Resources

From 🏳️‍⚧️☕️

This is a list of diy-hrt-related resources.

Basics[edit | edit source]

Basic guidelines and information

Transfeminine Science: Intro

Transfem HRT Doc

HRTGen Guide

r/TransDIY wiki

Communities[edit | edit source]

Glossary[edit | edit source]

There are many abbreviations and technical terms in the community.

You don't need to know all of them, but they can be useful so here are some.

Hormonal Transition:

  • HRT: Hormone Replacement Therapy
  • TRT: Testosterone Replacement Therapy
  • E: Estrogen
  • T: Testosterone
  • E2: Estradiol
  • EV: Estradiol Valerate
  • EC: Estradiol Cypionate
  • EEn: Estradiol Enanthate
  • EE: Ethinyl Estradiol
  • SC/SubQ: Subcutaneous (Fat Injection)
  • IM: Intramuscular (Muscle Injection)
  • Prog/P4: Progesterone
  • AA: Anti-Androgen (Testosterone Blocker)

Surgical Transition:

  • FFS: Facial Feminization Surgery
  • VFS: Voice Feminization Surgery
  • Rhino/Rhinoplasty: Nose Surgery
  • Tracheal Shave: Adam's Apple Reduction
  • Orchi/Orchiectomy: Testicle removal
  • SRS: Sexual Reassignment Surgery / Genital Surgery
  • BA: Breast Augmentation / Breast Surgery

Anti-Androgen[edit | edit source]

You will need some Estrogen as well.

It is not advisable to take anti-androgen alone for long periods of time.

Bicalutamide:

  • 50mg Daily (1x 50mg pill once a day)
  • 50mg Daily (1x 150mg pill every three days)
  • 75mg Daily (1x 150mg pill every two days)
  • 37.5mg Daily (¼ 150mg pill once a day)

Blocks androgens at receptor level, does not decrease production.

Popular due to minimal side effects.

With under 50mg of Bicalutamide daily, a higher dose of estrogen is typically used.

Cyproterone Acetate:

  • 12.5mg Daily (¼ 50mg pill once a day)
  • 12.5mg Daily (½ 50mg pill every two days)
  • 6.25mg Daily (¼ 50mg pill every two days)

Decreases testosterone to castrate levels.

Popular due to very low cost and easy verification on efficacy from blood testing showing suppressed testosterone.

Progestin effect may be considered a negative for early hrt, can cause fatigue.

Spironolactone:

  • 50mg twice daily (½ 100mg pill twice daily)
  • 100mg twice daily (1x 100mg pill twice daily)

Decreases testosterone production and receptor activity.

Unpopular among DIYers due to common severity of side effects and lower efficacy.

Buserelin Nasal Spray (GnRH Agonist):

  • 300μg thrice daily (2x 150μg sprays thrice daily)
  • 450μg thrice daily (3x 150μg sprays thrice daily)

Decreases testosterone to castrate levels.

Zero to minimal side effects.

More expensive than Cyproterone Acetate, but safer long-term from avoiding undesirable side effects (Fatigue, low tumor risks).

Estrogen[edit | edit source]

Estrogen:

  • Dose Comparison Table
  • 2-8mg Oral Estradiol once daily or spread over the day.
  • 1-2mg Sublingual Estradiol once to thrice spread evenly through the day.
  • 50-600mcg/h Climara 7 day patch once weekly.
  • 50-600mcg/h Estradot 3.5 day patch twice weekly.
  • 1.5-9mg Estrogel or transdermal spray once daily.
  • 1-6mg Estradiol injection once weekly.

Monotherapy:

  • Injectable Estradiol Simulator
  • 7mg Estradiol Valerate injection every 5 days.
  • 5mg Estradiol Cypionate injection every 7 days.
  • 10mg Estradiol Enanthate injection every 10 days.

High enough estrogen level sufficiently suppresses your testosterone production.

Many people do fine with lower dosages than what is listed, but people often inject higher amounts without blood testing due to accessibility or costs as a precaution against having too low E2 to suppress T without an anti-androgen. If you have access to blood testing it is usually recommended to get it done and adjust dosage as needed.

Some people also manage to lower their T to female levels with thrice daily 2mg sublingual estradiol or high dose Gel / Patches on their scrotal skin but this appears less consistent than injections.

Progesterone[edit | edit source]

  • Rectal progesterone after tanner 3 breasts is becoming more common. It may help round out the breasts, may help with fat redistribution and may give a stronger libido for some. 100-200mg gel capsules once daily.
  • Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (MPA) is generally not recommended for anyone.

There doesn't seem to be much research for or against progesterone in regards to transitioning and feminization. If you see any interesting studies keep in mind that studies can be flawed or unreproducible. If you want to try progesterone, try progesterone. If you don't like being on it, quit progesterone.

Blood Testing[edit | edit source]

If you do not have access to blood testing consider monotherapy as the safest choice. You can usually get a blood test done at your GP. In general the most useful things to test for in regards to feminization is Estradiol (E2) and Total Testosterone.

If you have the option it is advisable to test these as well to get a bigger picture:

  • Complete Blood Count + Diff (CBC+Diff)
  • Hepatic panel
  • Progesterone (P4)
  • Luteinizing hormone (LH)
  • Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
  • Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)
  • Prolactin
  • Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)
  • Free testosterone

You can get find reference values on GID and on Wikipedia.

Health concerns with some anti-androgens that you should test for if you can:

  • Bicalutamide: Liver Function.
  • Cyproterone Acetate: Prolactin and Vitamin B12.
  • Spironolactone: Potassium / Electrolyte Panel (Serum)

There are other things that could be useful in general or with certain health conditions. You are expected to research any adverse symptoms you are having.

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