Yes, and there are Hormones?!

[Taylor Ray]

Well, some of the lovely and intricate gals I have encountered at this site have mentioned hormones...as perhaps being involved with our "situations"...

Well, I believe that this is definitely a legitimate aspect of our selves...

My hormones are saying that I am a woman?

[Beverley Sims]

Hi there Taylor,
Maybe there is a full moon or else the arctic apocalypse is getting a firm hold.
There have been a number of threads that that seemed to have missed the eye of the needle this morning or else there is no point to it.
I am wondering about this one also.
I have a question though....
How do you make a hormone?
































Don't pay her. :)

[Kate Simmons]

The only way to find out for sure is a specific Dr. ordered test at a lab. :)

[Katey888]

Taylor, I'm sure there's something in that... We tend to credit medicine as being very knowledgeable about every aspect of human physiology and how different aspects interact with each other - only when you scratch the surface do you realise that we're quite good at understanding things physically and perhaps chemically, but very poor in understanding what they do and how they work, particularly on aspects of psychology and personality.

I don't think it's a big step from: accepting that there is something different about us and that difference has a physiological basis somehow..
to: those physiological differences could well have an impact on hormone production and miniscule changes here can have significant impacts on physical or psychological changes...

I doubt that my wife would ever accept bad moods as latent PMT/PMS however, even though there might actually be a basis in reality for it! :eek:

Katey x

[PaulaQ]

For what it is worth, my hormone levels were pretty much totally normal 50 year old dude this time last year. Meanwhile, while I sat in my GP docs office, my GD had reduced me to a depressed, anxiety disorder ridden, panic attack prone suicidal mess. And for me, that "normal" result was actually the problem. Despite the antidepressants he gave me, I didn't get better until I went on to HRT, and had female hormone levels.

My GP doctor was shocked at the difference hormones made for me.

That's what is so awful about GD - it is invisible to the physical tests docs use.

[I Am Paula]

PaulaQ- It is usually US that has to lead our doctors to water. If we don't speak up, our Doctors will give us typical tests, and never discover the problem.

[Taylor Ray]

I never really thought about whether there was a chemical aspect to my love for cross dressing until participating on this site for a while. Growing up I was often teased because I came off more feminine than my friends. Even today when in drab people often ask me if I am gay without knowing anything about me. And I don't have a flamboyant personality at all.

Interesting to think about at least.

[PaulaQ]

@I am Paula - oh don't I know it! Yay us for having the only totally self-diagnosed life-threatening condition!

@Taylor Ray - my point was that for some of us, it is the lack of female hormones and a seeming allergy of sorts to male hormones that is the problem. I mainly wanted to point out that the obvious problem, your male hormone levels being off is generally not the issue at all.

The best theory is that all of us on this forum, to differing degrees have some amount of feminine brain structure. That doesn't make us all women - some of us have a little bit, some a whole bunch.

[Allisa]

Katey all I know is that at least once a month my hazel/green eyes turn brown and I am not a fun person to be around. PMS? Full moon? Do men have mood swings?

Bye-Bye Lisa

[Anna Abwaerts]

You can have your hormone levels checked. Both genders have degrees of male and female hormones, at any given time. Perhaps you have/had heighened female hormone levels.

[traci_k]

My understanding has been that most CDers and Transgenders hormone levels are generally normal for their natal gender. That said there are abberations. Last year when I was going through severe GD, on a lark I asked my GP to order serum Testosterone and Estrogen level tests. My results came back low normal for T but my E was 158 low normal for a female and off the scale for a non-medicating male. But most medical professionals who treat many transgender patients find relatively normal hormone levels and thus not a significant correlation.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV and may have no idea what I'm talking about.

Hugs,

[Confucius]

I don't believe that your hormones have anything to do with enjoying cross-dressing. For instance, if you were to take estrogen pills, you may effect your physical appearance (if you take enough of them), but your feelings would not be greatly affected. Low testosterone levels may account for low sex drive, less aggression, and less muscle development. However there does seem to be a strong correlation between cross-dressing and the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Dopamine is complicated. It affects many different things because it can take four entirely different pathways. One important pathway is the anticipation of gratification. It is the thing that produces the urges, the strong desires, and gratification. It affects our drive for sex, our drive for food, our drive for any pleasure. It also has another important pathway - muscle coordination. So patients with Parkinson's Disease can be given medication to increase their dopamine levels, and the treatment may have the side-effect of cross-dressing. Children with Asperger's have disruptions in their dopamine levels and they have increased incidence of cross-dressing. High levels of dopamine are associated with all sorts of hyper-sexuality.

My theory is that cross-dressing is a form of synesthesia. Synesthesia is a neurological condition where stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory pathway. This means that your brain is just hard-wired to interpret cross-dressing as actual contact with a female. Most men can wear women's clothing and not feel anything special. They think that cross-dressers are crazy, living a delusion, where they just imagine that cross-dressing feels good. The synesthesia theory says that there is a segment of society who really do experience a transformation from cross-dressing. It makes the brain say "contact with a female" and it responds by releasing dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and other neurotransmitters which produce sensations of well-being, pleasure, sexual gratification and bonding. It affects the reward centers of our brain, instant gratification, and thus it mimics the addiction response. Amazing!

Scientifically, all we need to prove is that the cross-dressing event causes increased levels of dopamine in our brain.

[Tinkerbell-GG]

Confuscious, so all my H needs is to block dopamine somehow and he can stop all this nonsense??

Wow, if the fix were really that easy I believe they'll be happy CD wives across the globe. I know CD makes my H happy (or the dopamine makes him happy?) but honestly, I'd wish it away in a heartbeat. I think many wives would.

[giuseppina]

Your theory is interesting, Confucious. What do you say about introverts like me?

The dominant neurotransmitter for us introverts is acetylcholine and not dopamine, the dominant neurotransmitter of extroverts.

Tinkerbell, I'm not a medical doctor, but I don't think it's anywhere close to being that simple. There are serious side effects to messing with brain chemistry including but not limited to disabling mental health effects. I'll leave the science to others more qualified than me. That said, I'm inclined to think prescribing a drug to curb crossdressing is unethical.

[sometimes_miss]

We are far more complicated organisms than anyone really wants to believe. And, our thoughts alone can make physical changes in our brains. Consider; you go to a new place, gain new information to be stored, and memories are formed. That requires a physical change in your brain all the way down at the molecular levels. A physical change. From new thoughts. Perhaps not simply measurable, but a change, none the less. So, when you go through years of having feminine thoughts, feelings, and actively try to make those permanent? How does that change your mind? At this point, all we can do is wonder, because there are no studies being done on enough humans to determine it all. But whether you are 'born with a female mind', or develop one, the end result is the same. Another thing; how does that account for females born with a female mind who are masculine? Hmmmmm. More thoughts coming, and more changes in the brain.

[Taylor Ray]

@Confuscius-

You present an interesting theory but it seems to need more analysis. For instance, what about gay cross dressers or bisexual cross dressers who don't desire "contact with a female"? It seems there is something more complicated going on.

[Valarie]

Taylor I have thought about this too, in my case I grow facial/leg/armpit hair very slow. My brothers and dad are like werewolves. Also unlike them I do not have a visible adams apple (my youngest brother looks like he has a golf ball stuck in his throat). Also they are far more competitive and aggressive I always chalked this up to personality. But lately I have been wondering if it is a hormone thing.