I saw a post from a trans woman on another website, who is 68 and non-op, on hormones since 33 years ago. She was a late starter as she says it. She started HRT in 1985. She took anti-androgens very briefly in the 80s but stopped them and continued with Estradiol only.
She had been put on a menopausal very low dose estrogen only regimen by her doctor two years ago and she saw no remasculinization after all these years. She has been on lower doses for the last 15 years.
It seams like lower doses over time can also shut down a male reproductive system without aid of anti-androgens.
There often lives a belief in TS / TG communities that less is less, but it appears that science shows us that less is actually more.
Even low doses can bring you to your destination over time, just at lower speed.

I would like to follow the path this woman I'm speaking about took.

She saw pelvic widening after starting HRT in the 80s in her mid 30s. The community always says 18-25 and after that bone changes are impossible.

This woman I am talking about is 68, never had genital surgeries and gets by on a low menopause dose just like cis women her age. She never had an orchie either.

She still gets morning wood but apart of that she is all girl as she says it.

I hate morning wood and am happy that it stopped for me. So I would be happy to continue with low dose E only since that gives me stable blood levels and quite satisfactory results and it keeps the morning rise of the flag away.

Any longterm non-op women here whose doctor reduced them to menopause doses after many years? These days everyone makes it like you can't successfully transition without Cypro or Spiro.
I am interested in the stories of longterm non-op women on low E dose who never had an orchie and don't take anti-androgens.

Thanks
:-)

You also need to realize that at age 68 and as you get older, the gonads are producing much less T so that you need much less to get them in female range. This is maybe why she can also get by on just low E. Sensitivity may also change as we age. And finally, everyone is different in how they respond. YMMV.

Quote from: KayXo on February 28, 2018, 10:22:33 PM
You also need to realize that at age 68 and as you get older, the gonads are producing much less T so that you need much less to get them in female range. This is maybe why she can also get by on just low E. Sensitivity may also change as we age. And finally, everyone is different in how they respond. YMMV.

That's true, she is 46 years older than me so she makes less natural testosterone.
I am feeling good and seeing results on the dose I am on now. I also don't have a nagging libido and my armpits don't stink. Facial hair is still very slow and blonde/fuzzy. So I think it's working.
My last blood test three weeks ago showed good levels. I will try not to worry too much. I'm feeling good and balanced. Not the noise from the mental dysphoria anymore. I feel calm.
I will have regular check-ups with my doctor to be sure :-)

Feeling good and seeing good results is, IMHO, far more important than blood levels which fluctuate and produce varied responses in different individuals...the truth, is we really don't know the right level for anyone. Guesswork. We also don't know what's going on inside of cells, only in the serum (blood). Authors in a study explain in detail why measuring levels is unreliable.

I'm on an average dose of E but haven't taken an AA in quite some time. My E levels have been sufficient to suppress my T. Reading through these forums, it appears that this is not a popular regimen, but its working for me and other patients of my doctor. My T levels haven't changed in any significant way.

Also, without knowing exactly what your friend took back in the 80's, there's no way to tell if your regimen would have anywhere near the same effects - especially given that Premarin and synthetic estrogens were the name of the game back then.

My doctor does disagree on the value of levels, except in his case, he is looking for a trough level to exceed a certain level - the level at which T is suppressed.