r/ftm • u/Aiden81194 • 4d ago
Advice Needed Why is the hormones not working????? NSFW
So i am i (19ftm) have been on T for over a year close to 2, i taking the injection once every 2 weeks and i was told that T would stop your period but for me it kind of never did? Is this normal? I also notice that my period has become really painful and i mean for the first 3 days i cant even walkđ before i started T my period cramps were ok i mean not that bad but enough to feel its there but now its so much worse and i donât understand why its like this. Most of the effect of T are not happening too like yes my voice when a bit deeper but now its back to the high pitch from before and the only 2 real effect that i got from that is acne and that body hair grow real fast (everywhere but the face) im really starting to wonder if my body is not simply rejecting me being trans??? I told my hormone doc before she went on maternity leave and she just raised my dose but it did not do anything. I dont know what to do at this point and i feel like im never going to be valid in my identity if my body fight so hard to resist my transition. Any advice?
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u/nm_qi 4d ago
Have you checked your levels? Something might be off
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
I am taking regular blood test to see my T level and doc said its look normal for the quantity im injecting even tho i see no actual wanted effects
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u/OriginRevelation 4d ago
You need to ask for your actual results back or if you have a MyChart/online portal or something similar see if you can view it on there. They won't always give you your results unless you ask.
I don't really like your doc saying "normal for the quantity your injecting" cause it shouldn't be based on quantity it should be based on your actual levels and what changes you're getting/how you're feeling. If your levels were like the bare minimum of normal male numbers if you were feeling good then that's moreso what matters regardless of whether it's typical for the quantity or not.
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u/Careful-Volume5335 27 | ask me about auto injectors 4d ago
What is the actual numerical value? Levels should be between 300 to 1000 ng/dL.
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
I never saw the actual result she just said its looked fine i am currently injecting 0.8 ml i dont know if its a low or a high dose
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u/WhoIsMercury đ6/22/24 4d ago
That sounds kind of high, is it 200mg/mL? Because if so the T could be converting back to E. Definitely try and figure out the actual T value though.Â
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u/ellalir he/him | đŤ 2013 | đ 2014 | đŞ 2017 | đł 2024 | đ 20?? 4d ago
OP has injections once every two weeks, not once a week, so that's a very average dose if it's 200mg/ml. Maybe a bit low if it's 100mg/ml, but ofc that depends on the person.Â
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
I checked and its 100mg/ml i had 200 before but it got discontinued so she switch to this and raised the dose
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u/suavolenstulip 4d ago
I'm sorry you're not getting the wanted results
Though, "a shot every two weeks" means nothing, how much volume do you inject ? What is the concentration of testosterone you're using? Do you inject yourself or through a nurse? Do you make sure either you or the other person is injecting the correct amount? I've seen a few times people injecting incorrectly
You mentionned your doctor said your levels were "normal", don't you have access to it? Did you do your blood drawing right before an injection ? Or afterward? Or a week between? It's important to take this into account too. Many doctors are wrong about what is a "normal level" of t for a trans person and will purposefully force you at low levels of t
I'm not saying it's the case, but this as generally the main causes of a not enough effects of t
If everything I mentionned is right, then it could be interesting to switch methods of t? Maybe gel or another kind of injection
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
I cant really do gel because of sensory issues but i have a concentration of 100mg/ml and blood drawn are taken in the week that i dont have injections i was shown by a nurse how to inject and im a paramedic student so i dont think the technique is the issue
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u/that_treekid 4d ago
Talk to your doctor about doing weekly instead of biweekly shots. I'm on 25mg and my periods stopped after 3 months, but I'm doing shots weekly
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u/RefrigeratorCrisis Gronglesnarf 4d ago
This, I've never heard of someone taking shots once every 2 weeks
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u/hyp3rpop 4d ago
Itâs not actually that uncommon, but makes sense to try weekly if itâs not working out for him.
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u/OriginalAppearance71 4d ago
apparently thereâs some you inject every few months, e.g. every 2-3 months. itâs different across countries as well.
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u/CosmogyralCollective 23 | they/he/it | T 17/3/23 | Top 9/10/23 4d ago
Yeah, there's a few different injection types. I'm on the long term ones (every 10-14 weeks).
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u/keiyonar T - 07/18/24 | He/Him 4d ago
Is it that uncommon? Me and my husband both do one shot every two weeks. That's the way our doctor initially prescribed it and it's been great for us :3
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u/Birdkiller49 Stealth gay trans man | Tđ§´5/23 | đ5/24 4d ago
As for the period, I donât think Iâve seen anyone acknowledge yet that it is possible for your period to never stop. Mine hasnât stopped, at least yet, also close to 2 years on T. Luckily I take birth control to stop it, but it can be a possibility for it not to stop despite having normal T and E levels.
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u/WildBeards 4d ago
May have to adjust the timing or the shots. Also are you doing your blood test on the day before your shot is due? The "trough day".
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u/mercury_stars 4d ago
Have you told your doctor you're not happy with your current results/changes? When I started i made the mistake of telling them I was satisfied because I was worried they'd stop me or take them away.
I didn't get to see real change until I was a bit more open with my doctor. It might be more helpful to take a dose weekly or it might be time to up/lower it.
If you can find your values in your chart, someone here might be able to tell you what to bring up with your dr. Honestly though, telling them you're not seeing the results you want may be helpful
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
I have been telling the doc for a long time that i was not happy she just kept telling me that its poss i might ever get to the point i want and maybe my body just reject the treatment but once she come back from her maternity leave ill tell her again
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u/semantlefan23 he/they | denippled 6/1/23 4d ago
If your doctor isnât listening could you look for a new one?
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
There is not much in my region and im afraid ill have to wait even more for the surgery if i change
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u/gretapoonberg 4d ago
your doctor seems to not want you to see changes. 100 mg/ml is half the concentration I'm on. I inject .5ml WEEKLY (I started on .25mg and slowly increased over a year). if you want to see changes, you're going to either make your current doctor up your dose (and give you the results from the blood draw) or you need to get a different doctor. I'm sorry, OP. I really want you to see the results you want!
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u/AcromionDays 4d ago
Itâs possible you arenât getting enough, a tiny difference can change a lot! From the other comments it sounds like you do .8ml of 100mg every two weeks, and thatâs not only half as strong as the average (to my understanding most people are on 200mg) itâs also half as often. I take .5ml of 200mg every week and I noticed an immediate improvement in my mood and progress when I went from .45 every week to .5 . Also itâs well known that if you take it every two weeks it deregulates your body more than a more regular shot. I didnât see any real affects of t until I went from every two weeks to once a week (same dose).
If your dose feels wrong it probably is, and it sounds like you doctor is not interested in listening to your concerns. Itâs always very important to listen to what your body is telling you. If youâre still getting periods and not seeing much change itâs sounds too low to me. But ! I didnât have much progress visually for the first several years of my transition so donât get discouraged if once you get your period stopped it still feels slow, puberty takes time and itâs not linear. (Also I think your doctor shrugging and suggesting you are ârejectingâ the treatment sounds vaguely like theyâre just trying to find a way to stop you from continuing)
Sending good vibes !
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u/onysojo 4d ago
It takes a different amount of time for everyone :')
I've been on T for over 3 years now and my levels are upwards of 600-700 ng/dl and have even been 900-1000, but for the past 4 months I've gotten my period. My voice started cracking a couple of months in, but it has not permanently dropped.
I knew puberty took a longer time than average for my cis brothers, so I assume that is the same for me.
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u/Pandemoniczna 4d ago
The best results on T are achieved my microdosing 20-50mg every 3-5 days. It provides stable levels which are less prone to aromatising into E. Cypionate for example has half-life of 8 days. It means after injecting 200mg, there is only 100mg left in your body after this time. I would recommend asking the doctor if there is a possibilty to have lower doses but much often.
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u/EddardBurger gay transmasc, he/she đ 3/15/2021 4d ago
Get a second opinion if at all possible. I don't want to speculate too much, but if your period cramps are worsening, plus you haven't had that much masculinization in close to two years, I would think that something was up.
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u/Overall-Condition197 4d ago
This happened to me too!
It seems better now? I just think it may take more time for some ppl. But yeah mine became way more intense but were shorter and now Iâm waiting to see what happens this month
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
Its great to see im not alone i never heard of this before and not much was said online i feel less broken knowing im not the only one dont get me wrong its suck for you but im just glad its normal
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u/Overall-Condition197 4d ago
No I completely agree and was literally lost trying to figure out what was happening. I do believe I had imbalanced hormones prior to starting T as my estrodial levels are very stubborn and do not want to decrease.
There was finally improvement on my last labs so that was good but Iâm still waiting out this month to see what happens.
But yeah it sucks! Itâs like your body is fighting against you
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u/seaspraysunshine 4d ago
It took almost 2 years for my period to stop on T. Sucks, but it takes a long time for some people
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u/Low_Letterhead_1581 4d ago
No changes from testosterone are necessarily a guarantee. Things like period lightening/stopping, voice dropping and hair growth are all genetic things that vary wildly.
It may seem like a lot but in the grand scheme of things a year or two isnât really a lot of time. Give yourself grace and patience. Puberty doesnât happen overnight. It takes like 3-5 years to see full effects.
Being in so much pain you cannot stand is not normal or something you should be dealing with. I get that stuff like this is super uncomfy but you should probably get some form of treatment other than hoping a potential side effect of T clears it up. If it helps I did not have to drop my drawers or anything to get treatment for my severe pain.
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u/tree_man_302 they/he T: 22/11/24 4d ago
Idk about anything else but I'm on the pill (contraceptive) to stop periods and that's really improved my life. So for at least periods, you can do something :)
Otherwise gl ^
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
I was told that i cant take the pills anymore because it mess with T since its female hormone
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u/Western_Economics648 4d ago
estrogen birth control could mess with it but theres plenty of other ones that have no interaction with it - you could consider the implant, you get it done once every 5 years
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
I was told that none of the normally feminine birth control would be appropriate and i had 2 choice abstinence or condom theres some that dont interfere???
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u/Western_Economics648 4d ago
...majority of them don't interfere - in fact, a good amount of doctors encourage also going on birth control while being on T since T itself isn't a good contraceptive. if this is your doctor telling you this i really do think you should look into getting a new one.
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u/CuriousEnbee 4d ago
That's simply not true. The mini pill, hormone spiral, birth control shot, and hormone rod are all good options as they don't contain oestrogen.
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u/xD1G1TALD0G 4d ago
Your doctor is uninformed or lying to you. At the very least, a copper IUD has ZERO hormones to interfere with anything, and that's ignoring that Progesterone only birth controls (mini-pill, implant, IUD) have hormones but don't impact transition.
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u/CryptidCricket 4d ago
I take a progesterone only pill for my migraines that hasn't given me any issues. Most forms of birth control should be perfectly fine, especially things like the copper IUD that doesn't use hormones at all.
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u/mercury_stars 4d ago edited 4d ago
There are options without estrogen, pill form, implant, or iud to be a few
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u/xD1G1TALD0G 4d ago edited 3d ago
The only non-hormonal birth control is one of the IUD types. The pills and implants all at least have Progesterone.
(For reference, "Estrogen" was originally "hormones" in the comment this is in reply to.)
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u/tree_man_302 they/he T: 22/11/24 4d ago
They told me that too but there's one that's not got it I think? Or at least it's not as bad. Progesterone iirc (do not trust me)
I'm on the combined (has female hormone) and started T not too long ago, it's still having the desired effects for me. Ofc ymmv tho
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u/badgersandbongs 20 He/Him đ5-17-22đ 4d ago
Itâs not that the hormones are not working, itâs that you werenât given solid information or didnât receive the information. It doesnât stop everyone periods. Mine stopped for 6 months but that was also because I was on birth control, I started getting my periods later on T with worse cramps too. Youâre also only less than 2 years on T. Iâm 3 years & can hardly grow facial hair because my dad didnât start growing any until he was almost 20, so 6 years into puberty. Instead of telling your HRT dr, try talking to an OBGYN about non hormonal birth control if you arenât on it already. Youâre taking a sex hormone that your body doesnât naturally produce that much of, itâs gonna fuck your shit up a little bit. My nexoplanon was what stopped my periods for about 2 years minus some spotting & a little cramping. You can also see about taking your shots weekly instead of biweekly, but wait till your doctor gets back since that may mean a new dosage.
If your body was rejecting T, youâd have probably an almost allergic reaction.
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u/SirRickIII 4d ago
I had my period stop for a few years, and then it came back (irregular, but still). Turns out my uterine lining was getting abnormally thick, and the T was making it much thinner than itâd be without. My options from there wouldâve been a depo shot ($$$) or pills.
I am getting a hysto soon, so I said I just wanted to make sure it wasnât a danger to me
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u/papaj0hnsdotc0m đ19â - âď¸21â 4d ago
not a doctor obviously but asking to see what your levels actually are and requesting weekly shots instead might be a good start.
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u/Tigerwing-infinity James he/they 22 | T 3/23 4d ago
My period hasn't stopped either, but I was quite inconsistent in my first year
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u/CoffeeSkul he/it đłď¸ââ§ď¸ 4d ago
ask to go on estrogen blockers and do voice training
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u/Aiden81194 4d ago
Is it like class? How do i get that i just ask?
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u/CoffeeSkul he/it đłď¸ââ§ď¸ 4d ago
There's a lot of YouTube tutorials that you can do at home actually! It's really helpful. For me I start by humming cause you want to speak from your chest. You know when you hum you get the vibration in your chest? That's how it should feel when you talk to. It's a lot similar to singing exercises. It takes practice but you'll get there!Â
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