Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I just have a quick question? Do you really need Spiro as a part of your Hrt to have a successful transitionn cause I've read that a lot of you all don't take. Some of you just take E and P together and it does basically the same in blocking what it needs to block

My understanding is that Progesterone has some level of anti-androgenic effect.

For what it is worth, while I was on HRT, I could not use spironolactone (adverse drug interaction), and Androcur is illegal in the US. So I was on an entirely different AA.

Everyone is different. What works well for one is not as effective or even dangerous for the other. Best to leave the finer details up to the Endo. :)

Hi,

Because my body is different no it did not work,or was needed ,   each person is different and if your on meds when you have your blood tested itll show up whats working or not, so make sure you do your blood tests as is normal and ask your Endo ,

And again P would be a waste of time because of no body receptors,  may work for some so again blood tests are importaint.

...noeleena...

I didn't need Spiro, E killed all of my T within a few weeks.

I went on Spiro purely to change my hair growth to a female distribution.

Initially, my endo didn't want me on Spiro because my T levels were naturally low.  In the end, she allowed me to go on it and I'm glad that she did.  In any case, most people do require an anti-androgen, but some don't need it.  Find out where you are and follow through with the best course of action.  Good luck! :)

My doctor tried me on E alone, and I got very little T suppression. Started me on spiro and I had complete breasts within a couple weeks.

Estrogen alone is capable of shutting down testosterone production in some cases. In many cases, it cannot. Progesterone can have similar effects but neither one is considered a true anti-androgen.

My own endocrinologist started me on estrogen alone and that worked for a bit then my testosterone levels bounced back. He put me on spiro and we've been fighting a yo-yo battle against my t-levels ever since. They're not really male normal t-levels anymore but they've not settled down safely low enough for him to be happy with them yet either. I'm bouncing between 70 and 190 ng/dl when female normal ranges are considered 6-85 ng/dl and male normal are 270-1100 ng/dl.

We're both frustrated at the slow feminization I'm seeing thus far though it is slowly occurring. I am beginning to consider an orchiectomy as one way to terminate this testosterone problem.

So the TL;DR answer is estrogen might lower your testosterone levels but don't count on it.

Every MTF will need some form of estrogen (oral, injectable, dermal absorption or implant, the exact type and form will vary).  Most will need some type blocker (and there are several available).   Progesterone can help a few.  Some will need the T makers removed and the majority would benefit from the removal.

If you are not getting the results you need, see your endo and start changing the type, the form or the blocker.  Or, remove the T makers.

Jen

Fwiw i had lackluster feminization on e only, and once i started Spiro, i really noticed the difference

I had a bizarre reaction to Spiro, felt like my lungs were crushing in, so it was promptly discontinued.  After that experience, I just went ahead with the orchie before starting Estrogen - and within that first year after the orchie, on E, things really changed.  But I'm weird & I always have to do things my way, for better or for worse [Better because Estrogen was unopposed, worse because later down the road it kinda messed up my SRS].

I was never offered it,was it in the UK in 1991 - 94?

"need"... no. Is it amazing and will help you buttloads...yes.

I like to be simple and to the point. You want to KNOW that what you're taking will do what you want it to do. The effects of progesterone are debated (but from what I noticed it increases breast size about a half cup or so while you take it (goes away if you cycle and aren't always on it). I don't know about the anti T properties of it, if there are any. But i'd do what you know works, you could always add in progesterone later if you want (depending on your doctor)

As others have said, it depends. Personally, I started off taking a very low dose of estrogen, and it turned out that even after I had to cut that dose in half, my T dropped into the female range and stayed there. So I never bothered with spiro; I didn't want to take extra meds if I didn't have to.

My spiro came 9 months after my low dose of E had been cooking nicely.  The spiro was the result of another hypertension diuretic that I had been taking for 20 years crashing my potassium, and the internist who prescribed it for me had not had the E prescription sink in on his mind when he hit the computer keyboard to prescribe the spiro.  It was only when he was telling me about undesireable male side effects that he caught the full situation, we had a good laugh and I am his first TS patient.

As far as transitioning, hell, we don't really even NEED any of the hormones to do that!!!