Fei

Super interesting and things I’ll look out for as I get closer to the 4 year mark (half way there)! It is unfortunate that androgens and testosterone do a lot to regulate most of the things mentioned here- stimulates collagen so thicker more oily skin and stronger nails, and higher tear production so less dryness of the eyes. Estrogen tends to lower blood pressure while testosterone tends to increases it- could account for the dizziness. I think all these things become even more clear as we age and most definitely should be talked about! Much of it feels less about being trans and just more about being a woman 🩷

No questions! Just wanted to say I’m happy to see a post from you again, and I hope life has been treating you super great (even if it’s been insane)!! 🩷

Definitely! I feel like this was fairly common knowledge even a decade ago and why people would quickly rebound back to previous size and strength when returning to fitness- muscle memory due to myonuclei persisting even when the actual tissue atrophies. I guess this is an additional state of memory for the body. Super neat!

I’ve struggled with insomnia for most of my life as well and had been prescribed a variety of medication types to try to treat it- ssris, antihistamines, z-drugs, atypical antipsychotics, etc… of those, the only one which absolutely guaranteed I’d sleep was Seroquel; it was a sledgehammer to the brain. It unfortunately was just overall far too effective and would sedate me the entire day and blended my dreams and reality in a very distressing way. It does help a lot if people do might be an option.

I eventually found relief through cannabis, and for over a decade, I was happily content vaping some flower for bed. Insurance obviously doesn’t cover that, and I’m unfortunately at a place in life with no job and income…sooo it was back to my psych to try to address my inability to sleep.

I spent a few days looking at medications that other people have had success with and found some that reported finding relief through Clonidine and other blood pressure medications. I brought the suggestion to my doctor who seemed open to it. I started with the standard immediate relief version. It did semi-reliably get me to sleep, but, as with many, I’d just end up waking up 4-5 hours later and would take another that sometimes would get me back to sleep. I then asked to try the extended release version, and so far it has allowed me to sleep the entirety of the night! Might be worth looking into if your heart is overall fine!

I had been on a fairly low dose of spiro for a little over 2 years and recently asked my doctor if I could discontinue it. She said it should be safe since my testosterone levels had been suppressed for so long and estrogen alone should keep it down now; my last labs coming out to 11ng/dL.

I never really had any issues with it, but I started a new medication that also had the chance to interact with my water/salt levels and wanted to avoid potential complications. It’s been 2 weeks so far, and I haven’t noticed any rebounding effects… though apparently it can take anywhere from 2-12 weeks for anything noticeable. I’ve also had absolutely zero libido since transitioning (progesterone didn’t help), so waiting to see if that returns and how my next routine labs come out!

I am the same way! Come across something of interest, research it heavily for days-weeks, and then finally purchase it to clear my head. Tends to help curve potential regret with more expensive purchases.

I could so understand that! I’m not super familiar with their products beyond looking into things for this post, but I feel like their branding would be on their official products 🤔 If another company is making something similar and using their branding, that would be pretty disastrous.

Disappointing :( It seemed like their overall production quality is what made them popular and revered, so going after someone who won’t be able to source the same materials and match the same production scale does seem super low.

I got curious and did a bit of searching since I couldn’t really think of anything. Apparently Fender (guitars) was originally amazing, was sold to another company and really degraded in overall quality, and then was purchased back by some of its engineers and returned to a better quality. Pretty nice to see that people who were actually passionate about something regaining control and saving something they loved.

https://www.soundunlimited.co.uk/blogs/articles/fender_timeline

I’m sure there’s more, but I was l suuuper put off by the first few episodes of A Certain Scientific Railgun… I was not going to be able to handle Kuroko being as over the top as she was initially. So glad I eye rolled through the first half of season 1!

A more recent one was Days with My Stepsister. I had assumptions about what it would be about and initially didn’t start it during the season it aired, but I kept seeing each week’s episodes rated fairly high and a lot of discussion around them. I picked it up maybe 5 episodes late in the season and ended up really enjoying the story and overall production.

As much as I very much dislike generalizing behavior to gender or any other broad attribute, I do still share similar sentiments with you. I do not feel comfortable around most men, I do not feel safe around most men, and I generally avoid them.

Throughout my life women have been the most supportive, caring, and relatable to me. They have not been the ones to physically abuse me, yell at me, or hurt me in any other way. I do have friends that are men- they are all gay or fall somewhere under the queer umbrella, but even they have left me unsupported in times when I’ve desperately seeked their support. I do understand that my views and feelings are from my personal trauma, and maybe someday I’ll have enough experiences that change my feelings.

My T levels are suuuper low, so I do feel like it is effective on that front. Unfortunately, prog never affected my libido, but everything else has been sooo amazing that it’s just something I’ve learned to cope with. I’m sure I’ll eventually explore options with my doctor at some point, so it’s always nice hearing other people’s thoughts and experiences with things!

Oh wow, I suppose I should do some additional research! I’ve been taking it for ~2 years and haven’t had issues beyond what I expect from suppressed testosterone. Maybe swapping to a different one would nudge my libido back from the depths 🤔

Yesss! Cucumber salads are amazing, and I will so be making once I have more!! I hope you enjoy/enjoyed your salad!

Yesss same! I loooove flowly maxi skirts 🩷

I once had a meltdown when I was suuuuper young after my dad threw away my bowl of salad, which at that point was just the cucumbers I was saving as they were my favorite part. He yelled at me for crying and thought I left them because I didn’t like them, my mom comforted me and yelled back at him explaining why I ate that way. One of the many moments that I’m sure compounded until their eventual divorce. Yay traumatic memories! So going to buy some cucumbers when I go to the store next 🤤

Asexuality is like many things where it’s more of a spectrum and there’s different labels and variations of it. Some people enjoy reading, viewing, and imagining sex but don’t want to personally engage in it with another person. Others might find it absolutely vile and want nothing to do with it, but even in those cases might still enjoy pleasuring themselves.

Here’s a wiki that explores the spectrum: https://lgbtqia.wiki/wiki/Asexual_Spectrum

After transitioning and my libido absolutely disappearing, I started to describe myself as ace, but more on the gray ace side as very occasionally I’ll have fleeting feelings of desire and yearning; they are incredibly rare and very very temporary. I’m also autistic, and I suppose in some ways similar to you in that I will create a mask when my partner (long-distance) opens up about wanting to spend time with me that way. I have to have the right amount of capacity to play that role though, but she’s incredibly patient and understanding.

My last partner (also on the spectrum) was touch-adverse. She really felt uncomfortable being touched unless she was in the mood for intimacy. She also has ADHD and would often dissociate during sex, which kind of required me to be more engaging. Talking to her, keeping her attention on us. Being able to play a character helps with that as I’m generally more shy and not necessarily talkative.

In my own experience (limited), I’ve found that people on the spectrum and people with ADHD do tend to fall somewhere on the asexual spectrum… Or the opposite and are hypersexual. But I’ve only really had a few partners and a fairly small circle of friends.

I think a month or two ago I’d have said the same thing, but I’ve recently hit the worst burnout I’ve ever experienced… There’s been days where I can only get a few words out before my brain just shuts down. Absolutely night and day difference from where I was…sooo now I’m in ultra recovery mode and really focusing on building my battery back up 😓

It can be sooo difficult navigating and feeling comfortable in a new style 🫂 When I first started transitioning, even wearing new colors brought me anxiety. I had worn jeans, black t-shirts, and a hoodie my whole life just trying to be invisible. I literally hadn’t worn shorts for over 20 years. My first step was just wearing pink t-shirts and replacing my cool designs with cute ones. Then came wearing shorts; they were also pink, but I found ones with floral designs to breakup the monotone pink effect. Then came the skirts! It was soooo nerve wracking at first, but after the first week I knew I’d never go back to pants or shorts. Tops and blouses were be a bit of a challenge, but I found I look best in ones that have plunge or scoop neck. Having more skin showing in the chest area makes my shoulders look less broad and doesn’t frame my face/neck as much making things appear overall softer. I hope you keep exploring and experimenting!! Sometimes it takes just one piece or outfit to find a style that clicks with you 🩷

I hope the longer one feels better for you! I personally enjoy maxi skirts sooo much more (with the occasional midi) than shorter styles. Maxi skirts flow so elegantly, and there’s so many different styles! I love tiered ones the most 🩷 They also come with the benefit of less hair maintenance. I’ve had my legs lasered, but there’s a few hairs that grow in occasionally that I still need to trim; with a maxi skirt, you don’t need to worry so much during any lazy phases! It’s also just the best feeling when people approach me and describe my style as elegant and ethereal, or when children shyly say I look like a princess 🥺