#estrogens

[bryqe]

that’s it, that’s the truth

[pluralsword]

TLDR on our HRT journey (nearly 4 years now), very glad that we may be ending the chapter of our body’s life similar to how Phase 1 Arcee felt about her body lmao and moving on to feeling more euphoric with our organic frame (it is what is, we love it even though even our oldest headmate/our body desires metal, guess making shapes EVA foam will help compensate someday on occasions that would feel safe to do so):

Okay so, four days in on finasteride with estradiol (having given finasteride enough time to bond with our body tissue, takes four to five days) after switching out of spironolactone with estradiol (which we were on four almost four years) and personally;

finasteride is fucking fantastic so far:

- feel much more cogent/less brain fog (we’re told this is due to being more hydrated)

- it’s easier to plan doing things and then to do them

- body feels less unhinged/off-kilter

- sensation actually feels better/more intense, it’s easier to appreciate and immerse in touch and thus we don’t crave intimate relief as often, all of which has helped with our health a lot

Hopefully whatever “masculinizing” traits might resurface due to finasteride interfering with dihydrotestosterone instead of testosterone like spiro does won‘t be a bother, but from what we’ve seen/read/heard from folks a lot of people’s experience of it is okay. Finasteride is apparently recommended for folks who tend to get/are sensitive to side effects from medications (we definitely are).

For us personally, pre-HRT testosterone was no fun, it left us rather angsty and having difficulty with feeling a sense of composure, apart from the dysphoria, so spiro with estradiol was a remarkable improvement in all regards. Just with various psychological experiences piling up in the last three years on top of stuff from the rest of our life, spiro no longer felt tenable, so we had to switch to something else, and weren’t willing to take gender stuff by needle for personal reasons. Interestingly; a trans man we used to work with said that estrogen before HRT also left him feeling off-kilter in the head, and that taking HRT helped clear things up. This is just an experience some gender expansive folks have we suppose. :3

So yeah, here’s to the future! Whatever happens to our psyche for other reasons aside, we’ll probably be writing and doing art more consistently. We have some more thoughts about spiro and Arcee in regards to canon below:

To some degree though (this is going to be a very unhinged artist take, but more than anything it’s us processing what we went through), we’re glad we did spiro because of the effects it had we wanted that will carry over, and also because it did give our non-Arcee headmates and bodily experience personal insight into how much of a pain the aft sensory side effects and brain fog especially from something that was supposed to give euphoria is.

Given- we knew what many of the side effects could be going in, our gender affirmation providers did their best to inform us and we are deeply appreciative of how they’ve helped out all these years including by being supportive of our xenogender stuff and plurality when we finally felt comfortable talking about it. And, we know that having contracted the original strain of Covid in early 2020 could have left us with long covid which also can cause brain issues, and then there’s all the additional baggage of our psyche from how our brain is wired and living in the world, which we’ve done our best to compensate for with other medications, learning wisdom techniques from dialectical behavioral therapy and philosophy and various orgs and studies and contacts and experiences in life, seeing a therapist as needed, and so on.

So, it’s not as if it was just spiro, just as for IDW1 Arcee, it wasn’t just her surgery; it was also everything else going on in her life that was so hard, and she eventually found a way to reconstruct her life and be happy, just as we continue to attempt to do, appreciating happiness when it does come our way. This is all to say that there’s always hope; even if spiro had been the only thing in the world at the time, we would have clawed onwards, we wouldn’t be as happy but we would still try, for all the love we are lucky to have and make.

[sciencesolutions]

[thankstothe]

big if true

[elierlick]

You shouldn’t have to be trans to get any sex characteristic-related surgery. It’s not a limited resource. Plenty of cis men get implants and cis women get breast reductions. From Colby Gordon today and Leslie Feinberg in Transgender Warriors (1996).

[simonh]

Potential Cardioprotective and Neuroprotective Effects of Conjugated Equine Estrogens: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by National Library of Medicine Via Flickr: Alternate Title(s): Good, the bad, and the ugly Contributor(s): Bhavnani, Bhagu. National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Medical Arts and Photography Branch. National Institute on Aging. Publication: [Bethesda, Md. : Medical Arts and Photography Branch, National Institutes of Health, 2001] Language(s): English Format: Still image Subject(s): Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) -- therapeutic use, Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) -- pharmacology, Heart Diseases -- prevention & control, Nervous System Diseases -- prevention & control Genre(s): Posters Abstract: Teal poster with multicolor lettering announcing lecture by Bhagu Bhavnani, Nov. 2001. Title near center of poster. Visual image is drawing of a structural forumla, which is repeated three times in different colors. Lecture date, location, and speaker information near lower right corner. Sponsor information in lower left corner. Extent: 1 photomechanical print (poster) : 76 x 46 cm. Technique: color NLM Unique ID: 101455860 NLM Image ID: C02728 Permanent Link: resource.nlm.nih.gov/101455860

[stealthrockdamage]

need to post my favourite tweet in the entire world

[the-alpine-glow]

Cheesestrogen, Cheesestosterone

[yuribeam]

for whoever needs to hear this:

starting HRT doesn't have to be a huge momentous all-or-nothing decision. you can just try it like you would an antidepressant you've been informed of the risks of.

there won't be any immediate irreversible changes overnight. you can always stop, change your dose, change your delivery system, decide it's not the right time. you can even microdose if you want to.

you don't have to tell anyone. you don't have to announce it if you don't want to.

stop waiting for a perfect time in your life because it won't come.

stop waiting to reach a mythical level of certainty that never comes to anyone, for anything.

you've been thinking about it long enough. if you have the opportunity, just give it a shot. you're worth the courage it takes to make a change in your life.

[the-trans-advice-blog]

Never forget that the purpose of transitioning is to make you happier not to make you pass!! You may never end up being able to pass but don’t let that take from your happiness.

[traaansfem]

Reblog to Estrogenize Prev*

*Cis men are welcome to reblog this, but be aware that those labels may not last :3

[hoejangles20]

[rebloggerandy]

the “she” incident.

[lulumk1]

[alienbycomics]

[Begin image description: comic with 4 panels. Panel 1- Title: “Progress Report.” A transfeminine person named Riri undressing in a dressing rooms looks in the mirror in surprise, saying “I have boobs now!”

Caption: coming up on 6 months on HRT, I’ve already noticed some big changes.

Panel 2: 2 people are shown wearing backpacks. The first is a male presenting person looking worried, Riri pre-transition. Dark tentacles spill out of their small backpack, representing anxiety and depression. The second figure is Riri post-transition, femme- presenting and looking calm. They have a bigger backpack with the dark tentacles contained.

Caption: I cry a lot more, but I can handle my emotions so much better, instead of letting them crush me.

Panel 3: post-transition Riri, teary eyed, is in a pose implying they just stopped clutching the sides of their head. Stormclouds roll away in the background. Behind Riri is a line of test tubes, with a new sparkling pink chemical just added to the lineup. Riri says “Oh” in relief.

Caption: It feels like I finally got that one missing chemical my brain chemistry has always needed… my noisy, restless brain can finally calm down.

Panel 4: Riri smiles and hugs themself in blissful euphoria. A bandaid is on their tummy.

Caption: I was so nervous to start HRT, but I feel so much more connected to my body and my emotions now. I love the me I’m becoming. End image description]

[xeniaxms]

Had a fun talk with my Dr about hormones and weight gain yesterday.