Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Community Conversation => Transitioning => Hormone replacement therapy => Topic started by: MaraOnline on July 09, 2007, 05:04:36 PM

Title: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: MaraOnline on July 09, 2007, 05:04:36 PM
I was thinking about this today as I was melting out in the sun.

Does Estrogen cause you to sweat less? I tried searching the web and didn't find anything definitive. I looked in the wiki and found this: change in body odor and sweat production. I have both read and have been told that the odor of sweat changes but the latter doesn't really answer my question.

Does anyone know about this? Have you experienced reduced sweating personally? Thanks! ^^
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Keira on July 09, 2007, 10:02:55 PM

Yes, sweat and sebum production is greatly reduced, close to zero, expecially when its not hot or I'm not exercising. After awhile, if you let don't put deodorant, the sweat has a sickly sweet odor instead of pungent male one, very different smell.
Don't really need deodorant during any season except summer, I put it by habit mostly.


Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Kaitlyn on July 10, 2007, 03:49:19 PM
Well... this depends on the person. Body odor most definitely changes, but sweating... it depends. Most people will see a pretty good reduction... but not everyone. There are plenty of women who sweat moderately.

I sweat a lot (mostly on the face) as soon as I get the slightest bit warm. It's how I've always been.

After HRT... I still sweat a lot. Maybe a little bit less, but still plenty on my face.
Though, for me, it's always been bad enough that I've planned to pursue surgical options for reducing it.

So... YMMV~!

~Kait
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Melissa on July 10, 2007, 05:48:12 PM
Well, I don't usually sweat in my armpits now :icon_chuckel:, but during the past few days I sure have noticed that my face still sweats a lot.
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Dennis on July 11, 2007, 09:17:03 AM
Since I started taking testosterone, I sweat in places I didn't even know I had sweat glands. I won't gross you out by describing it. But it definitely is more than before, so I wouldn't be surprised if HRT for MtF's reduces sweating.

Dennis
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: HelenW on July 11, 2007, 04:23:21 PM
I used to sweat but now I just "glisten." ;)

I haven't really noticed much decrease in the amount that I glisten, I always perspired a lot from my head and face and wearing a wig seems to encourage that.

Body odor has DEFINITELY changed.  I simply do not smell the way I used to (and now when I smell a guy, he reeks!).

I've been on HRT for 10 months, btw.

hugs & smiles
Emelye
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: MaraOnline on July 11, 2007, 07:46:57 PM
Any amount of reduction would be a godsend. Right now, I tend to sweat more on my face and back than anywhere else on my body. I removed the hair on my back a long time ago thinking that was the problem, but it didn't change it noticeably.

*hopes for reduction*
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Kat on July 11, 2007, 07:49:29 PM
i mostly seem to sweat on my face and the small of my back. given thats pretty much where I would sweat before, since I've only been on hormones for a month
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Berliegh on July 12, 2007, 05:55:03 AM
Quote from: MaraOnline on July 09, 2007, 05:04:36 PM
I was thinking about this today as I was melting out in the sun.

Does Estrogen cause you to sweat less? I tried searching the web and didn't find anything definitive. I looked in the wiki and found this: change in body odor and sweat production. I have both read and have been told that the odor of sweat changes but the latter doesn't really answer my question.

Does anyone know about this? Have you experienced reduced sweating personally? Thanks! ^^

I sweat far more since I've been on estrogen which worries me. I think I'm fairly fit and play tennis and jog most days. But I can sweat quite easily, especially on my forehead and back, this didn't happen pre-hormones and I wonder if we should be extra fit if we a taking hormones on a regular basis?
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Rachael on July 12, 2007, 07:00:15 AM
oh, thats wierd, ive started sweatting tons on estrogen, but its probably because im not on  the correct doseage (cant afford enough)
so would that be a cause?
by sweatting, i mean excessive, to an extent that it ruins my hair and confidence pretty fast
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Keira on July 12, 2007, 08:52:08 AM

Racheal, if you have sweating, when doing no exercise, when its cool, or at night, then your estrogen dosage is not high enough. When your T falls, you've got to replace it with something equivalent, this dosage is different for every one.
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Rachael on July 12, 2007, 09:30:38 AM
my problem is i cant afford enough, as i have to get it myself, (naughty me,  :'( whatever)
but yeah, seeing an Endo in 3 weeks to sort it out i hope.
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Berliegh on July 14, 2007, 07:09:04 AM
Quote from: Rachael on July 12, 2007, 07:00:15 AM
oh, thats wierd, ive started sweatting tons on estrogen, but its probably because im not on  the correct doseage (cant afford enough)
so would that be a cause?
by sweatting, i mean excessive, to an extent that it ruins my hair and confidence pretty fast

Same here Rachael.  My hair get really wet quite easily. If I go for a long walk with the dogs I'm sweating at the end of it and my hair is soaked. I never used to sweat two years ago even though I was on the same dosage..

Quote from: Keira on July 12, 2007, 08:52:08 AM

Racheal, if you have sweating, when doing no exercise, when its cool, or at night, then your estrogen dosage is not high enough. When your T falls, you've got to replace it with something equivalent, this dosage is different for every one.

I've had a lot of blood tests and I've never had much of a T level even before HRT. I've tried changing doses and the more I take the worse the sweating gets.....I'm on ethinyestrodial....

Other HRT's I've tried like Progynova or premarin give me severe headaches..
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: MaraOnline on July 14, 2007, 11:03:31 AM
Quote from: Berliegh on July 14, 2007, 07:09:04 AMMy hair get really wet quite easily. If I go for a long walk with the dogs I'm sweating at the end of it and my hair is soaked.

Thats how I am now. I don't know what I would do if it became worse.
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: gothique11 on July 18, 2007, 04:52:16 PM
I'm not sure if hormones affect sweating that much. I sweat pretty easily when it's hot, and it's been hot here. My face will go like crazy, too. But then again, I'm also pretty pale (even with my sun-tan), so heat affects me pretty badly. The smell, that's a different story. I really notice guy smell. I don't smell when i sweat, which is good.

If you are taking spiro, and not enough water and electrolytes, that could affect how much you sweat. I get dehydrated easily in the heat, so I drink a lot of water and gaterade. I end up sweating more than if I didn't drink as much, but then if I don't drink I start feeling sick from dehydration.

I've been  on HRT for about a year now. I switched from horse pee (premarin) to estrace a couple months ago. The estrace, btw, seems to work a lot better for me (much, much better, and no side affects like the horse pee had). But I haven't noticed a difference in sweating when it's hot or if I exercise lots.

I find that i don't break out so much any more, because I don't produce as much oil. I only seem to break out if I wear foundation all night and don't wash it off (that's happened on rare occasions), or if it's hot and I wear foundation. These days, thanks to laser, I don't wear foundation much any more. I don't get how my girlfriend can wear so much foundation all the time in the heat.

Different bodies will react differently. So, for some the hrt might drop the amount of sweat that one produces, while others it might not. And, spiro and hydration levels may also affect sweat production. So, I guess there could be a lot of factors at play.

Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Lori on July 18, 2007, 05:49:25 PM
Wow, what a relief. I have been sweating like a fat cop chasing a rolling doughnut downhill. I mean it pours off of me in rivulets lately. I know it has been a very wet year here in Texs resulting in higher humidity levels, so I could attribute some of the constant cascading of water from my skull to that, but not all of it. Lately it seems to be excessive to the point of concern. I drink a ton of water though due to the spiro and my constant bathroom trips so I am bloated most of the time it seems.

I am seeing a Dr. for my HRT and I have my 3 mos. appt next month and maybe he can shed some light as to why this is happening. It was my belief that on spiro and the dropping of my T levels I would eventually cool off? Most women I know have cold hands and need warmer temps than the guys they are with unless it is that time of the month or they are in menopause.

My blood tests will show my levels and hopefully they are o.k. As to the unusal amount of sweating, I'm glad I'm not alone in that. Perhaps I can get insight for the group next month with a very experienced Dr. who has been helping TS transition since the mid 1970's.

Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Berliegh on July 25, 2007, 10:15:22 AM
I never used to sweat until recently....today in the U.K it was mild no sun and plenty of rain......and many people were wearing coats......I was wearing a small thin jacket and I was sweating buckets....
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: jonnismith on July 25, 2007, 08:19:35 PM
I don't sweat nearly as much as pre HRT. I don't have to wear anti-perspirent much if at all. I do notice I smell different though, especially in the netherworld, definitely female.
Speaking of smell, I also have noticed something else. The smell of men. Maybe the estrogen is doing something to my pheremone receptors or whatever. Has anyone noticed this too?
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Sara on August 25, 2007, 01:14:23 AM
Sweating decreases with HRT and if your levels are low then you can get night sweats which happens to me if my E levels are not right.

Sara.
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Rachael on August 27, 2007, 11:39:42 AM
i dont get this, my sweating has gone up 10fold since starting hrt... its aweful, i eat a hot meal, or walk up some stairs, and im sweatting buckets, its aways ruins my hair, which is distressing  at best :(
R :police:
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: LynnER on August 27, 2007, 04:58:09 PM
I think weight and fittness might have something to do with those of you who are sweating more...  Sence starting HRT I sweat way less.... though when I do its gallons... usualy at the small of my back and right between the breasts...  Usualy its only when Im playing the drums or something equaly as active...

My mother is overweight, out of shape and she sweats constantly and allmost everywhere at once...
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Rachael on August 27, 2007, 11:11:58 PM
that would work, but im fairly fit actually... yet still sweat lots...
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Berliegh on September 09, 2007, 03:33:25 AM
Quote from: Rachael on August 27, 2007, 11:11:58 PM
that would work, but im fairly fit actually... yet still sweat lots...

me too...
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Rachael on September 09, 2007, 09:56:20 AM
something odd, Spironalectone has listed 'sweatting and hot flushes' as a side effect of its use.
whereas oesterodiol hemilhydrate claims to reduce menopausal symptoms like 'hot flashes and sweatting'
could there be drug confluct leading to overload?
R :police:
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Rachael on September 10, 2007, 07:14:22 AM
i must just be a freak of nature....
R :police:
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: taru on September 11, 2007, 03:26:25 AM
I am much more sensitive to temperature changes on HRT than before. It is either too hot or cold all the time and I tend to sweat a lot.

I am using Androcur, estrofem/zumenon and finasteride so not connected spiro at least in this case. Also the dosages are sufficient so it is probably not caused by too low/high dosages. I asked the endocrinologist assigned to me by the system but she just told me "I don't know, come back in a year for a checkup".
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Karla B on September 11, 2007, 01:22:24 PM
For those of you that find you're sweating more, Don't feel bad. I found that I've been sweating alot more too. I just want to point out that I'm NOT having hot flashes. I do find that I'm alot more sensitive to heat or hot days. The funny thing is that I'm also more sensitive to cold days too. ???
Title: Re: MtF HRT and sweating.
Post by: Rachael on September 12, 2007, 03:59:01 AM
the sweating is REALLY debilitating and embarrassing...
R :police: