Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Ok I'll try to keep this organized, but I've been going crazy over this. I'm almost 3 years into my transition, and this month I started seeing breast growth for the first time in over a year at least. I was very excited to see this, but it didn't work out how I wanted.

I tried very hard to encourage the growth, I quit smoking, even coffee, and tried to eat at a surplus every day. Of course this ended up being one of the hardest months ever, and I relapsed several times into depression and self starvation. For context I have and ED called ARFID, which impacts my motivation to eat, especially when I'm mentally unwell.

My left breast has always lacked tissue below the areola, and I was getting pains there, signalling it was finally beginning to fill in. I'm sad to say at a low point I was ignoring this feeling, and then got that awful sensation of your body giving up on developing tissue, like kind of a burny feeling. Now my boobs are sore, especially my right, and it seems to be filling out, but my left one is no longer developing tissue where it was going to. I'm honestly very worried I blew my last chance to have a rounded out left breast.

The other factor is I've been on cyproterone for about 4 months, and I think this is what triggered the growth. But now I'm experiencing a progesterone-like filling out, and I'm worried I'll never have another growth spurt for breast duct tissue.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience, starving during a growth spurt, losing potential growth, has anyone come back from it? What are the chances stunted tissue can resume growth? Is that even possible?

  @Dogstatic 
Dear Dogstatic:
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            cc: @Sarah B
                  @LoriDee

Hello Dogstatic!

Welcome to Susan's Place.

I am on different medication than you are, so my experience would be different. If this is something that is concerning to you, I would highly recommend that you speak to your doctor about it. I say this for several reasons. No one here knows your medical history and we cannot dispense medical advice. Your doctor will know what meds you are being given, and at what dose, and can make adjustments as needed. Your doctor can also perform a breast exam or even order a mammogram to see what is happening there. If there is a problem, your doctor will know how to handle that.

It may not be a problem at all. Breasts do change size and shape throughout our lifetimes. It is not always about hormones and diet. The endocrine system is a complex part of our bodies and I think that your best option is to talk to someone that knows you and your body.

I hope this helps in some way.

Again, welcome to Susan's Place!

Lori Dee

Quote from: LoriDee on April 24, 2024, 07:16:10 PMHello Dogstatic!

Welcome to Susan's Place.

I am on different medication than you are, so my experience would be different. If this is something that is concerning to you, I would highly recommend that you speak to your doctor about it. I say this for several reasons. No one here knows your medical history and we cannot dispense medical advice. Your doctor will know what meds you are being given, and at what dose, and can make adjustments as needed. Your doctor can also perform a breast exam or even order a mammogram to see what is happening there. If there is a problem, your doctor will know how to handle that.

It may not be a problem at all. Breasts do change size and shape throughout our lifetimes. It is not always about hormones and diet. The endocrine system is a complex part of our bodies and I think that your best option is to talk to someone that knows you and your body.

I hope this helps in some way.

Again, welcome to Susan's Place!

Lori Dee

Thanks for the reply!

I see what you mean, I'm actually seeing my endocrinologist tomorrow, so I'm going to bring it up to him and see what he has to say. I have a tendency to jump to the worst possible conclusion, so it doesn't really do me much good to obsess over this stuff, I really hope he can help clear this up for me.

It would be nice to know what he has to say. But only share what you are comfortable sharing.
I was taught that 90% of the things we worry about never happen.
Good luck tomorrow. Hoping for good news for you.

Welcome to Susan's Place,  Dogstatic!

Breasts are mostly fat. Your self starvation will restrict your body's ability to store fat.

Is your eating disorder self diagnosed, or are you working with a doctor on it?

Using Occam's razor would suggest that poor nutrition is the cause of your issue, not the HRT that you're using.

I hope you get everything resolved. Please keep us updated. See you around the site!

Hugs, Devlyn

Hello Dogstatic

My name is Sarah B   and I would also like to formally, Welcome you to Susan's Place!

You wrote the following comments:

Quote from: Dogstatic on April 24, 2024, 06:34:12 PMOk I'll try to keep this organized, but I've been going crazy over this. I'm almost 3 years into my transition, and this month I started seeing breast growth for the first time in over a year at least. I was very excited to see this, but it didn't work out how I wanted.

I tried very hard to encourage the growth, I quit smoking, even coffee, and tried to eat at a surplus every day. Of course this ended up being one of the hardest months ever, and I relapsed several times into depression and self starvation. For context I have and ED called ARFID, which impacts my motivation to eat, especially when I'm mentally unwell.

My left breast has always lacked tissue below the areola, and I was getting pains there, signalling it was finally beginning to fill in. I'm sad to say at a low point I was ignoring this feeling, and then got that awful sensation of your body giving up on developing tissue, like kind of a burny feeling. Now my boobs are sore, especially my right, and it seems to be filling out, but my left one is no longer developing tissue where it was going to. I'm honestly very worried I blew my last chance to have a rounded out left breast.

The other factor is I've been on cyproterone for about 4 months, and I think this is what triggered the growth. But now I'm experiencing a progesterone-like filling out, and I'm worried I'll never have another growth spurt for breast duct tissue.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience, starving during a growth spurt, losing potential growth, has anyone come back from it? What are the chances stunted tissue can resume growth? Is that even possible?

There are several things you need to know about breasts and the growth in general.  It can take up to 5 years at least for breasts to grow and this is not a hard and fast rule.  Every women's breast development is different, breasts are not perfectly symmetrical and breasts are different from women to women, in fact the body is not perfectly symmetrical.

There are many causes for uneven breasts including hormonal changes, genetics, and underlying medical or skeletal conditions.  Weight gain or loss issues can also contribute to the look of the breasts.

The questions that you pose in your post can only be answered by medical professionals and you should consult your GP, or endocrinologist or 'therapist' (who specialize in transgender issues) to help you along in your journey and achieve your dreams.

Once you feel comfortable here, it would be appreciated if you add a little bit more about yourself in the Introductions Forum of course.  I would appreciate it very much as, I'm always interested in learning something new.

In addition members of Susan's will more than likely will come along and discuss problems or issues that are similar to yours as most of us have experienced these as well.

We are here to help you as much as possible, you only have to ask and we will do our best to do so.

Once again, Welcome to Susan's Place!
Sarah B
Offical Greeter
@LoriDee
@Northern Star Girl
@Dogstatic
@Devlyn