please enter, hrt problems (I really need suggestions)

[Ests13]

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since I joined this site and I came to the conclusion that I wish I never had.

Basically, I’ve started losing hair since 14, I noticed my temples were different from every guy of my age in school and it was falling at a fast rate, I was diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia in 2019, I was 19.

Dermatologist prescribed me some palmetto sh*t and vitamins + minoxidil 2%, after 3 years I can say that Minoxidil is the one thing that did wonders to my hair, it made me regrow a LOT.

Anyway, even if I regrew some hairline, my shed was still severe so I decided to jump on finasteride without asking anyone and I did. Results? It didn’t work.

So I added spironolactone, did it work? No, it didn’t.

I added dutasteride and that was what finally worked; reduced my shedding in 2 months and gave me some regrowth, but things went downhill soon after.

Terrified, I started taking progynova.
I regret that choice profoundly

I regrew a lot of hair of course and it’s thicker than it’s ever been, but I can’t stand having breast growth, my libido is non existent and I can’t sleep.

I’m a cisgender who was greedy for hair and got fuck3d up by extreme regimen.

The worst thing is that if I went off estrogen, I would lose my hair again and there’s no guarantee spironolactone and duta might save it.

I’m gonna reduce the dose from 4mg to 2mg and eventually 1mg.

God, I hate being half trans, I miss my being male and things, guys who say testosterone is inferior should really get their brain checked or hop on HRT cause there’s no way a cis man could prefer estrogen over testosterone.

 

[Xader]

You have to choose what is more important for you. Hairs or manhood. You cannot have both if only HRT works for your hairs.

 

[Ests13]

This really makes me feel depressed, if only there was a way to retain masculinity… I look really bad with a shaved head.

 

[Mr. Slap Head]

Try a topical anti androgen instead, plus oral minoxidil.

 

[Xader]

This really makes me feel depressed, if only there was a way to retain masculinity… I look really bad with a shaved head.

I know that, im still thinking about E2.. but im really scared about feminization too.

 

[Ests13]

So your sequence for the past 3 years, starting at age 19, seems to be:

1. 2% minoxidil (worked)
2. adding finasteride (didn't work)
3. oral spironolactone (didn't work)
4. dutasteride (worked temporarily)
5. E2 (worked)

How long did you spend at each step when deciding things worked or not?


That seems like a very unusual progression, were you convinced by the "Exploring The Hormonal Route" thread or by specific people to go in this direction?

I gave dutasteride 6 months, I started shedding again after that time. And yes, I was convinced by that thread and now I’m regretting so badly. I think I’m gonna try to keep what I got with dutasteride and spironolactone.

 

[Doingitright]

I gave dutasteride 6 months, I started shedding again after that time. And yes, I was convinced by that thread and now I’m regretting so badly. I think I’m gonna try to keep what I got with dutasteride and spironolactone.

You also say your hair is thicker than ever? so despite shedding everything looks great? ... shedding is natural buddy and does not always equate to loss in most situations, if it looks good chill stop going nuclear.

 

[Ests13]

You also say your hair is thicker than ever? so despite shedding everything looks great? ... shedding is natural buddy and does not always equate to loss in most situations, if it looks good chill stop going nuclear.

they got thicker after two months on E

 

[Ests13]

Nothing will completely replace HRT while retaining full masculinity, but you could make changes that give you the best chance of retaining a bunch of hair and reducing side effects.

Here's a first draft of a reasonable path IMO:

1. Stop taking E2

2. Eliminate (or at a bare minimum, substantially lower) your dose of spironolactone. Consider low dose bica temporarily if you really can't bring yourself to stop spironolactone - but the primary goal needs to be to get your body producing T again and on a path to recovery.

3. Get bloodwork and give a full history to the doctor, you need to know how your hormones respond to changes as you proceed. Check vitamin levels as well. Add a multivitamin

4. You appear to be a high responder to minoxidil since grew hair on the women's dose of 2% topical. So bump it up to 5% topical min 1x/day. As a responder, there's no need to try adjuncts like introducing tretinoin or microneedling, and no need to add oral min.

5. You didn't spend enough time on dutasteride. 6 months and losing hair could simply have just been a routine shed. Few people don't respond at all, so resume dutasteride using the standard daily dose.

6. Consider adding RU 2x/day at relatively high concentration to protect your hair further

7. Add keto shampoo to address inflammation, every little bit helps. Lots of little adjunct interventions can be added later once the big stuff is taken care of

8. Save up for gyno surgery, but until then wear compression shirts under your clothes to hide it - nobody will really know

Thank you so much for your response, I really appreciate it. You’re right, I should stop both E2 and spironolactone, but I don’t think duta will save my hair; the fact that brings me ti think so is that I’ve probably upregulated my f****ng androgen receptors, and nothing will solve it.

I’m so sorry for what I’m about to say, but I really think I’m gonna bask in depression wishing I was dead. This situation sucks, no one’s gonna ever date me again, I really look bad with a shiny head and it won’t match my personality. I can’t believe nothing effective has been found, it’s a shame! Mental health related to hair is underrated, no one cares if you’re going bald and basically wanting to kill yourself.

I’m so sorry for this tiny opening up moment, it’s just sto frustrating and sad.

In moments like these I wish I was a girl or a mft for real.

 

[Ests13]

Yeah, I know, you’re right.
I pretty much played with my hormones and could have been worse, I stopped in time, hrt really gave me some unpleasant symptoms such as muscular atrophy and breast soreness.

The fact that my situation could be reversible and that the up regulation thing is basically “bro science” really reassured me so much, I haven’t lost hope yet and since dutasteride stopped my shedding for a while, I’m kinda optimistic, the only thing that I fear is having T skyrocketing, but tbh everything about T is better than E2 and gender dysphoria… I’m so happy to be back on earth again, baldness drive people crazy, guess I was sober enough to realise I was making a BIG mistake I would’ve regretted for the rest of my life.

Again, thank you so much for you responses, I’m gonna do what you suggested me and let you know what happens in a couple of months!

 

[Xader]

Yeah, I know, you’re right.
I pretty much played with my hormones and could have been worse, I stopped in time, hrt really gave me some unpleasant symptoms such as muscular atrophy and breast soreness.

The fact that my situation could be reversible and that the up regulation thing is basically “bro science” really reassured me so much, I haven’t lost hope yet and since dutasteride stopped my shedding for a while, I’m kinda optimistic, the only thing that I fear is having T skyrocketing, but tbh everything about T is better than E2 and gender dysphoria… I’m so happy to be back on earth again, baldness drive people crazy, guess I was sober enough to realise I was making a BIG mistake I would’ve regretted for the rest of my life.

Again, thank you so much for you responses, I’m gonna do what you suggested me and let you know what happens in a couple of months!

How long have you been on HRT?

 

[Ests13]

How long have you been on HRT?

started taking progynova in October 2021, I was about to reach the third month

 

[losingbattle88]

Wow this guy is My hero i wanna marry him.