Congratulations on your progress! Your crown definitely looks better compared to your previous photos. I see you are currently using finasteride, estrogel, and CPA. Is your regime expensive? How much does it cost monthly? I am doing well on finasteride and dutasteride but I am considering adding HRT in the future in case if my gains plateau.
My whole yearly supply for my regimen cost me about 400£, so not to bad. That's about 500$. HRT is pretty cheap compared to other medication. And if you can cope with the feminizing effects then go for it if you feel the need. It's the nuclear weapon against androgenic hair loss.
Produced DHT and scalp DHT are two different things. Reducing production will not fully reduce saturation in the blood and skin. If you want to decrease DHT everywhere then you need to nuke your testosterone levels. So for example CPA and/or Estradiol.
Rejoice man. You're gonna get it all back. These drastic decisions really do pay off in the end. In a year you can enjoy styling your thick hair again.
Thanks, it really is incredible how fast this is going. Although I wouldn't call myself a man anymore lol. Biologically I might have a male body, but I suffer from dysphoria so to stay sane I have to change a few more things then just hair to a more feminine or at the least androgynous look.
Please don't take a photo with a maid outfit and a lollipop in your mouth.
Did you suffer from dysphoria before starting your treatment? Or is it something you observed after starting? If so, do you think it was possibly caused by the meds you are using?
Is it bad if i get the reference?
Don't worry about that lol. Janey was a mentally ill fetishist. I don't see myself going down her route of femininity as it was a grotesque parody. Plus I'm going to be boymoding for quite some time before I can sort out things like facial hair removal etc. It also depends how people see me, I wouldn't present female while still looking masculine.
I became noticeably dysphoric as soon as puberty started, I hated the changes. I didn't even know it was called dysphoria till my late teens. Then when I found out, due to my conservative town, family and "friends" I became what the trans community calls a repressor. I tried to live as a masculine man despite my dysphoria. It was a dark period of self hatred, drinking and suicidal thoughts. And I kept failing at being masculine, as my personality is not manly at all.
Same here, don't they call autogynephillia? I never felt like a woman however used to enjoy backhanded complements that were supposed to be demeaning about my appearance. Stuff like eh, skinny or chicken legs. Even developed an ED because of it an became emaciated because I thought it made me more attractive. I suppose my "dysphoria" renders as a need to be youthful since my own warped perception perceives that as what men think is attractive. So shocker when hairloss became a factor, thats when i got bitten by the trans bug.
I don't really believe in Blanchard's AGP vs HSTS typology of transfeminine people. I'm not AGP as there is nothing sexual to it, I'm asexual. And I'm not HSTS as again I'm asexual and don't care about attracting others. If this typology is true people like me should not exist, yet here I am. My dysphoria is mostly over secondary male body features, and turning into a ugly grown man, If I could have avoided puberty I'd be happy lol. The feminine thing comes into play more due to my personality, the fact I behave more like a girl and get along with girls better. Why not try to become more like one then? If I can pass I'll give in a shot. From a strictly medical point of view I could take HRT and boymode till the end of my days, but most people still see me as trans, so why not just embrace it and go all the way. Plus I do have a small amount of social dysphoria due to male gender roles. This is my reasoning for embracing the trans term.
I suppose I should go even further beyond. I should try adding injections for definite at a later date, a blood test would be useful. I do agree with you, virilization ruined my mental health beyond devastation. I think a more feminine gender role could be attributed with aspergers and a dislike of a "male" personality. Personally, I hated my unstable mood and aggression in my youth; which caused me to resent my past actions and behaviour. Then in part, was because I desired a basal level of stability and asexuality; since aggression and how I felt really clashed with the idealized person I wanted to be. I am somewhat there now, but I feel like a parody of myself.
Interesting thoughts you got about dysphoria, pretty similar to mine in some aspects. Also please don't consider yourself a parody, when I look back at the person I used to be that is what you can really call a parody. Maybe I was more accepted by peers, but what good did that do when I hated myself and every other human being. Be true to the person you are, not the person society wants you to be.
It's possible to progress, but it's not that common on finasteride and definitely not on dutasteride. I don't really understand your question in the second paragraph. Hair cycles are obviously very complex, but sudden changes in any hormone axis can induce catagen without causing the hair follicle to shrink. The alternative name for Telogen Effluvium is "shock loss" which is quite applicable here. Changes in hormone levels are quite a shock for the body, and can cause hundreds of pathways to alter or reset. It can be viewed as good solely because it's a sign the body is transitioning to a more hair favorable hormonal profile (in the case of, for example, finasteride or dutasteride. If you start a cycle of Trenbolone the shedding can be viewed as bad, because your body enters a less favorable hormonal profile. But the shedding does not alter the hair follicle). The shedding intrinsically is not good or bad for hair. It's just a response to the (local) environment of the follicle.
Correct. Or, for the less nuclear inclined, use topical Dutasteride.
Yeah, that's true. I'm a bit biased in the direction of HRT tho so I forgot about topical 5-ARIs lol.
2mg should be ok, it's still a small dose.