I've been on spiro for 2 months and Estrogen for about 1 month and almost a week. My last test results said I had about 400 total T. After 2 months from starting spiro my T levels have reached 146 ng/dL which is supposedly pretty far below the normal, but my E levels remain, from what I can tell unchanged. On both tests, the baseline and the 2 month check-up I remain at <50 pg/mL.
As far as effects go, I started feelin sore in my chest at around 2 and a half weeks of Estrogen, a little more pronounced and sweeling by 3 months. My body hair has DEFINITELY lessened, it almost doesn't exist already. I'm noticing a lot of my hair is getting a more reddish hue to it, not sure if that's hormones but it is totally awesome. I have a non-existent libido, I've always been extremely neutral as far as that goes.
I am curious though, is it normal to still be below 50 E after a month? Either way I feel like I'm making super quick progress,
You are very early in the process, and your body is just beginning to adjust.
It is a balancing act at first. Give it time.
I'm just amazed at how infallibly calm I am, I haven't had a single worry in the longest time.
Good luck and keep us posted. Hugs shannon
Quote from: Sierra Belle on August 21, 2013, 03:08:27 PM
I'm noticing a lot of my hair is getting a more reddish hue to it, not sure if that's hormones but it is totally awesome. I have a non-existent libido, I've always been extremely neutral as far as that goes.
This is happening to me to, normally I have dark brown hair on my head, and its getting hints of red highlights to em, my girlfriend pointed that out to me :) You are early on, best of wishes! I'll be on month three EV come sept, month 4 of spiro. <3
Quote from: PrincessDayna on August 22, 2013, 12:11:55 AM
This is happening to me to, normally I have dark brown hair on my head, and its getting hints of red highlights to em, my girlfriend pointed that out to me :) You are early on, best of wishes! I'll be on month three EV come sept, month 4 of spiro. <3
Yeah, I noticed a lot of sites claimed HRT can cause color change, I'm also noticing a lot of my facial hair (when it's not shaved) is coming in like, orange. I used to have a strip of orange hair on my chin, now it's almost all of it? Pretty weird.
Quote from: Sierra Belle on August 22, 2013, 01:14:18 AM
Yeah, I noticed a lot of sites claimed HRT can cause color change, I'm also noticing a lot of my facial hair (when it's not shaved) is coming in like, orange. I used to have a strip of orange hair on my chin, now it's almost all of it? Pretty weird.
ya im not getting that with my facial hair, its still there for what it is, just seems slightly thinner/softer....but no change in density for the most part. everywhere else is way different with the hair. cant wait for 9 more monthes to see the changes, im loving every second of this!!! Im glad you are doing well with yours too! you are pretty close on your timeline so its pretty cool to have someone to compare things with! Keep us posted!
My Endo doubled my E dosage in response to my low E and set me up for more labs in October.
Congrats!
My E was 30 in the beginning of April (I was not on HRT then) - after three months on E, it was 56. T had dropped from 668 in April to 186 last week, so I am pretty much in the same boat with You :).
Quote from: -Emily- on August 22, 2013, 01:30:56 PM
My E was 30 in the beginning of April (I was not on HRT then) - after three months on E, it was 56. T had dropped from 668 in April to 186 last week, so I am pretty much in the same boat with You :).
Yeah, I imagine it must be pretty close to normal given that I'm still feeling some changes.
Congratulations.
I've been on spiro for four months and Estradiol for two. The only change I've noticed is my chest. Seems a little odd to me.
Quote from: MADI! on August 22, 2013, 10:57:40 PM
I've been on spiro for four months and Estradiol for two. The only change I've noticed is my chest. Seems a little odd to me.
The rest doesn't really come, I wouldn't imagine skin change to be TOO obvious as it is very gradual. Fat redistribution you have to LOSE the male fats and GAIN new fats WHILE your hormones are in female ranges. That's the only way they can redistribute to their fullest, same goes with everything else, muscle mass will lessen faster the less you work them, same with your naughty regions. :P
Breast developement and skin softening are the only things that'll change without influence. And your way of thinking should too.
That and, if I remember the papers my Endo gave me, you shouldn't see much change until 3 months or longer anyway.
Quote from: Sierra Belle on August 21, 2013, 03:08:27 PM
I'm noticing a lot of my hair is getting a more reddish hue to it, not sure if that's hormones but it is totally awesome.
Wow.. I Want red hair! Forget having no soul, Gingers are awesome.
Apparently I was a ginger at birth. Now I'm like a blond (in summer) or a (slightly) dirty blond (in winter)
Quote from: Glitterfly on August 22, 2013, 11:16:56 PM
This is what worries me a little... I'm pretty skinny but my fat% is in the female range (in other words: bmi under 20, fat% over 20). It's mostly in my thighs, butt, and belly (I think in the butt it's part male part female... at least that's how it looks to me but idk). I only know how to lose weight but I'm not sure how I could go about losing fat as I'm not overweight or anything... do you have any advice on this? I already don't eat almost any carbs and only eat healthy oils so I don't know what to do... Excercise? would that help? i've been pretty sedentary lately...
I would just say, the fat you have is in male areas, so when your hormones are in the appropriate range they should go in to your female areas, depending on genetics. I feel that after gaining weight in said areas, weight will appear to get "shifted" in to those areas. Your male fat will probably deteriorate while your female fats fall in to place. That's why people say exercise is important for transsexual people. Heck, I think people in general. If you do enough research there are a lot of helpful sites for trans diets. I also heard multi-vitamins can help a lot in your development, I plan on getting some soon.
Quote from: EdekStaszek on August 22, 2013, 11:18:38 PM
Wow.. I Want red hair! Forget having no soul, Gingers are awesome.
Apparently I was a ginger at birth. Now I'm like a blond (in summer) or a (slightly) dirty blond (in winter)
Gingers are adorable. I have hazel eyes, so I guess I can almost be a ginger if I dyed my hair red. xD
Quote from: Glitterfly on August 22, 2013, 11:39:39 PM
I had a period of eating unhealthy earlier but I'm really eating the healthiest possible diet atm so I don't think I need diet help (I know a lot about eating healthy and I don't buy into fad diets). I think lack of exercise is my problem... Though I remember about a year ago when I exercised daily, my fat% still wasn't significantly lower... I don't think I CAN get my fat% down to male/lower levels without being significantly underweight (which is unhealthy in itself) so I'll probably have to rely on the fat shifting... (I've been at lower weights and still had a fat% of ~20) but hey, if I exercise a lot that will probably help me burn the male fat underneath (or help it 'deteriorate' like you put it) faster! that thought should help motivate me to exercise... thanks :)
Glad I could try :3
Try squats. One of my favorite people on tumblr suggests them. I also try to drink lots of water.
Quote from: Bookworm on August 23, 2013, 12:27:16 AM
Try squats. One of my favorite people on tumblr suggests them. I also try to drink lots of water.
With Spiro, I hope you're drinkin lots of water :P
Quote from: Sierra Belle on August 22, 2013, 11:12:47 PM
The rest doesn't really come, I wouldn't imagine skin change to be TOO obvious as it is very gradual. Fat redistribution you have to LOSE the male fats and GAIN new fats WHILE your hormones are in female ranges. That's the only way they can redistribute to their fullest, same goes with everything else, muscle mass will lessen faster the less you work them, same with your naughty regions. :P
Breast developement and skin softening are the only things that'll change without influence. And your way of thinking should too.
That and, if I remember the papers my Endo gave me, you shouldn't see much change until 3 months or longer anyway.
Thank you.
I was hoping that to not be the case. I'm already quite thin. So I have little fat, let alone fat in typical male areas. I'm not sure how ill gain weight in bum or hips then. :(
it also depends on route of your estrogen, like for instance, im on the shots, so the night of my shot, i take a nice hefty fatty meal in. it sounds stupid- but as the estradiol starts the metabolic whatever thingy ma jig ( lol unscientific i know!!), the fat ends up helping, but the major meal of choice would be italian that night, or two nights post- the carbs are excellent for gaining breast tissue, and getting fat on hips/butt if you are looking for that. I have always had rather high hip bones, and not skinny, but not fat, but now the high area of my hip bones are getting very nice fat deposits as its avoiding my tummy area. it creates a hell of a nice flattering hourglass figure. :) not sure how on pills that would effect things, but a few nights a week, its good to have high carb intake. i also take a female multi vitamin as well as fish oil pills for the omega fatty oils. :) Hope this helps a little?
At first, i thought of just doing female diet pills but wasnt sure how it would effect things, ill be asking my endo next month.
Quote from: MADI! on August 23, 2013, 06:36:04 AM
I was hoping that to not be the case. I'm already quite thin. So I have little fat, let alone fat in typical male areas. I'm not sure how ill gain weight in bum or hips then. :(
I am worried about this too because unless my metabolism slows down dramatically I'm still gonna be the same ol' twig. Any ideas on how to fire-up my appetite?
Quote from: Violet Bloom on August 23, 2013, 10:52:12 AM
I am worried about this too because unless my metabolism slows down dramatically I'm still gonna be the same ol' twig. Any ideas on how to fire-up my appetite?
Estrogen supposedly reduces the speed of your metabolism, or rather lack of testosterone. So in effect I'd think you'd naturally be able to gain weight easier. I'm like, 148 lbs at 5' 11". I'm pretty darn underweight, even for a "small frame." But I plan to try to gain some weight.
At 6'1", 143lbs I'm certainly hoping for this! If you have any luck with metabolism and weight-gain please let me know.
Good for you :)
Some people have had their appetite skyrocket while others say it diminished. Interesting. I have a very low appetite these days compared to when I was a teenager. I don't think I can afford to lose any more interest in eating. My mom already got worried about my eating habits and started putting loads of avocado on my salad almost every day (I don't even like it that much). I'll just have to wait and see what happens when the hormones kick-in.
Quote from: Glitterfly on August 24, 2013, 11:03:40 PM
Based on your picture between medium and small sounds about right... have you measured your wrist circumference? that's how you can tell your frame... if you don't know how google it! :D according to my wrist measurement I have a small frame :)
Well, I have done that, but there are several versions of that test :). According to one, You need to overlap so the middle finger touches the middle plahanx (not going to happen for me)... In others, they just need to overlap, which works just fine for me :). So, I am estimating myself somewhere in between, but leaning heavily towards small frame. Which is actually good news :)
Quote from: Violet Bloom on August 25, 2013, 09:54:45 AM
Some people have had their appetite skyrocket while others say it diminished. Interesting. I have a very low appetite these days compared to when I was a teenager. I don't think I can afford to lose any more interest in eating. My mom already got worried about my eating habits and started putting loads of avocado on my salad almost every day (I don't even like it that much). I'll just have to wait and see what happens when the hormones kick-in.
Avocado is very good for Your health! I am contemplating adding it into my diet too. I also noticed that I am craving herring recently... :)
Quote from: Violet Bloom on August 23, 2013, 11:03:43 AM
At 6'1", 143lbs I'm certainly hoping for this! If you have any luck with metabolism and weight-gain please let me know.
gosh! I am almost 6'2" and barely 135 lbs, you two are fine ;)
Quote from: Harlow on August 25, 2013, 02:01:10 PM
gosh! I am almost 6'2" and barely 135 lbs, you two are fine ;)
If you mean fine as a girl, then I guess so. As a guy I have been teased in some way about my skinny body almost every week of my life. My wrist is 160mm. Hopefully I'll make more sense physically to the world in girl-mode. I just don't know if I'm going to have any easy time building up new 'girl fat' because I have a metabolism like an industrial machine! I can barely build muscle either but I'm not going to be concerned about that anymore.
I'm seriously considering asking about injections, I'm hearing a lot of benefits that can come from it. I'm also hoping to see if my Endo will agree to adding progesterone in a year, the ill effects might be scary but they also counteract ill effects of estrogen. I'm hoping that'll be enough to get her to give it a shot.
Quote from: Sierra Belle on September 01, 2013, 10:27:11 AM
I'm seriously considering asking about injections, I'm hearing a lot of benefits that can come from it. I'm also hoping to see if my Endo will agree to adding progesterone in a year, the ill effects might be scary but they also counteract ill effects of estrogen. I'm hoping that'll be enough to get her to give it a shot.
I love my injections, they've done some magic in a short time. Can't wait for the next three months.