What It's Like To Get Your Period As A Trans Guy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trans-guy-explains-period_us_57d1894de4b03d2d4598f2d6?utm_hp_ref=transgender

The Huffington Post/BY JamesMichael Nichols  09/08/2016 12:50 pm ET

Watched this (and a few more of this guy's videos) just this week. Got my own period at the start of the week (done now thank God) and was searching for a bit of empathy.

Does anyone know what the effect of taking birth control pills to stop my period could be? Would it confuse my body further dumping more female hormones into it? I really want to stop mine and that's the only way I know of doing it...sorry to have drifted off into questions 

Quote from: uk_older_ftm on September 10, 2016, 03:40:49 PM
Watched this (and a few more of this guy's videos) just this week. Got my own period at the start of the week (done now thank God) and was searching for a bit of empathy.

Does anyone know what the effect of taking birth control pills to stop my period could be? Would it confuse my body further dumping more female hormones into it? I really want to stop mine and that's the only way I know of doing it...sorry to have drifted off into questions 

I was getting the depo-provera shot every 3 months before I started T. Total of over 4 years on it. 4 months on T now and stopped that shot and have had no period. I think it made the transition easier as everything female in my insides was already sleeping.

I have other health issues that are probably to blame for this happening, but a little over 2 years on T I started menstruating irregularly. The time in between periods would be 2-6 weeks and constantly varied.

The way I was able to deal with it was by increasing my dose as it was on the lower end of normal and having a Mirena (hormonal) IUD inserted. Increasing my T did nothing while the IUD has stopped it completely. The hormonal aspect is a little off-putting, but in reality the dosing of progesterone is so small that outside of the uterus the levels of progesterone are negligible. I no longer menstruate and don't have to resort to a hysterectomy.

The only issues I've had are cramping the day after my shot, and no one knows exactly why that happens but it is well observed in trans men, and very light spotting. The cramping has gotten better over time and I expect it to go away eventually (as it does for most people). Note that a history of painful menstrual cramps makes this more likely to be bothersome and increases the likelihood of pain when it's being inserted. I'm not gonna lie, it hurt a lot going in, but I'd still think it's worth it if it were more painful.

I was on depo for 7 years in my early 20s. It eased my dysphoria and made life bearable for me. I was pretty much agender at the time. I went off of it to procreate and would be back on it in a heartbeat if not for the pulmonary embolism I had during my second pregnancy.
I found that the constant low dose progesterone smoothed out the hormonal cycling that was a constant reminder of the "femaleness" of my body.

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Quote from: uk_older_ftm on September 10, 2016, 03:40:49 PM
Watched this (and a few more of this guy's videos) just this week. Got my own period at the start of the week (done now thank God) and was searching for a bit of empathy.

Does anyone know what the effect of taking birth control pills to stop my period could be? Would it confuse my body further dumping more female hormones into it? I really want to stop mine and that's the only way I know of doing it...sorry to have drifted off into questions 

My doctor recommends Depo Provera to guys that are having issues getting their periods to stop (whether on T or off). It's non-hormonal so won't otherwise impact anything, positively or negatively.

Quote from: stephaniec on September 09, 2016, 08:51:59 AM
What It's Like To Get Your Period As A Trans Guy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trans-guy-explains-period_us_57d1894de4b03d2d4598f2d6?utm_hp_ref=transgender

The Huffington Post/BY JamesMichael Nichols  09/08/2016 12:50 pm ET

That video was much better than I thought it would be. And so spot on its funny Mastering the technique of trying to open the wrapper super slowly to minimise sound, and lol yup as well for the waiting for people to flush the toilet, wash hands/turn on blow dryer. The moment of opportunity And I totally do the "just browsing" in the aisle thing, looking at my phone pretending I'm reading some sort of instruction if there are other people in the aisle. Funny to see similar "techniques" popping up

Quote from: uk_older_ftm on September 10, 2016, 03:40:49 PM
Does anyone know what the effect of taking birth control pills to stop my period could be? Would it confuse my body further dumping more female hormones into it? I really want to stop mine and that's the only way I know of doing it...sorry to have drifted off into questions 

I wouldn't recommend it. To stop periods outright would mean taking it almost continuously, and in my experience this is not a good idea. Not only will your body become addicted to the estrogen - actually addicted causing serious and continuous withdrawal migraines, but it'll feminize the body further. Not only that but when I quit taking it as a means to kill the periods it resulted in a year's worth of hypothyroidism, the complications of which I'm probably going to be living with for life.

Trying to wear a pad in boxers is so hard! And before I knew about being trans I got really uncomfortable with having to wear woman underwear (it was the worst part of my period) so I started wearing my boxers over the woman underwear to help and now getting my period in general is the worse part (not because of dysphoria or anything. I simply just don't want it). I was actually gonna make a post about if you can get a hysterectomy without it being trans related. I simply just don't want my period and don't want to have to take birth control to not have it

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Quote from: haeden on September 13, 2016, 10:24:25 PM
Trying to wear a pad in boxers is so hard! And before I knew about being trans I got really uncomfortable with having to wear woman underwear (it was the worst part of my period) so I started wearing my boxers over the woman underwear to help and now getting my period in general is the worse part (not because of dysphoria or anything. I simply just don't want it). I was actually gonna make a post about if you can get a hysterectomy without it being trans related. I simply just don't want my period and don't want to have to take birth control to not have it

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Plenty of people get hystos when they are not trans. The trick will be finding a doctor that will do it for someone of childbearing age and how you are going to pay for it if the doctor won't code it for insurance.

Quote from: Alexthecat on September 13, 2016, 10:46:10 PM
Plenty of people get hystos when they are not trans. The trick will be finding a doctor that will do it for someone of childbearing age and how you are going to pay for it if the doctor won't code it for insurance.

Dang they would do that? Why agree to it if you won't put it through insurance. It seems like you don't really want to do it then lol

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Quote from: haeden on September 13, 2016, 10:24:25 PM
Trying to wear a pad in boxers is so hard! And before I knew about being trans I got really uncomfortable with having to wear woman underwear (it was the worst part of my period) so I started wearing my boxers over the woman underwear to help and now getting my period in general is the worse part (not because of dysphoria or anything. I simply just don't want it). I was actually gonna make a post about if you can get a hysterectomy without it being trans related. I simply just don't want my period and don't want to have to take birth control to not have it

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I've heard of insurance companies not covering voluntary sterilization procedures for people under a certain age. I've heard of doctors working with trans patients to code their hysterectomy as something else if they have crappy insurance that excludes trans care. I've also heard of doctors not being willing to work around or lie to insurance.

There is a Facebook group specifically for guys looking for advice on hysterectomies. You could probably get advice on finding a doctor there. I'm not sure I've ever heard of someone starting their transition with a hysto if there was no underlying medical issue, but I'm sure it's happened before.

Quote from: FTMax on September 14, 2016, 08:05:54 AM
I've heard of insurance companies not covering voluntary sterilization procedures for people under a certain age. I've heard of doctors working with trans patients to code their hysterectomy as something else if they have crappy insurance that excludes trans care. I've also heard of doctors not being willing to work around or lie to insurance.

There is a Facebook group specifically for guys looking for advice on hysterectomies. You could probably get advice on finding a doctor there. I'm not sure I've ever heard of someone starting their transition with a hysto if there was no underlying medical issue, but I'm sure it's happened before.

Yeah I'm a little worried about that because I'm sure I'll have my top surgery before I see a doctor for the hysto and I'm sure they won't believe me that it's not trans related. I seriously just hate the pain associated with it and don't care to have it. I'm afraid of the side affects of birth control and find it to be tedious and unnecessary if I don't want kids coming out of me

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haeden, I am with you all the way, mine will start today had the cramps I get before I start all night.  I have used tampon since about a year after I started; pads were so bad feeling and seeing them between my legs and now i can wear my boxers all the time too.  I want a hysto so all those parts are gone and can't cause me any problems. I don't have insurance now so need a job with good insurance or make lots of money to get one.

Quote from: mm on September 14, 2016, 08:58:20 AM
haeden, I am with you all the way, mine will start today had the cramps I get before I start all night.  I have used tampon since about a year after I started; pads were so bad feeling and seeing them between my legs and now i can wear my boxers all the time too.  I want a hysto so all those parts are gone and can't cause me any problems. I don't have insurance now so need a job with good insurance or make lots of money to get one.

I can't use tampons they hurt. I'm not like dysphoric over having one since I can wear boxers over my other underwear. After thinking it over some more I may want the hysto for trans reasons without realizing it. I wish you could just get it covered through insurance and didn't have to get it approved and junk

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haeden--No need to wear women's underwear; try  men's briefs / bikinis  (at least during your P time).

Quote from: xchrisx on September 15, 2016, 06:49:54 AM
haeden--No need to wear women's underwear; try  men's briefs / bikinis  (at least during your P time).

Men bikinis? That's a thing?

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