Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Right I thought your prostate gland was meant to shrink away during HRT yet on the website i have read it doesnt? And that some of the girls experience it from non-anal sex? Sorry I am curious because I would like to know if even post op if I will still have to get my P gland checked.

Sorry for absoultely weirdest question I have ever asked.

It does not completely "shrink away" and for post-op MtFs it still helps with lubrication.

Quote from: Pleasingly Plump Jamie D on January 04, 2013, 03:55:11 AM
It does not completely "shrink away" and for post-op MtFs it still helps with lubrication.

Really do they ->-bleeped-<- the glad or does it just end up being in the right place?

Quote from: LilDevilOfPrada on January 04, 2013, 03:52:36 AM
I am curious because I would like to know if even post op if I will still have to get my P gland checked.

You mean like prostate cancer? I've read that transwomen have like a 1 in a million chance of getting it, and when they do, it normally occurs in the one's who started their transition later in life.

Quote from: ~RoadToTrista~ on January 04, 2013, 08:08:33 AM
You mean like prostate cancer? I've read that transwomen have like a 1 in a million chance of getting it, and when they do, it normally occurs in the one's who started their transition later in life.

Well hey to be fair its safer to check with actually post op members then possibly outdated websites!

Quote from: LilDevilOfPrada on January 04, 2013, 08:00:42 AM
Really do they ->-bleeped-<- (shift) the glad or does it just end up being in the right place?

They leave it where it is. It may shift slightly due to displacement of the neovagina, but that's about it. They try not to move too much around due to the ever present possibility of fistulas. Only what is necessary with the bladder and lower intestine.

It is an essential organ in the process of attaining sexual stimulation. So it's advisable to leave it and just have a PSA test every so often.

Huggs
Catherine

Quote from: LilDevilOfPrada on January 04, 2013, 08:12:12 AM
Well hey to be fair its safer to check with actually post op members then possibly outdated websites!

I read it on here lulz

Lildevilofprada, take this for what it's worth, I asked my mom(who is a doctor) she said a yearly prostate exam IS needed for anyone who has one....better safe than sorry.  Of course I'm guessing any physician would say this:)  good luck.

Quote from: spring0721 on January 04, 2013, 08:20:38 AM
Lildevilofprada, take this for what it's worth, I asked my mom(who is a doctor) she said a yearly prostate exam IS needed for anyone who has one....better safe than sorry.  Of course I'm guessing any physician would say this:)  good luck.

This then means what trista read on the website lied :o haha but thanks for all the replies.

Sorry....her exact words were it's 'recommended'....but I tend to think physicians err on the side of caution. 

Probably. I'm going to guess that she hasn't actually dealt with a patient who was a transwoman with prostate cancer. :P

It also depends on where you are at: in the US they tell you to have a prostate exam or a pap smear at least once a year. In other places people do what they want and they live happy until they die.

Long story short: what's recommended is not necessarily what one needs to do. A transwoman with prostate cancer is something that apparently happened three times with people who started transition in their 50's, and I think it was not malignant in all three cases. http://m.jcem.endojournals.org/content/93/1/19.full#ref-3 (http://m.jcem.endojournals.org/content/93/1/19.full#ref-3)

My opinion, and my opinion only: is it possible for a trans woman to get prostate cancer? Sure... is stepping into a bathtub quite more dangerous? Definitely!

My two cents,
Andrea

Quote from: ~RoadToTrista~ on January 04, 2013, 01:22:27 PM
Probably. I'm going to guess that she hasn't actually dealt with a patient who was a transwoman with prostate cancer. :P

Trista, my mom is a gynecologist so no she hasn't, but my father is a psychiatrist who does counsel patients starting trnasition(both said that is what is 'recommended')...I'm not a physician, so I wouldn't know personally.  I didn't mean to offend anyone, I was only trying to help.  I would hate for someone to go through cancer that could have been prevented.  I wish you all good health in this new year!

?? I wasn't offended I was just kidding sort of. >.<

Quote from: ~RoadToTrista~ on January 04, 2013, 01:43:14 PM
?? I wasn't offended I was just kidding sort of. >.<

Oh, yeah always hard to tell with messages! Lol....yeah I personally was thinking it was probably rare...both my parents are fairly (I say they're hypochondriacs :)  ) 'cautious' as they like to say, and are very 'by the book' where health is concerned....they both even have their physicals on the same day every year :) so that's kind of why I said 'take it for what it's worth'....you girls have a good day!

Quote from: LilDevilOfPrada on January 04, 2013, 03:52:36 AM
Right I thought your prostate gland was meant to shrink away during HRT yet on the website i have read it doesnt? And that some of the girls experience it from non-anal sex? Sorry I am curious because I would like to know if even post op if I will still have to get my P gland checked.

Sorry for absoultely weirdest question I have ever asked.

Don't worry, it's only weird for you.  I've been asked this and much, MUCH, more weird questions.

It does shrink to about a quarter of the original size.  It is not removed.  It still should be checked.  So that means that we get the best of both worlds.  Regular mammograms and regular prostate exams.  Though with the prostate, a PSA is much more sensitive to the warning signs of cancer than a manipulation.  On the plus side, we don't have to get pap smears (no cervix, no uterus).

Also, because of it's shrinkage, the chance for prostate cancer is much less than men, so there is a little sunshine there.

Also the prostate becomes our G-spot.  Due to the similarities in male and female fetuses, the structure that becomes a prostate in males, becomes the G-spot in females.  But in a born woman, that structure ends up encircling the vaginal opening but ours becomes a nodule.

And yes, OH YES!  It is the source of vaginal orgasms!!!

For me and most women, though the sensation is much different that clitoral stimulation (which is similar to  penile stimulation).  It takes a bit longer, and can cause discharge through the urethra.  It's not urine, but similar to seminal fluid and can lubricate the vagina.  The sensation of a vaginal orgasm is not like a clitoral orgasm and is more like a fulfillment rather than a bang.  And if done right can be done until your batteries or boyfriend give out.

I'd start a thread called "Ask Aunt Sandy" but I think Cindy might send dingoes after me.   ;)

-Sandy

Quote from: Sandy on January 10, 2013, 12:00:20 AMAlso, because of it's shrinkage, the chance for prostate cancer is much less than men, so there is a little sunshine there.

One other thing I missed if it was mentioned in this thread. One of the most effective treatments, but one that tends to be used only as a last resort with cisgendered males with more advanced cases of prostate cancer is... wait for it... estrogen.

Estrogen is very nice. :-) Almost a panacea, at least emotionally and psychologically.

Andrea

Quote from: Elspeth on January 10, 2013, 12:30:39 AM
One other thing I missed if it was mentioned in this thread. One of the most effective treatments, but one that tends to be used only as a last resort with cisgendered males with more advanced cases of prostate cancer is... wait for it... estrogen.

That was the early way to address prostate cancer.  It was subsequently replaced by anti-androgens like spironolactone.  It blocks testosterone which causes the prostate to shrink.  But it does cause the body to feminize as the estrogen produced by the adrenal glands becomes more effective.

Estrogen is a much less powerful sex steroid than testosterone.  So as a result they would have to use massive amounts of estrogen to overcome the testosterone and it would put a strain on the liver.  Anti-androgens reduce that problem.

But because of that, the combination of anti-androgens and estrodial make a quite effective cross hormone therapy.

-Sandy

Quote from: Sandy on January 10, 2013, 06:01:41 AM
That was the early way to address prostate cancer.  It was subsequently replaced by anti-androgens like spironolactone.

I'll try to remember that. Old info is always a risk when you've been looking at this as long as I have. My memories of heavy estrogen treatments were based most vividly on something from one of James Morrow's novels that is at least a decade or two old.