28-06-2014, 10:39 PM
Spiro has a whole raft-load of unpleasant to nasty side effects, some of which suggest to me other deleterious systemic effects. As one poster (in the link from the OP) on Susan's put it:
"And herein lies the problem, there's virtually no conclusive research to be found for those of us who seek cross gender hormone therapy- so most doctors rely on old methods without questioning it. They stick to the book, and they do not ask questions. What do they do (as endocrinologists for mainly cis people) if the book is old and there is nothing new? They stick to the book and tell you to shut up."
Consulting your doctor is only going to help you depending on "which book" they are going by and unfortunately more often than not, it's the "cover your ass" medical advice book. Even endos (in my experience with my own patients) are notoriously uninformed about their own field, let alone about cross-gender HRT which many don't even study in school.
I strongly suggest you check out the experiences and information available on the DIYHormones group on Yahoo.com. Hundreds if not thousands of TG women on that site will tell you to have patience, skip the spiro and let estradiol work it's magic. Like PM, estradiol has antiandrogenic effects, but they take time to manifest. Spiro is NOT needed since better and safer forms of estrogen are now available to TG women.
"And herein lies the problem, there's virtually no conclusive research to be found for those of us who seek cross gender hormone therapy- so most doctors rely on old methods without questioning it. They stick to the book, and they do not ask questions. What do they do (as endocrinologists for mainly cis people) if the book is old and there is nothing new? They stick to the book and tell you to shut up."
Consulting your doctor is only going to help you depending on "which book" they are going by and unfortunately more often than not, it's the "cover your ass" medical advice book. Even endos (in my experience with my own patients) are notoriously uninformed about their own field, let alone about cross-gender HRT which many don't even study in school.
I strongly suggest you check out the experiences and information available on the DIYHormones group on Yahoo.com. Hundreds if not thousands of TG women on that site will tell you to have patience, skip the spiro and let estradiol work it's magic. Like PM, estradiol has antiandrogenic effects, but they take time to manifest. Spiro is NOT needed since better and safer forms of estrogen are now available to TG women.