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So, I hit the 8month consecutive mark, and my labs just came back..  Not happy...


Estradiol:        65 pg/mL
Testosterone: 44 ng/dL

No wonder I feel like poo..  Testosterone is old man status, and Estradiol is old woman status  :(

Hang in there. You will be on hrt all your life and its better to work at the balance then rush.

Frustrating I know but its way better then before you started.

Always something of positive.

Just keep working on the goals of you and your doctors.

Safe is life.

Izzy

My estradiol level is up from my 3month lab, but only by a few points.  My T is only a little lower than baseline...  I'm on a pretty high dose (pill) of both estradiol and spiro.  I told my doctor before starting that I am almost entirely immune to oral medication.  I've never taken an oral medication that had any measurable effect on my body.  Thus I am willing to bet I almost completely metabolize it with a first pass through the liver.

Much to my chagrin, he kept the dosage the same from 3rd to 6th month despite my informing him of my super liver.  I'm both slightly dismayed, given I just received word that he is closing his practice, but also optimistic that the doctor in which he has referred my care, will take my findings and previous experience to heart.

Yup, that level seems pretty low. My levels are way above 1,000 with injectables (up to 4,000) and I'm doing great, much better than on oral. Hopefully, new doctor will find a way to get levels a little higher if they deem it safe and effective for you. Good luck. ;)

Thanks Kay:)

It explains why I am constantly sweating and gaining weight in my belly on low cal diet

I don't think low cal diet is good for the body, you are starving it perhaps of what it needs. And a body lacking nutrients, energy won't be able to develop optimally on hormones. Just my 2 cents...;)

I'm eating balanced meals, just not 2500 calories

Are you taking the estradiol pills sublingually or swallowing them?

Quote from: KayXo on July 15, 2014, 10:41:41 AM
Yup, that level seems pretty low. My levels are way above 1,000 with injectables (up to 4,000) and I'm doing great, much better than on oral. Hopefully, new doctor will find a way to get levels a little higher if they deem it safe and effective for you. Good luck. ;)

Are you sure that's the same unit of measurement as in the OP? That's drastically higher than cis female range even at peaks.

pg/ml vs pmol/L

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estradiol#Ranges

These are indeed my levels. Pregnant ciswomen experience levels anywhere from 800-75,000 pg/ml. Some women are pregnant several times during their lives. These levels that I mention come from actual studies measuring blood levels during pregnancy.

Quote from: KayXo on July 15, 2014, 06:03:50 PM
These are indeed my levels. Pregnant ciswomen experience levels anywhere from 800-75,000 pg/ml. Some women are pregnant several times during their lives. These levels that I mention come from actual studies measuring blood levels during pregnancy.

Wow. That's really high. O.o
Mine are around 65 pg/ml from sublingual pills.
Does that much estradiol help? Or does it just not matter after a certain point??

I don't think the goal should be cis levels but pubescent levels... Right now I'm menopausal levels lol!  And I'm swallowing, because I tried sublingual and really didn't have any positive effect, as the molecules are too large to pass through the membrane, I would go sublingual with micronized estradiol if I had a prescription for it instead

Quote from: Thylacin on July 15, 2014, 06:44:28 PMDoes that much estradiol help? Or does it just not matter after a certain point??

In my case, it helped and did make a SIGNIFICANT difference. :) To each their own. 

Quote from: HeatherR on July 15, 2014, 07:03:41 PM
I don't think the goal should be cis levels but pubescent levels... Right now I'm menopausal levels lol!  And I'm swallowing, because I tried sublingual and really didn't have any positive effect, as the molecules are too large to pass through the membrane, I would go sublingual with micronized estradiol if I had a prescription for it instead

Isn't all estradiol micronized these days??

Not according to my doctor

Well, former doctor lol

I'd be surprised if all estradiol wasn't micronized these days because then, I think absorption through the digestive tract would be VERY low and ineffective. 

Hmm, don't know!  All I know is  I want a detour around my super liver:/

Hi,
On my most recent lab results my E was at 310pg/ml and free T at 0,4pg/ml.

I'll be doing my GRS in a few weeks and both because of that and because of my very low T (even lower than normal for a GG) I stopped taken Spiro (already very low dose) and reduced my E intake by a third as the first step in stopping altogether a couple of weeks before surgery.

Interestingly, and to my very big surprise, since doing this about a month ago, I've had a significant spurt of breast growth.

I don't know what conclusion to draw except that, withing reason,  maybe less can be more?


Anyway, wishing you the best of luck
Donna

Quote from: HeatherR on July 15, 2014, 08:54:21 PM
Hmm, don't know!  All I know is  I want a detour around my super liver:/

I haven't heard of estradiol pills where sublingual absorption doesn't work. Am I allowed to ask what kind of pill it is (as long as I don't ask about doses)?

My bottle just says

ESTRADIOL *MG TAB TEVA

I do know, when price checking my script, there was an option for ESTRADIOL MICRO...

According to NIH.gov, it is listed as micronized.  So I guess my doc is wrong wrong wrong.

Quote from: HeatherR on July 16, 2014, 09:34:26 AM
My bottle just says

ESTRADIOL *MG TAB TEVA

I do know, when price checking my script, there was an option for ESTRADIOL MICRO...

According to NIH.gov, it is listed as micronized.  So I guess my doc is wrong wrong wrong.

Yeah good. I've been taking it sublingually since month 1. I think my dosage is low and my blood levels are in the low range (near yours), but I think that might be because I had been doing half my dose in the morning, and half at night, leading to big spikes and a heavy decline by the time I would get my bloodwork mid afternoon. I've started splitting my daily intake into many smaller subdoses. I think I feel better, but I'm not sure. . .
Blood work in a few weeks to see if my levels are better now.

Guess that's why my new doctors says he don't test for E and T. Told me that if I feel good then that's more important than numbers. I think sometimes knowing the numbers would just make one more anxious, upset of they weren't what they'd hoped for. I'd love to know where I'm at on my levels (probably really low), maybe later once I've been on the hormones for a while I'll request those tests anyway.

Thing is, I've been feeling extremely lethargic, gaining weight uncontrollably in the stomach, and sweating profusely with very little activity attributed to it.


I feel gross all the time, unless I drink like 5 rockstars.  I never really drank caffeine before recently

I can't see the caffeine helping, surely don't help me, makes me jittery as hell and if I didn't have anxiety before that I usually do after eating chocolate. Think maybe you have an endocrine disorder? I know I do, just have to find out what exactly, will be testing for that soon.

Like I said, you might not be getting enough estrogen in your body...BUT, it's for your doctors to decide on this and map out a plan for you to feel better. You should let them know.

I don't think it's quite right, either. The first thing that I noticed upon starting HRT is that my "manly" sweat practically disappeared. That alone was a good reason for joy. I haven't reached a conclusion about belly fat, though (too early).

Maybe try patches?  It bypassed the liver and I'm having hood results so far.

Hugs

Kay

Having a subdermal implant might be a good way to avoid the super liver. I've been on one for over nine months and the readings are generally well over 1,000 whatevers (well, except for the last few months before I got a replacement)

But the sweating and weight gain is exactly what I had going on during my first attempt at transition. I have no idea what my levels were like but I'd bet they were in the same ball park as you, and that was despite getting a monthly E inhection.