Repost @darahoffmanfox with @get_repost γ»γ»γ» "Hormone Update! (A Nonbinary Elder Perspective)" Back in May I decided to take the first step in addressing something that has been a struggle for me my entire life: my hormones. Ever since puberty, my hormones have been whacky. Back then (early 1990's), because of my "irregular periods," I was put on birth control by the age 17. I learned later in life I had "elevated testosterone" - I put that in quotes because, in reality, having higher than average testosterone for a female was actually right for me, when it comes to my nonbinary gender identity. Therefore it's not "elevated," it's "right on"! But since me and my docs knew nothing about what it meant to be trans, let alone trans health care, I spent the next 3+ decades not quite knowing what was going on. Being on birth control = more estrogen, which is the opposite of what was needed for my nonbinary self. But we didn't know that. I was diagnosed with PMDD (Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder) by the time I was thirty, and even tried Prozac for a week (which made me really manic). I ended up using only naturopathic remedies to help navigate the ups and downs of this for the past 10+ years. They definitely helped the "PMS" side of things. But what I hadn't realized is that the gender dysphoric side of my struggles were still very real and persistent (meaning = my hormones were still not consistently aligned with my nonbinary gender identity throughout my cycle). So, that brings us to May. My new trans-knowledgeable doctor, Courtney Crance, tested my hormones and discovered that my testosterone is below even that of a cisgender female (hello peri-menopause). It's funny, I've been wondering for a while now if microdosing testosterone is something that could help me achieve more alignment between my hormones and my gender. At this point, I need the testosterone just to even get me back up to a "normal" range! So yeah, in July I started using Androgel. :) Dr. Crance said we don't have to go for certain numbers, when it comes to my levels. We'll just go for what feels "right," which sounds terrific to me. πππ» #nonbinary #microdosing #trans #nonbinaryelder https://www.instagram.com/p/B1FBtc4BWad/?igshid=wj17n8yuuc3v
