Wednesday, October 16, 2019

There are many kinds of therapy.

I have not done a shot of Testosterone in 5 weeks. The medication has been on back order, apparently, and to say that my system is going haywire is an understatement.

I was told today that my prescription should be ready tomorrow. I have been flip-flopping between absolutely livid and creepily calm about it for over two weeks now. I know that there isn't anything to really be done about it, but long story short I was told it was available at another CVS and then it wasn't, twice.

Sorry it's been awhile, I would say that I am doing better - but my hormone changes have made that hard to track for a few weeks. I've been thinking about using a bullet journal to keep track of that a bit better, but that's still just a barely formed thought that needs more research.

I presented my workshop for Altice while we were in NY for a friend's wedding, which they recorded as a webinar, and it was the first one I had done in while so it was a lot of fun and I really hope the people who tuned in considered it worth their time.

I figured since today has been a pretty good day despite some outside factors (I jogged, the dog came with me, I had a protein shake for lunch, I started the process of booking appointments with a PCP and a nutritionist, and I finalized some plans for our San Diego trip next month), I would make a post and use this experience to talk about HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy).

Let's start with the basics.

Every human body produces hormones.
Typically, the human body produces both Estrogen and Testosterone.
When sex hormones levels rise, during puberty, differences start to become obvious between typical male and female humans.
If the body is producing more Estrogen than Testosterone, that person will develop female secondary sex characteristics, and therefore male secondary sex characteristics if the body produces more Testosterone than Estrogen.

Let's make a small list of these characteristics.

Female secondary sex characteristics may include (but are not limited to):
Growth of breast tissue
Growth of body hair, prominently pubic hair and underarm hair
Widening of hips
Body fat distribution increases around the breasts, hips, thighs and buttocks

Male secondary sex characteristics may include (but are not limited to):
Growth of body hair in the following regions: pubic, underarm, abdominal, and chest
Growth of facial hair
Adam's apple increases in size and voice deepens
Increase in muscle mass and strength
Increase in secretions of oil and sweat

When someone utilizes Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), they are using hormones to adjust their bodies in some way. There are plenty of cisgender people that utilize HRT, for a number of reasons.

When transgender people utilize HRT, it is usually to aid in their process of transition. For example, someone who was assigned female at birth (like myself), they may start taking hormones so that they can present more like a cisgender male. Depending on when someone starts HRT, it can essentially cause them to go through puberty again.

Everyone's dosage of hormones is different, there is no standard prescription of hormones that someone starts and sticks with throughout their entire life. Yes, you read that right. Most people who are transgender utilize HRT for their entire lives, or until they decide to stop - based on their own reasoning. Different people produce different amounts of hormones naturally in their bodies, and the point of HRT for someone who is transgender is to override the amount of the hormone that their body naturally produces using the hormone that they wish to be dominant.
Again, an example.
I was born female, therefore my body naturally produces a certain amount of Estrogen. I inject just enough Testosterone, on a cycled basis, to override the Estrogen levels in my body, which causes my body to develop and maintain male secondary sex characteristics.

That is the basis of HRT.

My dose, as it stands, will change after I get a full hysterectomy - as my body will produce less Estrogen after my ovaries are removed, and then my Testosterone does can also decrease as I will not need as much to override the Estrogen that my body will be producing at that time.

There is of course more that I could go into on this subject, but that is the basics.

I hope that this helped explain a bit more about HRT, and as always, feel free to email me (akircheim@gmail.com) with questions or other topics you think I should cover.


Thanks for tuning in, and hopefully I will be back again sooner than last time! 💓


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