I wonder if the sex drive changes with the start of HRT?
Chaunte
Quote from: Chaunte on October 05, 2005, 09:58:12 PM
I wonder if the sex drive changes with the start of HRT?
Chaunte
I guess it depends on the person. For myself my sexdrive is almost non-existant where it used to fairly high. It doesn't seem to have botherd me at all, it's just something I don't consider anymore. May be there's another reason.
I don't even get aroused watching erotica.
Just my thoughts,
Steph
Same here as Steph, Although my sex drive was already on the wane and close to nonexistant before I started so I can't say if it was the HRT or just me. I have heard some say their sex drive increased. Like Steph said it just depends on the person.
Cassie
I agree with Stephanie and Cassie, my sex drive has been reduced since hormones. I had what I consider to be a normal sex drive for my age, but I don't think about it much any more. It just doesn't seem to be an issue.
Sarah
I don't think my actual sex drive has changed any, I always had some, but found the actual act somewhat troubling. these days, on a pure estrogen system, I simply don't think about it much. Other then that I don't know.
Terri
I will have to agree with the rest of the girls. My sex drive has deminished also. I do think about it once in a while, but it isn't the same. Now I see a nice looking guy every once in a while, someone that I think is nice looking and something goes off inside me. Not like when I was a guy though. Nothing like that. I saw a guy yesterday who looked like Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, he was gorgeous. Now before I would have thought about how many positions I could get in, but now no sex just he looked gorgeous. It amazes me and I have been hormones for a long time now.
Sheila
Mine has diminished some but not enough. I have been on hrt a year and my T level is >20. I should completely dead and I'm not. It's a little strange so there must be more to libido than T level.
Cailyn
before I started HRT (at 23) I had a pretty normal sex drive. I had to "get off" at least a few times a day. It was very annoying.
After HRT... nothing. Dropped off the scale. And it was wonderful!!! It's come back a little, but not the same kind of sex drive. Pornography does nothing. (Not that I've even thought about looking at any since I started HRT. It just has never crossed my mind.) It's a much more emotional thing now.
Amy
I used to be so horney all the time! After 6 months of taking hormones, I am never horney and I rarely get excited about anything sexual, even pornos. Even trying to work something up just takes too much to where it's not worth it.
I guess the next question is orientation - does that change?
btw, I am NOT writing some sort of psychology paper! It is simply that my "curiosity level" is stuck on overdrive.
Chaunte
If you are talking male sex drive, my mind got disgusted with that about 20 years ago.
beth
No change in my orientation, i'm as queer as can be.
beth
I'll chime in with the other direction. Sex drive for me went way up.
Orientation change is apparently not uncommon for both MtF and FtM's. I guess we should call it object orientation change. ie: someone who was attracted to women could become attracted to men after HRT and transition, because everyone's sexual orientation changes when they transition because they are differently perceived. ie: I was perceived to be a lesbian and am now a straight man. It's different the way straight women interact with men versus gay men interacting with men, and lesbians interacting with women versus straight men interacting with women. And some just find that although they weren't attracted to a particular gender in their previous lives, are more comfortable being attracted to that gender in their new lives.
Did that make any sense?
Dennis
??? :icon_confused2: :icon_dizzy: :icon_weirdface:
Hrm, ok let me try again. What I mean is that if someone is female, interacting with men in a sexual manner may be completely unappealing to her, particularly if she's a man in a female body.
Yet, when that person transitions to male, interacting sexually with gay men is very different and he may find himself attracted to men.
Or, vice versa. Someone born male may not, in a male body, find sexual attraction to men, but when she transitions, she may find that she is sexually attracted to men.
So, object orientation may change and does change in some cases. It didn't for me, but I have known guys for whom it did.
Dennis
:) We understood you the first time :)
Now I'm confused,
Just kidding
Steph
<< Mine has diminished some but not enough. I have been on hrt a year and my T level is >20. I should completely dead and I'm not. It's a little strange so there must be more to libido than T level. >>
Change in sex drive is in general more tied to how much Spiro. you are taking than how much hormone you take. The more Spiro. you take, the more T you block from being absorbed.
But, there are lots of women with elevated T levels, many of them lesbian, but not all.
And then there are folx that will convert hormones if they get an abundance of T or E, to keep their body more in balance. IS individuals tend toward this possibility. Which means, if that is you, that if you are taking a lot of E, you could be increasing your level of T without realizing it, or vice versa.
Sex drive, what is that? LOL. Infrequent and uncommon, at least for me.
As for orientation....it really varies from person to person. I have met a number of lesbian M2F, a few who fall into the bi category, and then even fewer which are now straight. For myself I thought I was going towards the bi category (after about a decade) but when the chance came up to explore that, I found that I was not as interested as I thought. I do have a couple of people that I crush on but I know that if it came down to it, I am not really that turned on by men.
QuoteIt's a little strange so there must be more to libido than T level.
you banged that nail in with one lick Caiylin. As I said before, on spiro I still had functional sex drive, just didn't think or dwell on the subject as it made me uncomfortable. Most surprisingly I found that even after orchie, with no appreciable T in my body at all, I am still perfectly functional, though there doesn't seem to be any libido attached to it. What a disappointment. I thought that with the orchie all that would be over with.
About all that can be said I guess is that like most things, people are different and HRT will affect people differently. You can't know it will or won't until you've been on it awhile. My psychiatrist told me that while most TS's on HRT will state they are not sexually functional in public, during therapy they admit it still being possible, and given my own experience, I'm inclined to believe her. dropping or eliminating T levels isn't the whole ball of wax in human beings. there is so much about how sexuality in humans works that isn't understood yet
Terri
I will throw my 2 cents worth in here. My libido dropped a little after my orchi, but then it completely faded out after SRS. I don't know why. As far as my orientation goes, I have no change to speak of. Some guys look cute, but no attraction and some girls look cute difinately no attraction. I have to say though, I have been married for 36 years and I love my wife very much. I never looked before and still don't.
Sheila
Orientation like Gender is a fixed element in our mental makeup. Some do appear to switch orientation after or during transition, but I do not believe that to be a "change" of any kind.
The fact is, many people appear to be of a particular orientation, and themselves perfer to believe in that orientation, but often, they are surpressing thier true orientation, in that they may have latent tendancies that they don't want known or expressed, in other words, for reasons of thier own, they tend to act contrary to thier actual and real orientation and transition allows them to justify the true orientation and so seem to "switch".
It is one of those things that you are what you are and it can't be changed. To believe that actual orientation can change during or after transition is to believe that homosexuality is a choice not a fixed element of birth, thus opening the door to believing that Transsexualism is a "choice" and not a fixed element.
Terri
Quote from: Terri-Gene on November 21, 2005, 05:33:35 PM
To believe that actual orientation can change during or after transition is to believe that homosexuality is a choice not a fixed element of birth, thus opening the door to believing that Transsexualism is a "choice" and not a fixed element.
Terri,
If you never make another post this one should be what you are remembered by.
My compliments
Leigh
I'll second that. I am constantly asked about my "choice" or "decision" in pursuing transition. What choice? My slide down the slippery slope was as fast as anyone's as some of you know from my first appearance at Susan's (Apr 04) until now late in my RLT. The only decisions or choices revolved around "how" I would transition, not "if" I would transition.
Dawn
Dawn
The next time the word choice is used. Ask them if they are right or left handed. When they answer just ask them why. They didn't have a choice either
Bravo Teri,
See, you can be poigniant without being long winded. ;D That was one of the best posts I've seen. You stated it so succinctly. We all know our true orientation it's just a matter of acknowledging what it really is.
Cassie
for me I dont have one any more. My wife hates it that I cant get it up. :o But, I am glad to be done with it. I was never one to want it much at all anyway. But, after the second year I really havent had one. ;D
Hi, while I was on my hormones about three months in I noticed a slight change in brain response to porn and sex in general. After 5 years I didnt care about it at all. I could still orgasm if I wanted to to put my mind to it but it was not like before, it took alot longer to achieve, no ejaculation (which I prefer) - more like a womans internal orgasm of the mind and body.... I'm presuming thats what they feel as so many people are different in there responses but for me I actually liked it better. Your brain pattern on hormones changes your thinking too and you have to be in the mood. Although my Endocrinologist says that it is imprinted from birth I have first hand experience that hormones are powerful drugs and yes they do have the ability to make a male act more like a female in brain body and soul. Some women though have sex drives like males but one would assume that by reducing your testosterone down to 0 you would have less a capacity for feeling horny not just from taking an antiandrogen but estrogen which changes your brain receptors.
Sara.
Actually there is every reason to scientifically believe that sexual stimuli and its effects on a male taking proper HRT drugs will change somewhat, especially in the role of desiring sex or thinking about it.
Thats not to say however that HRT or even Orchiectomy will completely remove the ability to want or have perfectly natural sex however. I have heard the arguments about orchiectomy and know the effects Spironolactone had, but having experienced both I can honestly say I could still experience natural sex without any aids whatsoever if I so cared to. The desire or thoughts about it are about perfectly zilch in normal circumstances, But I know I did have sex with my wife a couple of months after the orchie and back on estrogen again. all went as it should have, but i found my old thoughts about sex were still there. At this time I have had sexual relations with my wife 3 times in a little over 5 years, it's just to hard to get into for GID reasons having nothing to do with drugs or bodily parts which are now missing and out of action.
Ability to think about sex has more to do with mental conditioning and needs then drugs or testicles. The docs are still debating why this is so but it is well known that even with no testosterone in the body at all, it is still possible to achieve erection in human male born people who for whatever reasons still have a sexual connection whether they want it or not. There is no argument about this. My own Psychiatrist told me in the beginning most of her transsexual patients told her in therapy that even after years on HRT and orchie they were still perfectly capible, and I know from complete experience with HRT and orchie, so like I say, no argument to it at all. It is simply differences in individual persons. I wish it all did completely remove any ability or desire, but my findings have been that is not so and since the sexual act in male form is a strain on all I believe and desire it is a hard thing to accept, but life goes on.
Terri
Quote
Before hormones, I used to feel the need to... well... "get off" atleast a few times a day, which honestly was more annoying than anything else... and the orgasms weren't that great either.
Same here (and I'm not on HRT yet) and it gets real strong for a while and then go away for a while. No fun at all. But it seems to me that there are 2 entirely different mechanisms at play; the desire for closeness/sensuality and the desire to have an ejaculation - and it's best IMO when they both occur at the same time. Yet I could do without the latter much more easily than without the former.
Quote from: Terri Gene on November 21, 2005, 05:33:35 PMTo believe that actual orientation can change during or after transition is to believe that homosexuality is a choice not a fixed element of birth
I don't understand how that follows. :-\ I agree that we don't choose whom we're attracted to, but that doesn't mean our preferences can't change.
Hi Chaunte:
I think it all depends on the person and the type of HRT. I've heard the libido increases with testosterone in FTM, but of course I'm not in the position to answer that ;D. In my case, I did experience a significant change in sexdrive; mine decreased to almost nothingness, but I didn't give a flying fly really; I mean, I was never a very sexual person to begin with so what difference did it make then? Even if I had been very sexual prior to my transition , I think I'd have chosen HRT without questions...but that's just me though and can't speak for everybody else... ;)
tinkerbell :icon_chick:
Hmmmmm.... this is a tough question actualy...
Like some others here I had allways felt the need to "get off" a few times a day but at the same time could live with out it.
Then came the HRT...... I dont feel the need to "Get off" much if ever when I was on it, and now that Im back on Im starting to feel the same way. On the other hand when I do want sex... I REALLY REALLY REALLY want it.... and self gratification isnt.... the feeling/need dosnt go away for hours. <where before the need to get off would come and go and come back over very short periods of time> And should I get what I want its absolutly amazing, totaly diffrent from the previous "getting off" and to describe what those feelings are would require a hypnotist and a large notebook LoL.
Needless to say my sex drive has changed considerably, and while I was enguaged atleast I actualy looked forward to the act rather than being totaly dissapointed by it and the prospect of. *shrugs*
Oh, heck, might as well chime in here (...where angels fear to tread...)
I'd say my frequency has been reduced considerably since the start of HRT. Before, it was largely a need (and something of a chore, too, but that didn't stop me ::) )
My performance was always dependent upon set and setting -- my mood could be killed (or wouldn't even start,) if there was something I found unappealing about my partners' personality, or there was something 'wrong' about the location, etc
Now, after being on HRT for all of four months ( ;) ) that the need/chore aspect has dropped away, I seem to have typical female sexual response -- things gotta' be just right, and I gotta' be given the time to make a running start, so to speak.
The payoff seems to be at least as good, though, if not subtly better...
I humbly submit my Dollar-three-ninety-eight...
Karen
Mine didn't change really. It went from nothing to nothing.
Melissa
Quote from: Melissa on July 08, 2006, 12:53:51 AM
Mine didn't change really. It went from nothing to nothing.
Melissa
I never thought of it that way...from nothing to nothing......that's great, Melissa.....
tinkerbell :icon_chick: