About an hour ago I took two pumps of gynokadin dosergiel estradiol (approx 1.5mg I believe?). Will take 1 tablet (100mg) of Spironolactone tomorrow 🙏

Kinda feeling something already but it’s probably just placebo.

[yes, i am a cis woman but I feel (and look😓) like a man basically. I’m 23. Been to the gp and apparentlyyyy I’m only deficient in Vitamin D but Idek what they actually tested me for 🤷‍♀️ (besides that). I was basically told “NO”! to hrt. So since my life and health is awful, I decided to do a little research and got it myself. I am about to ovulate within the next week ish so I probably won’t take that much but we shall see how it goes!] Any advice welcome 🦋

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    6 days ago

    I’m going to echo the doubts about spiro being either useful or appropriate in this case. It’s really not ideal for what you’re trying to achieve, and even if it were, the risks are far out of proportion to the benefits it could bring for a cis woman with some kind of androgen issue.

    The estradiol? Eh, the risks involved are within the range I’d say make it up to the individual as to being worth it, but I kinda doubt you’ll get what you want out of it, at least not without knowing exactly why you picked it. It’s not something I would recommend for a cis woman trying to reduce masculine features, as it tends to be weak in that regard. Not that it can’t do anything, it’s that a cis woman with normative levels isn’t going to get extra benefits.

    But the spiro , you should just donate to someone in need. It’s really not going to help you, and it can hurt you.

    Besides, doubling up new meds is a bad idea. You have to play smart so that you not only know what is working and isn’t, but can identify what’s causing any problems that arise. If you insist on using both, at least stagger their onset out by a few weeks so you can get a better idea of whether or not one is doing anything bad.

    Going DIY with any med is iffy. So if any given person is going to do it, you have to use more caution than a prescribing doctor would, not less. You can’t get in a rush with this kind of thing.

    • hayyy@thelemmy.clubOP
      2·
      6 days ago

      I confuzzled because it’s pretty commonly taken for PCOS (which I may or not not have) so I don’t see the big deal. …

      • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        6 days ago

        I get it, I do. It’s that may or may not that makes the difference. Pcos is enough of a health risk of its own that the drawbacks of spironolactone are generally worth it, and when combined with other hormonal supplementation, can end up with a net improvement in overall health. But it takes monitoring for it to be fully safe.

        We’re not talking about minor dizziness and such. It’s the liver and kidney damage that’s the main factor in making it a poor choice for unmonitored use. By the time you catch the effects without regular testing, the damage done can be life threatening.

        And, if it jacks up your potassium levels, you might not even get that much warning. People do go into cardiac arrest from it. It isn’t common, but it happens.

        My sister was on it for a while, for pcos, and it caused long term problems despite being monitored. It’s a great drug with careful use, it saves lives as a diuretic. Or at least prolongs them. But it is most definitely not something to self administer.

        Something like flutamide is way safer, and has less side effects in general. But, again, without knowing pcos is in play, you’ve got a really high chance of wasting money you could put to other treatments, or getting second or third opinions to determine what is in play.

        It’s a numbers game. What is going to give you the best results with the least risks, for the least resources used. The estradiol at least has minimal short term risks, so I can see the equation shifting to trying it to see if it helps. No telling if the probability of that is high or low without knowing what traits are unwanted that you’re trying to shift, but at least it won’t kill you in the process if things go wrong. Well shouldn’t, since bodies can have some weird shit happen sometimes, but it’s not a significant risk.

        If I was being a patient advocate for someone in my life, I’d be steering them towards other options even if they were being monitored medically. It’s my opinion that the only real benefit of spiro for DIY hrt is the price/availability factor. It’s usually affordable, and easier to get. And, for someone transitioning or dealing with something like prostate cancer, it would make sense because of the higher androgen production. For a cis woman, even with pcos, I just couldn’t advise it in good conscience.

        But, to be clear, I totally support self care when the system fails. The issues you’re dealing with are significant and important. I just really think you’d be better served with a different plan of action.