Since I am planning to start HRT but stay in "boy mode" for at least a little while before I transition publicly, I have been considering starting off with spiro only. Has anyone else done this? I was thinking I would start on spiro alone, then add estrofem to the mix after a few months if everything is going well.

As I understand it, I can expect to have to pee a lot, and I'll need to drink a lot of water and stay away from foods with a lot of potassium. Correct? What effects should I expect to see? I've heard decrease/cessation of male sex drive, impotence, demise of erections, softer skin, perhaps minor breast growth/fat redistrubution. Am I missing anything big?

Thanks

i think you really need to discuss this with your endocrinologist because I am sure he/she would not give you spiro without adding Estrogen to it....at least a little bit

Live 3 weeks without either estrogen or testosterone and see how fast you will mentally break down!

Also, the softer skin and majority of breast growth is a result of some estrogen being introduced into your body. Besides, it takes a good while before any noticeable physical changes occur so ...unless you are not planning on transitioning in 2 to 3 years, estrogen would be fine.

Talk to your doctor about this first (however, I am under the assumption that you do not have a doctor based on your HRT suggestion).

Quote from: Annah on November 07, 2011, 03:07:26 PM
i think you really need to discuss this with your endocrinologist because I am sure he/she would not give you spiro without adding Estrogen to it....at least a little bit

Live 3 weeks without either estrogen or testosterone and see how fast you will mentally break down!

Also, the softer skin and majority of breast growth is a result of some estrogen being introduced into your body. Besides, it takes a good while before any noticeable physical changes occur so ...unless you are not planning on transitioning in 2 to 3 years, estrogen would be fine.

Talk to your doctor about this first (however, I am under the assumption that you do not have a doctor based on your HRT suggestion).

I dunno, Annah.  My endocrinologist put me on 3 months of spironolactone-only therapy before starting any estradiol.

I'm on spiro only right now, and I am really wishing for estrogen. My skin became soft and smooth for awhile but now at 18 it is starting to age terribly. Dark circles, a few age spots, and fine lines. Plus I'm mentally unstable. Meanie doctor won't give me estrogen till I see a therapist, and I don't have the money to see one.

^^Yeah, my Doctor put me on Estrodiol for 2 months before he added Sprio to the mix to make sure I was taking to the estrodiol with zero problems, he isn't comfortable doing both right at once, he likes to take it slower.

Quote from: Wonderdyke on November 07, 2011, 03:30:53 PM
I dunno, Annah.  My endocrinologist put me on 3 months of spironolactone-only therapy before starting any estradiol.

  Yeah my endo was the opposite, he had me on estradiol first for like 3 months then added spiro to the mix. He said it's because he wanted to see how my body reacted to E alone and gauge from there how much spiro to prescribe if any at all.

Quote from: Rukia87xo on November 07, 2011, 05:51:19 PM
  Yeah my endo was the opposite, he had me on estradiol first for like 3 months then added spiro to the mix. He said it's because he wanted to see how my body reacted to E alone and gauge from there how much spiro to prescribe if any at all.

I can think of justifications for doing each; I think mine said that he wanted to reduce the amount of testosterone in my system so estrogen wouldn't have to work "uphill," per se.

when i have very little E in my system before my next shot, I can def feel it both physically and mentally.

I couldnt imagine being on spiro only for that long of time. I would have ripped someone's head off

My doctor put me on spiro for fiveish weeks before estrodil.   Not much happened. 

What in the f#&k are these doctors doing to you girls? Spiro with no E? Why don't they just give you a lobotomy while there at it. Without anesthesia. Do any of these doctors read the standards of care? Or maybe the Endocrinology society guideline for the treatment of transsexual. I don't know anywhere in those guidelines where it says spiro first for months and then add estrogen. I agree with Annah. I would go find another endo or doctor who has a clue on how to treat transsexuals. That's frigging crazy! And for those of you who say my endo or doctor knows what there doing. Let me remind everyone that there is not one medical school that teaches even a one hour class on the treatment of transsexuals. There are a few out there that know what there doing, but not many. I finally have an appointment with an Endo after fighting the VA for almost 7 months. I know for a fact the guy I am seeing has never treated a transsexual ever. He got his information on how to treat me from who knows where. This is what I waited 7 months for this? And people wonder why transsexuals self medicate.

Isabella

No more erections.

Quote from: Mahsa the disco shark on November 09, 2011, 12:08:54 AM
No more erections.

Viagra's a beautiful thing.

Quote from: Wonderdyke on November 07, 2011, 03:30:53 PM
I dunno, Annah.  My endocrinologist put me on 3 months of spironolactone-only therapy before starting any estradiol.

i was on anti androgens only for 5 months, so i was in the same boat. my mom didn't want me on estrogen until i was finished with high school. anyway, from a blood test when i was 16, my estrogen was about 17 pictograms which was in the normal range of a genetic females follicular phase, so i couldn't have been that hormonally deprived.

Quote from: Mahsa the disco shark on November 09, 2011, 12:08:54 AM
No more erections.

i still get it as long as i'm aroused, but never had spontaneously. i wonder if i'll ever lose the ability entirely.

 

Quotei wonder if i'll ever lose the ability entirely.

   God i sure hope i do...i hate having erections.


  Back to topic, the real question is when should you stop taking spiro? I've heard some doctors say that after a year on spiro you should no longer need it if you're taking estrogen as well. Then some say after SRS/GRS is when you stop taking it.

Quote from: Rukia87xo on November 09, 2011, 11:22:27 PM
 


   God i sure hope i do...i hate having erections.


  Back to topic, the real question is when should you stop taking spiro? I've heard some doctors say that after a year on spiro you should no longer need it if you're taking estrogen as well. Then some say after SRS/GRS is when you stop taking it.

really, you should only do as the doctor tells you. after srs or removal of testes is when you clearly don't need it since the source of testosterone is gone. it's what the doctor tells you to do above anything else.

  Lets just hope the doctor knows what he or she is doing, most don't have a clue when it comes to transsexuals.

Quote from: Rukia87xo on November 10, 2011, 01:09:54 AM

  Lets just hope the doctor knows what he or she is doing, most don't have a clue when it comes to transsexuals.

those kinds of doctors are basically the ones telling us to try to be more masculine if we have a penis, so they wouldn't have done anything remotely intelligent from the get go.

Quote from: Rukia87xo on November 10, 2011, 01:09:54 AM

  Lets just hope the doctor knows what he or she is doing, most don't have a clue when it comes to transsexuals.

it's not just the doctors. Some trans don't have a clue when it comes to trans either lol. It's a universal mystery.

Quote from: Annah on November 10, 2011, 07:37:08 AM
it's not just the doctors. Some trans don't have a clue when it comes to trans either lol. It's a universal mystery.

  That's true. I self-medicated for awhile and half the people posting on places like doityourselfhormones didn't have a clue what they were doing and asked some really dumb question's about dosing. It scared me that there were people DIY hormones and didn't bother to research anything before hand.