Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I'm about 6 weeks on T and I've noticed that I get way warmer at night and while exercising. I also sweat more and get headaches more frequently. Has anyone else had experience with this? It seems to fit the symptoms of menopause, which would make a lot of sense. Did this go away for anyone or is it pretty permanent?

Yes.  My tolerance for heat diminished fairly noticeably right away and remains the same 26 months later.  I also noticed that I was having "hot flushes" soon after starting, but they went away after a few months.  I'd say it's fairly normal since you've not long started.  Just keep an eye on how you feel and speak with your doctor if you're concerned.

Yes, last time I was on T, I had a problem with overheating.  When I did, my skin would become very warm; I would perceive the room I was in as being much warmer than most other people experienced it; and I would blank out and zone out mentally while overheating.  My grades suffered due to this.  Strangers accused me of being "on drugs" because I guess I seemed that way during "overheating."  This overheating got worse, more frequent, and more severe over time in my own case until I finally quit T.  At it's worst, I couldn't even follow a conversation.  I would forget what we were talking about in the middle of it.  As a 23 year old person who normally has superior/very superior intelligence, this was very unusual for me.

(It took me so long to get approval to be on T, and I had hoped to transition for so long, that I felt devastated when this health problem forced me to stop, and I put off stopping because of that.  Toward the end of my being on T, I received a neuropsychological exam* measuring memory and cognitive performance found a sharp decline in my ability to remember and multitask after T.)

I've compared notes with many other people and most people do NOT have this problem (that I did).  [/b]

As a premed, I suspect that the problem may or may not have something to do with the following: I was injecting testosterone ethanate every other week, and my blood levels were in the 300's.  For a biological man, that would be on the very low side of "normal."  I was in my early 20's at that time. 

Hope this is helpful to you.

*A neuropsychological exam is the type of test used to screen for learning disabilities and measures intelligence or performance in different categories.




Edited for dosage

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Consult your Dr.

When you transition you basically go through a period of time where your body is in a menopausal state. That's why you get hot flashes. Ask your doc about it. It's not dangerous unless your hormone levels stay in that state for a long time (like years), then you are at risk for menopausal related issues like loss of bone density.

I should add this will go away if you're slowly increasing your dose. If you're like me and swimming in the middle on purpose just make sure you talk to your doctor and have a bi-yearly check up with them.

Quote from: MxMixter on March 10, 2014, 02:46:51 PM
When you transition you basically go through a period of time where your body is in a menopausal state. That's why you get hot flashes. Ask your doc about it. It's not dangerous unless your hormone levels stay in that state for a long time (like years), then you are at risk for menopausal related issues like loss of bone density.

I should add this will go away if you're slowly increasing your dose. If you're like me and swimming in the middle on purpose just make sure you talk to your doctor and have a bi-yearly check up with them.

Why do you "swim in the middle"?

I have a lot of trouble with overheating when during exercise but not at rest. Sometimes I can not even stay on the treadmill for 10 minutes.

I didn't have hot flashes when I transitioned--I had already experienced that during menopause at forty-two--but I run quite a bit warmer than I used to. Too bad, really, because I have a lot of cashmere sweaters that I don't much need anymore. I sort of dread spring, summer, and early fall. Southern California is nice and warm, and I now wish I lived in a somewhat cooler area.