Hello to everyone, I am new not only to this site but also to hormones and transition. The doctor has me on 2 25mcg Estraderm patches changed twice weekly and 100 mg Spiro daily. If all goes well, we will increaqse my dosage in a month or so. Since I am 52 years old, we are going slowly. Anyone have any advice?

Hello Karen: Welcome to the site. This is the greatest site for girls like us ever
created. The girls here are so nice and so helpful you may be amazed. I can't
offer any advice on the HRT, but I am sure very shortly you will see a few more
messages form those that DO know and have the experience. Katie has created
a wonderful place for us here and I hope you will find it as much a sanctuary and
place to learn and meet wonderful people as I have.
Best wishes to you and Best of luck with your HRT sister. Jackie

This seems as good a place as any to mention something that's probably already been said elsewhere-but
I'm new here.
Drawing on my,admittedly limited, experience with hormones(12 years or so ago!) I feel I ought to point out that getting rid of the ol' 5 o'clock shadow is easier BEFORE starting on oestrogen-much,much easier and,depending upon your chosen method,much less painful.Oestrogen slows down beard growth and this can result in ingrowing hairs which are unsightly as well difficult to remove.I speak from experience...........

Another thing- those of you doing or contemplating self-medication by ordering abroad should,perhaps,first of all check up on your government's attitude to such imports.Sabine(?) mentions the behaviour of the norwegian customs and I think that in Germany you won't get off so lightly!Doping in sport and body-building coupled with the resistence of german pharmacies to internet pharmacies(the old guild thinking ) means that you're likely to meet the police,have a possibly embarrassing court appearance and,at the end of the day,a juicy fine to pay.Check your own national situation first

Right,that's my twopenn'orth
Greetings,and keep taking the tablets,
Lynn Harvey

Hi there again!
Something else has occurred to me re hormone therapy:
1.I've recently read,either on this site or somewhere else,that some medics recommend months of Androcur before starting Oestrogen.Be warned-this is the highway to Osteoporosis if it's done without calcium and vitamin D tablets.I've been there.....

2.Phyto-oestrogens.....a few years back I purchased a little book about Phyto-Oestrogen therapy during the Menopause(it's in german so there's not much point in giving title and author details).Now I realise I'm probably going to destroy someones cherished dreams here but.....The author is head of Gynaecology in big private clinic here in Germany,so I assume he knows what he's talking about.Basically,in breast tissue,these hormones function as oestrogen blockers-so-called Selective Oestrogen Receptor Modulators-which are used to combat osteoporose and breast cancer.In other words-no breast development.
On the other hand,what is perhaps of interest to us special girls is that this blocker function also works on the Prostata.Furthermore they also, apparently ,have a beneficial effect on LDL-Colesterin values.
Well that's all.As I said above,this is from a Gynaecologist-yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice.

Cheers,Lynn H.