Hi All. I'm a 48 year old straight male who has felt like a woman for MANY years. My question is a two part one. 1. Since I am "fully" unsure yet about transitioning (due to some family history of medical issues, with my mom being diagnosed with cancer and older brother having a DVT issue) I have been afraid of HRT therapy. I know men have a certain amount of Estrogen in their system already. Would blocking testosterone bring about any feminine changes without taking estrogen? 2. Since alot of doctors are hesitant still about patients transitioning, if I did decide ever to take the leap, regardless of family medical history, would doctors be more willing to let me give transitioning a short try? Like a few months? Thanks for any help and advice!
Welcome to EC. I think the best person to speak to would be a medical professional. If you’re looking for personal experiences, perhaps try the Gender Identify and Expression forum. You might find more people with personal experience there.
Hi welcome to EC, I’m not sure which country you live in but I’m in Scotland and I support trans folks in my job, so I can give you a little bit of advice. I’m sure the process is similar in most places in terms of transition when you consult a gender specialist, but my knowledge is limited to how it works with gender specialists here both through the national health service and private route. Before anyone prescribes you on HRT, the gender specialist will direct you to your family doctor for your health history and to get blood tests to assess any conditions which are relevant to hormone treatment, and from there as you take hrt your doctor will continue to monitor your health through blood tests. Once you start working with a gender specialist you should be able to tell them all your concerns and ask them advice on whether just blockers or actually going fully with hrt is best for you. I would recommend against doing any kind of DIY HRT for this very reason, but I know they some people, when desperate, turn to DIY sources for blockers and hrt. If for some reason you do go down that route, at the very least share all of that information with your family doctor so that they can monitor your health and make sure that you are taking the right levels and that you do not have any health concerns that could impact your course of blockers and hrt. also i should mention that blockers will have some impact on your body but it will not have all of the feminising effects of hrt. And every person’s body is different so it will not be the same for each person. are you able to see a gender specialist for these questions? Is that something that you have access to?
Hi baristajedi. No, I haven't seen a specialist or dr. yet. It may sound silly but I read a reaearch study on NIH.gov about flaxseed as a phytoestrogen and a natural testosterone blocker of sorts. A woman ate 30 grams for a month and her testosterone levels dropped "significantly." Now what "significantly" truly means for a man I don't know. I have been trying it for 3 months now and have only noticed a bit of fatty areas on breasts some and my nipples are more sensitive. I believe I would like to do a trial period though on hrt for a short time.
You gotta realize that things are going to be hard if you push forward. Trans are one of the most oppressed groups in the West. But if you need it to be happy then yes. Do it.
Hi AutismCay. I can only imagine... My family is SO disfunctional already though, and has been for years, that I would be a bit prepared in a sense for that type of backlash from people. I also am a big introvert, so I don't mind living a quiet, simple life. So I wouldn't mind keeping mostly to myself in my daily living. So that might help a bit.
Hi. I agree with everyone that says to start with a therapist before hrt because I would have to say, truly, that I may just be "trans-curious?" (if there is something like that). I know my first thought of being a lady was at age 7 after watching the movie Grease, but then it was exclusively "boy-things" that I was interested in (cap guns, plastic Army soldiers, etc...). Only until late teens did thoughts of being a lady come back on/off. And now almost more an more since my thirties up to present day age of 48. So, I could fall into alot of different levels...trans-curious, true-trans, etc.... So I think imperative to start with a therapist before the true leap into hrt.
Hi newday, I wasn’t suggesting to talk to a therapist, but of course if that would help you of course do it! I was suggesting talking to a medical professional who specialises in administering the diagnosis for gender dysphoria and administers medical treatment to transition. I meant that if you go to a gender specialist, they will follow all the medical practices necessary to make sure you’re considering all that you need to consider for your body and your medical history when you take hrt. Are you also hoping to sort through whether transition is right for you? If that’s the case, I would highly recommend talking to someone who has background with trans or at least lgbtq+ people specifically, so that it’s a positive and affirming experience.
Hi, with all due respect, your comment feels unhelpful. It’s hard to be trans, of course. I don’t know that it’s helpful to come on to a site where folks are trying to gain courage to come out to provide discouraging insight. I also think that the pain of being closeted is enormous so I’m not sure what you’re hoping to do here with your comment.
Also, if you’re wanting to explore your feelings about your gender on here, please feel free to talk through them. I can share a bit of my experience coming out as nonbinary if it helps. I have spent my whole life trying to understand my gender. And it is still a bit of a puzzle, even though I’ve mostly worked out how I feel and what I need to do to outwardly express that. What are you feeling about your identity? Do you want to share more of your feelings? I’m happy to share more of mine.
Hi Baristajedi. Yes, that would be very helpful, because after looking up nonbinary it sounds almost how I feel! So whatever you could share would help. I know at times I feel "womanly" and at other times just like my natural born male self... From what I have read about nonbinary, a testosterone blocker is typically used, but no estrogen is added, if I understand it correctly? If you do use a T-blocker, what do you use? And, upon using it, do you also acquire certain female physical features too?
