More or less

[Angela Marie]

My wife and I had an interesting conversation yesterday regarding my feminine side. I'm fairly small for a guy, between 135-140, have very little body hair, and clearly display many feminine characteristics. Now the first two are probably shared with many other men; the last one not so much. My wife was wondering if I had an above normal level of estrogen. Neither of us have any scientific background in this area or in science generally. It was just an off the cuff question she posed. I thought it was an interesting comment and was wondering what the thoughts of the others are.

[KarenCD334]

I wish I had a lot more estrogen. I'm also not that small. Sure wish I was.
My wife doesn't talk about it and doesn't want to see anything either.

[docrobbysherry]

U can have your hormone levels tested if u really want to know, Angela. I wondered about my testosterone levels when I got excited about dressing in my 50's.:straightface:

Turns out I was low, but normal!:thumbsup:

[Karren H]

Sherry is correct. I get my T levels checked every year as part of my pituitary tumor issues. It runs right at the lower male limit, both total and free. But Quest Diagnostics now will let you get blood tests and paying for them without a script. Have to go through their My Quest website. And they are not that expensive.

[GretchenM]

It is rare but it is not impossible for a male to have more estrogen than normal, however, usually the testosterone overwhelms the estrogen. If you are suspicious of that get a hormone test of both testosterone and estrogen. If both are high then I think that could be something to be concerned about because they often don't get along very well in the same body. That is why during MTF hormone replacement therapy the testosterone is suppressed while the estrogen (and any other female hormone) is being provided. There is a danger of blood clots causing a stroke and other possible negative effects if both are present.

Testosterone and estrogen molecules are very similar and derived from the same precursor molecule.

Personally, I doubt your estrogen is outside the normal range for a male. If your wife is concerned about that (or you are concerned or curious) get a test. It is also possible that you have lower than normal testosterone, but it has to get pretty low to cause any difficulties. Most males have more than enough.

After prostate cancer treatment my T never returned to the full amount (which is good as it is a liability for recurrent cancer), but I still have 4 times as much of that as estrogen. Not a lot of fun having a low T like that but it is better than cancer returning.

[DianeT]

"If both are high then I think that could be something to be concerned about because they often don't get along very well in the same body."
Absolutely. Plus, crossdressers' testosterone and oestrogen will argue to no end over who's more feminine and, frankly, nobody wants that.

[kimdl93]

My thoughts/opinions would be entirely irrelevant. If you are curious, get the blood work done. Anything else is pointless speculation.

[Maid_Marion]

I know from my wife's illness that there is a lot that the doctors don't know about.
I also know professionally that scientific research has been poorly funded for decades, which is why I went into engineering instead of science.
The only research being done is on a return of investment perspective. Can we make money selling pills? Or via communities afflicted by rare diseases holding bake sales to fund researchers.

I'm just like you. Very little body hair. Female hair thinning as I get older. Hourglass figure with the waist above the hips. The hips are slightly wider that my bust. My left breast is a little larger than the right. I fill a 32A bra without forms.
No Adams apple. Voice in the female range. Small hands.

I've always paid a lot of attention to my appearance so I look a good 15 or 20 years younger. Stayed out of the sun so there are just the wrinkles on my forehead as I approach sixty.

Marion

[Miray]

I've never had Estrogen measured, but I've had Total and Free Testosterone measured a few times. It was above the reference values in all of them. I'm very curious about this too. But until now, I have not come across an attempt to satisfy such a curiosity.

I was thinking that if more than one cross-dresser had this test done and compared the results, maybe a meaningful comment would be made. However, as I do scientific readings, I realize how complex the subject is.

[Helen_Highwater]

I too have little body hair but a good while ago I noticed my beard growth, which was never that much, had slowed. Mentioned this to my GP who told me alterations in hormones can be brought about as a result of cancer. I was tested and scanned, all was good.

Fast forward to about a year ago and the same thing happened again so once more I approached my GP, gain tested, bloods came out slightly out of kilter so I was referred to a specialist. Blood tests redone and returning to more normal levels and with no other signs of anything amiss. Follow up phone consultation next month.

I guess what I'm saying is if you think your body has changed then it's worth getting it checked out. Safe before sorry as a late diagnosis can prove fatal.

[Taylor186]

My gut reaction to the OP was low T, not high E. On the other hand I would trust science, and not my gut, in a case like this. Most cases, really.

[Cheryl T]

Oh to be smaller and thinner and lighter ... LOL.
I've always wished I had stopped at 5'6" and could weigh what you weigh. Ah, but life had another idea.

[Stephanie47]

I do concur with others that testing is the way to go. Other factors other than hormones can come into play. There's the dna angle to consider. When I was a teenager I was a light weight. I grew to six foot two and weighed as little as 138 pounds before I gained some weight and topped out at 175 as a young adult. No hair follicles on my thighs and calves. Some thought I shaved my legs; nope. I did not have any chest hair until I was in my 50's and then it came in light and sparse. No underarm hair. My wife says all that absence of hair is wasted on a guy; envious she is! Now I wonder if my slight of build in years gone by was caused or in combination of dna and hormones. As I aged the hormones, presumably, changed as I gained weight and incurred male pattern baldness. Yes, I concur with Cheryl. It would be a lot easier to go around now as an aging five foot six older lady.

[Shiny]

I think for men it's a less than average level of testosterone. I never had much body hair, no "back" hair, thank God. I never grew much of a beard-faint at best and still have all the hair on my head while lots and lots of my guy friends are now Picard baldos! They say it's good when you get older, your testo drops with age but that is a benefit against heart disease. So a pretty good deal all around.

[Mary Loo]

I have been suspicious of late that maybe my T levels have dropped in the last several months, but have not yet tested for it. I certainly don’t have a baseline of what it has been in the past unless indirectly tracked on any previous blood draws/other tests. Sometimes I think it must be much lower and other times maybe just slightly due to aging.

[Mermaiden]

High estrogen isn?t a medical condition I?ve seen. Most likely you?re just somewhere on the wide spectrum of normal. Unless there is a medical problem I?d caution against getting unnecessary tests done. You might get an equivocal result that begets more testing that cascades into a doctor putting something sharp into you.

[Tiffany355]

They run in series to each other. So high estrogen would mean low T. Bringing the Testosterone back up would or should rest the estrogen. It could also be very high levels of Testosterone which I bet you?d notice. I feel best with elevated testosterone and suppressed estrogen.

[pedalgirl]

Part of my prostate cancer treatment I was given hormone shots to suppress testosterone, which they say helps feed cancer. I do not know but I don't think this had any effect on my estrogen levels. It also did not increase my desire to dress.