This evening, I spent my time at the arboretum photographing flowers and insects. I have never been a big insect fan but somehow in a closeup lens they become more interesting. As long as they keep their distance. I had no clue until I started downloading the photos (still in progress) that I had taken 146. That's one of the problems with digital cameras. I lose all sense of control and just keep shooting pictures.

On the way home, I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up the estrogen and another prescription. Of course, the estrogen prescription has my male name on it. I have not changed my legal name but hope to have that done by the end of August.

The pharmacist was helping me until he looked at the prescriptions and then at me. He then handed the prescriptions to someone else, instructing him to help the 'person in the yellow shirt'. The younger male assistant helped me with no problem.

This pharmacy is in the 'burbs and I was only a little surprised. The downtown pharmacy near my office has been terrific about the whole thing, even calling me by my female name. That pharmacy has several TS clients.

What the hell is wrong with these suburban people! To be fair, I should change that to 'what the hell is wrong with this suburban person!'. I live in this suburb and have had nothing but polite treatment so far.

So this evening's incident did not upset me. In fact, I was laughing on my way out of the store! I transitioned almost 11 weeks ago and this was my first problem. At that, it wasn't even a big deal. If this pharmacist had been the only one in the store and had refused to help me, I definitely would have made a stink about it. I didn't bother because I was helped and I was worn out from over 2 hours of walking around the arboretum which also involved a lot of kneeling on stone walkways, bending and getting up and down as I shot those pesky flowers. Why can't they all blossom at eye level?

I have been dealing with my usual July - August asthma attack. To reduce lung inflammation, I am prescribed the steroid prednisone. A problem is that the 'usual' dose of prednisone used to treat asthma has absolutely no effect on me. So, I am given 3 - 4 times that amount.

Prednisone is a miracle drug and within several hours of starting it I get some relief. After a week or so, though, it starts to make me hyperactive and I get no more than 5 hours of sleep a night. So, I was interested this go round to see if my estrogen HRT would change my reactions. Perhaps the estrogen might even keep me calm, as it has done remarkably well over the last month or more.

What I have found is that I still get no more than 5 hours of sleep a night after more than a week on prednisone. I have had a few days when I have felt hyperactive but not to the extent as in the past. I feel tired but not stressed out about it. I am really very calm today.

There are other emotional effects I can reasonably tie to taking estrogen. More on those another time.

my sister takes prednisone when she gets MS attacks it effects her the same way

kennath7 (imported) wrote: Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:02 pm my sister takes prednisone when she gets MS attacks it effects her the same way

Hi Kennath7,

I have a friend who gets MS attacks and he takes prednisone, too. It can really help things but the side effects can be tiresome, at best. I am lucky in that I don't have to take it all the time like some others.

Turns out I am no longer feeling the calm I reported earlier in the evening! I just took a prescription mood stabilizer and things will be much better in the morning.

Within the last two weeks, I have noticed a big change in my emotions that seems to be estrogen-related. I feel much more feminine and some of the poeple I speak with regularly must notice a change. When I look at some of the personal things I have written people within the last week, even I am a little surprised at a shift in tone.

I have tended to be very emotional, especially for one who identified as male, much of my adult life. Even in my 30s, I would cry at the end of practically any movie I saw. It made no difference whether the film was a comedy or a more serious feature. I would often sob out loud at the end and be in tears. So for years there has been a part of my feminine self I allowed to come out, at least in a darkened theater.

The feelings I have now are similarly feminine, not surprisingly! They are more intense and a more constant presence than what I am used to. I like this.

Danya (imported) wrote: Wed Aug 06, 2008 5:06 pm I have been dealing with my usual July - August asthma attack. To reduce lung inflammation, I am prescribed the steroid prednisone. A problem is that the 'usual' dose of prednisone used to treat asthma has absolutely no effect on me. So, I am given 3 - 4 times that amount.

Prednisone is a miracle drug and within several hours of starting it I get some relief. After a week or so, though, it starts to make me hyperactive and I get no more than 5 hours of sleep a night. So, I was interested this go round to see if my estrogen HRT would change my reactions. Perhaps the estrogen might even keep me calm, as it has done remarkably well over the last month or more.

What I have found is that I still get no more than 5 hours of sleep a night after more than a week on prednisone. I have had a few days when I have felt hyperactive but not to the extent as in the past. I feel tired but not stressed out about it. I am really very calm today.

There are other emotional effects I can reasonably tie to taking estrogen. More on those another time.

This is based on the whole 15 minutes of R&D I've done so take this with a huge grain of salt. Try DHEA maybe 25mg before bed and a small dose of melatonin and see if that helps you sleep. DO expect vivid dreams (Great fun for me btw) when your DHEA levels are healthy.

mrt (imported) wrote: Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:16 pm This is based on the whole 15 minutes of R&D I've done so take this with a huge grain of salt. Try DHEA maybe 25mg before bed and a small dose of melatonin and see if that helps you sleep. DO expect vivid dreams (Great fun for me btw) when your DHEA levels are healthy.

Hi MrT,

In general, I tend to discount 15 minutes of R&D work. Anyway, my sleep pattern is nearly back to normal now. In another two days, I will be off prednisone entirely and not a day too soon. It has been causing me all kinds of unpleasant side effects.

Hugs,

Danya

I am on spironolactone to reduce my testosterone level. With testosterone suppressed, less estrogen is needed for feminization. Sounds good and in general I have no problem with spironolactone.

Except when I have to take prednisone to reduce the inflammation of an asthma attack. I have been doing exactly that for the last 10 days to two weeks. The combination of spiro and prednisone causes very painful muscle cramps over much of my legs, feet, toes, hands and fingers. These cramps are not quick to subside, unlike the Charley Horse type. To make things worse, they wake me multiple times overnight and I cannot easily get rid of them. Driving a car can become an exercise in mind over painful, cramped muscles. Sometimes I have to pull over, get out and walk for several minutes to slightly alleviate the pain. Then I can continue to drive for a time before the pain once again becomes too much.

So for the last two weeks, I have been short on sleep not only from insomnia from prednisone use but also from painful night cramps. During the day, I have been unable to get routine chores done around the house become my fingers and hands get locked into uncomfortable positions. Grasping things with a hand tends to brings on worse cramping.

I have seen web references to problems with combining these two drugs. Spironolactone is a potassium-sparing diuretic. Concomittant use with prednisone causes water and sodium retention which is bad news if you are on spiro.

For the last several days, I stopped taking spiro. I hoped this would reduce my muscle cramps and I think it has helped. I have also been drinking plenty of water to ease dehydration. That can worsen cramping.

Tomorrow, I see my HRT doctor and I will discuss the spiro/prednisone problem with her.

Danya (imported) wrote: Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:30 pm For the last several days, I stopped taking spiro. I hoped this would reduce my muscle cramps and I think it has helped. I have also been drinking plenty of water to ease dehydration. That can worsen cramping.

Tomorrow, I see my HRT doctor and I will discuss the spiro/prednisone problem with her.

When I was using this same spironolactone/prednisone combination early this year, I did not want to stop the spiro and lose the T-lowering effect. Never mind I reported then on such bad cramping in the tub that I wasn't sure I could get out before I drowned! More than one Archive friend thought I was being too stubborn about continuing the spiro while I was on prednisone. They were right! At the time, I preferred to look at my behavior as 'strong-willed' but I was really being silly (you are certainly free to view this as a euphemism) about the whole thing. There is just no getting around that.

I 'think' I am less stubborn now although I am certain some of that trait will always remain. At least I stopped the spiro several days ago without needing an OK from the doctor.

When I saw the doctor today and told her about the cramps, she said she was confident I was 'smart enough' to have stopped the spironolactone on my own. Whew, thank God I had already done that! Anyway, I asked her what 'smart' had to do with anything at all in these matters. Even when I know the sensible thing to do, I don't always do it.

We agreed that the next time I need to get on prednisone, I will stop the spiro immediately. Only when I am entirely off prednisone will I start it again. The effects of spiro take a while to both build and diminish, anyway. All will be well.

Today I got the results for the blood drawn a week ago. The doctor reported all is well. One of the things I like about this woman physician is she always has a copy of the results for me to take with me.

When I was last tested two months ago, I was surprised my total T was 500 ng/dL (expected values for men are 240 - 950). A level of 500 seemed improbable given my history of being on a T-blocker of some type for eight months at that point.

The results today were more encouraging. Testosterone was down to 138 ng/dL which is well below the normal range. It is still higher than I would like but it IS headed in the right direction. My total T was 5.5 ng/dL. This is also a good result as the 'expected values' are 9 - 30.

Liver function was normal, as were cholesterol, trigylcerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and so on. This was good news.

As of tonight, then, I am able to double my dose of estrogen. I ordered a pizza to celebrate! I try to eat sensibly, and inexpensively, most of the time but today's good news on the hormone front is a reason to bend the dietary rules.

"

Danya (imported) wrote: Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:33 pm As of tonight, then, I am able to double my dose of estrogen.

"

Yay! That should be quite nice.