[bryony]

Julie,

Smart wife, hang onto her.

All this PM withdrawal talk has me curious. I've only taken 2 bottles worth, but have felt no noticeable differences mentally or physically. I believe, however, that they are working, since I have reduced my Premarin intake by 80%, and lost nothing. Now, a little over a months' worth of usage isn't much, but I know from past experience that as soon as I went off Premarin before, Things started going missing. And it wasn't because I misplaced them. A short time ago, last week, I dropped everything for a week because I was concerned that something caused a skin breakout that was extremely bothersome to the point of interfering with my sleep. Turned out to be some kind of infection, which, incidentally, showed up on the blood tests in the high white cell count. Point is, no changes were noted while off everything. Since I have had neither positive nor negative responses to PM, I can only surmise that the Premarin Has already rendered me incapable of any such responses. Trust me, with Premarin there were numerous effects besides boob growth. My wife still finds it humorous when I tear up, which can be over the silliest things.
So, when I hear of the problems encountered by some when stopping PM, I am unable to empathize, because, I guess I'm already beyond that. I can say, that when I stopped Premarin before, no changes in attitude were noticed, so this must be a PM phenomenon?? I have a mixed opinion of this, as it seems to be an upsetting condition for those who undergo it, yet , at the same time I'm almost pissed that it won't happen to me. How twisted did I just get?

Since I've gotten off-thread,
I'm going to bed.
Twasn't meant to rhyme,
But I've used up my time.

Later, all, and I love it when we're all being nice! Patti

Hi Patti,

It's not a PM phenomenon - any estrogen will do it to a TS brain which has got that way due to a lack of androgen at a particular phase of foetal development.

Apparently, it is a classic test. Most men who have it bad as I do wind up transitioning the "whole hog", to the detriment of family life. That's one reason why I'm determined to find a herbal coping mechanism - And I think I have.

The other effect of PM for me is that I no longer feel the urge to cross-dress, and others experience that too. Notably, you don't get that either, do you?

On the other hand, estrogen doesn't give you anxiety either, which leads me to the theory that the amount of androgen deprivation, varying as it will in a continuum, will produce varying degrees of this response, and it estrogen exposure has no effect on your anxiety, calming/aggravating, that suggests to me that you have an androgynous brain.

There's a really good website here:

http://www.avitale.com/FAQ.htm

Dr Vitale has experience of over 450 cases. I've cut and paste relevant sections below.

TTFN

B.


15. Is there a diagnostic test, for example, genetic testing, that will let one know if they are ..... transsexual ...?

No. there is no genetic test that can be administered to tell anyone what their sexuality is. That can only be done by honest self examination. Transsexualism, which has nothing to do with sexual preference, is different. We can't do a genetic test, but we can administer cross-sex hormones and see if the individual responds positively or negatively to them. That procedure is routinely done after the individual has had an extensive period of psychotherapy and is fully aware of the consequences. A negative reaction would result in extreme anxiety and discomfort. A positive reaction is one where the individual reports a calming affect. Often described as a feeling of well-being.


CATEGORY 6: HORMONES
1. I have heard that one of the uses of hormone replacement therapy is to see if the individual accepts or rejects the treatment. In your experience (or in other documented sources) where there was a rejection, what are the responses?

First of all, keep in mind that a referral for hormone replacement therapy is made with great caution. Individuals are not only evaluated for severity of gender variance but they are educated to the effect the hormones will have on them. Most of the people I see come in very aware of the effect HRT will have on their secondary sex characteristics but few are aware of the general health risks and the psychological effects they will experience. For example, I explain to all my clients MTF clients that paradoxically taking estrogen will diminish not only their libido, it will diminish their need to crossdress. I know that is counterintuitive but it is a fact.
I also warn them that getting on estrogen can result in a sense of well being that leads to a strong desire to continue taking it. They had better be prepared for that consequence. .....

15A. How long does it take, if at all, to determine a reaction from hormones?

There is ALWAYS a reaction to taking cross sex exogenous hormones. If the individual has a history of gender dysphoria or as I would prefer to call it, Gender Expression Deprivation Anxiety, the primary reaction is a relaxing one. That is the individual experiences feelings of well being as the anxiety is relieved. If a non gender dysphoric person is exposed to cross sex, exogenous hormones, the opposite occurs; a state of anxiety is induced that goes away once the hormones are no longer being taken. The time period for all of this to occur is very short, ranging from hours to no more then a few days.

The other, more physical changes take longer and are not easily reversable. If a genetic male takes estrogens, he will start to notice tenderness in his nipples in a matter of weeks as the first signs of breast development. The rest of the feminzation will gradually happen over the rest of the period he continues to take the hormones. Depending on the person's age and level of male development at the start of the process, it usually takes six to twelve months before the changes are so advanced that friends and acquaintances would notice and may start to inquiry about your appearance. Of course, a spouse or lover would notice much sooner.