Just the Facts

[Leanne2]

Are there any studies that consider how low or increased T levels affect TS thinking? I don't need a lecture. I just need data to back up my feelings about this subject. My SO requested that I check in to it so I am. Thank you, Leanne

[Kaitlyn Michele]

I don't need a lecture. I just need data to back up my feelings about this subject.


...........................www.google.com

[Melody Moore]

Are there any studies that consider how low or increased T levels affect TS thinking?
None that I am aware of because transsexuals come from all over the spectrum when it comes to T levels.

[Stephenie S]

People are all over the map about this. The only way to tell for sure how different levels of testosterone effect you is to try it and see.

Stephie

[JulieK1980]

I've never read anything conclusive. I think it's different for everyone.

[Laurie Ann]

That is an interesting question. I have not seen anything about any studies.

[Stephenie S]

I don't think there are any.

Stephie

[noeleena]

Hi,

Ask Dr Richard Curtis in the U K

Transhealth

3rd Floor

25 Wimpole Street,

London.

W I G *GL

0207 631 3164,
...............

Dr Stuart Lorimer

GenderCare U K specialists in gender therapy

. no email add you have to use the contact to to use it,

07899 929859.
............

gender issues .
.............

The gender Trust
..............


Spectrum London

............


Transgender Zone

.............

Trans London

What you are asking is the Mental . Psycholoical & Emotional side of the person, see the Psychiatirist or ask them ,
Through the psych uints,

There are records that pertain to each one who see's a Psych & wether its colated is another matter & i dought we well see any info come out as it'll be under the information act, ( & you may have to wait some 40 to 60 years. )

As iv been trying to get my birth records going back 63 years so i would not hold your breath.


...noeleena...

[Leanne2]

Thanks girls for your replies. So let me ask this. Have any of you increased your T levels and how did it affect your mind and body? I have a full head of thick wavy hair. Would more T in my body cause male pattern balding? Leanne

[Barbara Dugan]

Thanks girls for your replies. So let me ask this. Have any of you increased your T levels and how did it affect your mind and body? I have a full head of thick wavy hair. Would more T in my body cause male pattern balding? Leanne
I did tried to increase my T levels once, when they were very low....honestly I was better of with the low levels...I got many of the side effects...increased libido, low libido,ED, oily skin,acne, my testicles shrank,mood swings I was very teary and emotional,my breasts swell and were tender, a little bit of weight gain and finally prostate problems...all of these with no really benefits..I came to realize Testosterone is not for me..It may be for some people

[Aprilrain]

Just out of curiosity, why would you want to increase your T levels if your TS? It would only slow down the feminization process but worse still, female brain + testosterone = unhappy girl! The point is to maximize the effects of the estrogen at the lowest possible dose hence the anti androgens.

[Melody Moore]

Would more T in my body cause male pattern balding? Leanne

The answer is No, because MPB is actually caused by Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrotestosterone) which is a male hormone that is
converted from Testosterone, so the effective treatment for MPB is a DHT inhibitor like Avodart (Dutasteride) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutasteride) or
Finasteride (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finasteride). I also have MPB but I have been using Finasteride (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finasteride) and am seeing very good results so after a year
or two of treatment I wont be wearing wigs anymore.

[Leanne2]

To Kitty and the others,
There are some of us that have too much invested in our relationships to be able to transition. In other words, I would be giving up my wife, possibly my children and grandchildren, my job and my good standing in our small community to be my true self for the rest of my life. Yes, I know that these people should understand that I didn't choose to be a trans-gender woman but this is real life and we all have some control over how we react to this situation. I envy, admire and respect my brothers and sisters here that make the tough decision to risk everything to transition. For some of us the risk is too great. There is too much to loose in our situations. Please try to respect the difficult choice that we have made as well. And thank you all for your opinions and concern. They are appreciated. Leanne

[Aprilrain]

To Kitty and the others,
There are some of us that have too much invested in our relationships to be able to transition. In other words, I would be giving up my wife, possibly my children and grandchildren, my job and my good standing in our small community to be my true self for the rest of my life. Yes, I know that these people should understand that I didn't choose to be a trans-gender woman but this is real life and we all have some control over how we react to this situation. I envy, admire and respect my brothers and sisters here that make the tough decision to risk everything to transition. For some of us the risk is too great. There is too much to loose in our situations. Please try to respect the difficult choice that we have made as well. And thank you all for your opinions and concern. They are appreciated. Leanne

Like you said we each have tough choices to make and I respect your decision to not transition if that is right for you and your family however that does not answer the question, why would you want to throw more fuel on the fire? Plenty of men have low T and the thought of being a woman never crosses their minds.

[Hope]

I just need data to back up my feelings about this subject.

This maybe not the best attitude to do research with...

[Kaitlyn Michele]

LEanne..your decision is a very difficult one...I don't disrespect the decision you are making at all...its gotta be hard around here for you sometimes...

you asked the question in the OP in a confusing way...now i think i see why you commented on not getting lectured..

there is no evidence at all that increasing testosterone impacts your inner thoughts around your tg or ts nature...in fact, anectodatally it will just up your sex drive and remind you more and more of your problem..

also messing with T levels has it's own health risks

the only solution for non transition that i have personally seen NOT blow up a transsexual persons life was an orchi...i don't know if you've looked into that...but you may learn that it's a viable way to calm your anxiety and still be functional for your wife..

[Leanne2]

My wife is convinced that I changed from a CD to a TS because my T levels dropped. I argue that this is not the case but I have no research data to back up my feelings. Blood tests show that my T levels are low. My wife wants to see if increased T levels would make a "man" out of me. Yes, I know that is crazy but I have no data to back up what I believe. Leanne

[Kaitlyn Michele]

it would grow your hair and make you horny, but you are at a fundamental crossroads with your wife on how gender is defined...

YOU know that high T levels would do nothing but torture you...you have to stick up for yourself..frankly if i put odds on it, increased T would push you towards transition by making you miserable..

YOU know that in your mind, there is a gender difference between your body and your brain..
many non-trans people disbelieve this, and if your wife is in that camp, you have a big problem...

one of the issues with your situation, is that you can't control others, and you are letting them control you...

my unsolicited advice is to tell your wife...NO and to leave it alone..the more you debate her the worse it will be for you...

[JulieK1980]

My wife is convinced that I changed from a CD to a TS because my T levels dropped. I argue that this is not the case but I have no research data to back up my feelings. Blood tests show that my T levels are low. My wife wants to see if increased T levels would make a "man" out of me. Yes, I know that is crazy but I have no data to back up what I believe. Leanne

If you search under endocrinology at your local hospital's medical library, you'll find a massive amount of information on the topic. The effects of low testosterone have been studied widely, and I can assure you that you haven't become TS simply from low levels. Make sure you call the hospital ahead of time though, as most have rules that limit public access to those libraries. Your local library may even have a few scholarly medical journals on the topic. Because of the association between several different cancers and testosterone levels, there is a significant amount of research on the subject.

[noeleena]

Hi Leanne .

Ill came at this a different way

Email me if you like

noeleena@clear.net.nz

okay what are your blood tests rated at now , whats your age , what meds drugs are you on . how do you feel with in your self mentaly & emotionally give me the bottom line

Now have you taken any meds as to hormone replacment if so when did you start.

give me some back ground .

I understand where your coming from & now , hey iv been through this so do know really do know,

...noeleena...

[Aprilrain]

HHMMMM, does your wife have data to back up her feelings? This is a classic he said she said argument. I'm guessing neither one of you is an endocrinologist or psychiatrist so why are you letting her control the situation by assuming you need to prove your position. Just because she is "convinced" does not mean she is right. I would seek therapy with someone versed in gender issues in this situation, not testosterone. Good luck.

[Melody Moore]

My wife is convinced that I changed from a CD to a TS because my T levels dropped.
...My wife wants to see if increased T levels would make a "man" out of me.

Hi again Leanne, why didn't you tell us specifically what the problem was rather than seeking out something that
never existed? This way we can understand what is going on a lot better & help you work through any issues you
are experiencing. The wealth of knowledge on this forum will far out-weigh anything your wife might try & serve up.

Many women have this belief that they will make a real man out of their partners & they really struggle to accept it
when their husbands have GID & identifies as transsexual. Many women will have the ill-conceived notion that what
is happening to you is somehow their fault & often blame themselves, when it has absolutely nothing to do with them.

Women can become very insecure within themselves even at the best of times. It sounds like your wife is getting very
desperate now & is also at the point that she is grasping at straws & this is happening because of her lack of knowledge
or understanding about transsexualism & GID. The sad fact is that often they don't want to even know about it while they
think they have all the answers & solutions.

I agree with lots of things that Kaitlyn has said, especially this statement...


YOU know that high T levels would do nothing but torture you.
Increasing testosterone will only increase agitation, aggression & your male libido which will only frustrate you even
more when you have GID. As someone else said here, your body does not match your brain & this is what I think
your wife needs to understand. It is a birth defect that was manifested during foetal development & no amount of
testosterone will fix the problem. If this was any successful method of curing GID then everyone here would be all
taking Testosterone & not Oestrogen, because it would be a lot darn easier than going through transitioning. So
the truth is there are no little blue 'boy' pills we can take to make us men, there are only little blue 'girly' pills to
help us become more feminine. Strangely enough when you start taking hormones all the symptoms of GID & the
conflict going on inside of your head starts to settle down because the Oestrogen works better with our brains.

So giving you testosterone would be no different to pouring petrol (gasoline) on to a fire which as you know is
potentially very explosive & dangerous, especially for your wife! Testosterone is the most powerful steroid known
to man. If you have GID & try pushing up your testosterone levels you will most likely experience an over-active
libido, agitation & become a lot more aggressive. So if your wife doesn't mind dealing with your 'roid rage' & your
demands for sex, then tell her you think it's a wonderful idea. :daydreaming: (Lots of sarcasm intended here)

But the effects of testosterone are real but sadly there are no studies that show the direct affects of the steroid
on transsexuals as such. But just look around in this transgender community & you will find a very diverse collection
of people here with many varying shades of gender identities & sexual orientations. But how this all correlates to our
testosterone levels would be impossible to map it all out. There are hundreds of thousands of Transgender scattered
all around the world. Some of us here are intersexed & have naturally low testosterone levels, but then some of that
same group also have fairy normal testosterone levels, but get naturally occurring oestrogen surges. Hormones are
a difficult thing to understand sometimes & the way they are managed by our endocrine system is as unique as our
finger-prints are to each other. Our hormones are managed in the best way possible by the endocrine system to help
us maintain a healthy body, but sadly it's not intelligent enough to manage it in the best way possible to suit the way
our brains were hard-coded during foetal development when the mis-match first occurred. So this is why we go on to
Hormone Therapy to fix up this genetic/biological mistake.

So if I can give you some unsolicited advice as well, then see if your wife is prepared to learn more about your type
of disorder and a good point to start is by having her have a read of this study: http://shb-info.org/sexbrain.html

I hope this information helps. Good luck :hugs:

[JulieK1980]

But the effects of testosterone are real but sadly there are no studies that show the direct affects of the steroid
on transsexuals as such.


There are actually a load of studies in medical journals. (For obvious reasons I found the topic interesting. ;) ) No studies on mental function, but a ton that confirm everything you wrote in your post. (That it's essentially akin to pouring gasoline on a fire.) Sadly it seems very few are published online at current, which would make for a great resource.

Also sadly a lot of these studies are on the older side, as this dates back to when we were classified in the same category as homosexuals, the "hypothesis" of these studies was to conclude that "disorders" such as being homosexual or transgendered were caused by low testosterone levels, and thus studies were conducted to see if raising those levels would "cure" them. Of course the results of those studies showed all the effects we'd expect to see. High aggression, and an even greater desire to be the opposite gender, and a high sex drive. Of course the late 60's were the time frame for this.

[Melody Moore]

There are actually a load of studies in medical journals. (For obvious reasons I found the topic interesting. ;) ) No studies on mental function, but a ton that confirm everything you wrote in your post. (That it's essentially akin to pouring gasoline on a fire.) Sadly it seems very few are published online at current, which would make for a great resource.
I know there are a lot of relative resources online relating to Testosterone but none that directly investigate
it's effects on the transsexual brain. But it's not hard to come to some type of conclusion about this though
when you are transsexual yourself & understand the affects of testosterone on yourself. Put it this way, I
know what I don't miss about not having testosterone in my body & how relieved I feel not to have to deal
with those emotions & feelings any longer associated with it. So between my personal experience & what else
I know about the steroid, I think I have some idea how high testosterone levels might affect other transsexuals.

[Leanne2]

Thank you girls for your replies. You gave me a lot of good information. I'm sorry that I didn't just blurt out my whole story in the beginning. I'm not very good at arguing my case but I know how I feel. Up until age 58 I thought I was a cross dresser. My wife reminded me that I didn't think I was TS when I was younger and my T levels were higher. So it is logical for her to think the way she does. I just need to do my homework and educate her about this situation. Thank you again, Leanne

[Hope]

I had this conversation with my wife as well.

It is a simple answer - If such a simple therapy worked - it is what would be used.

Extra T doesn't make gay men strait, nor does it make trans women cis men.

[Aprilrain]

Thank you girls for your replies. You gave me a lot of good information. I'm sorry that I didn't just blurt out my whole story in the beginning. I'm not very good at arguing my case but I know how I feel. Up until age 58 I thought I was a cross dresser. My wife reminded me that I didn't think I was TS when I was younger and my T levels were higher. So it is logical for her to think the way she does. I just need to do my homework and educate her about this situation. Thank you again, Leanne

The beauty of logic is that one can come to erroneous conclusions that make perfect sense!