what’s crazy is I got my last prescription (no more refills after this) just around the time this voicemail came in, and I ordered some DIY a few days ago anticipating something like this… I’m way over 18/19 so this isn’t some “save the children” type beat
the appointment was to get my first round of labs to check hormone levels, but I guess I’m just gonna be winging it from now on
Another piece of advise( btw. Your situation sucks).
If you can’t track bloods, you can still track some symptoms and effects yourself.
With estrogen the easy ones would of course be the desired effects, but also very importantly negative ones, those could indicate problems with the dosage. For example lack of energy or severe moodswing.
Lack of energy is simple, you likely don’t have enough sex hormones in your body. Most likely not enough E. But I know women who also lack energy due to low T, you need both, even as a trans woman.
Severe Moodswings are also often caused by E, but this time too much, or you have too step of a curve in your bloods.(This one is more common with esters other than EUn or EE.)
These two are just the first two I remember.
When I started Diy I kept a diary for the first few weeks, trying to track daily mood an energy and stuff. That on paper is probably the simplest way to do this.
I’ve actually been keeping a transitioning journal since a bit before HRT, but after I started it became more about physical observations (the most noticeable ones that have persisted from the beginning to now are chest soreness and no more spontaneous erections) than emotions or energy levels. I don’t know if I could say there’s much of a difference in those, aside from a vague sense of constant dread going away. Do you think that’s enough to know if the HRT is doing its thing?
To me that sounds fine. Those are the early effects estrogen should have. When I was severly underdosed by my endo I would spend most of my day sleeping, and getting hot flashes every now and then.
The EE is also what I use. It is the current diy hrt gold standard, because of it’s long half life and flat curve. So good choice. I would recommend 4mg every 7 days, that should make certain your levels are high enough, and avoid needing any anti-androgens. If you wanna be funky, you can also inject 8mg every 14 days, should also work(but is generally not recommended, cause of steep curve in E in blood). The injection needle should be 25G upwards imo. Make sure to vary the injection site to prevent internal scarring.
I got 30G needles, do you think that would be okay for drawing and injecting? the homebrewer I ordered from suggests 29G since it’s in MCT oil, which I understand is less viscous than other types of oil used for medications
I also use 30G insulin syringes for drawing and injecting(SubQ) and am having no problems. Drawing takes a bit, but it’s fine. I once met a girl who injected using 18G, which is way too big.
what’s crazy is I got my last prescription (no more refills after this) just around the time this voicemail came in, and I ordered some DIY a few days ago anticipating something like this… I’m way over 18/19 so this isn’t some “save the children” type beat
the appointment was to get my first round of labs to check hormone levels, but I guess I’m just gonna be winging it from now on
Another piece of advise(
btw. Your situation sucks).
If you can’t track bloods, you can still track some symptoms and effects yourself.
With estrogen the easy ones would of course be the desired effects, but also very importantly negative ones, those could indicate problems with the dosage. For example lack of energy or severe moodswing.
Lack of energy is simple, you likely don’t have enough sex hormones in your body. Most likely not enough E. But I know women who also lack energy due to low T, you need both, even as a trans woman.
Severe Moodswings are also often caused by E, but this time too much, or you have too step of a curve in your bloods.(This one is more common with esters other than EUn or EE.)
These two are just the first two I remember.
When I started Diy I kept a diary for the first few weeks, trying to track daily mood an energy and stuff. That on paper is probably the simplest way to do this.
thanks for the advice (and
)
I’ve actually been keeping a transitioning journal since a bit before HRT, but after I started it became more about physical observations (the most noticeable ones that have persisted from the beginning to now are chest soreness and no more spontaneous erections) than emotions or energy levels. I don’t know if I could say there’s much of a difference in those, aside from a vague sense of constant dread going away. Do you think that’s enough to know if the HRT is doing its thing?
To me that sounds fine. Those are the early effects estrogen should have. When I was severly underdosed by my endo I would spend most of my day sleeping, and getting hot flashes every now and then.
What dosage and method are you currently using?
100mcg/day transdermal patches. the DIY I bought is two vial of estradiol enanthate from a homebrewer and some needles and syringes off ebay
The EE is also what I use. It is the current diy hrt gold standard, because of it’s long half life and flat curve. So good choice. I would recommend 4mg every 7 days, that should make certain your levels are high enough, and avoid needing any anti-androgens. If you wanna be funky, you can also inject 8mg every 14 days, should also work(but is generally not recommended, cause of steep curve in E in blood). The injection needle should be 25G upwards imo. Make sure to vary the injection site to prevent internal scarring.
I got 30G needles, do you think that would be okay for drawing and injecting? the homebrewer I ordered from suggests 29G since it’s in MCT oil, which I understand is less viscous than other types of oil used for medications
I also use 30G insulin syringes for drawing and injecting(SubQ) and am having no problems. Drawing takes a bit, but it’s fine. I once met a girl who injected using 18G, which is way too big.