Hi Alyssa
I am not a regular poster on this forum, but I watch it quite a lot, and a couple of things in your post got me interested.
First of all, you say you were on Estradiol and Progesterone for a couple of years, with disappointing results - I am curious, but you don`t say anything about anti-androgens.
If you still have all the usual male dangly bits, then your testicles are producing lots of nasty testosterone - even worse, much of that testosterone will be getting converted to DHT - and DHT is the real killer if you are trying to feminise. DHT is what keeps you male, stops boobs growing, makes your body hair grow, and generally stops you being what you want to be - all soft and curvy !
So my understanding is that a prescribed male-to-female hormone treatment would normally include an anti-androgen drug like Finasteride or Dutasteride, as well as some form of oestrogenic drug.
Were you not prescribed that - is this something you could look into ?
Your second query about herbs v pharma - everbody is different, and they react differently to hormone treatment, but in general terms, I reckon that a professionally prescribed and monitored pharma hormone treatment would be more effective than a herbal treatment.
However I guarantee there will be other opinions about this !!!!
Don`t underestimate the complexity of getting a herbal treatment that works for you, there are a lot of herbs out there that are associated with breast growth - and you need to work out what is going to work for you.
For example, Saw Palmetto and Reishi Mushroom extract can lessen the conversion of testosterone to DHT, other herbs can provide a some form of oestrogen. There is loads of stuff on this forum about what the different herbs do. You will need to do your homework.
Good luck in getting what you are looking for.
I am not a regular poster on this forum, but I watch it quite a lot, and a couple of things in your post got me interested.
First of all, you say you were on Estradiol and Progesterone for a couple of years, with disappointing results - I am curious, but you don`t say anything about anti-androgens.
If you still have all the usual male dangly bits, then your testicles are producing lots of nasty testosterone - even worse, much of that testosterone will be getting converted to DHT - and DHT is the real killer if you are trying to feminise. DHT is what keeps you male, stops boobs growing, makes your body hair grow, and generally stops you being what you want to be - all soft and curvy !
So my understanding is that a prescribed male-to-female hormone treatment would normally include an anti-androgen drug like Finasteride or Dutasteride, as well as some form of oestrogenic drug.
Were you not prescribed that - is this something you could look into ?
Your second query about herbs v pharma - everbody is different, and they react differently to hormone treatment, but in general terms, I reckon that a professionally prescribed and monitored pharma hormone treatment would be more effective than a herbal treatment.
However I guarantee there will be other opinions about this !!!!
Don`t underestimate the complexity of getting a herbal treatment that works for you, there are a lot of herbs out there that are associated with breast growth - and you need to work out what is going to work for you.
For example, Saw Palmetto and Reishi Mushroom extract can lessen the conversion of testosterone to DHT, other herbs can provide a some form of oestrogen. There is loads of stuff on this forum about what the different herbs do. You will need to do your homework.
Good luck in getting what you are looking for.