I don't care about libido and sex drive like a lot of finasteride users are. but my biggest fear of starting an estrogenic regimen is getting a blood clot/pulmonary embolism. being on estrogen is like having a gun to you're head because of the constant fear of having a blood clot and that you will have to move around to avoid it. for someone like me who likes to write, read etc it doesn't seem worth it. doing this is more ideal for someone who likes to travel, be around people, or spend time doing sports/active hobbies. but then i still want to keep my hair, having long hair has always been part of my identity and having to let that go has been difficult, but even worse that i have to accept an ugly version of myself. some people argue that hair loss isn't that bad, but i struggle with depression, low bone density, having hair loss ruins my confidence and my will to recover from my other health issues.
I have zero experience with these regimens myself, but I have read that a d-dimer test can tell early signs that your blood has potential blod clots being present and degraded into smaller proteins. You can test it by doing a blood test, but it has to be specified and is not usually a part of a normal blood test. Certain types of estrogen has higher risks of blood clots such as estrone (metabolite of estradiol) and ethinylestradiol. Estrone can be stored as deposits in fat, so maybe it can be reduced by loosing fat (but thats just a wild guess). Estradiol itself is like a fifty-fifty good and bad mix, but the estrone is probably the culprit that makes it bad.
I think keeping the hematocrit low is probably a good thing also if you are worried about blood clots. Hematocrit is the percentage of red blood cells, so the higher, the less viscous and thicker the blood is. Keep yourself hydrated all the time and avoid things that may dehydrate you (like alcohol and caffeine), and avoiding food and supplements with high iron content. Reducing testosterone will most likely reduce hematocrit further because of less erythropoietin being released in the bone marrow
In the end I think dosage is the key. The more you use, the higher risk, which goes for everything in life in general. Stick to the lowest dosage possible for a reasonable effect is probably the best. And doing blood tests once in a while, which you should do anyway even if not doing any regimen.
Anyway, insane hair regrowth on thread starter. I doubt I will ever consider estradiol or any testosterone reducing regimen myself, since testosterone crucial for keeping my masculinity and physical performance. I'm just trying to delay my hair loss for 10-20 years and then just man up and let nature do it's thing. Mostly to keep me in the "game". Going completely bald will probably reduce my chances of getting girls, but turning into a borderline female will probably almost guarantee a lonely life for a heterosexual male like me.
When I read this thread, I start to wonder, you guys will keep taking AA's and estrogen for the rest of your lives? Cause stopping estrogen will probably make you loose the gains very quickly, right?