Ok well I keep seeing people on here sayin they wasn't on estrogen for a few months n only was on Spiro. So wat r some reasons a endo doctor would do that?

Caution and a chance to double check that the client isn't going to freak out and back off of transition, if there are doubts of any kind (and there often can be) about the dysphoria.

Or with very young transfolk, simply trying to prevent the onset of puberty, while treatment and talk therapy continues before making a choice that will require surgery, should the client regret growing breasts and becoming permanently infertile.

Infertility is probably one of the major concerns as well with those transitioning at later ages, unless the client already has a family and would be unlikely to want to parent any more kids at their present age. Malpractice charges that involve claims of reproductive harm can generate very heavy damage claims, since calculations can be based on the speculative life long value of not just the plaintiff's lifetime, but those of any children he might have generated, plus pain and suffering of not having such offspring.

I am one who was on Spiro for almost four and a half months before I started Estradiol.

The main reason is that Spiro can be justified as medically necessary for a male without relating it to transition. Add to that the fact that Spiro has very little effect that cannot be reversed by stopping it. In my case, even though my GP is VERY supportive of trans folks, she told me she wanted me to get a gender therapist's letter referring me for HRT to protect her against things like a family coming after her for malpractice or something.

Another minor factor, which may be helpful, is the ability to monitor T levels and other blood chemistry in the presence of changing just one thing at a time. My doc started me on a very low dose of Spiro and then doubled it three times spread over that span of four and a half months. Now I began taking a moderately low dose of Estradiol and she will be able to see how my body reacts to that before she increases it to a more typical level. Of course I have had blood tests at every step.

So the short answer is that this is just a very careful approach, both ethically, and medically. Some might argue unnecessarily so, but I'm good with it.

My endo gave me the "one thing at a time" answer too.  I'm fine with it.

Plus, Spiro did a great job knocking out my anger and impulsiveness.  In so doing, it freed me up to think and plan the next steps in my transition.  I'm very happy with how things are flowing.

I just need to get that darn low dose restriction off me...

Quote from: Misato33 on January 05, 2013, 09:52:46 PM
Plus, Spiro did a great job knocking out my anger and impulsiveness.  In so doing, it freed me up to think and plan the next steps in my transition.  I'm very happy with how things are flowing.

Yeah, me too! I had been having trouble with beginning to develop a reputation for being difficult sometimes, and I really didn't think it was fair. I still think I was generally justified in my feelings, but I had trouble backing down and letting go of frustrating things. Looking back on it now, I think I didn't realize how profoundly dysphoria was interfering in my daily life.

I am definitely more easy going now. Mostly from Spiro.

The Estradiol effects are still subtle on a low dose, but definitely there.

I was on spiro alone for about a month I think before starting estrogen. I think its becasue if your testosterone levels are high, the estrogen wont actually do anything anyway, so they lower the testosterone first, then introduce the estrogen.

Quote from: HthrRsln on January 05, 2013, 08:50:46 PM
I am one who was on Spiro for almost four and a half months before I started Estradiol.

The main reason is that Spiro can be justified as medically necessary for a male without relating it to transition. Add to that the fact that Spiro has very little effect that cannot be reversed by stopping it. In my case, even though my GP is VERY supportive of trans folks, she told me she wanted me to get a gender therapist's letter referring me for HRT to protect her against things like a family coming after her for malpractice or something.

Another minor factor, which may be helpful, is the ability to monitor T levels and other blood chemistry in the presence of changing just one thing at a time. My doc started me on a very low dose of Spiro and then doubled it three times spread over that span of four and a half months. Now I began taking a moderately low dose of Estradiol and she will be able to see how my body reacts to that before she increases it to a more typical level. Of course I have had blood tests at every step.

So the short answer is that this is just a very careful approach, both ethically, and medically. Some might argue unnecessarily so, but I'm good with it.

so r u basically sayin they really would only do that if u havnt seen a gender tharapist yet?

Quote from: Isabelle on January 05, 2013, 10:56:43 PM
I was on spiro alone for about a month I think before starting estrogen. I think its becasue if your testosterone levels are high, the estrogen wont actually do anything anyway, so they lower the testosterone first, then introduce the estrogen.

do u think my Testosterone is high since I'm 18? Or does age hav nothing to do wit how high it is

Quote from: Isabelle on January 05, 2013, 10:56:43 PM
I was on spiro alone for about a month I think before starting estrogen. I think its becasue if your testosterone levels are high, the estrogen wont actually do anything anyway, so they lower the testosterone first, then introduce the estrogen.

Yes I'd agree. That makes good sense.

Quote from: Angélique LaCava on January 05, 2013, 10:59:08 PM
so r u basically sayin they really would only do that if u havnt seen a gender tharapist yet?

I suppose my doc might have given me both from the beginning if I already had a therapist's letter and I insisted on it, but I haven't asked.

Quote from: Angélique LaCava on January 05, 2013, 11:03:14 PM
do u think my Testosterone is high since I'm 18? Or does age hav nothing to do wit how high it is

At 18 your testosterone levels are approaching their peak. Your body, at the moment, will be undergoing full scale masculinization. The sooner you get on testosterone blockers the better.

I am also only on Spiro, for over a month now. I won't be starting oestrogen for another 2 months.

Spiro stops the damage testosterone is causing, so for me it was the most important thing first up.

It's just being cautious, theres no reason to rush, it's not a race.

Quote from: Misato33 on January 05, 2013, 09:52:46 PM
Plus, Spiro did a great job knocking out my anger and impulsiveness.  In so doing, it freed me up to think and plan the next steps in my transition.  I'm very happy with how things are flowing.

Sorry if this is a tangent for this topic, but I have been considering going on Spiro for just this reason. I was on full HRT for a short time before my wife pulled me back. She doesn't support transition, but I'm considering a low dose of Spiro to help bring down the dysphoria. I've heard others make this claim also that Spiro helped calm the noise in their head. I know this is a little off of what the OP asked, but there are some who do just Spiro for this reason, I believe.

Quote from: Isabelle on January 05, 2013, 11:40:57 PM
At 18 your testosterone levels are approaching their peak. Your body, at the moment, will be undergoing full scale masculinization. The sooner you get on testosterone blockers the better.

thats wat I'm confused bout everyone keeps saying 18 is wen u masculinnise but I havnt even noticed any masculine changes yet if anything I look more femine than I did last year but Its  better to be safe than sorry haha. I'm prolly gonna be startin hrt in February or march

.

Quote from: Angélique LaCava on January 05, 2013, 11:56:39 PM
thats wat I'm confused bout everyone keeps saying 18 is wen u masculinnise but I havnt even noticed any masculine changes yet if anything I look more femine than I did last year but Its  better to be safe than sorry haha. I'm prolly gonna be startin hrt in February or march

Well, wether you're noticing it or not, it's happening.

Quote from: muuu on January 06, 2013, 12:03:03 AM
I started having beard growth at about 17 or 18, and I bet a lot of other horrible things developed too, so there's something up with that age. Not to stress you but :p, you should really start as soon as possible, I guess February/march would be that.

i started beard growth at 13 n 14

Beard growth would be a "masculine change"

Quote from: Angélique LaCava on January 06, 2013, 12:11:06 AM
i started beard growth at 13 n 14

They do level tests on all these things in part because, while most people do show levels within expected ranges, everyone is different. Also, your T levels are just one part of the story. I've seen some studies that suggest that for at least some transfolk, their responsiveness to T can be quite a bit less than what's seen in others without gender dysphoria. But there is no One Size Fits all version of this ... every single person has their own levels and their own sensitivities. Some may also respond far more to estrogen, and it's wise to monitor all of this, to avoid dosing more than needed, and minimize the various risks. Excellent info in all the other posts on this, by the way.

Quote from: Isabelle on January 05, 2013, 11:40:57 PM
At 18 your testosterone levels are approaching their peak. Your body, at the moment, will be undergoing full scale masculinization. The sooner you get on testosterone blockers the better.

Yes!!! If you even think you want to transition. Spiro seems to be a relatively safe way to stop puberty while you figure out what you want to do, but many effects of Testosterone cannot be undone later, or at the least require expensive cosmetic surgery. The sooner you shut down the T factory the better. I would give anything to have been able to do it sooner, and I mean ... anything. So much harder now. If you change your mind and stop Spiro, puberty will take over right where you left off. Estrogen will only partly reverse, mainly breast growth reversal requires surgery.