Gender affirming therapy with estrogen (1737)
Key points below
What is estrogen?
Estrogen is a hormone that is taken to make the body appear more feminine. It is usually taken by mouth or as a patch on your skin. Some of the effects of this medicine are permanent. They cannot be undone even if you stop taking it. Some effects last only while you take the medicine.What are the benefits and risks of taking estrogen for your gender?
Benefits
- Breasts develop.
- Body hair is less noticeable.
- Rounder hips and thighs.
- Softer skin.
- Decreased risk of heart disease.
Risks
- Blood clots that can cause clots in the lungs or legs or a heart attack.
- Decreased erections, in firmness and frequency.
- Decreased sex drive.
- Decreased strength.
- Infertility.
- More fat on hips and thighs.
- Emotional changes.
- Gallstones, due to changes in bile.
- High blood pressure.
- Migraine headaches.
- Nausea (upset stomach.
- Prolactinoma (a benign tumor of the pituitary gland).
What parts of the body will not change much by using these medicines?
- Though beard and mustache hair may grow more slowly it will not go away completely.
- Pitch of voice will not rise.
- The “Adam’s apple” will not shrink.
What changes are likely to start if you stop taking estrogen?
- more body and facial hair
- fat on your belly instead of hips, and thighs
- male pattern baldness
- You may lose hair faster than if hadn’t taken estrogen at all
- more muscle mass and strength in upper body
- coarser skin
What changes are likely to be permanent, even if you stop taking estrogen?
- Breast development.
What are the effects of estrogen on fertility (your chances of having biological children)?
- The body will make less testosterone. This may affect your sex life in different ways. It may affect your future ability to cause a pregnancy.
- Testicles may shrink to half their size.
- Sex drive and ejaculate will decrease. Erections will decrease in intensity and frequency. You may not be able to get hard enough for penetrative sex.
- Sperm may no longer mature. This could make you less able to cause a pregnancy while taking hormones. It might be a permanent change even if hormone therapy is stopped.
- There is a risk that you might never produce mature sperm again.
- It could still be possible to make sperm while taking estrogen. You could get someone pregnant if you have unprotected sex. You should use other forms of birth control to protect yourself and your partner.