Losing strength on HRT

[I Am Paula]

The last few freelance sound and lighting tech jobs I've done I swore that my gear was getting heavier. I was certain it was just my imagination, or fitness level.
I was loading a mixing board into my van this morning, and...lo and behold...I can't lift it up! It weighs about 145 lbs. and I've put it in the same van 100 times. Today I had to get the neighbor. I've already re-packed some cases so they weighed less, but this was truly surprising.
In the photo, that's as far as she went without help.
The good news- I have hired my besty as general crew for tomorrow nights show. She's trans, I'm trans, we're working a humungous gay bar with a lesbian band. Life is good.

[Rachel Mari]

Ha...I get that.

I didn't lose any upper body strength but the ladder at work gained weight and the factories now put the lids on jars much tighter.
Good thing I have a 18 yo son, I hand him the jar and the lid just pop's off.

[whowhatwhen]

I lost a bit but then again I never lifted a whole lot anyways, lifting a soaking wet cinderblock from a lake was impossible for the first time this year.
Oh well, lots of workarounds just to keep your mind sharp.

[PretzelGirl]

I am not at that point yet, or at least not noticeable. But one thing I did was put a pipe in my car to help with leverage on a lug wrench in case I get a flat (I don't like counting on help, but it is appreciated). Then I put a couple with my tools for wrenches and ratchets. It is like one of the things I plan on telling my boss when I come out at work, I was told I had to start working smarter.

[Aimee20]

3 or 4 months ago the thought in my head was hrt wasn't doing anything to my muscle mass or strength..... Fast forward to today and wow it's a different world struggling with things that used to be easy and trying to learn the Sue method of working smarter. There is still a long way to go before my disgusting arms and shoulders shrink down completely but hopefully I can use that time to learn to ask for help with opening a pickle jar.

[LeaP]

I've lost it, and I notice when I go to do something I never would have thought twice about ... and can't, just as with you. The last was moving a really heavy oriental carpet. Large Bijars weigh a TON. I was loading it into a storage container and couldn't get it overhead no matter how much I tried - and I tried until I hurt myself. It would have been a piece of cake a few years ago.

[JohnH]

I was worried about losing upper body strength - and then comes along my half German Shepherd and half Great Pyrenees dog. I take her for walks whenever I can, and believe me, when I have to restrain a 75 lb dog on the leash whenever she lunges for squirrels and other dogs, that is a way of exercising the upper body. In fact, when I went to a building supply store to buy some gravel and sand, some man helped me load my truck as he thought I was a genetic woman. He was much taller than I am but I had an easier time handling the bags than he did.

Johanna Anna

[DebbieL]

I've never had any bulk in my arms or chest. In high school, I took a weight lifting class where we were rated on the percentage of our weight that we could lift. When I asked the coach how I could avoid getting he-man muscles he was a bit shocked but he told me to use lighter weights, do more repetitions, and stop the second it starts to hurt. As a result, I got an A in the class because at 6 foot tall and 120 lbs, my little aircraft cable muscles could life more than my own body weight, and my legs, toned from riding bicycles 30-40 miles a day because I couldn't drive - could lift 4 times my weight. It was the only time I ever got an A in gym.

When I started hormones at age 57, my strength was already fading, and hormones accelerated things even more. I used to grab my 50 lb bag with one hand and could pull it off and stand it upright in one move. Now I need to use both hands, lift it upright, and then let it skid to the floor. Sometimes I drop it, but I can still lift it when I need to, if I use both hands.

My computer case is about 45 lbs, and getting that into the overhead actually forces me to use the techniques I used to use in the weight lifting class, leveraging a jerk with my waist an then using inertia to get it where I can press it high enough to get it into the bin. Wouldn't want to do it 20 times in a row, but once is doable.

[Leah Lynn]

Both arms, shoulder to wrist are about half the size they used to be. I had a slight amount of atrophy following my heart attack, but since I've been on hrt, they seem to be toothpicks. I agree, everything is gaining weight, unfortunately, so am I.

Hugs,

Leah

[noeleena]

Hi,

From talking with a lot of trans people i,v heard they have lost a lot of strength,
and i know for my friend she has as well over the years, due to being intersexed,

In my case at 5,9 weight 11 stone = 145 lbs, and very strong for my size shape . many of my women friends are similar to me yet im far stronger and can still do what a did 40 years ago , strength wise ,
im not big boned no muscle mass and if you look at me undressed youd think oh just a normal female yes in many way s yet very strong ,

So meds dont have an effect on my body due to being intersexed so its not the same for all of us, there are things i wont do and thats due to age 67 and injurys from working in the heavy building sector over all im doing pretty good ,

i wonder if its the type of meds does rate and your bodys reacting to some meds , seems so .

...noeleena...

[GabbiSophia]

I haven't lost anything noticeable yet but I always feel like i have been working out. My muscles are sore a ton. I fatigue a lot faster too.

[StaceyJane]

I haven't relly noticed anything but then again I was never very strong to begin with.

[Barbara Ella]

The strength has decreased radically, and i fatigue for more rapidly after 21 months.

Barbara

[Aly Cat]

This is really funny that this thread is here. I came to this section to start a post about this very thing!! I'm at work and had to get the ladder out to fix a sign in our window. I struggled to get it off the hook and struggled carrying it all the way out. It's something I have done many times and never had a problem. I mean, it's a silly ladder! My friend was telling me the other day that my shoulders and arms don't have the definition that they used to. That makes me super happy. They still have a long ways to go, but for 5 months, I'm pretty happy.

Oh, and to top it off, I walked up to a customer earlier to get them signed in to see a rep. It was a whole family. As I was typing on my iPad, I heard and saw him lean over to his wife and whisper.... "I totally thought he was a chick!!" I had to suppress my smiles. I still got read, but it was only after I opened my mouth and talked. His wife hit him and was like "sshhh!!!" My voice is definitely starting to be a concern. I really need to work on that hopefully the voice training goes as well as my muscle loss...

[LeaP]

The 50 pound bags of salt for the water softener went into the cellar one at a time today. I used to take down two at once.

I've never aimed at loss of strength, just bulk. The only sure way to do that is by eliminating exercise that builds and maintains muscle. The "more reps with lighter weights" approach does not take it down for me. If there were a way to maintain the strength, that would be terrific, but I don't see it happening as long as my body has T factories. Heavy exercise stimulates T production, among other things ... and disrupting HRT is the last thing I need.

[Donna Joanne]

My biceps are gone! The 50 lb sacks of horse feed that used to be "no problem" after 6 months of HRT suddenly seem so so heavy now. And I let a sack slide into the "girls" the other day when I had to cradle a sack instead of the old on the shoulder and OUCH did that ever hurt!

[Aly Cat]

My biceps are gone! The 50 lb sacks of horse feed that used to be "no problem" after 6 months of HRT suddenly seem so so heavy now. And I let a sack slide into the "girls" the other day when I had to cradle a sack instead of the old on the shoulder and OUCH did that ever hurt!

I hear ya!!! I accidentally hit my ladies on a box I was putting together for an inventory shipment and almost cried!

[Suzanne F]

I wonder how they will affect me when I begin taking them. I train for marathons. For example I ran 22 miles this afternoon. I will not begin HRT until after I run Boston in April. I spent 2 years qualifying for it and I had promised my wife that I would not for a year last May. I wonder what the HRT will do to my running ability. Will I still have the stamina to train? Of course when I begin running as a female my qualifying times will decrease. It will be interesting any way it turns out.
Suzanne

[becky77]

It's a surprise how quickly it has happened.
Stuff like tight jars are suddenly a real struggle, I use the washing-up gloves now to get better grip.
Couple of weeks ago I went into London for the day and asked my neighbor for a lift to the station. In exchange I offered to help him take his garden waste to the tip, it was on the way. I went to pick up this bag of mud and couldn't, he had to do those and he is no bigger than me.
Just aswell I moved on from my previous job, I would be really struggling now!

[Andy66]

Frustrating, isnt it, ladies? A genetic male my size can lift approximately twice as much as I can. Luckily, Im old and sneaky, and can usually come up with alternative ways to get the job done, mostly sliding and skooting items, using carts and creative use of balance. As for pickle jars, carefully tap the lid on the counter, then pry the lid with a butter knife just enough to let some air into the jar, then open it as usual.

[DeeDee1974]

My dog weighs about 90 lbs. he hates riding in the car, so anytime I take him in the car I have to lift him into my SUV. Last weekend I was going out of town and taking him with me and as soon as he sees the car he just freezes. I couldn't move him. I used to just pick him up wherever he quit and put him in the back of the car. After about twenty minutes and ready to cry one of my neighbors came out and agreed to help. I went and opened the back door and when I turn around to help her she has already picked him up by herself and loads him into the back like it was nothing. I'm about 5'5 155 lbs. which based on the eyeball test makes my neighbor 5'3 120 tops.

Maybe I should start lifting weights

[Frances]

No more Marshall stacks in my life. I can't lift anything anymore.

[Rachel Mari]

I think this will go along with what this thread is about.

I've lost some strength. I can still move the ladder around like before but I have to be a little more cautious about how I do it. Also when I'm on a pole pulling a wire, what I used to do one armed now takes both.
But the biggest thing I've noticed is shoulder pain, especially if I try to reach behind me or to reach high up at the limit of my reach. It was very painful and I would have to stop what I was doing and let my arm just hang to get it to calm down, usually 30 seconds or so. At first it was just in my right shoulder, then my left started in but not nearly as bad. Now they're both a lot better and it's not as easy to have it happen.
I've talked to a friend of mine and she's experienced the same shoulder pain. She's been on hormones about a year longer than me.

So, has anyone experienced that along with the loss of strength, joint pain in their shoulders after starting HRT?

[Cheyenne Skye]

@Suzanne:
I'm a runner too. I had just finished a half marathon when I got my base line blood tests prior to HRT. Now after almost two years, my per mile pace is about a minute and a half slower than before. I'm not currently training for anything in particular, but my endurance has definitely dropped. Nowadays I only manage about four miles or so before I wind up calling it quits.

Another interesting aside. As I started losing strength (and developing in the chest), I started carrying things more by leaning them against my chest rather than at arms length. That often had disastrous effects though. Now it's not as bad, but as others have said, now you have to learn how to work smarter not harder when it comes to lifting stuff.

[LeaP]

So, has anyone experienced that along with the loss of strength, joint pain in their shoulders after starting HRT?

No joint pain, no, but the muscles exhaust more quickly and that can be painful, especially overhead. Some people's joints acquire a little more flexibility on estrogen. You might be overextending.

Another interesting aside. As I started losing strength (and developing in the chest), I started carrying things more by leaning them against my chest rather than at arms length.

That sounds backwards. I can't carry anything against my chest anymore. I don't have the strength to carry something at arms length that used to require pulling it in like that, so if I can't get up on my shoulder, it's down bumping my legs, I'm twisted to the side, or, when I find my brain, on a dolly, in a cart, wheelbarrow, etc.

What you find, in fact, are all the reasons women carry things the way they do. Hmmm, I'm going to have to explore that top of the head thing ...