endocrinologist. Given your age it is certainly possible testicular function could return.

[jname]

Yes Hrt in the cross hormone dosages will basically chemical castration.

Please try and refrain from making blanket statements. There have been cases of testicular function and fertility returning upon cessation of HRT. It is dependent on a number of factors.

[Jo-is-amazing]

If you go on E, the most likely case scenario is that you will be rendered infertile, it is also a reasonably safe bet  that your testicular function will severely decrease. Mrs Izzy is right, prolonged use of E will likely reduce your testicular function to the point where you are effectively 'castrated' for lack of a better term.

Some function will probably return, but the most likely case is that after a period of time they will produce nowhere near the same level of T, as the average male off the street

[HughE]

Let's say I began HRT (Spiro/E) in my late teens and spent nearly 5 years on it. If I were to stop, would testicular function (T production, I already know about the infertility part) return upon stopping HRT entirely? How long would that take? Would it be as high as it was before HRT?

You're still relatively young, so, if you give it a go, there's a reasonable chance you might fully regain you testicular function, your T production and your fertility. However, it's likely to take a long time, and there's no guarantee of success. If you want to go ahead and try, probably the best way to do it is to just stop taking hormones altogether and see what happens. If there's no signs of your testicles starting to work again after a couple of months (or they're sort of working but not back to normal after 6 months or so), then you'll need to find a doctor who specialises in male hormonal problems and see what can be done. Some fertility doctors might be able to do this, since the drugs to get them restarted are the same ones that are used for fertility treatment. If I were in your position, I'd give them a chance to restart of their own accord first though, before getting any doctors involved.

If you're sure you want to detransition, it's well worth trying to get your testicles working again, because if you succeed, then you can come off hormones altogether and carry on with your life as if nothing had happened (and you'll probably regain your fertility too). If you go on T replacement, then you'll remain infertile, and you'll keep having to take T for the rest of your life and have all the hassle and expense that goes with it.

[Detransition]

I don't care much for fertility but it would be good if after a few months of no hormones T production came back.

[franie]

I had a orchiectomy a year ago at that time the pathology report said  I had no testicular function.I have been on HRT for 24 years.

[HughE]

I don't care much for fertility but it would be good if after a few months of no hormones T production came back.

Given that you're still fairly young and have only been on hormones for a few years, there's a good chance it eventually will if you give it a chance. You'll probably have a few months where you feel quite rough until it does though. I think you're probably better off just doing a "cold turkey" rather than trying to taper down the dose, because both estradiol and spiro are quite strongly T suppressive, and as long as you keep putting them into your body, they're going to prevent your T production from recovering. In your position I'd give my body a chance to restart of its own accord first, before getting any doctors involved. Doctors always do a great job of making out that they know what they're talking about, but the fact is than most of them don't have the first clue when it comes to hormones, and are more likely to make things worse rather than better.

If you do end up going to a doctor, I'd suggest finding  one that specialises in treating male hormonal problems, not just any random doctor. If you talk to men suffering from low testosterone, you'll find that most doctors are profoundly ignorant when it comes to male hormonal problems, and that endocrinologists (the doctors who are supposed to be the specialists in hormones) are actually amongst the worst doctors to see. They tend to be very arrogant and think they know it all, when in fact their knowledge is usually decades out of date or completely wrong.

It's also possible that your hormones might never have been right in the first place, particularly if you have feminine-looking facial features, a gracile bone structure etc. Having below normal male testosterone seems to often go hand in hand with having a feminine gender identity. Even if that's the case, you might still be able to get back to a state where you don't need to take hormones. I've had signs of having low testosterone all my life, but it didn't start causing problems for me healthwise until I was in my 40s.

Anyway, good luck and I hope it works out for you!

[Lois17]

I am in my 30's and have been on estradiol & Androcur for 5 months. I still want to preserve my fertility and want to have children some day.If I stop HRT now,will my fertility and sex drive return?

[Tessa James]

You may well be at or approaching the point of little to no return of fertility while your libido may be far more responsive to discontinuing those medications.  Even with informed consent people are expected to read about and understand the consequences of starting HRT.  I recall about five pages of possible complications, drug interactions and more from starting HRT.  I was required to sign every page and initial every statement.

Some folks place their active sperm in a frozen state but that is spendy $$.  A better informed evaluation may be had after a visit to an active medical provider and a sperm count perhaps?  Good luck

[Kirsteneklund7]

I am in my 30's and have been on estradiol & Androcur for 5 months. I still want to preserve my fertility and want to have children some day.If I stop HRT now,will my fertility and sex drive return?

You will most likely become fertile again .

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