What is the Difference between Testosterone and Estrogen?

[erikboy (imported)]

This question is primarily to those who have experienced full adult levels of both testosterone and estrogen.

How would you describe difference in libido? weaker/stronger, other aspects like changes in sexual objects, paraphilias, fetishes?

[Andalusian (imported)]

Libido is indeed technically lower, yes, but the thing for me is how different it feels. Hornyness on a body running on testosterone is really really different to the one of a body running on estrogens. It's interesting, and for me, more enjoyable, because you don't just explode when you orgasm and that's the end of it, it's a whole experience coming to an orgasm that is also a bit longer and more extended in time, and you can feel more in different parts of your body. Plus you don't feel tired nor sleepy afterwards.

Also sex is not such an important thing, as it doesn't inundate my mind as easy as before. I still think of sex but in another way. And I must say that I've been liking men much much more when it really wasn't like that before. Even falling in love with one hehe

When it comes to paraphilias and fetishes, that's more of an individual situation, I can't really answer to that. I still feel the same about stuff I liked before, to be honest. But as you, generally speaking, ain't so sex-centered, I guess it can help with that if it bothers you deeply.

Hope I've been helpful

[erikboy (imported)]

Libido is indeed technically lower, yes, but the thing for me is how different it feels. Hornyness on a body running on testosterone is really really different to the one of a body running on estrogens. It's interesting, and for me, more enjoyable, because you don't just explode when you orgasm and that's the end of it, it's a whole experience coming to an orgasm that is also a bit longer and more extended in time, and you can feel more in different parts of your body. Plus you don't feel tired nor sleepy afterwards.

Also sex is not such an important thing, as it doesn't inundate my mind as easy as before. I still think of sex but in another way. And I must say that I've been liking men much much more when it really wasn't like that before. Even falling in love with one hehe

When it comes to paraphilias and fetishes, that's more of an individual situation, I can't really answer to that. I still feel the same about stuff I liked before, to be honest. But as you, generally speaking, ain't so sex-centered, I guess it can help with that if it bothers you deeply.

Hope I've been helpful

Thank you for the insight! Could you please describe differences of hornyness? T hornyness makes sexual thoughts to pop up in your brain, out of blue and sometimes too often. Allowing these thoughts into your mind can quickly lead to sexual excitement and sometimes to stupid behaviour (unexpected/inappropriate), also feeding paraphilias.

I have been chemcastrated few times for various periods, up to 4 months. Also I remember very well how orgasms felt before puberty. As an eunuch, sometimes orgasms feel bland and shallow, other times there is wave of warmths that engulfs your whole body from top of the head to toes. It is not so intense, but lasts longer. How would you compare eunuch orgasms to estogen assisted orgasms?

[Andalusian (imported)]

Thank you for the insight! Could you please describe differences of hornyness? T hornyness makes sexual thoughts to pop up in your brain, out of blue and sometimes too often. Allowing these thoughts into your mind can quickly lead to sexual excitement and sometimes to stupid behaviour (unexpected/inappropriate), also feeding paraphilias.

I have been chemcastrated few times for various periods, up to 4 months. Also I remember very well how orgasms felt before puberty. As an eunuch, sometimes orgasms feel bland and shallow, other times there is wave of warmths that engulfs your whole body from top of the head to toes. It is not so intense, but lasts longer. How would you compare eunuch orgasms to estogen assisted orgasms?

Horniness is very different. It doesn't inundate your mind so easily, it's more slow, simmering and sensual, and less primitive, sudden, and quick. At least that's how I feel it.

And the way you describe eunuch orgasms sounds very similar to what I've experienced. I haven't felt that they're sometimes bland and shallow as you say, that probably only happens when your body is lacking sexual hormones. But they do feel like a warmth engulfing your body, it extends a bit more to the legs and chest and feels more of a sensation that extends and calms your whole body, rather than T orgasms which I feel are much more concentrated on the penis, you cum, and that's it. It's like shooting a gun. They may sometimes be a bit stronger I guess? But they're also shorter and once they happen it's like everything ended, like you drove all of the sexual excitation out of your body and you can just go on like nothing happened. So in my opinion they ain't nearly as fulfilling. Erectile dysfunction is also cited as a common issue, but it hasn't been a problem for me. Everything down there changes, obviously, but ED seems to affect one more or less frequently depending on factors like age, previous size, being a grower vs a shower, and how often they masturbate and/or have sexual interactions. Not doing anything with it it's of course going to reduce its size (which it will also do anyways, just that not as severely). Also it may happen more depending on which medication are you using to block testosterone production/metabolization. For example, cyproterone acetate will brutally assassinate your penile function and your libido if you use just even medium to high doses, while others medications won't be so aggressive with your sexual organs, and with your whole body for that matter but I won't expand further on that issue right now without being asked for that specifically because I know I'll write some aggressively large paragraphs about it

I must also mention that I feel amazing about it not only from the objective scientific-level observation of the changes in my body and its functions, but because I've always hated testosterone. For me personally, it's a poison that made too much damage to my body. I knew I didn't want its effects before I started to suffer them in my body, I knew I didn't want its effects while they were happening in my body, and I had to mentalize myself to accept that it was gonna be like that for some time more before I could start HRT, but it was demoralizing and sometimes just traumatizing.

Finally starting to have a woman's body is so liberating to me. Even though my gender identity has sometimes been fluid and out of the binary (but it never felt right to be a boy/man) I have always known from very early that I felt like a girl, that I wanted to be known and recognized as a woman, socialize like that, and that was how I wanted my body to be. So now that after having gone through my teens with everybody just knowing me as a girl, I could fulfill what was a necessity for me, changing my body and becoming both at the same time an adult and a woman, I feel incredibly happy and fulfilled with my life and myself. Finally, when I see my reflection in a mirror I see myself and that motivates me to keep going. This may not translate the same way for you as your gender is Eunuch, so in some aspects the level to which my experience can be compared into yours may be a bit limited, even when trying to describe it the most objective way possible, and only in physical terms, although that's something that only you can know.

It should be noted too that I've been for nearly 7 months on T-blockers and estradiol, but the changes in my body are certainly a bit accelerated compared to the average transitioning person because I started hormones literally just a month after coming of legal age (and only because I couldn't get the official approval to start before, if that were to have happened I would've started back in November, but whatever) so don't expect changes to come so quickly if right now your body is running on its endogenously produced testosterone!

Oh and about the inappropriate sexual behavior and paraphilias. I can't speak from the wisdom of personal experience there, but I think I can see that you're worried about it, and you seem to feel a bit guilty about it all. Your sexual drive, as I've mentioned before in my previous message, should diminish and can change in very different ways, so don't panic! But I must add that if you still feel distressed there's lots of psychologists specialized in that field which can help you to sort all those feelings. Everything will turn out ok, trust me!

Sorry for the humongous textwall I hope I've been helpful again

[JessicaH (imported)]

Estrogen can also increase sex drive so don’t think that more is better. 1-2mg/day (oral) should give you great benefits without much feminization. It’s also easier to enjoy intimacy without the overwhelming drive for the orgasm. While really nice, an orgasm isn’t required to enjoy sex/intimacy.

[erikboy (imported)]

I am trying to understand differences between estrogen and testosterone rather out of curiosity. I am not planning to take any estrogen myself. I want to understand the difference of sexuality in males and females. Most of the surveys and specialists opinions about the theme, that I had seen, have proved to be quite useless or biased. Although there are some minor differences in male and female brains (boys like to take more risks than girls and boys take more interest in objects, while girls take more interest in other persons, their brains work pretty much the same.

So the best source for such information would be the first hand experience from people who had been under the influence of T and E.

[not61fin (imported)]

I have been on testosterone replacement since castration. I would like to stop it and switch to estrogen. The reason is simply how it would change my body.

I want bigger tits and a hairless body. I have been using Estrofem pills for a few weeks. The breasts have grown a little (AA cup) but it has been with the hormone levels

great difficulties. Testosterone levels sometimes get really high. I've been trying to time the estrogen periods with the low testosterone periods, it doesn't seem like it

successful. Hence the idea of stopping the test.

I realized a while ago that I have gender dysphoria, I think I'm ready to seek help with the gender transition process. I think I have some kind of idea

what does hormone replacement mean? I have noticed that the fluctuation of the hormone level affects the functioning of the body in a surprising number of ways, physically and also psychologically. Also my own

expectations of changes probably affect feelings.

[WheelyCurious]

Presumably if you have been castrated, and you stop taking supplemental Testosterone, your T level should stabilize at "castrate level" (under 50 ng/dL) and not fluctuate much. I'd then look at what sort of estrogen supplement to get you up to an E level around 125 pg/mL (which is what my doctor says is the minimum for keeping your bones healthy) I would not suggest doing both T and E at the same time.

Reportedly taking estrogen pills is about the worst way to do it, as the processing of the pills in your digestive system is hard on the liver and very inefficient, so you need a bigger dose to get the same results. The patches (which I'm on) or injectable forms are supposed to be better for you.

Breast growth / hair changes is highly variable between individuals. Some have reported getting more growth by doing higher estrogen doses (which may have other risks) and / or various herbal supplements. The biggest factors on what you'll get seem to be age and female relative sizes... The older you are the less growth, and there is some tendency to track with your female relative's 'endowment' - the bigger they are the more you are likely to grow...

Hormone replacement is basically the idea of replacing the hormones that should have been supplied by your testicles with either T or E. It is strongly recommended that you do one or the other in order to help preserve your bone health, and prevent some of the psychological issues.

This, plus your mentioning having gender dysphoria suggests to me that you should try to find a transgender center and get under the care of one of their doctors. If not, you should at least try to get an endocrinologist to help you manage your hormone levels.

WheelyCurious