what could be wrong?

[KerstinVienna]

Hi!

For a long time I've been wondering, whether my estrogen levels are within a normal range for a TG.

I had my SRS 5 months ago:
I'm sweating even if I'm doing nothing, my skin in my face is oily and greasy, sometimes I'm still having pimples.
Fat redistribution is stillpoor. Nearly no breasts, only a little more fat on buttocks, tights etc => ok I've always been quite skinny, and I'm having a androgynous figure.
I never had a problem with sweat till i started HRT 3 years ago.

In my blood, there is:
Estrogens   62 pg/ml (normal (natal female) range: 14-60)
Testosterone   0,25 ng/ml (normal (natal female) range: 2,5-8,4)

My doc says the level is ok and "normal"

I'm taking  Estrofem in the morning and in the eveing.

Do you have any idea? Summer is coming in sweating all the time is SO annoying because I'm looking like a waterfall, can wear only white or black shirts because you can see it under the armpits ... it makes me feel ugly

Any ideas what could be wrong?

I thought with estrogen  there would be less sweat or less oily skin 

Kerstin

[Sandy]

It sounds like you are having hot flashes.  Not an unusual thing for a female.  And not much to be done about it either, unfortunately.  Sometimes an adjustment in hormone levels can help, but this is best discussed with your endocrinologist.

I've always heard that women have more tendency to dry skin, but that is not a rule.  I have noticed that my skin is more dry since I have transitioned.

It may just be normal for you to have more oily skin.  Was that what you had before?

-Sandy

[Janet_Girl]

It sounds like you are having hot flashes.  Not an unusual thing for a female.  And not much to be done about it either, unfortunately.  Sometimes an adjustment in hormone levels can help, but this is best discussed with your endocrinologist.

I've always heard that women have more tendency to dry skin, but that is not a rule.  I have noticed that my skin is more dry since I have transitioned.

It may just be normal for you to have more oily skin.  Was that what you had before?

-Sandy

Actually you can do something about hot flashes, Sandy.  It is called opening a window. 

As for the oily skin, some girls have that problem.  Just get a good cleanser, maybe something for acne.  It will help remove the oil.

Other than that get a personal fan.  I have hot flashes and just use a fan or open the window.  They started just after my Orchie and continued.  Gee go figure.   

[Sandy]

Actually you can do something about hot flashes, Sandy.  It is called opening a window. 

As for the oily skin, some girls have that problem.  Just get a good cleanser, maybe something for acne.  It will help remove the oil.

Other than that get a personal fan.  I have hot flashes and just use a fan or open the window.  They started just after my Orchie and continued.  Gee go figure.   

I know a lot of girls that get hot flashes.  I get night sweats, I think I'd like to trade sometimes.  I really don't like waking up in a puddle!

-Sandy

[Janet_Girl]

I get them too.  Just sitting and Bam I begin to sweat.  Oh the joys of being a middle aged woman.

[gothique11]

Since you've had SRS 5 months ago, it's gonna take a while until your body adjusts. It took me a while, at least a good 6-7 before things started changing again, a year everything evened out.

You may want to add some progestrone (prometrium kind) to your HRT and see how that works. You could also be that your estrogen is going up and down a lot. You body is still healing and adjusting to everything, which takes time, and it can take a while for your body to be on track with the HRT.

I still get pimples from time to time, usually showing up when I start to PMS about every month-ish. I'll break out. It happens to a lot of women.

[KerstinVienna]

hi!

I never had any problem with my temperature till I startet HRT.
So I hope it will be better after srs, although i fear nothing will change ...
my doc doensnt want to give me progesterone (because of risk of having cancer) .. perhaps I should increase my dosage ....

hope its getting better soon

Kerstin

[KerstinVienna]

well I tried pills, patches and gel and the pills gave me the best result.
I'll discuss it with her but well Im not sure whether it will help
maybe I'll ask another doctor about her opinion.

[andream]

Is that serum estradiol? The normal serum estradiol range for 15-17 year-old girls is 40 to 410 pg/ml. The range for genetic adult females is much higher, going from 20pg/ml to 750 pg/ml depending on where she is in her cycle... at 62 pg/ml you are at the lower end of normal.

My doctor tries to keep me at 200 to 400 pg/ml, but prefers me to be at 400 pg/ml, although maintaing that on a daily basis is difficult given the fluctuations from the injections. I don't know about post-op levels. I am pre-op, so I don't know how much difference that makes.

Maybe ask your doctor to increase your dosages? I remember a few weeks ago I hadn't had an injection for 10 days. My blood test for that day showed a 40 pg/ml serum estradiol level. I was irritable, tired, listless, all that good stuff. What's more, since I also take progesterone, the low estradiol levels encouraged colostrum discharge, which was fun, but not something I want.

Those figures I quoted above are from the 2004 version 3rd edition of the Quest Diagnostics Manual of Endocrinology, which means it is slightly outdated, but still useful. You can find the updated version here, although it is different:

http://www.questdiagnostics.com/hcp/intguide/endometab/endomanual.pdf

Update: I actually just looked at this 4th edition manual. For some reason the manual doesn't show serum estradiol, which is what my doctor and I use. I suppose you could extrapolate that by getting the numbers for the serum estrone test and subtracting those from the total serum estrogen test. Assuming you're using the total serum estrogen test (E1 Estrone & E2 Estradiol combined) then at 62pg/ml you are lower than the lowest bound for adult females, which according to this manual is 70pg/ml. I definitely would ask your doc about this.