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I need some good, credible information about HRT for transgender

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by RainDreamer, Sep 7, 2012.

  1. RainDreamer

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    My mother has finally accept my plead and she will go with me to a gender doctor and see if we can get me on HRT treatment. That will be next year (still way better than the 30 years old mark she gave before), but recently, she is worried again about the "whole treatment thing" because she read somewhere that HRT may cause cancer or something.

    Would be nice if someone have some good, credible information about HRT so I can at least calm my mother down and make sure I can go through this. >.<
     
  2. google is always your friend :slight_smile:

    and i suggest if you cant find anything by googling then ask your dr everything your mum wants to know aswell so that way she can be kept in the loop as it were. only if you feel comfortable of course.
     
  3. J Snow

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    Hello there =)

    Well, yes and no. First of all, it is worth stating that hormone replacement therapy is not an FDA approved treatment, so it has little research in what the long term health effects may or may not be.

    It is believed that hormone therapy (for MtF's) increases your chance of breast cancer. However this isn't to some insane level, its just to the normal risk a cisgender woman would have (which is significantly higher than that of biological men.) However, its also believed that MtF's being on HRT probably actually have a reduced risk of prostate cancer which kind of makes this an even trade.

    Estrogen via oral administration (pills) can cause some liver damage, though I don't really the extent of that. My doctor told me to hold the pills under my tongue to bypass first pass metabolism so that they aren't impacting my liver as badly. Patches and injections should not have as much effect on the liver, but they are also more expensive, and sometimes less effective because of a faster administration.

    The two irreverable effects I was warned about are breast growth and sterility. Going in you need to assume that you will probably lose your ability to procreate, but you must also assume (if you engage in vaginal intercourse with a woman) that you can get someone pregnant still.

    Spironolactone (the most common testosterone antagonist that you will likely get prescribed) does have a few side-effects. I believe it lowers blood pressure and either it or estrodiol raise postassium levels with could potentially be a problem. You might have to lay off the bananas. Also it makes you go through fluids a lot faster, so you are supposed to drink more water.

    Anyway, those are the major health concerns that I can recall off the top of my head. When I started my doctor made me go through and sign a big informed consent packets with a witness there and everything. I assume, if yours is really a qualified trans health care providor that they will do the same.

    Hope I was of some help.
     
  4. RainDreamer

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    Thing is, I need something that she can trust right now to assure her so that we can go to the doctor together (she said she want to be with me in these times, and I appreciate her for that). She is kind of nervous, and maybe even more so than me, even though I am the one being treated, not her, lol.

    All I need is maybe someone can give me something better than Wikipedia, and still be as informative with crediblity. To be honest, I don't even know where my mother pull that information that going through HRT cause cancer stuff >.>

    My home country, where she lives currently, is kind of -for lack of better words - apathetic with these kind of things. Until very recently, when the young generation of LGBT there finally found their voice, there has been a lot of discrimination to the LGBT community, and thus there has been no real scientific study to anything relating to LGBT. Which makes me wonder if she has been mis-informed by some phony "doctor"... Or maybe she googled the wrong information in our language... sigh

    Edit: Thanks J Snow, that is quite helpful.
     
    #4 RainDreamer, Sep 7, 2012
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2012
  5. J Snow

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    I'm glad you found it of use.

    And by the way, I want to congratulate you on having such an accepting mother =] I would kill to have family that I could let in on this process I'm going through with.

    If you have any other specific questions about HRT feel free to ask. I'm kind of in a unique position right now since I'm just at the very beginning =P
     
  6. DoriaN

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    Spiro which im on is a diaretic and lowers blood pressure and raises pot iirc.

    I myself take 400mg a day and pee quite often.
    Doctors prescribe 100-200mg usually, but research shows that upwards to 600mg should not have any worse effects, hence why I asked to be bumped up to 400.
     
  7. RainDreamer

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    My mother is a single mom, so she love her kids a lot, no matter what. =)

    Thanks for being so helpful too. I think the experience from someone who actually go through HRT would convince my mother more than just plain fact.
     
  8. KaraBulut

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    It's good that you're consulting with a physician before starting treatment. The doctor should take a family history and discuss possible risks with you. There are some risks to hormone treatments of all types, so you should have informed consent before you make the decision.
     
  9. seeksanctuary

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    It CAN, but so can breathing.

    From what I know, the risks of cancer aren't that great. And if it helps you feel better about yourself, then you have to tell her that it's more important for you to feel happy and have a good life, rather than a miserable life because of a potential risk that could strike anyone anyways.