Female-to-male transgendered; starting T destroyed my hair!

[ssquared2]

OK so here's what's going on with me. With my PCP's agreement, I have cut my T dose in half (from 200mg IM every 2 wks to 100mg IM every 2 wks) and will eventually cut that to 50mg IM every 2 wks. Possibly going off altogether at which time my period will come back (ugh) and in which case I will DEFINITELY be having major cramps and such and she knows a few surgeons that will do hysto's just on that complaint and know the right codes for t-men to get hystos covered by their insurance. Then I wouldn't have to go on T at all. I don't plan to get my ovaries removed, btw. ETA - I had bloodwork done and my T levels were way too high so that's a possibility for my hair loss. Last year I had almost no hairloss and my T levels were normal.

I got my propecia (sp?) in the mail today, and am curious how I should cut them up. They're 5mg tablets. Rats, that reminds me, I need to buy a new pill cutter because I lost my last one. I've been doing rogaine via liquid up until last week when one of the cats made off with one of my droppers (and no, I don't think it's as poisonous to cats as the fanatics have claimed 'cause none of them have the slightest illness and I can't find the dropper ANYWHERE - I kept it behind the sink lip by the tap so it couldn't have been rolled off the counter). I ordered a new bottle and when it comes I'll keep the dropper in the same container as the "old toothbrush" holder (I have a sonicare now). So hopefully it won't be stolen again. But that means I'm almost 2 weeks off rogaine and I'm seriously annoyed. At least I remembered to take "before" pictures.
(This is before on the top, and this is the back (look behind me in the mirror, not at my face in the foreground)). So that's my starting point. I'm really really hoping I can regain some hair through rogain, propecia and going off T.

[ssquared2]

Just read the thread on cutting up proscar (as that is what I have - it being 5mg tabs not 1mg like propecia). Do I really have to cut it into 1/8's? Or do you think I could take a quarter every 2 days?

[drybone]

I get 5 mg finasteride generics and I chop mine into 4. Its only been 45 days so I havent noticed anything. The side effects are not noticeable.

[mpb47]

OK so here's what's going on with me. With my PCP's agreement, I have cut my T dose in half (from 200mg IM every 2 wks to 100mg IM every 2 wks) and will eventually cut that to 50mg IM every 2 wks. Possibly going off altogether at which time my period will come back (ugh) and in which case I will DEFINITELY be having major cramps and such and she knows a few surgeons that will do hysto's just on that complaint and know the right codes for t-men to get hystos covered by their insurance. Then I wouldn't have to go on T at all. I don't plan to get my ovaries removed, btw. ETA - I had bloodwork done and my T levels were way too high so that's a possibility for my hair loss. Last year I had almost no hairloss and my T levels were normal.

I got my propecia (sp?) in the mail today, and am curious how I should cut them up. They're 5mg tablets. Rats, that reminds me, I need to buy a new pill cutter because I lost my last one. I've been doing rogaine via liquid up until last week when one of the cats made off with one of my droppers (and no, I don't think it's as poisonous to cats as the fanatics have claimed 'cause none of them have the slightest illness and I can't find the dropper ANYWHERE - I kept it behind the sink lip by the tap so it couldn't have been rolled off the counter). I ordered a new bottle and when it comes I'll keep the dropper in the same container as the "old toothbrush" holder (I have a sonicare now). So hopefully it won't be stolen again. But that means I'm almost 2 weeks off rogaine and I'm seriously annoyed. At least I remembered to take "before" pictures.
(This is before on the top, and this is the back (look behind me in the mirror, not at my face in the foreground)). So that's my starting point. I'm really really hoping I can regain some hair through rogain, propecia and going off T.

ssquared2-

As far as going off T I have a caution for you.

This may not apply to you as you have not been on T very long and were born biologically female. And maybe E protects you from what I went through. But I would ask your Doctor just to be on the safe side.
A few years ago I had my first and only serious health issue. One of the side effects was that it lowered my natural T levels. They were low but not super low (over 300) yet I began to have trouble functioning - and by that I mean just life in general. I had neither the physical (I don't think you have to worry about this) nor the mental energy (BUT DO ask your doc about this) to go about daily living. I would wake up every morning in basically a stupor and it would take me literally hours to take a shower, eat breakfast and get to work. 11am on a good day to put things in perspective. My job requires thinking (analyst) and I got to the point that I could not do my job. I would drink coffee all day long and by the end of the day it did give me some mental clarity. But the next morning, it would start all over again. It got to the point where I basically felt like I was dying.

I don't think you could get any of the physical side effects so I won't mention them other that they also got bad- to the point that I was too physically weak to mow own yard and had to get a yard service. You know it's bad when your own sister can mow your yard yet you can't.

Going on T was like turning back on the lights. I feel fine now but my Dr would like my levels a little higher in the 800's .

As much as you see me complain/worry about my mpb here, I would greatly prefer to be a full nw7 than to live like that again. Oh and I was on propecia 10 years ago and got sides. They were bad for sure, but were like a minor headache compared to this.

You have not been on T long and were born biologically female so you probably be just fine. But I would still ask your dr about the chances of mental side effects.

[BigThinker]

Just read the thread on cutting up proscar (as that is what I have - it being 5mg tabs not 1mg like propecia). Do I really have to cut it into 1/8's? Or do you think I could take a quarter every 2 days?

Barring the presence of sides, I'm pretty sure you want to be taking it daily. I cut mine into 8ths. It's a bit of a pain in the ass, but for like 5 minutes of work you have your dosage set for 8 days.

[ssquared2]

Thanks for the response, mpb47. I'll definitely take that into consideration -- the upside, is that I can always go right back on T and not have those side effects (if I do at all). I know I've felt very good on T, but it's also made me miserable with the amt of body hair and lack of head hair I've grown (and lost). So going off T would help with both of those things. The period thing is evil and awful but it would be temporary. The only major downside is I'll never know when it will start and have to be prepared all the time and men's rooms aren't exactly period-friendly lol.

[mpb47]

Thanks for the response, mpb47. I'll definitely take that into consideration -- the upside, is that I can always go right back on T and not have those side effects (if I do at all). I know I've felt very good on T, but it's also made me miserable with the amt of body hair and lack of head hair I've grown (and lost). So going off T would help with both of those things. The period thing is evil and awful but it would be temporary. The only major downside is I'll never know when it will start and have to be prepared all the time and men's rooms aren't exactly period-friendly lol.

You will probably be fine, I just wanted you to be aware just in case.
In my case it came upon me very gradually and at first thought it was just an age thing.

Everyone here on this board agrees with you about mpb, but the hair is just part of being a guy and it shouldn't bother you in time.

If you do decide to stay on T I can say propecia worked very very good for me. I was also on minox and the 2 together gave me back a LOT of my hair, more than I expected. If do decide to go on it, best advice is go on it sooner than later. I wish I had gone on it 2 years sooner when I first noticed my crown was thinning. I got back a lot of my crown, but never all of it.

[mpb47]

Thanks for the response, mpb47. I'll definitely take that into consideration -- the upside, is that I can always go right back on T and not have those side effects (if I do at all). I know I've felt very good on T, but it's also made me miserable with the amt of body hair and lack of head hair I've grown (and lost). So going off T would help with both of those things. The period thing is evil and awful but it would be temporary. The only major downside is I'll never know when it will start and have to be prepared all the time and men's rooms aren't exactly period-friendly lol.

You will probably be fine, I just wanted you to be aware just in case.
In my case it came upon me very gradually and at first thought it was just an age thing.

Everyone here on this board agrees with you about mpb, but the hair is just part of being a guy and it shouldn't bother you in time.

If you do decide to stay on T I can say propecia worked very very good for me. I was also on minox and the 2 together gave me back a LOT of my hair, more than I expected. If do decide to go on it, best advice is go on it sooner than later. I wish I had gone on it 2 years sooner when I first noticed my crown was thinning. I got back a lot of my crown, but never all of it.

[ssquared2]

Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone so long; everything's been crazy in my life. So I've been on fin and rogaine since shortly after I started this post. I'm not sure where on the scale I fit since nothing seems to be exactly it, but I'm finding some relief. Oh and I have the shampoo rx too. Not a huge change, but a change. The attachments are 2/22 and 4/20; 2 per each day. So like I said, not a huge difference but it hasn't been that long.

OH and I had my T level tested and it was nearly double what it should be so I've cut my dose in half. I may cut it a little more, depending on my next bloods in a couple of months.

[TheLaughingCow]

I have a question for you. I'm an 18 year old male, and the main reason that I care about my hair loss is because I think that it's unattractive to women. I also worry about not being taken seriously when I am "old man" bald (which is how I think of the norwood 7 horseshoe pattern).

My question is, why do you care about being bald? Not to come off as insensitive, but as an asexual transexual, I feel like it shouldn't matter for the reason most young men care: attracting women. Actually, I feel that it should almost be a plus; you wish to have the body of a man, and there are few traits more exclusive to men than MALE pattern baldness.

So, why do you worry so much about going bald? Is it just an aesthetic preference, or a desire to advance in your career, or what?

Hope I'm not coming off as rude.

[ssquared2]

Well, I've always had problems with my appearance and am pretty insecure (I'll be the first to admit it). I've had an eating disorder since I was 12, and every time something about my appearance goes haywire and it's out of my control I kinda go nuts. Especially something like hair - partially it's because I "decided" to go on T and potentially ruined my "looks" (whatever there is of that) - I admit, I was a pretty attractive androgynous girl. But I just couldn't stand being female for a second longer and the way people looked at me as such. So I feel like I switched my looks for my emotional well-being, y'know?

It doesn't have much to do with women; I'm pansexual (which is like bisexual but including all the gender spectrums) and also asexual so not looking for sex appeal, but it's just my insecurities about my appearance and such. I don't know really. I just never expected MPB to be part of the package when I turned 20 y'know? I mean, I kinda expected it in my 40's but not in my 20's. It just never occurred to me (especially since my dad (48) has a full head of hair). I want to be happy about my appearance for once in my life. As soon as I managed to start looking male (growing a beard and such), suddenly my hair starts falling out and I've never been able to be happy with my body. I feel like if my hair thickened/grew back/whatever and I got my body size back down (I gained a lot of weight when I started T) to a more reasonable weight instead of the pillsbury dough boy, I might be happier. I might be able to recover from my ED. I might actually be able to talk to people instead of stammer, and feel like someone that someone could think is special enough to be friends with / or have an SO.

Long answer because I didn't rightly know how to reply. I don't know what's in my own brain half the time. And you're not coming off as rude at all. Hopefully that's helpful. Feel free to ask anything else you want.

[mpb47]

Just curious about one thing. You said you expected mpb in your 40's...why is that ?

I asked because I never expected it all!

[sp200]

Hi ssquared2

I need your help.
you have used Fin for how long?
is there any side effects?if there was did they disappear after stopping it?
If you don't mind may I ask do you still have ovaries or got them out.
Please share your exprience.

Note Does any body know ssquared2 ? how Can I contact her?
Please let me know at emali : sp1 at live.ca. Please correct it.
thanks

[ssquared2]

I'll email you (I'm subscribed to this thread regardless of current active participation) and I'm a he not a she

[sp200]

I'll email you (I'm subscribed to this thread regardless of current active participation) and I'm a he not a she

I sent you email.
thanks for contacting and sharing your experience.