I had a ton of bookmarks for various studies, and for some reason, I can't find them now.
Quote from: Robbyv213 on July 24, 2025, 04:26:27 PMThat being said I would like to potentially see about finasteride since that helps fight dht and I'm trying to grow out my hair as long as I can.
Finasteride is a 5α-reductase inhibitor. 5α-reductase is an enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT. Finasteride blocks the conversion but, in doing so, increases free testosterone in the system and lowers progesterone. It is primarily used for treating prostate cancer, so in most cases, they are not concerned about it affecting progesterone in men. It is also a weak androgen blocker, like Spiro.
Leuprolide (Eligard) targets luteinizing hormone, which then shuts down testosterone production. Since it does this without messing with 5α-reductase, it doesn't mess with other hormones. By shutting down T production, lower levels happen, thus there is less to convert to DHT. Lower, but not zero.
Casodex (bicalutamide) blocks androgen receptors. It does not affect any hormones; it only blocks the receptors, making T ineffective. I noticed my hair growing back after taking Casodex for three months because the receptors in the scalp were being blocked.
Quote from: Robbyv213 on July 24, 2025, 04:26:27 PMAnd potentially asking about a higher dose for estrogen and or progesterone.
Every where I have read, they say estrogen in cis women levels are 30-400, where as MTF levels are only 100-200. And test levels for cis women are 15-70, while for MTF women levels should be below 55.
Those levels can even be further broken down into age groups. My Endo said she wanted my estradiol levels at 150. The 30 - 400 is a huge range and is for pre-menopausal women.
Medically normal estrogen levels are ranges that serve as guidelines:
Reproductive Years: Levels fluctuate during the menstrual cycle (from about 20 to 400 pg/mL)
Pregnancy: Levels rise to support fetal growth (depending on trimester, roughly 200 to 10,000 pg/mL)
Menopause: Levels significantly decrease (falling to approximately 20 pg/mL or less)What they fail to realize is that we are not "pre-menopause", we are "pre-puberty". We are trying to get through puberty, so our levels should be in that range. In my opinion, being within the 200 - 300 range is okay, and my gynecologist agreed to try it.
The determining factor is not what number your labs say. What is important is how you feel, what symptoms you have. Doctors never cure anything. They are trained to treat the symptoms. So, if your symptoms are hot flashes, night sweats, and moodiness, the doctor will check the labs to see if your hormones are too low. Even if they seem to be ok on paper, your symptoms tell a different story, and perhaps an increase is needed.
In medicine and pharmacology, they use a term called the "Minimum Effective Dose". Medicine is prescribed in the smallest amounts to get the job done. They avoid increases (unless it's not effective) to avoid problems with higher doses. Avoid using the terms "high levels" with them. What they mean by high levels of estrogen means something different to us. High levels of anything to them signal danger.
After a year of estradiol, it is ok to start to increase your levels. Mine only went above 100 three times in four years, which is why I started researching and trying to teach my doctors what they forgot in medical school.
My symptoms continued that entire time, and finally, we got my dose high enough to relieve my symptoms.
Quote from: Robbyv213 on July 24, 2025, 04:26:27 PMConcerns are feminizing affects, hair growth/loss, and potential side effects of adding specific anti androgen meds other than progesterone or estrogen and maintaining a feeling of good health (since the last time I was on Spiro I did not feel the greatest health wise)
I too had issues with Spiro, but toughed it out. It wasn't working, so they added Finasteride. Both are weak anti-androgens and not designed for our purposes. Why not get the right stuff that does what you want it to do? Since your T levels are low enough, I would not recommend the Eligard (leuprolide) injections.
Since you want to add something for hair, I would suggest Casodex (bicalutamide) tablets. They block the androgen receptors, do not affect hormone levels, and I have had success with it.
I hope this helps. This is all stuff I have learned over the years from reading a lot of studies. Hopefully, you have enough information here to speak with your doctor about what you want to accomplish and how you think you can do that. If any of this is unclear, Dr. Google is pretty good at finding answers, too.
