Starting MTF transition, some questions :)

[Northern Jane]

Maybe I shouldn't say this but when I was at teen (1960's) my doctor put me on estrogen against my mother's wishes because he knew damned well I was going to do it anyway!

[Hannah]

That's a good point Renate, we all worry about our livers so much but it's our kidneys that are really taking the beating.

As far as the unverified seller thing, ya buying them from a guy in a trenchcoat isn't too smart, but there we go back to the Darwin award thing. There are a
couple very reputable and very well priced pharmacies who don't require a script and have actually better quality drugs than I get from the local wal mart pharmacy. It's ethnocentric to think that just because they aren't in our nation that they are seedy. For example, Dr.
Reddys labs makes the Celexa I take every day and get from the local pharmacy on script, and they also make the Dutas that I don't have a script for...my script is for Avodart and that's 3x as expensive and the same thing. If their quality is poor the Celexa could screw me up far worse than the Dutas. This kind of reminds me of a episode of Glen Bek I saw (ugh) where he said "if you want you hip replaced do you go to the Mayo clinic or *sneer* Mumbai?

I would think that a group with such a large population that travels over seas for procedures would be a little better about this.

[lilacwoman]

I did read one study where two people had died 'from hormone overdose' but in fcat one was a suicide via spiro after being told no way to get free surgery and rhe other had a bad depression problem and overdosed on Spiro again. 
But in both cases the hormones weren't to blame.

Then on the other hand how many kindly doctors have covered over hormone deaths in the same way that the erotic hangings are just classed as  'while balance of mind was affected' and no mention that they were clothed in tight rubber and handcuffs and doing that strangulation thing for the bigger kick?

[AweSAM!]

For example, Dr. Reddys labs makes the Celexa I take every day and get from the local pharmacy on script, and they also make the Dutas that I don't have a script for...my script is for Avodart and that's 3x as expensive and the same thing.

I hate to pick apart this little point when the rest of your post, I am in agreement with (punches Glenn Beck for perpetuating idiocy). Avodart = Dutasteride = Dutas. There is no true difference other than colouring and the fact that Avodart is a brand name for Dutasteride produced by GlaxoSmithKline. Most doctors will prescribe generics due to them having the same chemical formulation, but lesser price. In Ontario, on many prescriptions, doctors will put a note to the pharmacy that a generic can be substituted for the brand name med. Why not ask your practitioner if you can be placed on a generic, and suggest the Dutas?

To the OP: It is far from advisable to self-medicate. You are putting your health at risk. The SOC should be flexible, but sometimes, you just have to play the cards you are dealt. Or, talk to, or find a therapist you can trust, and who has YOUR best interests in mind. If you decide to self-medicate, please seek a doctors' help/advice ASAP. But that is essentially a moot point since you should not self-medicate in the first place.

[Purple Pimp]

Hi Jenny,

Whatever choices you end up making, you've done well to find this place.  I started transition with HRT about a month before my 21st birthday, and I can tell you from experience that it's certainly not too late.  Some things, like the skeleton, will never change (except for maybe a little decrease in height due to the decrease in muscle mass), but the long-term effects of a testosterone-based system can be largely avoided.  I hope you stick around, ask questions, and get the answers you need.

Lia

[lilacwoman]

I had a pix yesterday from a MtF who started transition about 6 months ago at age 34...dramatic results and is now looks like 15 years younger...she has a good teaching job so could afford proper hormone checks and therapy...she is thinking of being ready for srs later this year.

[Kay Henderson]

dramatic results and is now looks like 15 years younger...

I'm constantly being told that I look 15 years younger than my actual age (68), and I suspect that some of my more youthful facial appearance has to do with the effects of estrogen. 

But it also may reflect the fact that I'm happier and far less stressed than I was while in the throes of GID.

[K8]

I'm constantly being told that I look 15 years younger than my actual age (68), and I suspect that some of my more youthful facial appearance has to do with the effects of estrogen. 

But it also may reflect the fact that I'm happier and far less stressed than I was while in the throes of GID.

I think you may be right, Kay.  When a friend of a friend said she thought I was the same age as her (43), I thought she was just being overly polite.  (I'm 66.)  I think that it is both the physical and psychological effects of the estrogen that make us look and feel younger.

- Kate