Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Community Conversation => Transitioning => Hormone replacement therapy => Topic started by: chinee on June 17, 2018, 03:09:30 PM

Title: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: chinee on June 17, 2018, 03:09:30 PM
Hello, Im on HRT for 6 years and 3 years post op. Since last year my hair started to get unhealthy and believe me I tried everything from biotin pills to expensive salon hair treatments and scalp treatments. In addition, I checked my thyroid and everything, however, they result found nothing was wrong. I also tried lowering E dose and increasing my E dose, cycling P, and switching to injectable but still no go.

Now Im thinking do you think it may because I have almost no T in my body? I only have 0.x T in my body everytime I do blood work. This is really making me frustrated.
Title: Re: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: Donna on June 17, 2018, 03:47:11 PM
My nails have been splitting and peeling and I was told it's from a drop in cologen with the lower T. I believe it affects hair as well. Not a doctor but my therapist explained it that way
Title: Re: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: Doreen on June 17, 2018, 04:22:40 PM
Quote from: chinee on June 17, 2018, 03:09:30 PM
Hello, Im on HRT for 6 years and 3 years post op. Since last year my hair started to get unhealthy and believe me I tried everything from biotin pills to expensive salon hair treatments and scalp treatments. In addition, I checked my thyroid and everything, however, they result found nothing was wrong. I also tried lowering E dose and increasing my E dose, cycling P, and switching to injectable but still no go.

Now Im thinking do you think it may because I have almost no T in my body? I only have 0.x T in my body everytime I do blood work. This is really making me frustrated.

Yes, hair loss & brittle nails can very easily be a sign of no testosterone (I also have that issue to worry me).  Biotin can help..  as you seem to already know.  Maybe a low dose T shot or gel would be possible.
Title: Re: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: chinee on June 17, 2018, 05:36:19 PM
I had a thought of doing low T shot just to put my T on female range. However, I haven't really heard of any post op mtf who does the T shot.

It also makes me wonder why my case is not common. Like, there are so many post op trans that surely has close to zero T level after years of being post op but not experiencing the same thing like what I experience. I also dont think it has something to do with my age as I am still in my late 20s.
Title: Re: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: chinee on June 17, 2018, 06:04:40 PM
Does anyone here heard or used Andriol Testocaps (testosterone Undecanoate) I googled and this is the only brand I can see available in my country. Its an oral T but designed for men so Im not sure how can I take low dosage of it :(
Title: Re: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: Dena on June 17, 2018, 06:43:19 PM
Oral testosterone hasn't had a very good record in the past and normally testosterone is applied to the skin or injected. The problem from what I understand is most testosterone is administered to men so the dosages are pretty heavy, far more than you would want in your system. You need to discuss this with your doctor as it will probably take several adjustments to put you in the feminine range without exceeding it.
Title: Re: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: Donna on June 17, 2018, 07:06:36 PM
All the trans men I know use the gel on the arms. Safest course of action is sit down with a doctor and blood work.
Title: Re: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: Doreen on June 18, 2018, 01:31:27 AM
I was on testosterone shots for a couple months to try to boost my stamina levels. Not only did it not help the stamina, it also didn't help my testosterone levels. I probably could've increased the dose, but... I really don't want to go down that route.
Title: Re: Does low or no T causes hair shedding / dry brittle hair and nails?
Post by: KayXo on June 19, 2018, 08:00:23 AM
The oral pills (TU) result in very high levels of T that quickly spike and drop. I wouldn't take it, personally. Instead, I was prescribed gel and this is working fine for me. :) A very small dose of injected testosterone could certainly work. With T, my skin is baby soft and glows, I love it! Also, my cellulite is MUCH improved. :)