Hello,

Currently I am working with my therapist to find the best course for finding inner peace and keeping my job and family together. She is suggesting starting me on a low dose of estradiol daily. I am OK with starting with this low dose to see if it helps. I also understand that it will not feminize my body significantly. (darn-but best for now)

Therefore, I'm curious if anyone else has started or had experience with this low dose of therapy and what was the result?

Thank you,

Kylie

Compared to the literature that is available I have always been on a low dose of estrogen and I'm very happy with my development.  It is often prudent to start with a low does and adjust from there.  Get baseline blood work done, start the low dose, and monitor the results every month or so to see how your body is reacting.  As far as "Not feminizing your body significantly",  remember that everyone reacts differently and bombarding the body with large doses sometimes does no better than lower doses.  Remember that the human body can only metabolize a specific amount and the remainder is flushed through the system.

What do you have to loose.  Work with your therapist and see how it goes.

Steph

Kylie, there was a recent discussion about if full transition was always the best course of action for older transsexuals.

I believe in self determinism, meaning the choice is up to the individual - but I also believe that HRT alone had been medically shown to alieviate the nightmare of gender dysphoria.

This seems like a prudent COA to me.

Bri

I've also been on a lower than usual dose all along but am seeing results. My counsellor says they're excellent results but I still wish the changes would hurry up.

Quote from: Brianna on January 04, 2007, 01:06:38 PMThis seems like a prudent COA to me.

Change of address? Or a variant of CYA? Just trying to understand.

Course of action.

Quote from: Brianna on January 04, 2007, 01:06:38 PM
Kylie, there was a recent discussion about if full transition was always the best course of action for older transsexuals.

Don't be disheartened, Kylie. Age has nothing to do with it. You do what's best for you, and only when you're ready. People transition successfully (measured by the individual themselves) at every age.

QuoteI also believe that HRT alone had been medically shown to alieviate the nightmare of gender dysphoria.

I agree, though one warning Kylie: HRT can be a slippery slope. If it's right for you, there's a good chance you'll want more, and won't want to ever stop again. It's prudent to consider that before starting... that this may very well be the beginning of a full transition. You might be content with a low-dose regimen... but... consider that you may not.

Kate

Kylie,

I started HRT on last August 14, to be exact.  I noticed the difference after taking the 1st dose while still in the doctors parking lot.  The drive home was interesting.  My wife noticed the difference the 2nd day.  We both like the "new" me better than the old personality.  The changes that we noticed:  smoothness of the skin; bust development; more talkative: less aggressive personality; a general sense of calm; and best of all a gigantic sense of peace and tranquiity.

I have only one regret and that is that I didn't start HRT earlier in life.

My age?  Well let's just say that I am beyond the point when one is considered a "senior citizen."

Laura

Everyone,

Thank you for your wonderful support and comments. I know that starting HRT is a slippery slope. However, in my 50+ years I have done extensive therapy, searched within and tried almost every possible way to be at peace with myself. All for naught. Therefore, trying HRT in the belief and hopes of it moving me beyond this painful life to a life of peace, calmness and joy is worth any associated risk of going down the rabbit hole. I can't go on fighting with myself any longer. I pray everyday that it will give me peace.

Sincerely,

Kylie

Quote from: kylie on January 04, 2007, 05:14:20 PM
However, in my 50+ years I have done extensive therapy, searched within and tried almost every possible way to be at peace with myself. All for naught. Therefore, trying HRT in the belief and hopes of it moving me beyond this painful life to a life of peace, calmness and joy is worth any associated risk of going down the rabbit hole. I can't go on fighting with myself any longer. I pray everyday that it will give me peace.

Like reading a page ripped from my own journal...

You may find the thread on Trial period for HRT? helpful.

Kate

Quote


=HALFWAY MEASURES: THINGS YOU CAN DO TO TEST YOURSELF

One excellent way to learn is not theoretical, it is by hands on experience. In the circumstance of discovering gender identity, a supreme tactic is to experiment.

The best experiments would ideally be nonfatal, non-permanent and very revealing. Perhaps the single most effective tool for self knowledge of gender identity, is to experiment with hormones.

To much of the medical establishment this is a bold, or at worst, a precipitous thing to suggest. It is not without some risk, but the risk is fairly small, short term.

Go on hormones for up to six months.

Beyond six months, the effects of hormone therapy start to become permanent, with eight months being the edge of going too far. Within six months, almost all effects, at least of estrogens, are reversible over time. It should be noted that for Female-To-Male transsexuals, testosterone changes are not reversible at all.

Hormone therapy is very revealing. The test procedure very simple. If after several months, you love and prefer how you feel, think and are, then you are probably on the right track, indications are suggestive that this is right for you. If you really don't like how you feel, think and are, if it makes you uncomfortable, disturbed and uneasy, then this is a direct indication that changing your sex is not the best choice.

Hormones affect almost every aspect of your functioning, and simply by noting if the experience is good or bad, you should get some idea of what you really want. Remember though, that what you want could be anything, even some comfortable place Other than Male or Female, so keep an open mind.

Simply quit when you choose. Take responsibility for this.

A less biological test is to simply live in your chosen gender role for a given time. This is often hard to arrange, but a vacation or time off, or other retreat can provide the space to experiment. If you are brave enough, or passable enough to do so openly, then do so.

See thread.


tinkerbell

Kate & Tinkerbell,

Wonderful threads. Haven't been able to get through all of the postings yet on "Trial Period For HRT" as this seems to have hit a nerve and created quite the exchange of opinions. Don't know what I would do without your help. Yes I do. I'd suffer alone in ignorance and shame as in the past. You are a Godsend.

Someday I will contribute more to help others and pay back the concern and care I have received.

With love in my heart,

Kylie

Quote from: kylie on January 05, 2007, 05:51:11 AMSomeday I will contribute more to help others and pay back the concern and care I have received.

I think you and all of us are helping others just by posting - people who find this site who haven't registered yet read what we have to say and know that they're not alone.