this is along with name, race and other demographic information
They don’t have a gender field, and it really feels like they are just reducing sex and gender down to “you are what you were assigned at birth”, and then hiding behind amorphous medical “reasons” as justification …
that’s true, but less ideal in some ways … especially I haven’t figured out DIY progesterone - I like having access to safe, regulated HRT but I see DIY as a viable alternative in a worst case scenario. I’m not sure I would DIY just because I’m uncomfortable being out to my doctor 🤔
@dandelion @WoodScientist DIY can hurt you. I tried DIY estrogen and…
a) It didn’t work well.
b) I found out I had hemochromatosis because it was high in iron, which built up in my body, because I can’t get rid of it.
c) I ended up with kidney and liver damage from the iron build-up.
Normal iron is 18-320 for cis males. Females are lower. Mine was 1,147 and it was killing me.
DIY hormones are a bad idea. Doctors can monitor and better balance the prescriptions.
what was the relationship between the DIY and the iron build up?
were you getting annual blood work done with a PCP, how did you learn you had this problem?
I absolutely believe DIY could hurt someone, but I would guess the biggest way would be through contaminants in the vials and especially insufficient sterilization increasing risk of infections.
AFAIK you can also buy the same estrogen you would get prescribed (that is, vials manufactured by the same labs, with regulatory oversight during manufacturing), but the risks I had in mind were about vials that are homebrewed.
Homebrewed estrogel has less risk since it’s transdermal, so it’s fairly contextual what the risks are.
@dandelion
I was using an over-the-counter natural supplement, made from bovine and porcine products without doctor supervision or approval.
I went to my PCP for my annual tests and showed signs of liver and kidney damage. I don’t drink, smoke, or do drugs, so they thought it was cancer and scheduled additional blood work and a biopsy.
The blood test came back showing that it was not cancer but an iron overload. My body was storing the excess in all my organs and tissues.
hm, how does taking a natural supplement relate to the discussion about DIY risks? I’m sorry but I’m having such a hard time following or connecting the dots here … were you at any point using DIY HRT and did that ever overlap with the medical problem, or is your point more broad that having medical supervision generally would have helped?
@dandelion
I have to say, even under doctor supervision, I had issues with the patches; the glue burned my skin so bad that the scars lasted months.
I am now taking sublingual pills and they work well for me but I still need to be monitored for kidney and liver issues because of the aforementioned damage caused by my own experimentation.
So, yeah, I was trying to share my experience as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of trying to figure it out on my own.
@dandelion
It is possible that I am misunderstanding your definition of DIY. To me, DIY would refer to buying estrogenic supplements, whether in pill, cream, or liquid form, and self-administering.
Example: I first tried liquid supplements from a vitamin store, then moved to pills when the drops did nothing. The pills helped a little but, yes, without medical supervision, I ended up with life-threatening issues.
oh, no - DIY means you buy actual estradiol, either produced in a lab or compounded by amateurs in a home lab - but either way it’s not estrogenic supplements, but actual estradiol - real medicine.
No phytoestrogens are helpful for feminizing, no supplements can replace hormone replacement therapy. With DIY you are still getting bioidentical hormones, you’re just not getting them from an official pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription, the difference is that you are buying it from the grey-market (or in the case of DIY testosterone, from the black-market).
So no, I wouldn’t consider what you did DIY, and I’m so sorry the supplements caused liver failure, that is genuinely heart breaking :-(
@dandelion
Thanks for taking the time to explain and clear this up for me. I truly appreciate it. 😊
@dandelion
They did a DNA test which confirmed it was hemochromatosis.
Fortunately, getting rid of excess iron was not that difficult. I gave blood every 11-14 days for a while. I was allowed to donate blood every 6 days, but 11 was where I was comfortable. The normal amount of time between blood donations is 56 days, but I had enough iron to replace the missing red blood cells in less than a week.
It was like being a superhero, though I don’t recommend it.