Susan's Place Transgender Resources

i started taking spironolactone on wednesday. i've taken 3 pills so far. i have a couple questions. does it eventually decrease testosterone to a female range, or does it just counteract the virilizing effects of it? some people say they feel differently shortly after taking it, but i can say i feel no different. i only noticed the other day that my forehead was not oily like it usually gets at the end of every day. i don't know if it's from that or if it's something else. from what i hear, anti androgens are like a mild estrogen. anyone who has any information, i would greatly appreciate it, as far as what to expect. by the way i am under 18, and the therapist in the health center told me that i would respond to hrt fast since i am younger.

antiandrogens in hrt only reduces testosterone, not change the effects that puberty has already caused. (although it also stops future "damage" from testosterone when T is suppressed enough)

just give it time to work and enjoy the ride.

Spiro is the starting point.   It gets rid of testosterone but is unlikely to cause significant feminine develpment.   After a few months, your Doctor will start you on a low dose of eostrogen which will gradually increase.   They may thereafter add some androcur to complete the mix (medical opininon is divided as to its use).   

You are just making your first steps along a very long road.   Relax and enjoy the ride.   Most importantly of all, have patience.  Transition takes time and you are not going to see big results overnight.

yes it decreases testosterone to normal female range. It is in effect chemical castration. I started spiro and estradiol at the same time so I don't know which effects are which, but some were almost immediate (within 3 days for example) and others took a while.

Quote from: Pippa on March 27, 2010, 03:35:53 PM
They may thereafter add some androcur to complete the mix (medical opininon is divided as to its use).   

Sadly, unless you are in the United States like I am where it is banned as it is not accepted/approved by the FDA.

Quote from: girl_ashley on March 27, 2010, 08:56:36 PM
Sadly, unless you are in the United States like I am where it is banned as it is not accepted/approved by the FDA.

There's good reason for that, lol.

From what I know, it's way better to stick with spiro if possible (and I'm not sure why it wouldn't be, if someone knows please let me know). Cyprotone Acetate has a way higher risk of liver damage.

What spiro does is compete with testosterone at your bodies receptors. It does not actually do much to your testosterone levels. Your body still makes it, spiro just hogs most of the seats. But this is a good thing. Because with spiro you have a bit more unused testosterone floating about and more of this gets converted to estrogen than normal (yup, you already make some of your own).

Personally I did not feel much different either. I was really fatigued for a couple weeks but that passed. The effects are really slow acting, it also takes time to build in your system so it will take a bit more time before it is working at full capacity.

You should have good future results. The spiro will help stop you getting more masculine. You may even have a little bit of feminisation from it. Once you get some E that is where you will see the results.

hope this helps!

Quote from: Ashley4214 on March 27, 2010, 09:08:46 PM
There's good reason for that, lol.

From what I know, it's way better to stick with spiro if possible (and I'm not sure why it wouldn't be, if someone knows please let me know). Cyprotone Acetate has a way higher risk of liver damage.

While I do believe this information is correct, with the constant monitoring from blood tests we get anyway, there can be proper management of dosage.  All other western nations seem to offer Cyperterone Acetate.

Quote from: girl_ashley on March 27, 2010, 09:19:24 PM
While I do believe this information is correct, with the constant monitoring from blood tests we get anyway, there can be proper management of dosage.  All other western nations seem to offer Cyperterone Acetate.

Tell the idiots at the FDA that :|

Quote from: girl_ashley on March 27, 2010, 09:19:24 PM
While I do believe this information is correct, with the constant monitoring from blood tests we get anyway, there can be proper management of dosage.  All other western nations seem to offer Cyperterone Acetate.

Yes, and personally I think it's kinda stupid that the FDA won't allow it. But I live in a country where I could be quite easily prescribed with it and I'm still given spiro instead. And that's fine, blood work shows despite spiro being a receptor competitor, my androgen blood levels are still in female range.

My point though is that Cyprotone has a much higher risk of liver problems than spironolactone does, which even if you can monitor for it, is still not a great risk to be taking.

So, unless spiro doesn't work for you for some reason, I don't see why you would take cypro instead.

Disclaimer: I have never been on spironolactone by itself and have no idea to what degree my blood androgen levels are to do with estradiol instead of spironolactone. I do think however that the receptor competitive nature of spiro can still infact reduce the produce of testosterone as an effect.

i remember the doctor telling me that the testosterone was going to decrease to a certain amount after taking it for some time. i guess i'll just go with what he says. he did tell me that there are very little changes physically, but mentally i would feel different, particulary less male. i can't recall of a time i ever did feel male for that matter.

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Post Merge: March 28, 2010, 04:45:26 PM

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but here's one question. would you lose muscle strength, and fertility?

I live in europe and was put on androcur...
I got pains in my bones and have been emotional everyday, I was not my own happy self...
When I quit the androcur I got back my energy and am taking estrogens alone now....feel way better....

from my own experience that stuff is junk
and would rather not have taken it at all...

Quote from: kimberrrly on March 29, 2010, 11:17:09 AM
I live in europe and was put on androcur...
I got pains in my bones and have been emotional everyday, I was not my own happy self...
When I quit the androcur I got back my energy and am taking estrogens alone now....feel way better....

from my own experience that stuff is junk
and would rather not have taken it at all...

I would recommend you consult with your doctor about taking spironolactone instead.

It's a good idea to have an anti-androgen and spironolactone is safer and cheaper than androcur.

Quote from: NicoleFoxFan on March 28, 2010, 04:37:08 PM
but here's one question. would you lose muscle strength, and fertility?

muscle atrophies (reduction in strength and mass) slowly as result of less T and low sperm count leading to sterility is a given with enough suppression of the gonadal axis.