: Breast growth :
On Tuesday I switched from taking estrogens in pill form to estrogen injections. I've felt that for the last few months I haven't been getting much effect from my hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Basically, there are only two ways that HRT can be meaningfully measured when it comes to physical effects in a MTF person - breast growth and reduced body hair. As I mentioned in a previous post, my blood tests have consistently measured in the normal female range for hormone ratios. But I have noticed that my breasts have pretty much stopped growing for the last few months.
This may be due to my age. People who transition MTF after their mid-20s experience a pretty steep drop-off in terms of how greatly hormones will affect them. However, after that drop-off from the 20s to the 30s, the drop-off in effects into the later years is not nearly so steep. And everyone's reaction to cross-hormone treatment is different, so as the saying goes, your mileage may vary.
When I first started experimenting with herbals, I actually got the most pronounced effects in terms of breast growth, which is surprising because herbals drugs are not as strong as the prescription drugs I'm taking now. However, I think the body tends to react quickly at first, and taper off as things reach equilibrium. I wish I had not stopped HRT for a time when I was losing weight back in early 2004 - I think I would have gotten better results if I had continued on it without a break.
As genetic girls might remember from their adolescent days, breast growth starts with the formation of hard, tender lumps behind the nipples as milk ducts start to form. The lumps gradually start expanding into what feels like donut shapes, which eventually round out into the overall shape of the breast, losing its tenderness and becoming fatty tissue. There is a scale called the Tanner Stages (warning: this link may be offensive) that measure human female breast growth, and I feel like I'm at Stage III now, although I'm barely an A-cup. I no longer have the growing pains and tenderness I had when I first started. I might never get any additional growth, but implants can take care of the shortfall, of course.
In transsexuals just as in teenage girls, breast growth happens over a period of 2-5 years. Since I've only been on HRT for 16 months, I figure it's a little too soon to give up on more natural growth - hence, the change to injectible estrogen. Injection has the advantage of bypassing the liver and going directly to the bloodstream, which may make the estrogen more effective. So I'm going to try the injections for a couple months and see if I get any results. The other upside is that I only need to inject once every two weeks, so it's fewer pills to take, although I still have to take my testosterone-blockers and progesterone a couple times a day. But anything I can do to make things easier on my liver is probably worthwhile.
This may be due to my age. People who transition MTF after their mid-20s experience a pretty steep drop-off in terms of how greatly hormones will affect them. However, after that drop-off from the 20s to the 30s, the drop-off in effects into the later years is not nearly so steep. And everyone's reaction to cross-hormone treatment is different, so as the saying goes, your mileage may vary.
When I first started experimenting with herbals, I actually got the most pronounced effects in terms of breast growth, which is surprising because herbals drugs are not as strong as the prescription drugs I'm taking now. However, I think the body tends to react quickly at first, and taper off as things reach equilibrium. I wish I had not stopped HRT for a time when I was losing weight back in early 2004 - I think I would have gotten better results if I had continued on it without a break.
As genetic girls might remember from their adolescent days, breast growth starts with the formation of hard, tender lumps behind the nipples as milk ducts start to form. The lumps gradually start expanding into what feels like donut shapes, which eventually round out into the overall shape of the breast, losing its tenderness and becoming fatty tissue. There is a scale called the Tanner Stages (warning: this link may be offensive) that measure human female breast growth, and I feel like I'm at Stage III now, although I'm barely an A-cup. I no longer have the growing pains and tenderness I had when I first started. I might never get any additional growth, but implants can take care of the shortfall, of course.
In transsexuals just as in teenage girls, breast growth happens over a period of 2-5 years. Since I've only been on HRT for 16 months, I figure it's a little too soon to give up on more natural growth - hence, the change to injectible estrogen. Injection has the advantage of bypassing the liver and going directly to the bloodstream, which may make the estrogen more effective. So I'm going to try the injections for a couple months and see if I get any results. The other upside is that I only need to inject once every two weeks, so it's fewer pills to take, although I still have to take my testosterone-blockers and progesterone a couple times a day. But anything I can do to make things easier on my liver is probably worthwhile.
