Why don't trans women over a certain age progress beyond Tanner 3?

[Denjin]

Just wanted to also chime in that you can get Tanner 5.  I started in my mid 20s quite a while ago and am Tanner 5.  Injectable estradiol valerate and then gel 'pills' of micronised progesterone.  However, it may be true that age has some impact on all of this, depending on your genetics, etc.

[Debra]

I'm on injections and am supposed to get my blood drawn in between shots. Well this past Friday I forgot that and went in for my labs the morning after my shot and now I have to go back and get it done again. My E level was 2086 and it's usually around 300. My doc called me and knew exactly what happened.

Yep gotta lov einjections =) Shoots your E way up haha.

[ChloëAri]

Do the tanner stages have to do only with size or other stuff? I'm a little over a year and while I have good size (41 bust, 31 under and I wear 34C comfortably) my nipples aren't as developed as I'd hoped they would be. They are slightly bigger than pencil erasers and not that big. I'm hoping progesterone will help though.

If 41" isn't a typo, you should be in a 32G, or if you want a 34 band, 34F.

[SamKelley]

During female puberty at Tanner Stage IV, menarche occurs, which is when progesterone starts cycling in the body. The progesterone creates lobuloalveolar tissue which doesn't add much to breast size however it creates structural changes in the breast which can release the tuberous breast stage.

(Progestins are not the same as micronised progesterone and behave differently in the body.)

Do check the half life on the estrogen - however you're taking it. Pretty much all forms don't deliver a consistent dose over time but this can be managed if you're aware of it.

Cycling the progesterone for say 10 days of the month is closer to the natural female cycle and progesterone has the effect of regulating estrogen receptors for those 10 days. So of you take progesterone full time this may limit the effects of estrogen.

Finally estrogen can have only a limited effect if your androgen levels are high. They should be in a mid to low female range.

[KayXo]

Cycling the progesterone for say 10 days of the month is closer to the natural female cycle

The female cycle is certainly not natural and only until recently, have women experienced so many menstrual cycles in a lifetime leading some researchers to believe that this may be one reason why breast cancer is more widespread among women. Traditionally, women spent more time being pregnant and breastfeeding. Celibate nuns, with hundreds of menstrual cycles, were more prone to getting breast cancer.

Finally estrogen can have only a limited effect if your androgen levels are high.

As estrogen levels increase, androgen levels inevitably and naturally decrease. This is due to the negative feedback that occurs at the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. Estrogen is also anti-androgenic within cells. The more E, the less potent A will be.

[SamKelley]

Hi KayXo, you seem to have taken issue with something I've said, and this is getting OT for the OP. You may be correct however some trans women seem to benefit from progesterone, sometimes cycled, sometimes not. From what I've read so far this is highly variable per individual.

I'm not going to address the rest of your post because it's OT. If you like I'm happy to discuss PM.

*hugs*
Sami

[iKate]

If 41" isn't a typo, you should be in a 32G, or if you want a 34 band, 34F.

Not a typo at all but our chests are shaped differently. Or maybe I'm measuring wrong. I just measure the circumference over the nipples.