The title pretty much sums up the question...I feel like I am beginning to lose muscle strength(didn't have heaps to start with)...I expected this but maybe not this soon?

As A MTF or FTM

Have you experienced any change in strength?

What form did it take?

Liz

I have not noticed a strength change in daily activities.  I have noticed a loss of some aerobic capacity during the first year and continuing until now.  The reason is that my red blood cell count is reduced.  That is a known effect of estrogen so it's probably unavoidable.


It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
André Gide, Autumn Leaves

At about 10 months after estrogen started, i began to see some loss in strength. This made me change my workouts some. I see the whole thing as bittersweet. I'd like more feminine arms and shoulders, but also like to lift things. So i am probably working my upper body more than is optimal for feminization.

Elizabeth, while I don't remember exactly, I think I started noticing a loss of strength around the same time as you, maybe even a little earlier.  I lost a lot of upper body strength - so much so that my friends remarked that my shoulders were not as broad as they used to be.  And I started to really struggle with carrying and lifting things - from grocery bags to baby car seats - it all became more difficult.  I also noticed a drop in my cardiovascular endurance, which showed in my cardio workouts.

Physically I'm just a lot weaker overall.  But on the plus side I have a much more feminine physique, so I'll gladly take the trade-off. 

Liz, I've noticed a lot of strength loss lately but I cant' be sure if it's from lack of T and adding E or whether it's just from aging.  Probably a combination of both.

HRT induced?  At about 3 months I started to shed muscle mass.  The loss of strength was really noticeable.  I work in a physically demanding line of work and the last 6 months has found me figuring out easier ways to get heavy things to move.  When I compare pictures from a year ago, the change is pretty dramatic.

My T went from about 300 to 25 by my second HRT blood draw. 

All of your answers make me wonder if I had some androgen insensitivity syndrome going on before.  My T went way down but my loss of strength seems at most negligible.


It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
André Gide, Autumn Leaves

I recall being about 3-6 months in on my HRT and was drying myself after a shower.  I watched in the mirror as the triceps muscles in the back of my arm did something they never did before, wobble!  I do some farm and trail chores around our place and can no longer lift the timbers and limbs like before.  It seems we must resort to other means in making manual chores more manageable

Quote from: Deborah on October 24, 2016, 09:34:06 PM
All of your answers make me wonder if I had some androgen insensitivity syndrome going on before.  My T went way down but my loss of strength seems at most negligible.


It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
André Gide, Autumn Leaves

That is an interesting question...My T has been low for over 4 years now. Currently at 0.5. I don't take any blockers mine is caused as a side effect of some heavy duty medication I am on.

Liz

Thank you all for the replied...I didn't really want to admit it yet but I got an inkling last time I was doing some heavy duty gardening that things were not as they had been. Last night I was exhausted, to the point of feeling physically sick. I slept for about 6 hours solid which is an outstanding number for me. I averages 3hrs 20 minutes last week (according to my FITBIT)

I love this journey....even this loss is a gain   and I am sure in some cases a gain in strength is not a loss either...eh guys?

Maybe it's my imagination but at just barely over 5 months since starting HRT I feel like I've already lost quite a bit of strength, I was never strong in the least before hrt, carrying a 30lb bag of cat litter was a struggle for me pre HRT but now just picking up a gallon of milk I can certainly feel my muscles struggle a bit haha

I noticed an inability to open jars and bottles, as well as not being able to carry my own luggage...about a month after I got a boyfriend! 

Hugs, Devlyn

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on October 25, 2016, 09:33:22 AM
I noticed an inability to open jars and bottles, as well as not being able to carry my own luggage...about a month after I got a boyfriend! 

Hugs, Devlyn

And I thought we just got weak in the knees

hi,

it all comes down to how the strength was gained imo. if naturally than as mtf you will loose some of that. but if you went to the gym and toned and did strength exercises and kept them up(not to look muscler but toned) you wont loose as much. by strength i mean, starting at say 0.5kg and working up to around 10kgs per arm (if doing curls) and back (3 sets of 15 reps slowly). that way you achieve inner strength and not bulk and it stays with you even if you stop. for example when i used to gym 20years ago i could leg press 180kg and bench 130kgs (i weighed 78kgs and the other day i was able to leg press 165kgs and bench 100kgs. which for someone who stopped way back then isnt bad.  if an ftm wants muscle strength start at the lowest weight, doing a min of 3 sets of 15reps per weight. working up to when it really hurts and you struggle to do the reps and then reverse, working to the lowest weight. doing this will give you strength and not just mass, and shouldnt turn to flab when u stop. you will also still gent muscle definition.


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also only work on one muscle group per day. otherwise u work against yourself and can suffer muscle pain


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I just completed my second month of hrt and I noticed about a week ago that I can't lift things at work with as much ease as before.  Slight decrease but noticeable.

Quote from: Deborah on October 24, 2016, 09:34:06 PM
All of your answers make me wonder if I had some androgen insensitivity syndrome going on before.  My T went way down but my loss of strength seems at most negligible.

I had noticed after I started estradiol years ago that I had lost muscle mass and strength.  I was on a static-dosage regimen for years, and I more or less maintained the "female" level of strength and endurance, but I recently switched to cycling estradiol and adding in/cycling progesterone, and I have noticed even more of a loss of strength as I would pick up and carry an empty 20# propane tank to be refilled, and THEN put it back on my travel trailer after refilling it.  Taking it to town, I had actually wondered if something was wrong with the valve (not letting propane vent below a certain pressure).  I had them weigh the tank as it was, and it was empty...  They refilled it, and WOW, it was heavier than before!  I can't even start a hand mower anymore.

I believe that you developed estrogen insensitivity because of the constant dosage regimen and what it does to the receptors over the long-term.  I don't think the body is supposed to have a constant dosage environment.

I had a difficult time seeing that I had become smaller and was going to the gym frequently to stay toned.  I'd say about 5 months in is when I began to notice more effort was required to perform tasks, but I haven't lost the ability to open jars or anything like that...  I do tend to lean against doors to open them now, though, and legs feel super sore and weak all the time.

Profound loss for me and it's actually become a problem because I didn't have any to begin with.

I really can't remember so I'm not gonna guess but my strength has reduced a lot and my arms are much less toned and smaller