Hormone testing

[Angela Marie]

I've always wondered if I have above average levels of estrogen. Has anyone ever had testing done to determine your levels of Testosterone and Estrogen?

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Sorry I inadvertently posted in the wrong forum.

[Jane G]

An interesting thought. No I have never thought of testing. I am who I am. Whatever my hormone levels.

[kimdl93]

I have had full panels done and both T and E fell in the admittedly rather broad range for a natal male of my age.

[Aunt Kelly]

Having been on HRT for almost 4 years now (or is it 5?), I've been tested every three months during that time. Started with a low T level (<120, ng/dL) to begin with. It's been <10 since going on E.

[docrobbysherry]

Yes, I had my testosterone tested after I started dressing out of the blue in my 50's. It was at the low end of "normal" according to my doctor!:straightface:

[alwayshave]

I had my T tested in May during my annual physical. It is in the normal range for my age.

[Charla]

T level is way below normal male levels, but rather not discuss specifics. E level is in a happy place😁.

[HelpMe,Rhonda]

Didn't have them tested until the realization I was actually trans, the doc asked me if I was already on HRT when the first results came back since they were not quite in the 'typical' range.

[SaraLin]

years ago, I did.
I was in the normal range.

Recently my doctor suggested that I might want to get it checked again, since low T levels "might" be causing my depression struggles.
I opted out, since even if it IS low, I wouldn't want to boost it - quite the opposite, in fact.

[GretchenM]

Mine are now in the lower end of normal. Before prostate cancer they were in the middle range. Estrogen was correct for my sex, but I have not had that tested since the cancer. In treatment for the cancer my T was basically zero for six months while having radiation and immunotherapy. That was horrible as my muscles atrophied, all of my muscles including that one. And it took close to 18 months to get back to a sufficient level that most muscles came back, except that one which seems pretty much inoperative. But that is more likely a result of damage to the erectile nerves that connect the brain to the organ. The radiation may have damaged or destroyed those nerves as each of the two nerves run right beside the prostate gland. Overall, I was weaker than my wife with zero T. But the cancer is apparently gone, although I still have to have a 4th year biopsy to be sure. Coming soon.

Keep in mind that women have testosterone just like men have estrogen. But women cannot alter the testosterone to dihydrotestosterone which is the form that makes a male fully male. In the body, testosterone is created from estrogen; the two are very similar with just a few places where the molecules are different. Both hormones have very large ranges of normality. Hormone levels is considered a factor in gender identity shifting but they are not the smoking gun. It is starting to look like gender identity has no single or primary cause but is a complex of many factors interacting along with variable ranges of adaptive behavior to environmental factors. In short, it is very complicated which is why each person tends to be unique.

[Krisi]

I have low testosterone levels and am on medication to increase them.

Doctors often test for hormone levels when doing routine blood tests. You can ask your doctor to include this hormone test.

[CharlotteCD]

Test levels were 420 and 440 a couple of years ago. 520 this year.

I was struggling far more with my Charlotte side back then. This past 3-4 months Charlotte hasn't existed.

[Cheryl T]

Curious.
I haven't had it done but I think I will ask next time just to see.

[Karren H]

My Endocrinologist checks mine every year. My T has been below normal ( male) for a decade or longer (minus 150) All my meds reek havoc with my hormones. Do not know if you know that you can go get tested without a scrip. At Quest Diagnostics you can just buy a test. Think T is like $70. No doctor required. I assume other facilities have similar deals.

[ShelbyDawn]

... the doc asked me if I was already on HRT when the first results came back.

I know I'm not the only curious one in the group... What did you tell him?


Actually, I'm really asking because I just got back from my doctor and there are things going on that caused him to order hormone tests. I have natural B cup breasts for instance. Some of it is fat, some is not...

[Angela Marie]

I'm due for a checkup in a few months. I told the doctor I was seeing a therapist for gender dysphoria and would like a hormone test included in my next blood draw. If he says no I guess i'll go the other route.

[oh to be rachel]

Mine have always been on the low side. About 8 years ago, they were so low, my eurologist put me on T-shots. Screaming dysphoria ensued. I stopped that.
Now having prostate issues, I'm actually on something that blocks Testosterone.

Got no hair on my legs, arm and my chest hair is thinning out. Shaving my face is a breeze. And a slight man-boob situation is going on.

Libido is shot though.

[HelpMe,Rhonda]

I know I'm not the only curious one in the group... What did you tell him?


The appointment was part of the process of going on HRT, had to get a routine physical to be given the go ahead. He's in the same group as the endocrinologist, so I was being openly me, he just thought that one of the levels was off the chart enough to be a sign of HRT.

[CDMargret]

Normal T range for me too.

[Sometimes Steffi]

Last time I had my T tested, it was low normal. My doctor told me that T levels vary and I had to test low two consecutive times to get a T patch.

[Bea_]

I've been on t shots for 20 years. I took myself off of them for a few months and dr ran tests before I started back on them. I was at 192 without.

All of my dressing started after starting the injections. I can't tell the difference, as far as dressing goes, with or without. Libido plummeted without.

[celine.crossdresser]

I did a checkup last year, due to my age, only tested for testosterone and it was normal. I am very comfortable with myself and my attitude towards crossdressing that I do not see me in HRT. Just letting the nature taking care of business.

But now I am curious about my estrogen levels. Time for next checkup is near, maybe I will ask my doctor for a more complete screening on my hormones.

[ReineD]

Mine are now in the lower end of normal. Before prostate cancer they were in the middle range. Estrogen was correct for my sex, but I have not had that tested since the cancer. In treatment for the cancer my T was basically zero for six months while having radiation and immunotherapy. That was horrible as my muscles atrophied, all of my muscles including that one. And it took close to 18 months to get back to a sufficient level that most muscles came back, except that one which seems pretty much inoperative. But that is more likely a result of damage to the erectile nerves that connect the brain to the organ. The radiation may have damaged or destroyed those nerves as each of the two nerves run right beside the prostate gland. Overall, I was weaker than my wife with zero T. But the cancer is apparently gone, although I still have to have a 4th year biopsy to be sure. Coming soon.

Keep in mind that women have testosterone just like men have estrogen. But women cannot alter the testosterone to dihydrotestosterone which is the form that makes a male fully male. In the body, testosterone is created from estrogen; the two are very similar with just a few places where the molecules are different. Both hormones have very large ranges of normality. Hormone levels is considered a factor in gender identity shifting but they are not the smoking gun. It is starting to look like gender identity has no single or primary cause but is a complex of many factors interacting along with variable ranges of adaptive behavior to environmental factors. In short, it is very complicated which is why each person tends to be unique.

This.

If you?re interested, below are several resources you can read.

There are indeed many things that affect hormone levels in both men and women that have nothing to do with gender or sex determination. In a nutshell, these are: some medicine side effects, testicle injury or cancer, problems with the hypothalamus and pituitary glands that control hormone production, low thyroid function, and other disorders/diseases/treatments, or bacterial or viral infections.

Also and this is more common, too much body fat (obesity) causes low testosterone in men.

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000722.htm

Last, all middle-aged men do have almost twice more estrogen than post-menopausal women. Experiencing body changes like loss of muscle mass, lowered libido, decreased body hair, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, and/or weight gain is not an indication that a male has become bi-gendered. It?s just a natural result of aging. Furthermore, even though middle aged men naturally have more estrogen than women their age, estrogen levels still fall off and when that happens, some men can also experience hot flashes! This can happen to CDers and non-CDers alike and is not an indication that a male is really a woman or part-woman.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/science/middle-aged-men-can-blame-estrogen-too.html#:~:text=Both%20men%20and%20women%20make,w ith%20age%2C%20the%20body%20changes.

Normal estrogen levels in men and women by age:
https://balancemyhormones.co.uk/what-are-normal-estrogen-levels-in-men-and-women/#

More on hormonal balance causes and effects in both men and women:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22673-hormonal-imbalance#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20the%20main%20c onditions,Autoimmune%20conditions.

So testing for hormone levels and finding low testosterone and high estrogen does not necessarily indicate an intersex or gender-related condition.

[HelpMe,Rhonda]

Presumably physicians are aware of what 'normal' levels are for the age of the patients they see?

[GretchenM]

Thank you, Reine. Very useful links, indeed. Our bodies are very complex with everything linked to everything else in one way or another. It is easy to conclude this or that is the cause of something else as we find correlations in numbers or characteristics. But correlations are just that; a correlation does not prove causation. It just increases curiosity as to why two processes are correlated. In the world of statisticians there is a rule of thumb that says, "High correlation does not imply causation," or something similar to that. One must dig a lot deeper to see if it is a coincidence or if it is actually causational in some way.

That said, hormones are molecules that are produced in very tiny amounts but they pack an oversized impact on biological processes. It doesn't take much to have a big impact on the processes the molecule is involved in. But those effects can trigger changes elsewhere that can influence other processes even though the hormone is not directly involved in the consequent alteration of the other processes. But to claim causation one must find an actual functional shift rather than just a correlation. It is often much more complicated than we like to think. Nevertheless there probably is some kind of connection between hormones and our sense of self which originates in the brain. But what and how does the effect work? The answer is in the details. It is not something to worry about and it is often not a good idea to mess with hormone levels if one does not know exactly how the change will operate in your body. Leave that to the experts.

And I know all about hot flashes. When my testosterone was starting to rise again some days I would have as many as 30 hot flashes, often in waves of up to 10 with about 5 minutes between the events. I would sweat like I was sitting in a light rain and my body felt like it was going to catch on fire. And that would then shift to feeling cold - over and over. But with zero T I did not have hot flashes; they were correlated with changing hormone levels. Once I gained a more stable hormone level the hot flashes quit.