Hormone Advise

[NassauGurl]

Sorry if this question has been asked a zillion times. :o
I want to start hormones extremely bad. I have thought about it for a long time and have done all of the research. I have read the good things and the bad(and potentially dangerous) things about self-medicating. The problem is I don't have health insurance. Nor enough $$ to get any insurance + a theripist + whatever else.
I want to try to find a local doctor that will mabye do some checkups on me or something maybe? Is there any experience with this or options that you know of?

Here is what I would start off with.
100mg Aldactone twice daily
2mg Estrofem twice daily


After about a few months, if this is not causing any abnormalities or problems, I will increase the estrofem to 8mg daily, aldactone to 300mg daily, add provera 10mg daily(first half of month), and propecia 6mg divided between morning and night.

Does that look about right?

[tori-e]

Hi Jessica,

Going through a doctor is definitely the smart way to go. GBIGDA standards recommend 3 months RLE or 3 months of counselling. I had about six months counselling before I started. Where I live it is legal for GP's and other health care provides to prescribe hormones. You'll just need to find a GP that will write the script. Final pre-op doses should be determined by balancing ongoing blood test.

Best of luck in your journey.

Victoria

[JenniferMint]

The Estrofem levels look about right. I don't know about the Aldactone---never used that (and I'm castrated now). I get my hormones from the internet and I have an M2F-aware doctor checking me. He wouldn't have prescribed hormones for me this soon, but he's willing to monitor my health and may prescribe for me in the future.

You may want to check this mailing list - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TsDoItYourselfHormones/ - that's probably the best place on the internet to ask about self-medicating HRT.

[Nyx]

Well, 200mg of spironolactone looks high to start with. You should start at 50 first (cut a pill in two if needed)... And then raise it if needed. Also, 2mg of estrogen seems more reasonable for a start than 4mg. Please be aware that spironolactone reduces blood pressure, and that taking so much to start with might result in bad things happening (heart wise). There may also be symptoms associated with an overly high estrogen dosage at the start.

Another thing... You want to raise the levels very progressively to give your body time to adapt. For example, 2mg of estrogen for 1 month, then 4 mg for two months, then 6mg. Or 50mg of spironolactone for two weeks, then 100mg for a month, etc... If you just take 2mg of estrogen + 100mg of spironolactone for a month, and then jump straight to 300mg of spironolactone + 8mg of estrogen a day, you risk having a very bad reaction...

Also please note that 300mg of spironolactone and 8mg of estrogen are at the rather high end of the spectrum... You should probably aim lower, especially without monitoring, as you may not need such high dosages and have no way to know whether you need that much or not without a blood test.

I personally couldn't stand 200mg of spironolactone when I took hormones on my own. It would give me too many symptoms and make me run out of breathe... 100mg still made me very tired. It's possible you might handle it better, but I still would recommend being careful. Hormones are not going to be effective during the first two months anyhow, no matter the dosage (you won't notice much changes).

[Stephenie S]

Dear Jessica,

Please try and find a doctor who will help you by monitoring your hormone levels and general health. Hormones are powerful, especially at the extremely high doses you seem to want to take. I would not start on 200 mg of Spiro. Spironolactone is a powerful diuretic that is used to control high blood pressure by removing fluid from your body. 50 - 100mg per day is more reasonable to start. Personally, I would not start anything without a doctor's care, but you can do so if you want, of course.

These medications are not really that expensive so you may not need drug coverage from insurance. I pay for mine directly because I do not want my healthcare insurance to raise a red flag about my transition. A 3 month suply costs me about $60. Now, I am taking less than you are planning to, but Spiro is a common drug and Estradiol is cheap because so many GGs take it. But how will you pay for your doctor visits? You REALLY need to monitor your hormone levels on a regular basis. How else will you know how much to take?

There are offshore drug companies that will sell you hormones without a presciption. One plan (used often by others who do not want to jump through the "standards of care" hoops) is to start HRT on your own and then go to a doctor. Most doctors will treat you when faced with the reality that you are already doing it on your own.

But let me say again, you need to have regular blood work done to protect your health. What good is transitioning if you are unable to move or talk due to a stroke?

Take care,
Steph

[Jeanette TS]

Hi i would not take 2oo mg Spironlactone to start with. I am on 100mg Spironlactone a day and 6 mg Progynova a day a good idear is to take a Aspirin aas well but the 75 mg not the 300 the results i have are very good. I see my gp every month for my bloods, they say everything is fine with what i am taking. So take care with the meds if you are going to self med take it slowly and in small doses to start with.

Jeanette :thumbsup:

[michelle19845]

there are also "natural hormones" you have to have a psych that will contact the place and they will get you these hormones.side effects are claimed to be very rare to have any cause they are natural,not synthetic man made immitations,by being immitations ,they throw the side effects like no other cause the body sees they're a lil weird and not normal.i have had family on both sides get cancer from synthetic (prescription company) HRT ,so i am not taking the risk.it don't do any good if someone transitions and only stays for so long due to cancer from synthetic hormones.i highly advise people to check www.natureshormones.com

good luck,
michelle19845

[cindianna_jones]

I would not start any medication without medical support. These hormones can damage your liver. Also, there are different recipies. You may not be getting the right dosage or even the right hormone for yourself. You may be flushing your money away. if you can't afford a therapist, at least consult with a doctor. You should be able to find someone who can help you.

Cindi

[carrentate]

I've recently started taking self prescribed hormonnes, and agree with some of the above comments , start low, I started with 100mg Spirotone, and 1.25mg premarin, recently increased to 1.875mg (after two weeks) I also take 75mg aspirin each day, It's risky doing it on your own but It's not always practicable to do it with a doc! so please be careful ( i am) still big risk on your own but you can reduce the risk by taking it slow! Hope it all goes well for you.

Love

Carren

[azure]

Sorry about this very unoriginal question, I was finally prescribed 50mcg Evorel patches(Estradiol) twice a week. My doctor in London is working with my local doctor observing the effects of the patches, for two months then do more blood tests before putting me on an anti androgen.
Does any of the girls here have any experience of using evorel patches, I'd be grateful of any comments, Thankyou.