I've been on HRT now for a while (E, Spiro/Androcur) on quite adequate doses but lately and all of a sudden I have these pains on the side and towards the back of my hips and near my butt, my first thought was that the hormones were changing my bones however likely that is, but I didn't know that was supposed to involve pain or discomfort, and then I became anxious that my bones are just growing weaker or developing osteoporosis.

The pain itself feels numb and unspecific and usually goes away quickly, it doesn't impact my normal everyday functioning but it's just there..

Has anyone ever experienced this? In your hip or anywhere else?
Was anyone here diagnosed with osteoporosis after being on HRT?
Should I worry or be grateful instead???

The Wiki does say that you might encounter some hip discomfort once you start HRT, but it's a little ambiguous.

I have similar pains. Comes & goes. Being on spiro only would be cause for concern for osteoporosis, but if you're on estrogen too... you're probably alright. Even though they say that bone growth doesn't occur after puberty, maybe your bones are growing? You never know unless you measure things out.

If you're worried, go see your doctor but don't think should be a cause for alarm.

maybe its the Spiro/E combination that is working on the muscles and tendons and especially cartilage and allowing bones to settle into new positions?

That'd be better than nothing, certainly better than premature bone decay.

I wanna be able to move and dance and run wild and all the things I haven't done yet without my bones cracking apart from the slightest pressure!

Karla,

I question the idea of Osteoporosis being a problem unless your at an advanced age. Though, it may not be completely improbable.

I actually developed Osteoporosis at age 46 (near as it can be determined anyway). It was brought about by low testosterone naturally occurring in my body and not being known. My Dr. thought at first my low energy levels were the result of anemia. However, after a chance encounter with a bone scan device and it's subsequent preliminary results, I went in for a full bone scan and it was confirmed that I actually did have Osteoporosis.

That is when I made a full blown effort to get HRT started with estrogen. Soon afterward I was in fact started on HRT, though without the use of an anti-androgen. Since I already had such a low "T" number and it was continuing to fall, an anti-androgen was deemed unnecessary. There was a whole long sorted bunch of details to go with this story, but, I don't wish to bore everyone with that.

The point is though, in my case, estrogen along with diet change, more exercise and making certain that I have enough calcium intake have reversed the effects of Osteoporosis.

The pain part of your inquiry I can only attribute to possibly the type of "E" your taking? I started out on Premarin. And, it did cause me some discomfort in my lower body area. After researching the nasty-ness that is Premarin, I asked my Dr. to switch me over to to Estradiol. Within days, the discomfort disappeared. Was it the Premarin, or something else? I can't completely say.


Dawn

Dawn, thanks for your reply, my doctor seems to concur that it's improbable and just like you I'm taking Estradiol, little green tablets.

I don't actually have lower energy levels more than I used to, and since you also say that you had no indication like pain or discomfort I'll just take a deep breath and stick to the interpretation inolving ligaments.

Quote from: Karla on January 05, 2011, 04:00:00 PM
Dawn, thanks for your reply, my doctor seems to concur that it's improbable and just like you I'm taking Estradiol, little green tablets.

I don't actually have lower energy levels more than I used to, and since you also say that you had no indication like pain or discomfort I'll just take a deep breath and stick to the interpretation inolving ligaments.

The male body doesn't stop growing until around age 25.
However, going on estrogen will halt that growth. When this happens, the epiphyseal plates (at the ends of the bones) fuse and bone growth stops.
This is most likely what you are feeling.

Quote from: Vexing on January 05, 2011, 04:17:06 PM
However, going on estrogen will halt that growth. When this happens, the epiphyseal plates (at the ends of the bones) fuse and bone growth stops.
This is most likely what you are feeling.

At least I wouldn't grow any bigger in that case 

Quote from: Karla on January 05, 2011, 04:25:14 PM
At least I wouldn't grow any bigger in that case 

Correct! 

Yeah I keep getting a similar pain like where your spine and hips connect right? yeah I thought I just had a bad back from sleeping funny but I did wounder.

I had a similar pain for the first year or so and the feeling was that the bones/joints were changing their position. During that time I realized I could no longer walk in a masculine way without a bit of effort, so that seemed to prove it.

Hello everyone.
I've been coming here every once in a while when I've been feeling particularly lost/lonely for awhile now. Reading all your posts has been very helpful for me, so thank you.
I finally decided to make an account when I read this thread, since I feel like I can be of particular help in this case.

I'll get to the point.
I'm 23. I have osteoporosis. Its ultra rare for someone my age.
I've never broken any bones. The only reason I know I have it is because as a prerequisite to starting HRT my doctor wanted me to get a bone scan done. It revealed the problem, and was later confirmed with a second scan. I don't know how long I've had it, but this condition doesn't develop over night, so I've probably had it for several-many years... like... 5 or 6?

Anyways. In my experience, I've felt no pain like what you describe. If you are still worried, you can follow the recommendations for avoiding osteoporosis. You can look them up to get specifics, but basically, get adequate calcium per day, get adequate vitamin D per day, perform weight bearing exercises.

Anyway, my guess is what you're feeling is unrelated.

Just watching the Time Team program and the archeologists digging through a ancient British house site found a long cow bone that the research scientist got excited about as it was a lot longer than normal cow or bull bones and he said it was because it was from a bull that had been castrated and this had given its leg bones a spurt of growth.

As SRS and HRT is similar to castration it would be interesting to know from any young post-ops MtFs and know if they have had a growth spurt post-operatively.
Is it logical that a FtM gets a growth spurt as the body tried to become male?

Or does the inherited genetic code of humans ensure that bones don't grow much more than intended at birth?

Quote from: Vexing on January 05, 2011, 04:17:06 PM
The male body doesn't stop growing until around age 25.
However, going on estrogen will halt that growth. When this happens, the epiphyseal plates (at the ends of the bones) fuse and bone growth stops.
This is most likely what you are feeling.

Unless you're like me. My epiphyses fused at age 17, just in time for hormones to have absolutely no skeletal effect.

Quote from: Rebekah with a K-A-H on January 09, 2011, 01:28:11 AM
Unless you're like me. My epiphyses fused at age 17, just in time for hormones to have absolutely no skeletal effect.

Crappy  Oh well, at least you won't have grown any taller from age 17.

Quote from: Vexing on January 09, 2011, 02:32:09 AM
Crappy  Oh well, at least you won't have grown any taller from age 17.

That's true. I'm not too unhappy - my mother's 5'8", so my 5'9" isn't out of the question, genetically speaking. Nordic genes tend to do that to a person. In fact, I'm on the shorter end of the curve for males in my family, so that's a plus.