so i just started hrt and im doing diy E monotherapy injections. im abt to do my 5th weekly injection. im planning on lowering my dosage bc i think i started too high. i was aiming to suppress my T fast but i think it happened already bc my cum is clear and watery and i ejaculate a small volume. my first week i was planning on doing estradiol enantate 11 mg every 14 days, but i didn’t like the huge difference between peak and trough that it would cause so i have been doing 5 mg weekly but that should put me around 300 pg/mL which i dont think is uncommon for monotherapy but it’s working so well i think a lower dose would be better.
i was considering doing 2 mg weekly enantate injections plus 2 mg daily oral E bc ur liver turns some estradiol into estrone and there’s some evidence that E1 helps feminize. is this a reasonable regimen? would planned parenthood prescribe me oral E as well as a testosterone cream/gel to prevent penis atrophy and help with performance ive been struggling since starting hrt? planned parenthood is prob my best option in my area. would they prescribe me 6 months of E if i act like im doing two 2 mg daily instead of one? like they prescribe for 90 days but it will last me 180
I guess you have to consider what is important to you. I am 10 years hrt with half of that post orchi, I am able to get an erection and still have ejaculate when i orgasm, however if I wanted to top I would need to use something like Viagra. As long as you are willing to get an erection you shouldn’t have atrophy, I made the choice to let myself atrophy for about a year and when I did get an erection it was horrificly painful. Use it or lose it is a valid phrase in this case.
Getting semi-frequent blood tests and talking with your doctor to get a dosage that works for you in the long term is probably the best approach.
Much love and support to you
thank you! yeah the atrophy is less of a worry for me since im making a conscious effort to get erect often, but it’s just harder to get it up now. id much rather have something weekly and inexpensive like T gel. is viagra expensive? i top often so id prob have to take it daily
I think you are overthinking it. You have E enathenate - find a dosage and stick to it for like 2 or 3 months and get blood tests. Try starting at like 3.5 mg a week. At the 3 month mark get some blood panels done. See where your T and your E is, and go from there.
If your E is sticking around 200 as expected, and your T is under 50, you’re good. Go by blood tests. Maybe you can get a t blocker at that point if you feel your T is kinda high. But hold off on the t blocker for now.
Remember this is a marathon not a sprint. Keep it simple and keep it consistent.
Going to planned parenthood they should do blood work for ya
thank you :) yeah i prob am overthinking. i was freaking out last night bc i just had a ton of negative, dysphoric, doomer thoughts abt my transition. but ur right, i need to chill and wait for my blood test in a couple months
gonna try to get T gel tho. i want easier erections
T gel for sure. Idk how to get that and if you figure it out lmk. But otherwise, yes. You are so fine. If your cum is already clear you’re doing a pretty good job, it’s just about fine tuning your hormones to where you feel good ya know. I usually aim for trough values from 150-200
Im not keen on wading into a thread with too much personal experience, but i dont take blockers because of how bad they were for me mentally. a doctor, and myself were keen to get my hormone levels within ‘normal female range’, which is very silly if you think about it.
I was depressed, lethargic, on the lowest blocker dose. Friends i know have suffered liver damage from blockers in high doses. (i cant remember what i was taking, it was not spiro)
if you do take blockers you just need to be stimulating bloodflow to your genitals, i was not told this, it took a while recover after i stopped taking them, it was really painful
I take 4mg of estradiol orally a day, its been half a decade, i feel the way i want to, i dont pass, its not important to me (anymore), other people presuming Im cis feels safer and more comfortable.
I know it can feel like it at times, but its not a race
The advice i was given was always to start with low doses and increase gradually
what ive written above is not entirely revelant in hindsight sorry lol
thank you! its totally relevant! its nice to have ur perspective :)
diy E monotherapy injections
Seem good. Injections are the best method and injection monotherapy is often sufficient without needing a separate T blocker.
was aiming to suppress my T fast but i think it happened already
I’d agree with that.
Have you been able to do any blood tests?
If you are experiencing penis atrophy and want to avoid it and you haven’t been able to do any blood tests, I think the cream/gel would be a great place to start and see how that goes, assuming it’s possible to access in the USA. You could also try that in combination with a reduced E2 dose and see where that gets you.
and there’s some evidence that E1 helps feminize
I went down the rabbit hole of E1 a couple of years ago and didn’t find any evidence at all. What did you find? If I were you, I’d just stick (ha ha ha) to the injections.
thanks for the help! this makes me feel a lot better! all the E1 articles i read say there’s no evidence. but i saw some trans ppl say it helped them feminize better. but that’s anecdotal so idk. also i was gonna get a blood test in 2 months, 3 months after starting hrt
but that’s anecdotal so idk.
anecdotal evidence is worth considering when it’s something as poorly studied as trans health, but in this case I’d say since E2 injections are generally healthiest and you’re already seeing changes, I wouldn’t suggest changing to E1 unless you’re seeing poor results after 1.5-2 years or so.
