An In-depth Look at MTF Transgender Hormones

Before we delve into transgender hormones, please note that this is not medical advice but is based on substantial research. This is an extremely broad field that is constantly developing. There are traditional attributes and more modern developments underlying it.

Many aspects of this remain under researched, which means there are definitely some risks attached. Many trans women frequently worry about the long-term consequences of such risks.

This is an understandable concern since it involves taking a pill every single day. However, many trans women understandably prefer this to going through dysphoria and depression.   

For trans women, the hormone that is prescribed is the estrogen, which will communicate with your pineal gland, which sends signals to the rest of your body.

These signals direct your body to grow breasts and direct fat towards the buttocks region as well as the hips. In essence, it sends a signal to your body that you are a female.

There are a host of feminizing traits that come with it, such as redistributions of your fat, change in your emotions, and so on. In addition, trans women are also prescribed testosterone blockers, such as Spironolactone.

The downside of this is dehydration, since it becomes challenging for your body to absorb water. While this is undoubtedly problematic, your body requires some way in which testosterone generation gets blocked.  

Orchiectomy is another solution, wherein your testes are removed. Thus, after this point, testosterone is only produced by your liver.

This small percentage is actually helpful, since it can lead to sexual arousal. There are two types of estrogen- E1 and E2, with the former being the weaker form of estrogen.

The ratio of E1 to E2 will determine the extent to which these hormones will feminize your body. If your E1 is extremely high, there won’t be adequate feminizing effects to facilitate fat redistribution and growth of breasts.

This typically happens when you directly consume the pill, as it reaches your liver leading to high levels of estrogen.

Thus, it is recommended to take estrogen either sublingually or subcutaneously for the first year until your estrogen levels are stabilized before you can switch to injections. Thus, the aim is to avoid liver absorption in order to ensure that the levels do not become excessively high.     

Many trans women also swear by estradiol injections as it is supposed to facilitate significant body transformation.

This method is known to be highly feminizing and the general prescription is estrogen valerian. The frequency of injecting it is typically once in five days.

Injections tend to bypass the liver and they aren’t as taxing as putting a pill under your tongue without swallowing it.

In addition, it is also safer than pills, since the latter could increase your chances of venous thrombosis, which is essentially a blood clot that develops in your body, sometimes even in your heart, resulting in fatal heart attacks.

This risk is minimized when you use injections. Furthermore, due to its potency, it can also function as a testosterone blocker, so you no longer need to consume T Blockers.

If you are a trans woman undergoing HRT, please note that you are also at risk for kidney stones.

Therefore, you must monitor your calcium levels and your oxalates, which can lead to the development of kidney stones.

Injections are typically of two types: subcutaneous and intramuscular. With the latter, you inject into your muscle while with the former, the injection is administered on fat.

If you tend to work out frequently, intramuscular administration could be problematic, because you tend to squish the muscle, which moves the estrogen around and increases the spike of the hormone.

As a result, the flow of the hormone tends to be more uneven. Thus, it is best to inject hormones subcutaneously.   

Finally, always use bioidentical estrogen as opposed to artificial estrogen, since the latter could cause more health risks. If you want to facilitate the growth of your breasts, we also recommend working on your growth hormone factor.

Vitamin D and other supplements are also highly recommended to maintain your health during this process, which can be highly taxing physically. We hope this article has provided you with an in-depth understanding of HRT. Good luck!!

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