Exploring The Hormonal Route. Hair=life.

[Yar]

what regime do you think has worked best for you in terms of regrowth? should i visit the dr regularly to have labs done too? do you do that? or just straight take the meds from inhousepharmacy, i tried to read all 216 pages of discussion on this thread but i coulnt mkae it all the way through lol.

initially tests testosterone, estradiol, prolactin, lg, fsg

 

[Yar]

wow this is by far the best thread i have ever found here on the site, it's full of extremely useful information, i hope this thread stays here and never gets deleted, i start 200mg spironolactone soon and am looking into taking estrogen aswell from inhouse pharmacy, i don't care about feminiziation or gyno, hair = life.

where are you from?

 

[Yar]

okay, so i will buy 2mg estradiol and cut the pill in half and take 1mg in the morning and 1mg in the evening. the doctoro gave me 200mg spironolactone should i cut the pill into smaller doses? or should i just buy a smaller dose? any help getting me started on this is really appreciated <3

What is your Norwood? First, hand over hormones, hormones that give mtf before the transition! Because your mode will not differ from their mode!

 

[Stephen788]

So I just took my first dose of letrozole at 2.5mg. mentally it feels like my gyno is melting away already lol. I usually wear compression shirts under my clothes but I have realized that is not an option in the summer. It's just too damn hot outside. Compression shirts are death this time of year. I can get away with wearing baggy t shirts right now so that's what I'm doing but when my gyno was at it's worst even a baggy shirt wasn't enough to hide the gyno without a compression shirt on underneath. Depending on how well the letrozole and raloxefine works and how well my hair holds up I might not go back on estrogel until September.

I finally had to explain to the girl at the pharmacy what I was doing because she told me you can't take estrogel and letrozole at the same time because they cancel each other out. So I told her how I'm taking the gel for hair loss and I cycle it on and off. She seemed to understand and didn't seem to think it was a big deal but she was probably just being polite. I wish I told her earlier because I always felt so awkward getting my prescription having her think I was trans. Anyways it's a small price to pay to have the peace of mind that all my drugs are legit and I don't have to wait for them in the mail and worry that they might get stuck in customs. So I'm still working on the dream. If I can get most of my hair back with just a mild case of gyno then I win and i will be very happy.

The problem with the heat is that the gyno swells up and feels bigger. And then when you cool back down it goes back to its actual size.
Good luck mate. I went straight on at 5mg. I read somewhere that if you start at 2.5mg I takes 9 days to build up in your body. Not sure how true that is because it was just someone on a forum mentioning it. But at 5mg my gyno has shrunk maybe 80%. Your swelling will go down and that’s what will make the most difference. And the gyno will start reduce from the sides and underneath (but it isnt symmetrical it random if that makes sense. So a chunk might disappear from the left side of your left nipple but not the right side) and slowly retract back so the the pointy nipple is reduced to looking normal again.
That’s what I have experienced anyway.
Good luck!

 

[Stephen788]

okay, so i will buy 2mg estradiol and cut the pill in half and take 1mg in the morning and 1mg in the evening. the doctoro gave me 200mg spironolactone should i cut the pill into smaller doses? or should i just buy a smaller dose? any help getting me started on this is really appreciated <3

Start at 25mg of spironolactone a day for a week. And increase by 25mg each week until you get to 200mg.

 

[Stephen788]

okay i will do that, should i get new pills or can i cut up the 200mg pills into 1/8 pieces?

Just cut them up into into pieces. I have 100mg tablets that I cut into quarters when I first started.
Also mate if you don’t want gyno then get some raloxefine tablets now, ready for when your nipples become sensitive and swollen. You will get gyno even if it’s just mild at 200mg. It’s nukes your testosterone. I paid the price and had to wait 2 weeks for my raloxefine to arrive and by then my gyno was quite large. It may not bother you like some of the guys on here but you won’t know for sure until you have it and I really wish someone told me this when I started. It especially bad now that it’s summer too.

 

[Ikarus]

okay, so i will buy 2mg estradiol and cut the pill in half and take 1mg in the morning and 1mg in the evening. the doctoro gave me 200mg spironolactone should i cut the pill into smaller doses? or should i just buy a smaller dose? any help getting me started on this is really appreciated <3

With the estradiol, make sure it’s as hemihydrate since that one can be used buccally. It apparently bypasses the liver and goes directly in the blood stream when used that way (through the buccal mucosa). When starting spironolactone, I would recommend that you start with 50MG/day for a few days, then increasing the dose to 100MG for a few days, then using 200MG/day.

You should try asking your doctor for bicalutamide instead of spironolactone eventually, since it’s safer for long-term use.

 

[Yar]

i would say i am a norwood 3 on the norwood scale, i have diffuse thinning all over i can post pictures later today to show you, i have thin/velluc hair in my temple area and generally thin hair all over, mostly on top.

do not immediately rush into the modes with the most dosages, with this you can only hurt yourself! We are waiting for a photo of your Norwood

 

[Ikarus]

i'll look for hemihydrate, thats cool that it get absorbed by the mucus membrane and bypass the liver. is it as effective as the pills?

It’s Estrofem in particular. It is a pill, but you just put it between your cheek and gum and wait until it dissolves. It is more effective apparently.

 

[itchymadscalp]

If full hrt cannot help then how castration would work? I am curious, I want to know.

I don't think it would work either.

 

[itchymadscalp]

castration will destroy all the androgen in your system 24/7 with no chance of androgens rebound or resistance to build up in the receptors ,it is the most potent method of androgen deprivation,it is only used for stage 4 patients who have severe cases of prostate cancer or cancerous tumor and are not responding to any anti-androgens and gave up all hope on AAs, some people do not react to anti-androgen no matter what and how strong the dose is, even if the blood serum of testosterone is within a castrate level, in some cases anti-androgens fail to eliminate free testosterone which is bioavailable version of testosterone and it is deadly but not shown on blood tests.

1. most AAs have a half-life and if the medication is not taken properly or if it is discontinued without monitoring its effect, it can mess up with the receptors and overactivate them, this happened to @itchymadscalp , he was on a strong AA and his hair was perfect, but for some reason he discontinued the AA and jumped to dutasteride, you can't go from a strong regimen to a weaker one, your receptors will catch up and you will have a problem.
2.anti androgens may cause an adverse reaction to the receptors and induce androgen receptor upregulation, just like @itchymadscalp 's case, where the receptors are ultra sensitive to FREE testosterone, not only total testosterone
3. the body will find a way to resist the drug eventually, and some resistance may build up to the drug if it is misused, or used for a very long, or are taken on and off, which is very dangerous
4. anti-androgen can cause an increased level of prolactin, and prolactin is shown to increase androgenic activity in the receptors, look it up
5. AAs are drugs at the end, and drugs are man-made, not really perfect for everyone's physiology some people are exceptions, but orchiectomy, on the other hand, will eliminate the natural factories of androgens and that will work 100%

note that ani androgens work very well in 98% of people, and any weak responders or people with overactive receptors are outliers,and surgical castration may help them as their last hope,men with severe cases of prostate cancer who are on AA, and not responding like their peers, will be offered to go under this procedure,and they have to accept the loss of their balls because it is life or death for them, but for me baldness is death, so I chose life and boobs.

there is a slim chance that @itchymadscalp will be cured with surgical castration, but it is worth it? he decides not us

I really don't think physical castration will be a game changer for me. I'm already on Lupron. it's pretty effective. But because of long term use of Dutasteride something is wrong. If I had knew ... Lupron was working, I wanted to get my libido back ... for my BF. And now I'm miserable because of that mistake.
Castration + estradiol is safer than Dutasteride, I cannot back up my claims.

 

[itchymadscalp]

With the estradiol, make sure it’s as hemihydrate since that one can be used buccally. It apparently bypasses the liver and goes directly in the blood stream when used that way (through the buccal mucosa). When starting spironolactone, I would recommend that you start with 50MG/day for a few days, then increasing the dose to 100MG for a few days, then using 200MG/day.

You should try asking your doctor for bicalutamide instead of spironolactone eventually, since it’s safer for long-term use.

You can take estradiol valerate sublingually. I tried, same levels with hemihydrate actually.

 

[Sonolmn98]

I really don't think physical castration will be a game changer for me. I'm already on Lupron. it's pretty effective. But because of long term use of Dutasteride, something is wrong. If I had knew ... Lupron was working, I wanted to get my libido back ... for my BF. And now I'm miserable because of that mistake.
Castration + estradiol is safer than Dutasteride, I cannot back up my claims.

so you dropped the lupron and jumped to dutasteride to get the libido back? this is really bad, no wonder why your androgens receptors are overactive, sex is game over on E+ antiandrogens, you should have added progesterone, as it helps for the libido, but dropping the AA all the sudden will cause trouble, anyone is going on this route must be prepared to give up sex, because even if your dick works, after all this, your libido and sense of pleasure will diminish,you choose between sex and hair, and not many gonna give up sex for it, the cost is very big, but for me as an asexual person, this is a blessing because I dnt have to deal with sexual urges and spontaneous thoughts of lust

 

[Ikarus]

so you dropped the lupron and jumped to dutasteride to get the libido back? this is really bad, no wonder why your androgens receptors are overactive, sex is game over on E+ antiandrogens, you should have added progesterone, as it helps for the libido, but dropping the AA all the sudden will cause trouble, anyone is going on this route must be prepared to give up sex, because even if your dick works, after all this, your libido and sense of pleasure will diminish,you choose between sex and hair, and not many gonna give up sex for it, the cost is very big, but for me as an asexual person, this is a blessing because I dnt have to deal with sexual urges and spontaneous thoughts of lust

I agree, although I think it’s easier to not care much about libido if you naturally have a lower libido. Personally, I was put off the idea of sex long before starting treatments. I guess it would be a similar situation for others, especially those who don’t like being touched inappropriately.

 

[Ikarus]

I can’t wait to drop the spironolactone... No more constipation!

 

[itchymadscalp]

so you dropped the lupron and jumped to dutasteride to get the libido back? this is really bad, no wonder why your androgens receptors are overactive, sex is game over on E+ antiandrogens, you should have added progesterone, as it helps for the libido, but dropping the AA all the sudden will cause trouble, anyone is going on this route must be prepared to give up sex, because even if your dick works, after all this, your libido and sense of pleasure will diminish,you choose between sex and hair, and not many gonna give up sex for it, the cost is very big, but for me as an asexual person, this is a blessing because I dnt have to deal with sexual urges and spontaneous thoughts of lust

Yeah I was first on Cypro for a year, then I could convince my Doctor to give me Lupron, I used it for a year. But no libido, and I met my BF ... he was not ok with castration, so I jumped on Dutasteride, hoping to get my libido back and keep my hair. I kept my hair for a while, but still no sexdrive at all ...
I was not really aware of what I could do for my libido except dropping Lupron.

 

[itchymadscalp]

Leaving a message here just because I want to have 666 messages <3

 

[Ikarus]

Yeah I was first on Cypro for a year, then I could convince my Doctor to give me Lupron, I used it for a year. But no libido, and I met my BF ... he was not ok with castration, so I jumped on Dutasteride, hoping to get my libido back and keep my hair. I kept my hair for a while, but still no sexdrive at all ...
I was not really aware of what I could do for my libido except dropping Lupron.

That’s why I wouldn’t dare get a boyfriend nowadays, unless they’re asexual or something... I wouldn’t want them to be annoyed because I don’t want to do ‘it’. Men are just too sexually active

 

[Sonolmn98]

Yeah I was first on Cypro for a year, then I could convince my Doctor to give me Lupron, I used it for a year. But no libido, and I met my BF ... he was not ok with castration, so I jumped on Dutasteride, hoping to get my libido back and keep my hair. I kept my hair for a while, but still no sexdrive at all ...
I was not really aware of what I could do for my libido except dropping Lupron.

past is the past, now you have to move on, and accept what happened, surgical castration might help but not guaranteed in your case, I really want to help you to find a working protocol but it is hard and complicated, worse case scenario, you can get a hair system or a transplant, how about taking testosterone for a while to calm down the receptors and then go on lupron cold turkey, I am sure there is a way to undo the damage but I am, not a doctor and not really smart in this field, good luck brother, I wish you the best, stick around and keep experimenting, we will find this battle to the last breath, keep fighting! and f*** baldness

 

[Sonolmn98]

That’s why I wouldn’t dare get a boyfriend nowadays, unless they’re asexual or something... I wouldn’t want them to be annoyed because I don’t want to do ‘it’. Men are just too sexually active

I agree, men are disgustingly horny and lustful, after going this route I became very hostile to men, now I find myself more in tune with women or asexual people, they feel more and have a wider spectrum of feelings, unlike men who are just running after sex to satisfy their big ego, that's why I don't consider myself gay