Hormones 2016

Side effects
Transmen 4 can develop serious acne problems, and weight gain of greater
than 10% is fairly common. Transmen face higher risks of breast cancer,
diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, heart attacks, and liver disease.
Smoking tobacco makes these risks even greater, so a person pursuing HRT
should be or become a non-smoker.
The most obvious risk with HRT is that once changes begin to occur, many
of the changes are irreversible. Sterility results in both transwomen and
transmen after prolonged treatment. If an transwoman thinks she would
eventually like to father a child, she should seriously consider storing sperm
in a sperm bank prior to starting HRT. (Also see Sperm banking) If an
transman would like to have a child, it is sometimes possible to become
pregnant after being on testosterone for a period of time, though pregnancy
would require cessation of hormone treatment. It is possible to freeze eggs,
but the technology has not sufficiently developed yet for this to be a longterm
feasible solution for most people (University, 2014).
Side effects
Most drugs have some side-effects, and it is essential that the side-effects
do not outweigh the benefits to you, the user. Because, if they do, then
compliance with your regime will be scanty and full benefit will not be
obtained. However, as with all medications, some people react differently
to others. It is important for you to understand that there are side-effects to
hormones, some side-effects may be acceptable, after all, you have come
this far and a few slight adverse reactions are not going to slow you
down now! These are the details you need to know however, to make
an informed choice and to gain the maximum benefit from your hormone
regime with the safest possible level of self-care. Side-effects are potential,
NOT inevitable (unknown, 2005).
Taking Progynova as an example; some people may experience problems
with their "cardiovascular" system (heart and circulation). There may be
some evidence of fluid build-up in the body and blood clotting, oedema
or thromboembolism 5 - the latter can be quite a serious side-effect so you
need to understand the symptoms of this. (See Deep Vein Thrombosis
for more information). Taking oral medication also carries a slight risk of
liver problems, so watch out for symptoms such as jaundice. You may also
experience nausea and vomiting (some women report that this is only in
the early stages), as well as abdominal cramps and bloating. A common
side effect is weight gain, generally through fluid or sodium retention
in the tissues. So attention to diet becomes even more important if you
4 is someone who was labelled female at birth but has a male gender identity, and
therefore transitions to live completely and permanently as a man (LGBT, 2014b)
5 Blockage of a blood vessel caused by a blood clot carried by the bloodstream from its
point of origin
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