6 Months on T & still on birth control?

[Romiere]

Alright, so I hope this is the right place to post this in terms of specifics on the forum, but here's an overrun of what's been happening.

January 27th, 2015 I was finally able to get my first shot (IM) of T. (I was 16 then turned 17 in April) We searched for a local doctor who was experienced in treating trans folks and I was able to have him officially as my doctor and so-on, so forth.

Before then I was on birth control (the pill) because I had a terrible monthly cycle that left me sick at home for a few days.

Anyways, he knew I was on it, but did not tell me I had to go off of it. Now, 6 months in I'm still taking it (So I'm aware of when I'll have one because I'm a bit of the paranoid type.) I was worried because obviously I was still having the cycle which led to me asking some other transguys on a facebook group and they told me, too, that I should be off of it. That he should have taken me off as soon as I started.

Knowing this I went to him within the week (got my levels checked as well which were where they were supposed to be) and confronted him on this.
He said he found no reason as to why birth control would effect anything. (Yes, the birth control I take does of Estrogen in it.)

And then of course, within a few weeks of that my pills ended and it's still continuing as usual.

I just need some answers.
It's senior year for me in High School and I'm deathly afraid of going off the pill for fear of starting in class or something along those lines, but I don't want to keep having it if the pill is what's making me have it.

If anyone could give me some scientific facts on this or just some well-known advice that would be helpful. Anything would be useful.

[AeroZeppelin92]

I'm no doctor, but I think I would look into a second opinion. Is he an endocrinologist or just a regular family doc? If not I would try and find a good endo.

Taking a birth control with estrogen while simultaneously taking testosterone just doesn't sound right at all. If you're taking T you shouldn't need birth control, the testosterone will eventually stop menstration anyways. If you've been on T since January and you're still having the "monthly" regularly, i guarantee it's from those birth control pills.

[Romiere]

I'm no doctor, but I think I would look into a second opinion. Is he an endocrinologist or just a regular family doc? If not I would try and find a good endo.

Taking a birth control with estrogen while simultaneously taking testosterone just doesn't sound right at all. If you're taking T you shouldn't need birth control, the testosterone will eventually stop menstration anyways. If you've been on T since January and you're still having the "monthly" regularly, i guarantee it's from those birth control pills.

I believe he's just a regular family doctor with experience in administering T, though I'm not entirely sure. From the sounds of it I probably will have to do some looking around for one.

Indeed it doesn't. I'm just surprised he never thought of that himself honestly.

[darksideofthemoon]

When I talked to my doctor about birth control before I started T, I was told that I shouldn't be taking hormonal birth control while on it. Definitely go see and endo.

[iKate]

Yeah I mean for MTFs some of us take conjugated estrogens while having male levels of T in our system, and there is a lot of feminization that happens. Taking both T and E in the form of birth control just seems odd.

[panther]

Definitely go talk to a second doctor. Or third!

I'm highly skeptical of BC - both the ones that contain any estrogens/agonists or progesterone/ progesterone agonists (so all of them, lol). Doctors who claim that it has no downstream effect on HRT or your endogenous endo profile probably should go back and take Endo 101. Introducing any steroid hormone or synthetic agonist into your body has an entire web of effects through cell signaling, metabolites, and negative or positive feedback.

An estrogen agonist would work in direct opposition of T during HRT, and I don't think we can rule out a (synthetic) progesterone or it's metabolite being processed down the cascade into T or E, or cortisol - the "stress hormone".

I believe most BC pills that use estrogen use synthetic E2 (estradiol) which is the major active estrogen in humans - even more reason to dump it.

[Alexthecat]

I have heard of guys being on depo provera while taking T.

[CursedFireDean]

Prior to being on T, I was taking the pill with a lower estrogen level. I stopped it a month before I started T (I thought I was gonna start when I stopped the pill but then my doc had me wait a little longer because my bloodwork wasn't back yet.) My final period was the day I started T, I started near the end of the cycle and I never got another one, at least so far at 10.5 months.

[FTMax]

He should have taken you off it when you started T. It has estrogen in it, which is something you don't want in your body. Competing hormones can do a lot of not so fun things - like making you keep having your period.

Your period should naturally have gone away within the first six months with T alone. Ideally it should have been gone within the first three months. My doctor will put people on Depo Provera if they need birth control or their periods haven't stopped in that time. Consider asking for it instead of the pills next time you see whoever prescribes your birth control.

[Muscle Matt]

I can't believe your doctor thinks it's ok to continue to flood your body with daily estrogen/progesterone/whatever else while you're trying to get results from testosterone.

Doctors always act like birth control pills are low dose and non-problematic. I took a certain pill for a month and a half, and my body is permanently messed up from it. This was 4 years ago. Those pills contain strong hormones, and they WILL have a negative effect on what you're trying for.

I haven't started T yet, but from what people seem to say, your monthly should stop pretty soon after you stop your pills. I would go off it immediately. If you're worried about it starting in class, just make sure to always stay prepared and be on alert.

I am doing some sort of natural transition right now, and keep as many estrogens as possible out of my body, and mine barely even happens anymore (it only lasts a day and a half). I'm sure yours will stop completely rather quickly once you commit to just the T. If you are truly that worried, just wait until the first day that it happens again, and stop the pills right then and there. That way your body has a whole month to try to adjust, so that maybe if the next one does continue to happen, it might not be so bad, and might just barely happen.