background info:  i'm a straight american cisgirl and my boyfriend is a japanese transguy. we live in japan.


my boyfriend has a number of ftm friends online and recently two or three of them have been considering stopping hormone treatment. actually, a lot of ftms in japan do not take T because 1) you can't do it yourself, you have to go to the doctor monthly 2) it is not too too difficult to pass in japan since a lot of jguys are feminine anyway  3) there is the thought that hormone therapy will shorten your life

so. i'm wondering... what happens if you stop?  i mean, i can imagine that you may not be able to grow new facial hair, voice maybe get a little higher

but, in the case of my boyfriend, he has no estrogen-producing organs anymore. got rid of those old things about 2 years ago. there would be no estrogen to 'reverse' the effects of testosterone so would there be any change?

also, has anyone taking T ever considered stopping for social/monetary/health reasons?

I don't know too much about this, but as far as I know your body needs one hormone or the other in order to function.  An absence of hormones altogether can lead to things like osteoporosis and other health complications.

As far as reversing the changes caused by T, check out page 8 of this guide:

http://transhealth.vch.ca/resources/library/tcpdocs/consumer/hormones-FTM.pdf

Quote from: Tozzle on June 10, 2010, 04:40:39 AM
I don't know too much about this, but as far as I know your body needs one hormone or the other in order to function.  An absence of hormones altogether can lead to things like osteoporosis and other health complications.

This, you need atleast one hormone in your body.

As far as we know, testosterone does not shorten life in FTMs any more than it does in those who were born male.  Testosterone can cause higher bad cholesterol... If you have bad habits, more than anything else.  Just as cismales do, FTMs on T must look after their bodies.  Living without hormones altogether is vastly more dangerous.

The only reason people say it "shortens lifespan" is because of the possible danger of cancer in the cervix and ovaries, primarily.  If those are out, there's nothing to worry about.  ...As far as I know.  And if I am wrong, please, correct me.

http://www.ftmguide.org/ttherapybasics.html
that will answer your question. But yes if a transguy does not have his ovaries but wants to go off of t, it would be in his best interest to take estrogen instead.

I wanted to know the same thing...
So if you don't get an surgery to take ur girl bits out, ull be okay?
Then what?

Quote from: ccc on June 10, 2010, 11:17:26 PM
I wanted to know the same thing...
So if you don't get an surgery to take ur girl bits out, ull be okay?
Then what?

If you decide to keep your ovaries...then you would still need to have a yearly PAP Smear exam   

Quote from: s1ncere on June 11, 2010, 01:27:06 PM
If you decide to keep your ovaries...then you would still need to have a yearly PAP Smear exam   

I can never get a papsmear, I cant even put in a tampon...I can just barely put in my finger. Jesus...

Lol
Well I've never gotten one
But I couldn't do that anyways, no ins

Quote from: s1ncere on June 11, 2010, 01:27:06 PM
If you decide to keep your ovaries...then you would still need to have a yearly PAP Smear exam   

Not quite correct, a PAP smear checks for cervical cancer, so no cervix means no PAP, ovaries or not.

No sex hormones will lead to a degeneration of the bones. Bone density will decrease and he'll be more vulnerable to fractures and osteoporosis. He'll also lose whatever muscle mass he had and will be sluggish and tired (at least initially.) Also, his sex drive will decrease.

Quote from: Nathan. on June 10, 2010, 04:50:08 AM
This, you need atleast one hormone in your body.

Quote from: Kyle XD on June 10, 2010, 09:00:12 PM
yes if a transguy does not have his ovaries but wants to go off of t, it would be in his best interest to take estrogen instead.

yeah I think I knew somewhere that he needed to have at least some kind of hormone...  so what it comes down to is that because his body does not produce testosterone or estrogen anymore, there is no reason he should give up testosterone because it is neither better or worse from him than estrogen