Susan's Place Transgender Resources

So, I am kind of freaking out.  I m about 6 weeks on HRT and after my most recent blood work my dr. told me I had to cut my Spiro by half. He said I have elevated kidney function, and below normal sodium levels. I know you can't give medical advice here, I am just looking for anyone else that has had a similar experience, and how they moved forward.  I am on a few other daily medications, and one of them acts as a "booster" to maintain blood levels for the other medications.  I have to be careful what meds I take because it can "boost" things you don't want boosted, such as Xanax.  One small pill will have the affect of 5 pills on someone else. So I googled interactions with Spiro, and this booster med I am on can elevate concentrations of Spiro in your blood.  I am wondering also if anyone else had similar experiences.  I am so scared I won't be able to continue transitioning, or that I will have to "live as a woman for a year" without HRT which scares the ->-bleeped-<- out of me, so I can have SRS and get myself rid of the testosterone factories between my legs.  Ugh.  Nothing is ever easy for me.  Nothing. Grrrr.

PS I don't have hormone levels yet, my doctor wants to wait until the 3 month mark.  Also, when I asked my dr. about my booster med, he said he wasn't aware of an interaction but would look into it and I was told to wait until we recheck my labs in two weeks.

I apologize if this is too medical in nature, I am just really nervous.  Thanks.

Mod edit: No dises please

  I had the same reaction with the spiro after a year and a half in use when that occured. My Dr. took me off of it for six months to replenish the sodium and the other minerals then resumed at half dosage. You'll be ok.

  Joelene

You shouldn't be trying to boost anything without first discussing with your doctor or you may end up in the same place. Spiro is used to decrease testosterone, but other hormones and anti-androgens can also do that. As will an orchiectomy so there's no need to panic that you won't be able to transition due to Spiro. :)

I am not trying to boost anything, I was saying I think that might be what's inadvertently happening with my Spiro, so maybe my dose will be sufficient for blocking my T, while not causing the high kidney function and low sodium.  I was really just looking for anyone who had a similar experience with medication and still was able to fully transition so I can stop worrying about it so much.  I also don't really want to go the orchi route because I am planning on SRS which could be complicated by orchi, and also two separate surgeries etc don't really want to put my body through that if I can avoid it.  And I can't get SRS until I have 1 year RLE which would be really difficult without being on HRT and being able to blend in.  Maybe a better question is has anyone had a bad time with Spiro and if so how did you end up continuing HRT?

Sorry, that's what happens when I read things at 6 in the morning. If  there was a chance of inadvertently boosting your dose your doctor would/should have told you especially if they know your other medication. But like I said, there are other anti androgens and options, even estrogen does the trick. It might be a setback but it shouldn't derail your transition.

Also, no dosages at all please, the forum has a strict policy against them being posted in any context.

My apologies, please remove this post and I will just stick to ->-bleeped-<-. Thanks.

No need to worry about that. Please stick around.

Oh I will haha thanks! I just meant for medication related questions.  I tried removing the topic, but it wouldn't let me.  :-)

It's fine, I've already deleted the dosages anyway. :)

We can talk about medication and so forth, just not doses. Generally it's a safety precaution.

Anyway, I'd suggest asking your doc about your T levels because that's what really matters in the end. Have you considered an orchi?

If you live anywhere but the USA, you might try Androcur (cyproterone acetate) instead. I had problems with Spiro too, but I'm tolerating Androcur very well.

Estrogen alone can also reduce T. Other anti-androgens include LhRh agonists (Lupron, Zoladex, Synarel) and bicalutamide (Casodex, Calutide). Progesterone might also help reduce T. Spiro is definitely not the only medication able to suppress androgens. No reason to panic. :) You should discuss with your doctor about other options.

Don't forget to drink lots of water! Good clean water.

Thank you for all the advice.  I should be able to talk to my Dr tomorrow, and I will report back and let you all know what I found out. 

As far as an orchi goes, I really would rather just put that off and go for full SRS within the next two years...