So I constantly hear about E levels and T levels... How many people are on the double blind visual method? Where you don't do any blood tests and your doctor just says... meh... you look like you're developing alright...
The main reason I have regular bloods done is not to check E and T levels, but to check on things like Prolactin level, liver function and the like..
Yes, E and T are tested but neither I or my doctor are much interested in them, as long as they are not way too high or too low.
I have only known my levels for the last 6 months. Before that it was more like the doctor looked at me and said who cares and writes a prescription for a quarter transition dosage. Who would have thought for the first time in 39 years I would have sore itchy breast and my current prescriber is talking about reducing my dosage again.
Most of the doctors I've had checked my levels once a year. The one I have now does bloodwork once every quarter.
One should realize that everybody will respond differently to certain dosages. Since my body is resistant to any and all sex hormones, I am kept on higher dosages. Others will do better with low dosages.
Interesting... I have a fairly cavalier Endo... She allows me to increase doses over the phone with zero blood tests... Not even prolactin levels. From what I understand, I am at a high side of average dose currently. I was just curious.
My doctor does not test for E but does a large blood panel including T. He asks how I feel with respect to E. The practice sees thousands of trans.
My endo doesn't test E levels, because she says they fluctuate too much to be of use to her. She did test T back when I was pre-op, but she also said that her policy was "don't chase levels at the expense of the patient," meaning that if I was happy and developing well that was the most important.
However, she definitely ran liver function and other blood tests to check for abnormalities, and I absolutely appreciate that, because I actually did have some liver damage from HRT in the first 3 months. (She prescribed a low dose to start, and even that turned out to be twice as much as I needed.)