Question for those who understand these things. I’ve just received the results from my blood test on Monday

Result: 15.1 nmol/L (serum testosterone)

Which if I’ve correctly converted it using an online tool = 436 ng/dl

I’m 46 years old and haven’t started my chemical castration trail yet (and have never tried messing with my hormone levels before).

A quick consultation with Dr Google tells me that I am at the low end of normal for my age (which was exactly my guess before the test!!). That’s if I’m reading the result correctly.

I wonder what implications this has for castration (chemical trail planned soon)? If my testosterone level isn’t particularly high to start with, could it mean that I’m a little less lightly to suffer from the worst side effects?

I appreciate that how my body reacts to being hormone free probably depends on a lot of things, but I’d be interested in your views.

My blood test also showed that my liver test is very slightly out of the normal range. Not by much, but the doctor wants a follow up test in six weeks. It’s clearly something which I’m going to have to keep an eye on, and is likely a result of my previous enthusiasm for alcohol… (I’ve been dry for six weeks now)

As far as the hormone free thing goes, if you're worried about bone health and other symptoms of low sex hormones, you could consider adding Raloxifene, which is a partial agonist of the estrogen receptors. The benefit to it: if you don't want to grow breast tissue, it will prevent breast growth, while giving you testosterone-free relief from low sex hormone symptoms.

I don't use it myself (MtF trans so I just go for estrogen), but I knew some people who identified as non-binary who did, and IIRC some bodybuilders who take steroids use it to help not get roid boobs.

Just giving up drinking completely can work wonders. I once tested high for some liver indicator after having gone through a long period of consuming lots of alcohol - when I reduced drinking a lot, the indicator returned to normal values.

I’ve ordered Tamoxifen to go with the Androcur, which as far as I can tell is very similar to Raloxifene.

Hopefully my liver will soon recover from my excessive alcohol consumption, and I'm hoping that chemical castration will make me feel a little happier about life so I won’t feel the need to self medicate with drink again. I guess there’s only one way to find out…

I saw my therapist again this afternoon, and she had invited into the room a doctor who works a lot with transgender patients and understands hormones. Unfortunately still not a doctor who can actually prescribe what I want (I have to see the shrinks in London for that - seriously, they don’t make it easy..!), but she was quite willing to discuss medication and doses, which is very helpful.

Anyway, she advised that as my testosterone level is quite low for my age that 50mg a day of Androcur from the start should be sufficient, and only to increase to 100mg if it’s not working. 20mg a day of Tamoxifen is a good dose to start at (we didn’t discus if / when to lower that). She also thought that my low-ish existing testosterone level could mean that my side effects aren’t too bad - no guarantee though!

The doctor was quite keen for me to consider a very low dose of oestrogen rather than the Tamoxifen, as having some hormones is healthier than none, but I made it quite clear that at the moment I’m not comfortable with any feminisation which might be noticeable to others. I explained that I wanted to try being hormone free and see where I’m at, which eventually she seemed to accept.

I told her that I plan to start taking the medication which I’ve ordered online about this time next month (I’ve a couple of commitments to get out of the way first), and she wants to see me again when I’ve been taking it for a few weeks to see how I’m getting on. Which is very helpful.

It seems like doctors are becoming more tolerant to self-medication recently.

You'll need to have liver indicators tested from time to time while on Androcur as Androcur can cause liver damage esp. when higher dosages are used (which it seems you don't intend to do anyway).

Zebedeee (imported) wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:43 am I saw my therapist again this afternoon, and she had invited into the room a doctor who works a lot with transgender patients and understands hormones. Unfortunately still not a doctor who can actually prescribe what I want (I have to see the shrinks in London for that - seriously, they don’t make it easy..!), but she was quite willing to discuss medication and doses, which is very helpful.

Anyway, she advised that as my testosterone level is quite low for my age that 50mg a day of Androcur from the start should be sufficient, and only to increase to 100mg if it’s not working. 20mg a day of Tamoxifen is a good dose to start at (we didn’t discus if / when to lower that). She also thought that my low-ish existing testosterone level could mean that my side effects aren’t too bad - no guarantee though!

The doctor was quite keen for me to consider a very low dose of oestrogen rather than the Tamoxifen, as having some hormones is healthier than none, but I made it quite clear that at the moment I’m not comfortable with any feminisation which might be noticeable to others. I explained that I wanted to try being hormone free and see where I’m at, which eventually she seemed to accept.

I told her that I plan to start taking the medication which I’ve ordered online about this time next month (I’ve a couple of commitments to get out of the way first), and she wants to see me again when I’ve been taking it for a few weeks to see how I’m getting on. Which is very helpful.

Tibergrace (imported) wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2018 12:05 pm It seems like doctors are becoming more tolerant to self-medication recently.

I think that they may just be beginning to accept that they can’t hold back the tide, and that if they refuse to help patients it’s not that difficult for us to go ahead and do what we want anyway without professional supervision. Makes much more sense if they cooperate and try to make sure people don’t harm themselves.

As someone with lifelong gender dysphoria I don’t think it’s a big ask to try changing my hormone balance and see if I can find something which works for me. If I don’t buy the medication myself then I have to wait at least a year for an appointment at the gender identity clinic in London, followed by a few months of assessment before they will even consider giving me a prescription. Which after all that time they might refuse me anyway. This timescale was confirmed for me today, though I can shorten it to about four to six months if I pay to go private. (The NHS is very good, but it can be slow - especially if it’s not considered an emergency)

So the plan is to self medicate to start with, then if it works for me go to a private doctor later in the year for a UK prescription, which will save me a lot of money in the long run as I already pay £10 a month for unlimited prescriptions. The doctor I saw today did mention that she had other patients who had gone this route, and that she would be able to find out for me the private clinic they used.

In a round about way, I think that things are going in the right direction - you just have to be prepared to bend a few of the rules and spend a bit of money to get things moving.

Jorge2008 (imported) wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:10 pm You'll need to have liver indicators tested from time to time while on Androcur as Androcur can cause liver damage esp. when higher dosages are used (which it seems you don't intend to do anyway).

My GP’s practice is happy to give me blood tests on demand, so I’ll probably get a full set every couple of weeks to begin with (as much as anything to see how quickly my T comes down), then every couple of months once things settle down.

Mostly doctors ton't know much about hormones and are thankful if the patients know what is good for themself.

15.1 nmol/L is really a good level and you shouldn't get problems on it.

With 100mg androcur you should have definitively extreme low level after two weeks!