Experiences with "natural transition"

[aleon515]

I agree too. If you are doing so much your period stops, then something is wrong with you. There are less drastic ways of doing this though I'd guess they all involve some risk (menstrual ablation and the IUD Murena).

--Jay Jay

[Ayden]

I think once you get that thin you're pretty unhealthy so I'd not recommend it.

Yes.

[Aussie Jay]

My 2c on natural transition - it can only get you so far. As has been said probably previously - all those supps have to take a toll on your liver and kidneys. Most important question to ask yourself - was he only successful because of his genetics or other conditions like PCOS etc. And currently even Tristan is now 8 months on T injections!

YMMV is an understatement. But hey each to his own - so long as you have GP support and regular tests of liver and kidney function, and other blood work done go your hardest. IMHO though, and this may sound childish and weak but it sounds way too hard! I have enough trouble keeping track of which side I need to inject into - and that's only once every 8 weeks! Let alone taking a handful of pills every day... But I guess if someone said I couldn't have T any more it is something I might look at a little more seriously.

[Stealthy]

I once saw a picture of a dude who was naturally transitioning and had some decent sideburns.

[smittyFTM]

Voice usually changes long before facial hair.

This is not a hard and fast fact; this, like other changes, depends upon genetics.

My facial hair comes in like a champ but I still get ma'amed on the phone lol....after 3 yrs on T!

[wheat thins are delicious]

I once saw a picture of a dude who was naturally transitioning and had some decent sideburns.

Could have been there already.  That's not really conclusive evidence for the case of natural transitioning.

[Shang]

I think once you get that thin you're pretty unhealthy so I'd not recommend it.

That's not necessarily true.  A lot of female athletes don't have periods and so do other active women.  My sister's is pretty much non-existent and it's because she's very active [she's a cop in the military].  It's not really a question as to how thin you are, but how active you are [unless your very, very thin such as with people with anorexia].

I've personally stayed away from natural transitioning.  It's intriguing, but I'd rather take the long medical route.

[aleon515]

Well if you are *really* athletic, I think that it is possible to almost stop. I don't think it is ever considered particularly healthy to stop altogether. There are women athletes with amenorrhea (no periods at all). It still isn't healthy as it is associated with low bone density and injuries.

see here:
http://www.jospt.org/issues/articleID.870/article_detail.asp

--Jay Jay

[Mosaic dude]

This natural transition thing is interesting, but I'm a bit suspicious of it.  It seems like a lot of work and expense for very minimal changes, and the fact that there's only this one guy who's had any success as far as we know...  I'm not convinced.

I once saw a picture of a dude who was naturally transitioning and had some decent sideburns.

I wouldn't read too much into that.  I have reasonably decent sidies, and it has nothing to do with supplements.  It's caused by having Scandinavian genetics.

Does it stop periods at all?  If I simply took an estrogen blocker, would that be enough to stop the bleeding.  I have my reasons of not wanting to take testosterone but I do want the fat gone (especially on the breast and the thigh area)./quote]

Taking supplements won't do this for you.  Your best bet would be the Mirena IUD and a good exercise regime.

[Soren]

(Not good with quotes and such, so this is a general response)
I'm not doing the full natural transition thing, but I am on trib and some dude vitamins. The results are slower, but I kind of prefer it that way. Sharkweek gets shorter. I've been on for two months, and it's half the duration. Gained weight, lost inches. The trib is less than $30 at vitamin shoppe, which is where I get mine. So yeah, the results aren't drastic or anything, but it's a fairly cheap way to feel like your actually doing something while you're waiting to jump through the legal hoops. And as for voice, it seems to make it easier to access lower registers, but it does not lengthen the vocal cords terribly. And it it makes body hair a bit more noticeable. I think the only definite (visible) change I can name for myself so far is that my jaw is a lot sharper.
EDIT: It also makes your feet bigger and your scent change. If you add a little more (I was only taking trib, I added nettle root) sharkweek'll be banned from the programming.

[Arch]

It's not really a question as to how thin you are, but how active you are [unless your very, very thin such as with people with anorexia].

Actually, it does basically boil down to how thin you are. When kids reach a certain percentage of body fat, that's when they reach menarche and start bleeding. When you lose too much body fat, the bleeding stops. Athletes get amenorrhea not because they're active but because they don't have enough body fat.