[SarahSchilling]

That's funny, the base of the scrotum area has been a little damp before but I thought nothing of it.

Anyways, I guess I'll add my doses for a reference point.... when I was taking PM/SP it was usually 2-3g of PM and 960mg of SP extract daily.

Now I'm taking 4mg of Estradiol sublingually, 200mg of spiro, .5mg of dutasteride , all daily, and 200mg of microgest 7 days out of every month. Some of which is even prescribed!

[GoneGirl]

That's funny, the base of the scrotum area has been a little damp before but I thought nothing of it.

Anyways, I guess I'll add my doses for a reference point.... when I was taking PM/SP it was usually 2-3g of PM and 960mg of SP extract daily.

Now I'm taking 4mg of Estradiol sublingually, 200mg of spiro, .5mg of dutasteride , all daily, and 200mg of microgest 7 days out of every month. Some of which is even prescribed!

How did you decide on your spiro dosage, Sarah? I'm wondering if I should increase mine as you are 4X what I now take.

Clara

[GoneGirl]

BTW, I was expecting Eva Marie to chime in. Where is our Eva girl??

Clara

[bobie]

Clara one site suggested this routine:

Estradiol : 6 to 8 mg (sublingual) daily.
Finasteride : 6 mg Propecia (divided, morning and evening) or 5mg Proscar am
Spironolactone : 100 mg to 200 mg divided dose, morning and evening.
Progestin : 5 to 10 mg daily for 10 days of the month (optional).

Found some of the info on here useful http://www.transgendercare.com/default.asp

With regards to doing this under a doctors supervision, here in the uk i think it unlikely any doctor is going to put me on hormones at present without real life experience (dressing and living as a woman) which i really dont want to do looking like a guy so i was thinking along the lines of self medicating, informing my gp of what im doing and having them monitor me (have to love a national health service) and then when the time comes going to the officials having hopefully already made good progress

[GoneGirl]

Clara one site suggested this routine:

Estradiol : 6 to 8 mg (sublingual) daily.
Finasteride : 6 mg Propecia (divided, morning and evening) or 5mg Proscar am
Spironolactone : 100 mg to 200 mg divided dose, morning and evening.
Progestin : 5 to 10 mg daily for 10 days of the month (optional).

Found some of the info on here useful http://www.transgendercare.com/default.asp

Thanks, Bobie. I was a little reluctant to go 100 mg of spiro right from the start. It is a diuretic which doesn't reduce the body's potassium level. That means you have to watch your potassium to sodium ratio and stay hydrated. Spironolactone is used by some as a med for high blood pressure (BP), and since I have low BP, I wanted to see how mine's affected. So far it doesn't seem to lower BP that's already low, which is good. I think I can increase my spiro dosage another 25 mg starting next week. Anyone know how soon after taking spiro that the anti-androgen (T-blocking) effects show up (e.g., as slower beard growth)? In what order are these effects likely to occur?

Clara

[SarahSchilling]

How did you decide on your spiro dosage, Sarah? I'm wondering if I should increase mine as you are 4X what I now take.

Clara

That's the most common dosage among TGs. Plus I was taking 50mg of siterone before and thats supposedly 4x stronger than spiro, so....

I also read somewhere that and less than 200mg daily has little effect, since its a diuretic and you pee most of it out before it does anything, but who knows for sure!

Between you and me my doc put me on 50mg a day and i just ordered extra online. I have to go get blood tests at the start of July, so in a couple of weeks I'll drop down to that and hope he bumps both the E and the spiro up.

I'm not sure you need the spiro though, Clara. At your age, the fincar should be enough. Who knows though, everyone is different and I don't blame you for being afraid of testosterone. I know I am.

Btw, how is fincar working for you?

[bobie]

I was under the impression clara that beard growth is limited by the Finasteride not the spiro? or maybe im wrong, have read an awful lot recently

[SarahSchilling]

I was under the impression clara that beard growth is limited by the Finasteride not the spiro? or maybe im wrong, have read an awful lot recently

Yeah, I mean...spiro would have an indirect effect on beard growth, because as you lower T it will in turn lower DHT.

DHT blockers like finasteride and dutasteride will prevent the conversion of T into DHT.

DHT is the source of body hair thickness, facial hair, male pattern baldness(which is what both fina and duta are marketed for), so yes, facial hair would be slowed more by the DHT blocker, although an anti-androgen would increase that effect.

Not that I know anything for sure, just what I've read.

Oh...and Clara, 200 mg of spiro lowered my blood pressure a little. I was in the normal range before, and the last time the nurse said it was, "A little low". The doctor did not even mention it so, at least in my case, it did not have a big effect on blood pressure.

About the potassium/sodium balance...it's just as important to increase your sodium intake as it is to limit the potassium you take in. Personally, sodium is in everything so its not hard to get enough of that, and as long as you don't go crazy on bananas or greens high in vitamin K(spinach, broccoli, etc), you should be fine on that front provided you have blood testing done every few months.

[GoneGirl]

I was under the impression clara that beard growth is limited by the Finasteride not the spiro? or maybe im wrong, have read an awful lot recently

Finasteride is anti-5ar which means it attacks the conversion of free T to DHT. So, yes, as DHT levels drop, beard growth should slow and scalp hair loss should stop or even reverse. Spiro is a T-blocker which stops existing T and DHT from linking up to T receptors throughout the body, so it, too should reduce beard and body hair growth, even sooner than finasteride. Can somebody please confirm or correct?

Edit: I posted this before I saw your post, Sarah.

Clara

[SarahSchilling]

I was under the impression clara that beard growth is limited by the Finasteride not the spiro? or maybe im wrong, have read an awful lot recently

Finasteride is anti-5ar which means it attacks the conversion of free T to DHT. So, yes, as DHT levels drop, beard growth should slow and scalp hair loss should stop or even reverse. Spiro is a T-blocker which stops existing T and DHT from linking up to T receptors throughout the body, so it, too should reduce beard and body hair growth, even sooner than finasteride. Can somebody please confirm or correct?

Clara

You probably explained it better than I did lol....glossed over the mechanism by which T is decreased.

I was under the impression that fincar was more effective as a DHT blocker than spiro was as a T blocker, though. I've seen spiro referred to as a relatively weak AA a number of times.

At least at your doses it should be

I didn't know you had low blood pressure though. Good job on being careful with the spiro in that case.