Questions on regimen and timeline

[sweetjessica]

Just started on Hormones, please could all you guys tell me what you think about my regimen and timelines of changes that I can expect with my current dosage.

So to begin, a bit of background about me:

Age: 28
Ethnicity: South Asian
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 150 pounds (i know, I need to reduce another 20-25 pounds :o )
No family history of cancers

My current regimen:
Estradiol valerate
Spironolactone (Antiandrogen)

Please let me know your thoughts on this. Thanksss ..

xoxo - Jessi

[Inna]

Well to begin you are fortunate to start at fairly young age of 28, but at that age as you probably know usually, males already have developed quite a male facade. However, I see that you indicate that your ethnicity is South Asian, which puts a smile on my face, because for most males within that geno group, their features are very feminine by euro-western standards and seeing your height at 5'3'' proves the rule.
You may introduce progesterone at later date to help breast development, however such is still controversial as it isn't proven clearly if in fact it is a fix for all, it works for me though.
Within next 3-6 months yo will be slowly developing skin texture, hair texture, slight body fat redistribution, but nothing anyone will look at and say "hey girl" unless you already look hyper feminine, and such is hard to decipher without the picture and I am only assuming the Avatar isn't you :)
6-12 months you could get a more profound changes, but everyone takes into HRT differently, and so it could be a bit faster or a bit later for you.

[Raquel June]

You should go to one of the many other TS forums if you want to talk about hormones. Any attempt at helpful HRT discussion here will get deleted.

[Nigella]

No you are wrong Raquel, Safe Haven is the best place to discuss HRT, especially if you wan't to talk dosages.

[Raquel June]

No you are wrong Raquel, Safe Haven is the best place to discuss HRT, especially if you wan't to talk dosages.

I'm wrong? You've personally deleted many of my posts about HRT, and even non-HRT posts that happened to mention a specific amount of ibuprofen.

Are you now saying that the enforcement of certain policies have changed once again?

Sharon used to say that the general CD.com policies about dosages and pictures didn't apply to Save Haven, but you seem to have gone the opposite direction with that.

[Nigella]

Dosages of any type of medication will be deleted, certainly by me, in any non private forum. I am not going to debate what the policies and/or rules of Safe Haven are in a public forum and certainly will not discuss the decisions/actions made by other moderators

[DebbieL]

First of all, you should talk to a doctor, either your regular MD or an MD who has experience with Transgender issues. Estrogen based compounds such as estrodiol need to be monitored along with your blood pressure and any indications that you might be having blood clots. Since you are young, you will probably get a much better impact and you may have better results sooner. At 150 lbs, you probably want to consider taking some dance classes, which will not only help with your weight, but will also help you with posture, poise, balance, and muscle control as you transition. It will also give you a network of women with whom you can bond as a woman.

Dosages on these sites are a no-no because in some countries (US) such advice can be illegal if you don't have a medical degree.

Given that you are already taking both compounds together, do you have a support network - family, friends, school, others? Going through transition alone can be very difficult, and there are times when you will go through an emotional roller coaster. It's a good idea to have a therapist or social worker who can talk with you as you transition. This will also help you to get past those awkward times when emotions and caution end up at odds with each other.

When I was in India, I was pleased to see that transsexuals were more accepted there. I guess there is even a group that goes through castration and feminization and then makes money by blessing the male infant children with virility and masculinity. Brahma, the god of many faces, has a female face as well. The god/goddess has the power of creation and is both mother and father and creator. As I understand it, transsexuals are part of Indian liturature going back as far as 8,000 years, 2,000 years before Abraham started to sacrifice Isaac.

[sweetjessica]

Hi Everyone, thanks for all your support and answers. this is really helpful.

To many of Debbi's words of wisdom, I am yet to come out to anyone about my transition. The only person who probably has any clue is a close GG friend. I say this because over the few months, I have got all body hair removed, started to wear clear nail paints, and lip gloss everywhere. My GG friend is the only one who seems to have noticed / commented on the changes. She says all these changes look nice on me. After all this, I am pretty that she will be first person I will come out to, but I am not sure about when to break the news to her. I am debating whether I should wait for few body changes (due to the Est) to become apparent, or should I just go and tell her now?

As to a therapist, I visited one yesterday, he was of no use, he sent me away (which was painful) - and am on a lookout for another.

On another note - today is day 3 of hrt. There of course has not been any physcial changes, but I still continue to be at peace. I feel more relaxed.

I will continue posting any major progress. and as I finish, I want to thank each and everyone of you for your support here. Thank you .. xoxo Jessi

[DebbieL]

jessica,
you will want to tell your GG friend. She sounds like she is supportive, if she's about your age, she can help you and provide emotional support and friendship, and she might be able to help you meet others who will accept you. Normally, the recommended procedure is to begin the Real Life Experience (RLE), making more and more public appearances as a girl. At first, this might be with only a few close friends, later you might go to more public places in locations away from friends. As your confidence builds, you will reach the point where you can come to school as a girl. Normally, the hormone replacement therapy would be started after you've started living at least evenings and most week-ends as a girl.

The main concern is that you may find that you start making the changes due to the HRT and then find that you have no friends as Jessica, and as a result, end up being rejected by parents, friends, and/or lovers. Many transsexuals who have no support after this kind of rejection can become suicidal. Others end up becoming homeless, turning to prostitution, drug dealing, and other criminal activities, because they have no means to support themselves and no support network other than those who would exploit them.

Have you sounded out your parents? Would EITHER of them be supportive? Have either of them discovered your stash? Have either of them caught you dressed - perhaps when you were younger?

The great conundrum (an unsolvable puzzle) for the transsexual is that they can't come out until they have someone to support them, and they can't know who will support them until they come out.

Try switching from clear nail polish to frosts, and see who comes forward, including your parents. If your father starts to sound like he would reject you, ask him this question:

If I had a fatal disease, with a 75% chance of death, and the only cure was to change me into a girl, could you love me as a girl?

The reality is that 75% of all transsexuals do attempt to kill themselves, about half of all transsexuals kill themselves by the time they are 30. Of those who survive, many have serious mental health problems, end up in the sex trade, in drug trade, and or other criminal enterprises (blackmail, cons, ...). Many of those who survive also turn to drugs, booze, and high risk behaviors, often leading to "Accidental" deaths. Of those who transition, 90% are happier, more successful, AND more able to function as responsible productive members of society.

Is there a social worker at school? Your profile says your are a consultant - in IT?

I don't know what part of India you are from. Many larger cities have GLBT support centers.
Do you have any friends you know are gay? This can often be a link to such centers.

Normally the HRT doesn't cause significant physical changes until 3-6 months, but many do experience mood changes. They are more calm, more at peace with themselves, but in many cases this is the combination of having addressed many of the "Coming out" issues and developing a support network and THEN taking the steps toward transition.

[Rianna Humble]

You should go to one of the many other TS forums if you want to talk about hormones. Any attempt at helpful HRT discussion here will get deleted.

Raquel, are you at all interested in helping the OP, or are you just here to whine?

Jessica, I am having difficulty seeing whether you are working with a medical doctor about your hormone regime. If you are not, I would really recommend that you begin as there are many things that need to be monitored especially in the early stages of hormone therapy and failure to do so could have very severe consequences.

I cannot be specific about what physical changes you might see in the short term as there are too many variables and also I only started my regime when I was nearly twice your age.

[Raquel June]

Raquel, are you at all interested in helping the OP, or are you just here to whine?

Please state what you think would be most helpful to the OP. She's in the closet, isn't out to anybody (the closest thing is a friend who noticed she wears lip gloss), and needs support. She's obviously serious about transition. To me, having all your body hair removed and taking hormones means you're serious enough -- although we don't know if she means that she got a year of laser or if she just decided to shave.

People are being supportive. You guys are great. I'm not saying that's not worth something. Support is important. But that doesn't answer her original question.

Isn't it important to know more than she's allowed to say? She's taking Spiro (which may be an insigificant dose, or may be a huge dose), and she's taking EV (which may be an ineffective dose, or may be monthly injections, or may be weekly injections, or may be a dangerously high oral dose). Who knows? All we know is that she's a 5'3" Asian girl who may or may not be taking an elephant dose of estrogen because of something she saw on the web.

She should see a doctor. Hopefully a competent endo. She should get her clotting factors tested. Is that going to happen? Is that an option for her? Maybe not. And I'm glad to see that nobody is telling her to just stop doing what she's doing, because telling a transgender woman to stop taking estrogen is usually less effective than telling a heroin junkie to stop shooting up.

She should watch out for signs of clots, jaundice, and kidney problems. And she should spend more time asking questions where people can actually discuss what she's doing instead of censoring her. This is important to her health. This is what will be most helpful to the OP.

Look at her first post again. It is not possible for us to answer her question here. And that's not me saying "this forum sucks." This forum has helped me, and this forum continues to help a lot of people. And mods like Nigella donate a lot of their time and effort to help people. This forum is family-friendly compared to a lot of them. It makes it more accessible. G-rated content where people don't discuss drugs is not exactly a bad thing.

But given the policies in place, the OP should go somewhere else to ask these questions. Any self-medicating transsexual (and I would argue that anyone on HRT regardless) should really be looking for more specific information than is available here.

[Rianna Humble]

Please state what you think would be most helpful to the OP.

If you reread my post beyond the bit where I picked you up on you whine against moderation, you will see that I did state what I felt was most helpful - i.e. that rather than your current suggestion to go somewhere where people with no medical training will give her advice that even if based on their own experience is unlikely to be tailored to the OP's health needs, that she should seek medical support for what she is doing. There is a reason why medical practitioners are given so much training.

[Tamara Croft]

This thread is done, if you want to discuss it further, PM Nigella to move it and open it in safe haven.

But one thing I will say, you will NOT advise ANY member on what dosages they should be taking in ANY section, you are NOT their doctor and you WILL be liable if they take your advice and they end up dead... capiche?