I Am Not Trans But I'm Willing To Experiment With Estrogen, Etc.

[hanginginthewire]

Where do I start? Surely others have gone this path?

When I google hair loss and trans women I see that HRT isn't always effective for a lot of them, which is a surprise because the impression I got from the forums here is that transitioning would guarantee cure male pattern baldness but has other feminizing effects that cis men (like myself) don't want. I feel like a lot of trans women do not look particularly feminine though, so is there such a risk of looking female?

I know this is a controversial idea and I'm not saying I will do it I'm just frustrated that I don't see info on it anywhere. I currently take generic propecia fyi. Is there not a dosage of estraidol or whatever that might increase the likelihood of halting your hair loss while having a negligible effect on feminisation? Softer skin and less body hair aren't going to make me look like a woman.

 

[Alle Kosten]

You will probably have an active thread with this idea you have proposed. You are stepping into a slippery situation. If you start with estrogen, even if low does over time it will likely cause sides. Really, anything you do that alters the E/T ratio is bound to have some outcome... thats what many have posted at various times. The kicker is also that once you start, if you stop its likely that the gains you made would soon be lost. Do a search with the word Estrogen and take a look at what others have mentioned. Good luck.

 

[g.i joey]

I personally don't get how someone hasn't tried dutasteride, doesn't even mention their will in trying it, and moves onto hrt meds. finasteride and dutasteride are probably the safest ways for us to increase estrogen indirectly, and even these increases in estro leave some people with harsh side effects, so you really think hrt meds are really an option? The way I see it is even if you do follow through you'll only get teased with results and have to abandon the regimen eventually anyways, unless you're ok with becoming a trans woman.

 

[cyrusthegreat@hotmail.com]

Dutasteride first. Try 0.5mg a day for 6 months and move to 2.5mg a day if that doesn't work before trying HRT drugs.

 

[hanginginthewire]

Thanks for your input guys. I actually do take dutasteride (.5 mg ED) but it is purchased online and I don't know for sure that it's legit. I take prescribed propecia (Costco generic) as well (1mg ED). I would just take duta but since it's from an online source I hedge my bets with the finasteride.

You guys are probably right I just so want to put hair loss behind me that I start to get desperate. I don't mean to be insulting, but many trans women still look masculine, so I wonder just how "feminizing" these drugs are. I've never really liked being so hairy (body) so a reduction there wouldn't bother me. Sadly I am an ectomorph and already have a bit of b**ch tits going on as it is (which I hate but they were there pre finasteride and duta).

The thing that most keeps me from trying estrogen isn't the risk of feminization but more that from what I see online trans women still struggle with hair loss even while on spironolactone and estradiol or whatever. I just am curious why more haven't experimented with this.

 

[arnoldd]

naaa man, try with duta or hair transplant. don't ruin your life for some hair

 

[dralex]

Thanks for your input guys. I actually do take dutasteride (.5 mg ED) but it is purchased online and I don't know for sure that it's legit. I take prescribed propecia (Costco generic) as well (1mg ED). I would just take duta but since it's from an online source I hedge my bets with the finasteride.

You guys are probably right I just so want to put hair loss behind me that I start to get desperate. I don't mean to be insulting, but many trans women still look masculine, so I wonder just how "feminizing" these drugs are. I've never really liked being so hairy (body) so a reduction there wouldn't bother me. Sadly I am an ectomorph and already have a bit of b**ch tits going on as it is (which I hate but they were there pre finasteride and duta).

The thing that most keeps me from trying estrogen isn't the risk of feminization but more that from what I see online trans women still struggle with hair loss even while on spironolactone and estradiol or whatever. I just am curious why more haven't experimented with this.

I am all for doing what it takes to get your hair back, but estrogen is too far. The side effects are definitely not worth the benefits here. I would go the hair replacement system route long before I would be willing to try estrogen. Also how long have you been on duta and propecia?

 

[hanginginthewire]

I am all for doing what it takes to get your hair back, but estrogen is too far. The side effects are definitely not worth the benefits here. I would go the hair replacement system route long before I would be willing to try estrogen. Also how long have you been on duta and propecia?

Thanks for your comment. I appreciate that no one has shamed me for considering this (admittedly extreme) option. As many of you can imagine, hairloss has taken me to depths of anxiety and discomfort that I could have never imagined. I've taken the prescribed propecia since Aug. 2016 without missing a (daily) dose. The duta has been more sporadic, I've been taking it for about a month every day but I took it in fits and starts before. The duta is purchased online, so I'm scared its not legit. I'm mystified by all the drama about sides, both medicines feel like sugar pills to me. That's another reason I'm curious about harder drugs, I feel like people tend to exaggerate sides.

 

[cyrusthegreat@hotmail.com]

@hanginginthewire why don't you get a legit prescription for dutasteride and remove the question about real/fake pills?

If you're in most states of the US you can get a real prescription for dutasteride from medicalwellnesscenter.com for about 50 bucks and fill it using the blinkhealth app for about $20 a month for generic at most major pharmacies in the US.

 

[hanginginthewire]

@hanginginthewire why don't you get a legit prescription for dutasteride and remove the question about real/fake pills?

If you're in most states of the US you can get a real prescription for dutasteride from medicalwellnesscenter.com for about 50 bucks and fill it using the blinkhealth app for about $20 a month for generic at most major pharmacies in the US.

Well my GP refused to prescribe propecia, and the doctor who did prescribe propecia does not prescribe dutasteride.

The way hair loss sufferers are treated by the medical community is a joke. My GP is female and I could see that the notion of losing hair and thereby losing confidence and your identity was something that had never entered her head and she lacked any and all empathy because "men go bald that's the natural order of things, if I went bald I'd be devastated, that's a different story..." was clearly her philosophy. I could tell she had heard chatter about PFS nonsense too and she didn't want to potentially be involved in litigation regarding that, no matter how infinitesimal the likelihood of me getting sides and then suing and then her being found liable even though it's an FDA approved drug that she would be prescribing on label. That teeny tiny Twilight Zone chance of her being inconvienced was of way greater importance than the depression and hopelessness that losing my hair is clearly causing me, her patient.

The hair loss experience has truly embittered me and makes me see just how sh*t people can be.

 

[whatevr]

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...ory-topical-estradiol-corticosteroids.101353/

Read my thread. That will give you an idea if you want to pay the price.

 

[Grasshüpfer]

I heard that finasteride and dutasteride is so cheap to produce that it is not worth the risk of faking it.

What I take from your post is that you take finasteride for less than nine months and dutasteride only very recently.

Is your status worsening? Why do you think that finasteride and du is not working for you?

I would give it some more time. Sounds all like hairloss paranoia, I'm suffering from it myself.

 

[dralex]

Thanks for your comment. I appreciate that no one has shamed me for considering this (admittedly extreme) option. As many of you can imagine, hairloss has taken me to depths of anxiety and discomfort that I could have never imagined. I've taken the prescribed propecia since Aug. 2016 without missing a (daily) dose. The duta has been more sporadic, I've been taking it for about a month every day but I took it in fits and starts before. The duta is purchased online, so I'm scared its not legit. I'm mystified by all the drama about sides, both medicines feel like sugar pills to me. That's another reason I'm curious about harder drugs, I feel like people tend to exaggerate sides.

Well side effects definitely exist and they are considered common. With estrogen they are like guaranteed. You definitely haven't been on duta long enough to tell whether its effective, and you haven't really been on propecia long enough either. What norwood are you currently at? Because these can only do so much. Also are you using minoxidil? Because some people can get tremendous growth on the stuff.

 

[hanginginthewire]

Well side effects definitely exist and they are considered common. With estrogen they are like guaranteed. You definitely haven't been on duta long enough to tell whether its effective, and you haven't really been on propecia long enough either. What norwood are you currently at? Because these can only do so much. Also are you using minoxidil? Because some people can get tremendous growth on the stuff.

I am probably a Norwood 2.5 or so as far as temple recession, but I am a diffuse thinner in a Norwood 5 or 6 pattern. When I grow my hair out it looks okay I guess, I have pretty wavy hair so that helps cover the recession and diffusion as well.

I have tried both liquid and foam minoxidil but I find the itching and flaking to be unbearable. i would try oral minoxidil as well if anyone suggests that?

 

[dralex]

I am probably a Norwood 2.5 or so as far as temple recession, but I am a diffuse thinner in a Norwood 5 or 6 pattern. When I grow my hair out it looks okay I guess, I have pretty wavy hair so that helps cover the recession and diffusion as well.

I have tried both liquid and foam minoxidil but I find the itching and flaking to be unbearable. i would try oral minoxidil as well if anyone suggests that?

Oral minoxidil is an option. Can have side effects at higher doses though, and isn't very effective at low amounts for most people. NW2.5 with some diffuse thinning isn't too bad yet. If dutasteride is effective it can help thicken your hair up and grow some back. I would just give it more time. I am planning on jumping on duta as well in the next week. Hoping it can grow some hair back or at least halt my hair loss, something finasteride has failed at for me.

 

[Giiizmo]

I am probably a Norwood 2.5 or so as far as temple recession, but I am a diffuse thinner in a Norwood 5 or 6 pattern. When I grow my hair out it looks okay I guess, I have pretty wavy hair so that helps cover the recession and diffusion as well.

I have tried both liquid and foam minoxidil but I find the itching and flaking to be unbearable. i would try oral minoxidil as well if anyone suggests that?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormone_replacement_therapy_(male-to-female)#Psychological_changes

Please consider an alternative as HRT is, as you've rightly said, an extreme that can have dire consequences. Note that the psychological and neurological changes can happen without necessarily growing breasts.

Give oral minoxidil a shot (look at the recent thread in the research section). Apparently, 0.5-1mg doesn't induce any side effects and has a positive effect on hair loss.