Hi everyone,
  I'm a long time reader, first time registrant / poster.  I'm a 38 year old MTF and I started HRT almost 4 months ago.  Some things in my treatment don't seem right and I wanted to get information & thoughts from anyone who may have experienced the same.

  The first month of HRT I was on more or less of a starter dosage of estradiol and spiro (and full dosage of finasteride.)  Nothing groundbreaking in terms of changes other than a loss of energy and having to go to the bathroom a lot.  Spontaneous erections start to diminish.

  At the start of month two I was placed on my regular dosage of estradiol and spiro and medroxyprogestorone was added.  I know we can't discuss dosages here but the spiro dosage seems conservative.  Emotional changes (mood swings started), tenderness in the breast area if I would brush against them or when washing in the morning etc.  Minor breast bud / tissue development.  Skin starts to get smooth. Minor reduction in body hair growth speed (keeping in mind I'm doing full body lasering.)  Near of month two my endocrinologist ran blood work and my T level was 50 and this month he ran the total estrogen (not estradiol) level which came back at 994.    It seemed like everything was underway and I couldn't be happier or more excited.

  By the time month 2.5 rolled around I started getting morning erections on and off again.  All breast tenderness had stopped completely.  Due to the erections he ran the bloodwork again and T showed 52 and this time he ran the estradiol level (ECLIA methodology) which was at 141.  He didn't offer much of an explanation other than my levels were fine.  The end of month two also showed facial changes.

  By month 3.5 erections were occuring on and off through out the night and during the day as well   Most aren't near full strength but one or two are.  Nothing further had occured with my breasts in terms of tenderness / pain for over a month and though there wasn't a lot of development what there was was smaller.  Near the end of month 3 (now) body hair growth speed has returned to pre HRT speed.  Month three showed continued softening of the skin.  Waistline is a nice hourglass (hips and waist are nice, nothing on the backside yet) to the point where the girls where I get laser are jealous.  Face is really becoming more feminine (but I always had a softer / round face to start with and will most likely not need FFS.)  Emotional swings are kicking in again (maybe due to this issue.)  Crying a lot

  My endo ran my blood again because of the erections, etc.  T still came back at 52 and estradiol 107 (but they said that level can fluctuate by day or hour which could explain the loss from 141 - 107 but this is still within his 'target' range.)  From what I've read here most people's doctors seem to want their estradiol level higher.  He still doesn't have much of an explanation for me.

  Are these things anything to be concerned about?  Some things seem to be changing (although very slow and subtle) and other things seem to be frozen or frankly going in reverse.  My endo isn't offering much but I know he is one of the most respected and used doctors in this area for MtF HRT and has 30 years of experience.

P.S. - Can things in your diet like dark chocolate cause erection issues like this?

If anyone can offer any info or advice I'd appreciate it.

  Thx,
  Michelle

Your Doctor sounds like a well experienced doctor so I would trust him.

I have never been on hrt but what I have learned these last few days here on Susans is that hrt affects different people in different ways. I am also pretty sure that I read somewhere that the body will fight foreign hormones at least for a while so perhaps that could have something to do with it.
In the end you seem to be progressing, even if some things seem to be regressing they still had to get to the point where they could regress.

Hi Michelle,
My experience is somewhat similar to yours. My male hormones just didn't want to give up the fight! I started to see a smoothing out of that bumpy ride at about 6 months and I began to feel more 'at peace'. I'm at about 2.5 years now, and wow! Emotionally, I'm able to handle things that would be hard to overcome before (family turmoil) before. Give yourself time, it will happen...its a process 

Gwyn

Things take time. Remember its the same as puberty that did not happen over night. And longer you are on a t blocker and things atrophy it does get way, way better.  I did sprio. when was living in the states and thought i was under good control, but then when i was in canada was on Cyproterone and lets say spiro does not hold even a close candle to what a low dose of Androcur can. That is the mother of all T killers.

Just trust your doctor it seem they know what they are doing and relax its not going to happen over night but i always hold true that less is more sometimes.

Wish you well going forward.

Izz

Thanks for the info and responses

I guess I'll just keep moving forward then and hopefully with time this most hated of organs will go back to sleep   I wish I could say it wasn't frustrated or discouraging but I guess that's all part of this process as well.

Michelle

Update - I got a message from my endo's office and he is going to up my estradiol a bit, maybe that will work things out.

Well the extra estradiol definitely is not making that problem go away.

Other things are becoming worse.  The skin on my face is back to having noticeable pores and is rougher looking, overall my face is looking more like it did before i started this than it did a month ago

This really sucks.

Has anyone heard of such a thing or can offer anything?