Hi all, This is my first post here I just completed three weeks of HRT My daily regimine is: Spirotone - xx mg (divided into morning/evening) Estrofem - xx mg Prometrium - xx mg So far things are going pretty good! I am experiencing the usual nipple soreness and even a little bit of breast/nipple growth (maybe more swelling than growth?... not sure) The only bothersome side effects I seem to be having are nausea and a little bit of cramping. My question is this... Does anyone know (or have an opinion about) whether these side effects would be less if I switched to injections? It seems like it would be since it wouldn't be going through my stomach/digestive system, but I don't know... I have tried searching here, on a couple of other forums and on google, but I haven't found any information that answers my question specifically Can anyone offer some advice? thanks in advance...

Hello.

Before I say anything else, I feel I should inform you that it is in fact against the susans.org rules to post HRT dosages. The official reason for the policy is to discourage others from using the information to self medicate.

I'm not a moderator or administrator but I doubt you'll get in much trouble if you just edit out the information and don't do it again and it was an honest mistake.

Also, I feel I should also ask if you are seeing a doctor to oversee your medication. I only ask because having seen the dosages you posted, I will say I feel the dosage of estradiol and to a lesser extent spirotone is a bit on the high side for what's commonly prescribed.

Sorry for the third degree, but I'd rather tell you than see you get in trouble with the admins or be put in unneeded risk of health implications.

So on to your actual question, yes it is possible injections will reduce nausea. But I would say it's far from a sure thing. It all depends of course on what's actually causing the nausea. I would recommend posing the question to a doctor. Another thing I'd recommend you do if you aren't already is to not take the medication on an empty stomach. An empty stomach can increase nausea side effects in some medications.

Hope this helps.

OMG!

That is absurdly high.

I was only half that much Spiro and had so low a T level that my endo was concerned (pre-orchi of course).  I'm 5'11" and was around 235 then.

That is also 3x the dose of E that I take.  Please go to a Dr now because you are way overdosing and instead of "better" results you are just endangering your health.

Quote from: Jeneva on June 02, 2012, 07:34:32 PMOMG! That is absurdly high. I was only half that much Spiro and had so low a T level that my endo was concerned (pre-orchi of course). I'm 5'11" and was around 235 then. That is also 3x the dose of E that I take. Please go to a Dr now because you are way overdosing and instead of "better" results you are just endangering your health.

Hi Jeneva... thanks for your reply. Now you have me worried... I thought the dosages were a little high too, but I was assured that they were safe (then again my doc admited that he doesn't have much experience in this area ) I checked out some sites that had sample regimens and some of them said xx mg on the Spiro, but my E and Progesterone dosages do seem high compared to the examples. Now, I'm not sure what to do.

Hi Sbarne3, welcome to Susans. Our site rules prohibit the discussion of specific dosages
of HRT. Please view them in the Announcements section.  Devlyn

Quote from: sbarne3 on June 02, 2012, 07:50:20 PM
Hi Jeneva... thanks for your reply. Now you have me worried... I thought the dosages were a little high too, but I was assured that they were safe (then again my doc admited that he doesn't have much experience in this area ) I checked out some sites that had sample regimens and some of them said xx mg on the Spiro, but my E and Progesterone dosages do seem high compared to the examples. Now, I'm not sure what to do.

Well......  I was told multiple times that I "should" be on higher doses by people I knew, but what I took was plenty for me.  I should point out after I get over my initial reaction, that everyone is different and I do seem to be fairly sensitive to medication in general.

I'm sorry I raised a panic, my response was a bit knee jerk and if a Dr said to try it then surely he is monitoring your results.

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on June 02, 2012, 08:00:25 PM
Hi Sbarne3, welcome to Susans. Our site rules prohibit the discussion of specific dosages
of HRT. Please view them in the Announcements section.  Devlyn

Sorry about that... I should have just left the dosages out... it wasn't even part of my question anyway.
I will be more careful in the future

Quote from: Jeneva on June 02, 2012, 08:06:02 PM
Well......  I was told multiple times that I "should" be on higher doses by people I knew, but what I took was plenty for me.  I should point out after I get over my initial reaction, that everyone is different and I do seem to be fairly sensitive to medication in general.

I'm sorry I raised a panic, my response was a bit knee jerk and if a Dr said to try it then surely he is monitoring your results.

When will people realize that a lot, perhaps even most doctors, certainly when it comes to this subject, don't know what they're doing.

We all act and pretend and maintain the masquerade that our doctors have godlike wisdom and authority on matters of our health when they barely know much more than we do. They know basic health problems that as a general practitioner they're likely to encounter. There is no medicine specialty that deals with our issues. Even endocrinology doesn't really touch on our issues in particular.

Places like susans maintain a culture enforcing this masquerade where we pretend doctors always know best and we should let them play Guinea pigs with our bodys.

We're not even allowed to discuss matters of harm reduction. It's very saddening and disappointing to me.

I can easily go to any of a dozen forums and ask what dosage of heroin I should start off with, I can go to any multiple sclerosis forum and have discussions about medications and options and what dosage people get put on for things like prednisone (a far more powerful and dangerous drug than anything we take). And yet this, and from what I have seen, most all transgender forums and resources widely discourages even the most basic of harm reduction pfinciples. We act like our extremely benign drugs relative to most medications (an overdose of tylenol is far more likely to kill you than an overdose of estrafem) are only a step down from cyanide.

Before I'm inevitable censored and warned and one day probably banned, I hope people understand I only bring up these issues because I truly believe that this policy is detrimental to the health of our community. I care about people as much as they might frustrate me sometimes. I care about giving people helpful information as best I can within the framework of the rules.

To the original poster, your dosage of estrofem is definitely high. It's 6 times higher than a normal dose given to a post-menopausal woman. Now granted, if you're of pre-menopausal age then you would expect your estradiol levels to be higher and it would warrant a higher dosage.

I would strongly recommend asking your doctor to run a blood test on you for your estrogen level and see if your dosage of estrofem is really warrented. The general rule of thumb is to use as little medication as is effective.

I just want to reiterate the site policy to which Devlyn  referred:

Terms of Service, Rule 8

8. The discussion of hormone replacement therapy(HRT) and it's medications are permitted, with the following limitations:

    A. You may not advocate for or against a specific medication or combinations of medication for personal gain. This is strictly prohibited.
    B. You may not discuss the means to acquire HRT medications without a prescription. The discussion of self medication without a doctors supervision is prohibited.
    C. The discussion of recommended or actual dosages is strongly discouraged to prevent information obtained on this site from being used to self medicate.

We can not in good conscience condone the self administering of these medications. Not only may self medication be illegal, but HRT medications can cause serious health problems, and many have the potential for life-threatening side effects that can only be detected and prevented with proper medical supervision.

New members may not be aware of the policy.  Long-time members should have it memorized.

Quote from: Jamie D on June 02, 2012, 09:07:57 PM
I just want to reiterate the site policy to which Devlyn  referred:

Terms of Service, Rule 8

8. The discussion of hormone replacement therapy(HRT) and it's medications are permitted, with the following limitations:

    A. You may not advocate for or against a specific medication or combinations of medication for personal gain. This is strictly prohibited.
    B. You may not discuss the means to acquire HRT medications without a prescription. The discussion of self medication without a doctors supervision is prohibited.
    C. The discussion of recommended or actual dosages is strongly discouraged to prevent information obtained on this site from being used to self medicate.

We can not in good conscience condone the self administering of these medications. Not only may self medication be illegal, but HRT medications can cause serious health problems, and many have the potential for life-threatening side effects that can only be detected and prevented with proper medical supervision.

New members may not be aware of the policy.  Long-time members should have it memorized.

As much as there are many things I'd like to say that would serve no purpose but to likely get me banned, I will ask only this.

QuoteThe discussion of recommended or actual dosages is strongly discouraged

This rule is interpreted as to mean a blanket ban on all dosage discussion, yet, it does not appear to be what the rule actually says. Only that it is "strongly discouraged".

Long term members may well know what the real rule is, but the wording of the rule itself is ambiguous to new members. Especially given the more explicit wording of the rules immediately preceding it.

Susan makes the rules of the site, hon. Her staff enforce them in accordance with that.

If you, or anyone else, have a problem with the way a rule is worded, expressed, inferred, or otherwise noted in any way then the best course of action is to either email Susan at susan@susans.org or PM her to discuss it in private rather than in the public forums themselves - in accordance with rule #20 of the site Terms of Service. The rules are in place to provide a safe, supportive and equally favourable experience to everyone visiting the site, regardless of who they are.

And as well meaning, or well informed as anyone here may be, discussing one's dosages with one's doctor - someone who has undergone lengthy learning and training in the field and is best placed to know one's individual circumstances and any mitigating factors omitted here, is the only reasonable stand to take. Both from a safety and legal point of view.