site's back, time to party niko-dance

  • Kiagz [she/her]
    ·
    1 month ago

    Aside from breast growth and pelvic tilt I think the biggest thing HRT has done for me so far is getting rid of all my acne. My face looks so much better just from no longer having pimples scattered all over meow-melt

      • magi [null/void]
        ·
        1 month ago

        I've always had lack of T and that gave me pretty good skin

      • Kiagz [she/her]
        ·
        1 month ago

        I haven't done any skincare, so it's definitely HRT doing it in my case

    • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
      ·
      1 month ago

      Holy shit yes! I suffered for years from painful cysts and developed an extremely extensive skin care routine to manage it. Now? I can go to bed without washing off makeup after a night of drinking and I don't even get a single pimple 😎

    • Thallo [love/loves]
      ·
      1 month ago

      More than any other body change, I get SO jealous whenever the girls here talk about how E cleared up their acne

      Happy for you! trans-heart

      • ashinadash [she/her]
        ·
        1 month ago

        Protip: it's usually the cypro or spiro which are sometimes used just as acne treatment!

        • Thallo [love/loves]
          ·
          1 month ago

          Yeah, someone recommended finasteride, too.

          I think the only thing that would get me to pull the trigger on something like this would be if my hair line starts receding.

            • Thallo [love/loves]
              ·
              1 month ago

              Yup.

              I don't want to hop onto HRT because I'm not really into the idea of having breasts or messing with my penis function at this time.

              I also have weird toxic hangups about taking medicine in general, and the idea of being on something for the rest of my life bothers me.

              Also, I'm afraid the emotional changes might make my anxiety worse lol

              So, to summarize, I think I would need something to set off a real dysphoria spiral for me to actually do it

              • ashinadash [she/her]
                ·
                1 month ago

                With the qualifier that I'm not trying to push you into it, and if you're happy without hormones you should continue to be, I'm just being a nerd here:

                • You probably already know about SERMs to prohibit breast growth

                • It's not hard to maintain function downstairs on hormones

                • I don't think any hormones should make your anxiety worse? I don't think?

                I dunno if it's a good reason to abstain but I do feel you about discomfort regarding "being on something forever". I am more or less reliant on the pharmaceutical industry and I do not appreciate that, because uh death to amerikkka. If you wanna tell me about your toxic hangups regarding medicine you absolutely can though, happy to listen ✨

                (Apologies in advance if this is prying or rude)

                • Thallo [love/loves]
                  ·
                  1 month ago

                  (Apologies in advance if this is prying or rude)

                  It's not. I'm glad you asked cuddle

                  No, I don't know about SERMs.

                  I don't think there's anything particularly special about my medicine hangups. I definitely inherited them from my mom. I've suffered from really bad health anxiety for most of my life. I'm really hyper aware of any minor change in my body. Even if I want my body to change, I would find the process of changing really scary. I can easily imagine myself fixating on my hormone levels, wondering if everything is okay.

                  On top of that, I also worry about chemical dependence. Because if I need something, then I worry about a possible future where I can't get them. This is certainly plausible for hormones, but it's also kept me away from things like SSRIs, which probably would have been helpful to me earlier in my life.

                  I'm also worried that it will change my personality or sexuality and ruin my marriage. I know that doesn't make any sense and has no scientific basis, but anxiety isn't rational.

                  Anyway, that's it. Thanks for listening.

                  • ashinadash [she/her]
                    ·
                    1 month ago

                    Oh, sick! SERMs are Selective Estrogen Receptor Inhibitors, they see use in breast cancer treatment but also just stop breast growth generally. Pretty neat!

                    Also yeah, while hormones pretty much can't change your sexuality on their own, they could change your sensibilities or tastes or stuff. Special emotional changes. But wew, honestly if it's gonna give you anxiety and you like & enjoy how your body is now, it sounds like you've made good choices for yourself. (Imagine that!!) I definitely fuss over missing HRT refills now and then, or levels stuff, or general availablity, personally I was just motivated hard because I fuckin hated testosterone and masculinisation so much. I had to did something abt it bocchi-cry

                    You're actually not the first person I've ever seen have like, medicinal anxiety around hormones (and other things) actually. It's a lil dimension of trans experience I think a lotta people don't consider. Thank u for sharing cat-trans

                    • Thallo [love/loves]
                      ·
                      1 month ago

                      Thank you for the info!

                      My current plan is to just take it slow. Rn I'm just doing hair removal. Once that's finished, I'll revisit how I feel about my body and whether I wanna push further with HRT.

                      Hormones aren't available to me now, anyway, and there's no way I'm gonna do DIY.

                      Or if the hair on my head starts falling out lmao. Good call on the cypro and spiro, too.

        • Kiagz [she/her]
          ·
          edit-2
          1 month ago

          I was taking bica and finasteride, and I had been acne free for 4 months when I switched over to cypro

          • ashinadash [she/her]
            ·
            1 month ago

            So bica does the same then, just any old T blocker will do it?

            • Kiagz [she/her]
              ·
              edit-2
              1 month ago

              Sure seems like it, in my experience. And I don't see any reason why monotherapy shouldn't also work, as long as testosterone is properly suppressed