See title. I’m on HRT for over 11 months now, thoroughly enjoying it. I’ve a hunch the dose is a bit low, though. I get androgen blockers every 2-3 months, my last one was one month ago.
Normally my arm hairs aren’t very visible, so I didn’t have much dysphoria from that. However, recently my arm hair seems to be growing a lot and thicker, and I’m concerned. Is this normal?
My mum doesn’t really have a lot of arm hair, nor do other gals in my family.
Ok, so the results are here. Last measure was August (yeah, oops… I got ill around the time I was supposed to have my next test and prolonged it).
Just before starting (March), I had 125 pmol/L for estradiol, and free T was 358.9.
By August, I had 175 pmol/L for estradiol, and free T was 30.5.
Pinging @dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone as well for this!
Okay so referring back to other conversations in other posts, it’s clear transfemscience is right about lenzetto, and you need something different like injections, gel, or even pills. If they give you something else please come ask us about it or check transfemscience or other resources and make sure the dosages are adequate. If they are not please go somewhere else or go DIY.
Injections are sadly not an option, with DIY it is. I dislike needles and want to avoid the liver risk w/ pills, and my skin is rather sensitive (so no patches, though those are an option), so maybe I should look into gel, then.
I upped my dose after the last measurement, so I’ll get a new blood test asap. Once I get the results, I’ll check if the levels are in better ranges. If not, I’ll try upping to four doses myself, split into two moments a day.
The next blood test is in mid-April. If by then the results are still low, I’ll switch to gel.
Is that a good idea?
Injections don’t have a liver risk? It is exactly as safe as gel/patches!
Gel then does sound like what you want, or a stronger spray perhaps (I think gels are just gonna be better in general than any spray)
@birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone
+1 for abandoning sprays, gels or patches would probably be better (injections are best, I understand needles are scary, I nearly faint when I get my blood drawn, but subq injections are practically painless with tiny needles - and it’s definitely something you can learn to do even with crippling phobia like I have)
I scheduled another blood test, this will be in early March actually. After next week I’ll see what the results are. If that yields good results, I can continue. If it’s getting nearer the 400 pmol/L, but not there, I’ll switch to four doses a day, split over two moments (morning and evening), until I can switch to gel.
This is because needles aren’t an option here (yet), unless if you go DIY. My skin is sensitive and so patches aren’t an option. Spray however dries quickly and my skin doesn’t react badly to it. So, gel it is, if spray isn’t effective enough.
is the spray essentially transdermal like gel?
What is the dose “per spray”, and how would it compare to gel?
My skin is also sensitive, I don’t think I could do patches (this is a big reason I do injections). I think I could do gel now that I’m post-op, but pre-op I really don’t think it would have worked well enough for me.
The spray is transdermal, yes.
It’s 1.53 mg/dose. It dries significantly faster (2 min, vs 10 min for gel).
it’s possible the spray would be just as effective as gel, then - not really sure, but they’re both transdermal. I don’t know what doses the gel come in, and I also just don’t know about how well the skin absorbs estradiol from spray vs gel - I would be really interested to learn more, though!
Oops forgot to add pills in there, that’s what I talked about re: the liver risk!
I picked the spray because I find it convenient for its quick drying time, but yeah.
T should be reduced a bit further to like 20ish or less to be within the normal range for cis women. Your estradiol levels are very low. Generally we aim for like 400 pmol/L when on blockers, or 800 without, so you’re being massively underdosed. If they refuse to meaningfully up your dose please go somewhere else or do DIY.
I would say the issue is mainly that your estradiol dosage is low. If a higher dose of E can’t help with bringing your T down then your dosage of blocker needs to be a bit higher as well, or you need to make sure it’s always every two months rather than three, or something like that. I assume you’re getting some kind of gnrh agonist injected.
They actually upped it after that last recorded level checkup! Back then I took 2 doses, they recommended 3 after they saw it was low.
So the levels are from 2 spritzes a day? With how short the half life is I suppose it’s possible 3 spritzes will make a difference but I’m not sure it will be enough.
They are, yes.
thanks! Looks like good T suppression - but August was a while ago, and your E was pretty low … what anti-androgen are you taking? It could just be as simple as needing a dose adjustment on your anti-androgen, esp. because those E levels are not likely enough to suppress T on their own.
My antiandrogen injection is Pamorelin, 11.25 mg. One injection every 12 weeks. Also, should I best get that injection before or after the blood test (that will indicate my E and T levels)?
The Lenzetto is 1.53 mg / dose.