Hello,

ive a massive problem. Iam nearly 8 month postOP, 3 years HRT. We had bloodwork shortly after SRS and after 6 month. T, DHEAS and DHT have normal, femal ranges. SHBG a bit low, but normal. E2 normal.

But my body is going back to male characteristics. I good bad unclear skin like a man, specially in the face, my acne came back in big steps, ive hairloss. My face change in someway i couldnt interpret. Its not like preOP. Abd my belly change somehow too. Its more man-like. My weight gained by 6 pounds and i nearly ear nothing all the day. Bread and bodyhair growth faster than ever. All in all i feel clear masculinization signs!

Iam so afraid. What happens here?
They cutted my <not allowed> and my body is terrorized by some shadow androgenes or what?
Why such <not allowed> always happen to me? 


(Moderator's Note: It is policy to use proper biological words like testes)

Quote from: galaxy on April 12, 2016, 04:30:39 PM
Hello,

ive a massive problem. Iam nearly 8 month postOP, 3 years HRT. We had bloodwork shortly after SRS and after 6 month. T, DHEAS and DHT have normal, femal ranges. SHBG a bit low, but normal. E2 normal.

But my body is going back to male characteristics. I good bad unclear skin like a man, specially in the face, my acne came back in big steps, ive hairloss. My face change in someway i couldnt interpret. Its not like preOP. Abd my belly change somehow too. Its more man-like. My weight gained by 6 pounds and i nearly ear nothing all the day. Bread and bodyhair growth faster than ever. All in all i feel clear masculinization signs!

Iam so afraid. What happens here?
They cutted my ,<not allowed> and my body is terrorized by some shadow androgenes or what?
Why such <not allowed> always happen to me? 

You and your Doctor should be able to come up with a solution, but you may want to consult with your local baker about your "bread" issues. 😀

Beard.

Just trying to cheer you up a little, sweetie 😊

It may be a case of too low E. Normal E is anywhere from 20 pg/ml to up to 75,000. Very wide range, too wide to establish normalcy. Higher SHBG also can help as it strongly binds testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. You need to discuss this with your doctor.

Can you post your blood levels? Some doctors have a funny idea of what's normal.

You could also get a second opinion.

So do some transgender people...

Yes, good thing it's a forum.

T 0,1 ng/ml
DHT 120 pg/ml
E2 120 pg/ml (after 6 hours)
SHBG 45 nmol/l
DHEAS 2,5 ug/nl

So what? Her levels are 120 pg/ml. How does this tell us anything useful? Perhaps her levels 12 hours later or 18 hours later are significantly different. How do we find out if this level is optimal for HER? Clearly, it's not producing the expected results.

The body's response is really the only way to finding out if what she is taking is producing good results. She is not responding...so now what? If her doctor refuses to increase dose, then one should question why? What are the risks and potential benefits involved if dose is increased? Studies strongly suggest increasing dose will not pose health risks, especially if taken non-orally while potential benefits may be increased feminization, breast growth, less hair loss, less masculinization. Debatable? Hardly, in my opinion. But, I'm not the doc.

Its tells us its not super low, and not particularly high either.

Its probably half to one third of mine on implants for what its worth. I'm not familiar with how levels change over time since I've never use that method.

I think I agree about trying higher. I asked my endo what would happen if I had a much higher dose than I'm on now and he said its safe enough, but would likely lead to desensitization (and he wont' do it).

Quote from: AnonyMs on April 13, 2016, 08:42:53 PM
I asked my endo what would happen if I had a much higher dose than I'm on now and he said its safe enough, but would likely lead to desensitization (and he wont' do it).

If high levels caused desensitization, why do pregnant women with very high levels not experience desensitization? I suspect the reason desensitization occurs has more to do with fluctuation in levels where too steady levels cause receptors to stop responding like what happens when constant insulin exposure eventually results in insulin resistance. I do however remain open to the possibility that too high levels may cause desensitization and this may be why levels are constantly and gradually increasing in pregnant women to overcome desensitization.

I've no idea, but I'll try to remember to ask him next time.

second opinion seems to be a reasonable course of action.

Okay, lets try to make the question in another way:

Medication before SRS and after SRS is currently the same. Blood levels nearly also the same (see above). Only prolactine is much higher, what reason ever ... not matters here.

Before SRS (with gonades) i had no masculinization, it was okay - no acne, soft skin, no hairloss, maybe no huge feminization, even with injections - but it was okay.

After SRS (no gonades) i got hairloss and my acne comes again. Acne is a effect of androgenes. My skin got very rough. My face looks more and more masulin again ... around the mouth.

I mean how can i get more androgenic effects after removing gonades than before? 

Are you still taking the same dose of anti-androgen (don't state dose) now that you were taking pre-SRS? The other thing  could be STRESS. If you are stressed, adrenals may produce higher amounts of androgen precursors leading to increased levels in tissues, which are not measured by blood test.

I actually experienced the same as you post-op and only higher doses of E worked for me, higher than pre. My doctor agreed.

I've no stress. I cant walk/sit and work much because my vagina still hurts after OP. So mostly of my time i'm at home and bored. And i dont think a bit stress could causes acne and other strong adrogenic effects.

Cushing-Syndrome

Then you could discuss with doctor the possibility of raising E.

Cortison is a better option for Cushing i think.