Exploring The Hormonal Route. Hair=life.

JaneyElizabeth

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That is good for reducing LH, so all of your androgens should come from the adrenals at that point. However, with unblocked receptors that is still enough androgens to do harm. The high E2 also helps with that a bit though as it spikes SHBG and binds the free T/DHT. But a receptor antagonist may still be indicated for full results.

You're on dutasteride though as I recall, which will help make up for not blocking the AR a bit.
All of that I find to be true. We could use more of your high-level input on here. The distinction between circulating T and T blocked from receptors is confusing to everyone. My understanding is that MPA and CPA work more straightforwardly than do spironolactone and bica.
 

JaneyElizabeth

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That is good for reducing LH, so all of your androgens should come from the adrenals at that point. However, with unblocked receptors that is still enough androgens to do harm. The high E2 also helps with that a bit though as it spikes SHBG and binds the free T/DHT. But a receptor antagonist may still be indicated for full results.

You're on dutasteride though as I recall, which will help make up for not blocking the AR a bit.
Someone posted yesterday that Powers claims that with Bica you don't need duta anymore but in my personal experience, DHT in my face follicles can still cause DHT synthesis and dermatitis. My removed beard hasn't grown back but it got scratchier after desisting from spironolactone last May and then again at 12.5mg of oral min. Hence I halvede the dosage about a week ago.

One thing that I am not sure about is whether I should use female dosing for oral Min which generally maxes out at 2.5mg down to .25mg plus an AA like spironolactone or whether I should still use male dosing. Most of my meds, it doesn't matter because they are for XY MtF HRT but things like oral min might need to be adjusted.
 
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Gergely

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I used progesterone and it makes a hairline on the female type ,if you have lost hair on the border of the forehead, then progesterone will definitely resurrect it
How much progesterone did u use?
 

JaneyElizabeth

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Bicalutamide is not used for long in prostate cancer, but we can monitor MTF. I have not found any evidence of the dangers of Bicalutamide. I think it is safe and effective, so any treatment regimen for aggressive baldness should include it as a basis
The main person at transfeminine sciences still state that spironolactone is safer than bica in the long-run. People tout bica not as being safer but because it has far fewer short-term sides at common dosaging amounts. Some of this can be dealt with via titration but I see guys on the experimental threads using enzalutamide who aren't growing hair apparently. Of course you aren't because you aren't taking anything yet. There have been fairly long transcribed debates about this posted at Transfeminine Sciences. You might have to search a little because they are trying to be less anti-Powers.
 

JaneyElizabeth

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How much progesterone did u use?
I have been using Life-Flo P4 Cream but not really on a sustained basis since I also cycle prometrium but I do see data indicating that application to the breasts can increase the breast size of mammals like guinea pigs. My situation is one of post hoc ergo prompter hoc, meaning that I previously used a lot of estrogen on my scalp, hair and breasts and had almost phenomenal breast growth but that continues being anecdotal even though I think it works, both locally and systemically and people can try it on hair, face, genital skin so it goes farther and on breast, hips, thighs and *** for MtF's seeking to be fleshier. P4 might work for all of these things but largely we do not know. Powers believes that it works but he keeps no data which makes evaluating his claims difficult.
 
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Almas

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The main person at transfeminine sciences still state that spironolactone is safer than bica in the long-run
Is this specialist as smart as Dr. Rassman?

Even if spironolactone is safer, he is also much weaker than Bicalutamide. But I wonder how this specialist argues his words about safety. Let me guess: no way
 

JaneyElizabeth

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Is this specialist as smart as Dr. Rassman?

Even if spironolactone is safer, he is also much weaker than Bicalutamide. But I wonder how this specialist argues his words about safety. Let me guess: no way
You have to remember titration of dosaging before making any categorical statements. I think that the person Aly and another whose name escapes me (Kay) are far more knowledgeable than Dr. Rassman because HRT is something that you have to learn that goes from the age of 12 to 60 or however many years after puberty. They study sides like crazy and they both answer questions on the reddit sites for MtF's just like Rassman. Rassman was very wrong about using topical min orally and I lost some respect for him there as he claimed that only Loniten was likely to make it through a liver pass. Of course for Loniten, you need a prescription. Our way you do not and it only costs pennies a day. He is geared towards developing business via Tressless but the folks at Transfeminine Science do not. But he knows a lot about transplants especially and topical min and oral finasteride. Powers has some interesting ideas that could be true but he is a doctor not a researcher.

None of the AA's are particularly safe for people taking them forever. They are all synthetic but spironolactone might resemble endogenous molecules more so. I didn't like the sides of spironolactone but I could have tried to titrate downward but Estradiol-only is a movement among MtF's that recognizes that nothing but estradiol is necessary and that maintenance is best done with safe estrogens via parenteral dosing and that can be safe as a form of ingestion forever. Technically, provera is an AA, as is CPA but bica and spironolactone are the main two receptor-blocking meds. I think that the hit or miss aspect of receptor blocking is what might cause the sides. Why not use progesterone as an AA as it is safe and endogenous to humans unlike all of these cancer meds. For some reason people get fixated on bica as being this amazing thing but it is basically a somewhat safer synthetic than flutamide. I don't know why people use these two over MPA as it had been used prior to everyone touting the various 'mides to the heavens. Bica is much more expensive and has less history of human use as do all synthetics when compared to estrogen. There is no magic bullet for avoiding feminization and regrowing hair.
 
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JaneyElizabeth

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Microneedling and Gauge Size:

I used my 2.0mm last night as my 2.5mm is still en route but I continue to notice that recovery time is much faster with this roller. Probably two things control this. Higher gauges are better for long hair and the needles might cause less inflammation upon insertion. Also, these rollers should be seen as throwaways because with the lower gauges you have to press down harder and they tend to dull easily and quickly. Probably four to six uses is optimal before replacement. Once a week, even twice a week or more is fine with DR and remember, these work everywhere on every kind of skin problem: cross-linked skin like calluses and soles of the feet, scar tissue, balding tissue, sun-damaged and freckled skin and so forth. Always try to do a few passes on your face because it has wonderful rejuvenating effects and when used with tretinoin, the improvements can be radical as we used to say and the word works in both senses. Everyone should consider microneedling, balding or not.
 

SnortingFinasteride

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If a person says that he is very worried about baldness, and then whines that he is worried about a decrease in libido or something else, hair loss does not bother him that much
First they say how bad it is for them to go bald. And then they refuse treatment because of some trifles. You can live with reduced libido, gynecomastia is a solvable problem. Baldness + cowardice is a sentence
Either compromise or don't whine and watch your head turn into an ***
Treatment doesn't universally include Bicalutamide.. As i've said before, libido is not as much issue as the gyno in the case of Bica, and surgery is not so much available to everybody that it is "a solvable problem".




The first line of attack still remains, good ol' Finasteride + Minoxidil + (maybe) microneedling, and even then alot complain of severely reduced libido from Finasteride.



Reduced libido is subjectively viewed. You may call someone who only masturbates twice a month to have a "reduced libido", yet someone else would call that "an abnormaly low libido" and refuse such matter.



Not wanting to be bald is pretty normal to whine about, it is what this site was created for anyway, that doesn't mean you should disapprove their approaches and call them a coward just cause they don't wanna take Bicalutamide..
 

JaneyElizabeth

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Treatment doesn't universally include Bicalutamide.. As i've said before, libido is not as much issue as the gyno in the case of Bica, and surgery is not so much available to everybody that it is "a solvable problem".




The first line of attack still remains, good ol' Finasteride + Minoxidil + (maybe) microneedling, and even then alot complain of severely reduced libido from Finasteride.



Reduced libido is subjectively viewed. You may call someone who only masturbates twice a month to have a "reduced libido", yet someone else would call that "an abnormaly low libido" and refuse such matter.



Not wanting to be bald is pretty normal to whine about, it is what this site was created for anyway, that doesn't mean you should disapprove their approaches and call them a coward just cause they don't wanna take Bicalutamide..
Well. He is a young guy and trying to sort things out. A lot of MtF's are on a bica kick as it's promoted by the notorious Dr, Will Powers, love him or dislike him but he is the breast growth guru for MtF's purportedly. He refuses to prescribe R.I.'s to either males or females which is a strange thing for a doctor to do when many FtM's have baldness issues that finasteride might help.

It's similar to HRT. You have to sort of convince yourself to take the leap. It is pretty easy to back out of HRT for males but you might get a shed upon desisting. Safety-wise, it seems to not be preferable to be on any synthetics long-term as very few of them have a history of human use which is similar to the standard used by heads used to decide when new psychedelics are safe. Marijuana has a long history of human use; 2CT7 and 2CT2 do not. Mushrooms do, LSD much less so. There is no free lunch though especially with respect to XY hair loss. FtM's can just stop therapy and their hair usually bounces back but for MtF's, you at least need to stay on Duta to maintain for more than some short period but people are testing that. Estrogen does have healing effects on wounds and skin that are remarkable but we don't know what E2/T balance exactly is necessary to regrow hair. DHT is very, very hard to get to desist regardless of treatment.
 

JaneyElizabeth

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So here is a more negative view of progesterone and a person can end up wondering why sources vary so much:


Myth​


There is a commonly perceived myth that progesterone increases breast size in the transwoman. This partly comes from a paper published some years ago documenting the microscopic appearance of breast tissue. It indicated that progesterone increased the size of the lactating ducts. Hence this is in accordance with the functions detailed above. The paper is not saying that breasts are bigger.


Further facts about Progesterone​


Progesterone is produced in small quantities in the adrenals by men and women. It acts as a precursor to the formation of testosterone. ANY form of progesterone, whether naturally produced or artificially administered has the propensity for conversion into testosterone.


Commonly available progesterones / progestins:​

Levenorgestrel(testosterone analogue) Most androgenic
Norethisterone(testosterone analogue)
Mexdroxy-
progesterone Acetate
(progesterone analogue)
Dydrogesterone(progesterone analogue)Least androgenic
Drospirenone(spironolactone derivative)Antiandrogen
Cyproterone Acetate(synthetic progesterone)Antiandrogen
 

Almas

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As i've said before, libido is not as much issue as the gyno in the case of Bica
Gynecology is nothing compared to baldness. If you think otherwise, hair is not so dear to you


The first line of attack still remains, good ol' Finasteride + Minoxidil + (maybe) microneedling
If you go bald before 20, you may not even try to use Finasteride or Duta


Not wanting to be bald is pretty normal to whine about, it is what this site was created for anyway, that doesn't mean you should disapprove their approaches and call them a coward just cause they don't wanna take Bicalutamide..
If a person goes bald and is not helped by Duta, and he is also afraid to drink AA, he should leave this forum and shave his head. He is doomed.
 

Norwoody

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So here is a more negative view of progesterone and a person can end up wondering why sources vary so much:


Myth​


There is a commonly perceived myth that progesterone increases breast size in the transwoman. This partly comes from a paper published some years ago documenting the microscopic appearance of breast tissue. It indicated that progesterone increased the size of the lactating ducts. Hence this is in accordance with the functions detailed above. The paper is not saying that breasts are bigger.


Further facts about Progesterone​


Progesterone is produced in small quantities in the adrenals by men and women. It acts as a precursor to the formation of testosterone. ANY form of progesterone, whether naturally produced or artificially administered has the propensity for conversion into testosterone.


Commonly available progesterones / progestins:​

Levenorgestrel(testosterone analogue)Most androgenic
Norethisterone(testosterone analogue)
Mexdroxy-
progesterone Acetate
(progesterone analogue)
Dydrogesterone(progesterone analogue)Least androgenic
Drospirenone(spironolactone derivative)Antiandrogen
Cyproterone Acetate(synthetic progesterone)Antiandrogen
Proof that @jamesbooker1975 is an idiot lol
 

Almas

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You have to remember titration of dosaging before making any categorical statements. I think that the person Aly and another whose name escapes me (Kay) are far more knowledgeable than Dr. Rassman because HRT is something that you have to learn that goes from the age of 12 to 60 or however many years after puberty. They study sides like crazy and they both answer questions on the reddit sites for MtF's just like Rassman. Rassman was very wrong about using topical min orally and I lost some respect for him there as he claimed that only Loniten was likely to make it through a liver pass. Of course for Loniten, you need a prescription. Our way you do not and it only costs pennies a day. He is geared towards developing business via Tressless but the folks at Transfeminine Science do not. But he knows a lot about transplants especially and topical min and oral finasteride. Powers has some interesting ideas that could be true but he is a doctor not a researcher.

None of the AA's are particularly safe for people taking them forever. They are all synthetic but spironolactone might resemble endogenous molecules more so. I didn't like the sides of spironolactone but I could have tried to titrate downward but Estradiol-only is a movement among MtF's that recognizes that nothing but estradiol is necessary and that maintenance is best done with safe estrogens via parenteral dosing and that can be safe as a form of ingestion forever. Technically, provera is an AA, as is CPA but bica and spironolactone are the main two receptor-blocking meds. I think that the hit or miss aspect of receptor blocking is what might cause the sides. Why not use progesterone as an AA as it is safe and endogenous to humans unlike all of these cancer meds. For some reason people get fixated on bica as being this amazing thing but it is basically a somewhat safer synthetic than flutamide. I don't know why people use these two over MPA as it had been used prior to everyone touting the various 'mides to the heavens. Bica is much more expensive and has less history of human use as do all synthetics when compared to estrogen. There is no magic bullet for avoiding feminization and regrowing hair.
I have already answered many times why estrogen is counterproductive and disadvantageous in terms of results and side effects. Estrogen either doesn't help at all, or it completely destroys your T and causes severe feminization. We need an intermediate option, not this
Progesterone ... I don't know much about it, but it seems to block E, badly blocks T and DHT
 

JaneyElizabeth

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Proof that @jamesbooker1975 is an idiot lol
I have found him to be short-tempered and rude and I have tried to make sure that when I answer questions or someone disagrees with me, that I don't call them "stupid" or act as though they are bothering me. There's another unsuccessful guy from the @bridgeburn site who rarely posts there anymore who was similar. He started a thread that ended abruptly without any of the promised pics. That's why I am adamant about pics being taking over time which lessens the tendency of people to use unfair lighting or to use hairspray or other things that cling to and thicken hair. Most of us are too scarred to post though and I get that. Pictures of our heads can be like being naked to many of us. I still don't want to post my crown much because that was where I first noticed hair loss.
 

JaneyElizabeth

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I have already answered many times why estrogen is counterproductive and disadvantageous in terms of results and side effects. Estrogen either doesn't help at all, or it completely destroys your T and causes severe feminization. We need an intermediate option, not this
Progesterone ... I don't know much about it, but it seems to block E, badly blocks T and DHT
Yes but currently your intermediate option if it's not provera is the null set. Everything you tout increases estrogen levels and/or lowers T levels. Bica is often touted as best for breast growth and AA's can start incipient breast growth just like estrogen.
 

JaneyElizabeth

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Posted by
u/Ambrosia25

3 years ago


A ranking of AAs in terms of Safety, Effectiveness, Tolerability and Cost (inexpensiveness)​

renderTimingPixel.png

The safest way? That would be transdermal estradiol. The former is an [estrogen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen_(medication)) and will cause feminization (e.g., breast development, feminine fat distribution, mental changes, etc.) while the latter is essentially an antiandrogen and will turn off sex hormone production by your gonads and reduce your testosterone levels by about 95%. This combination is about as safe as you can get (not really differing much from what cisgender women have from a safety standpoint) and wouldn't really have any risks. It would also probably be the best regimen you could be on in terms of effectiveness and side effects.
That regimen might be pretty expensive though. The risks with hormones for transgender people overall are actually pretty low in general. There are other things that you could take that technically would be more "risky" but that would still have very low absolute risk and that might be much less expensive. Examples include oral or sublingual estradiol and other antiandrogens like spironolactone, cyproterone acetate, and bicalutamide.
Of these antiandrogens, spironolactone and bicalutamide are reasonably safe (although potassium monitoring is recommended with the former and liver monitoring is recommended with the latter) whereas cyproterone acetate has higher risks. Here is how I'd roughly rank the antiandrogens in terms of safety, effectiveness, tolerability (side effects), and cost (all in combination with an estrogen):
  • Safety: GnRH analogues > Spironolactone ≥ Bicalutamide >> Cyproterone acetate.
  • Effectiveness: GnRH analogues > Cyproterone acetate > Bicalutamide > Spironolactone.
  • Tolerability: GnRH analogues = Bicalutamide > Spironolactone > Cyproterone acetate.
  • Cost (inexpensiveness): Cyproterone acetate > Spironolactone > Bicalutamide >> GnRH analogues.
As an alternative, you could do higher-dose estrogen without an antiandrogen or with only a low dose of bicalutamide. Estrogens are actually antiandrogens themselves and can suppress testosterone levels by 95% similarly to GnRH analogues (link. However, you need higher estradiol levels than usual to achieve that. These higher levels may come with some safety risks like an increased risk of blood clots. However, the absolute risk would still be very low and that is particularly true for someone your age. [Note: the age of the OP which this comment was replying to is 17/18. The thread this post first appeared in can be read here.]
The pages linked above plus [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormone_replacement_therapy_(male-to-female)) article would be good places to start reading up on hormones.
 

Almas

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Yes but currently your intermediate option if it's not provera is the null set. Everything you tout increases estrogen levels and/or lowers T levels. Bica is often touted as best for breast growth and AA's can start incipient breast growth just like estrogen.
Bicalutamide does not raise E too much to induce significant breast growth. But even if you take a dose of 75mg at which it is possible, it still does not feminize as much as the destruction of T by estrogen. Bicalutamide leads to demasculinization, but not feminization. You do not lose muscle mass, your fat is not redistributed. Don't equate this with estrogen therapy, because Bica doesn't destroy your T like estrogen does.
 
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