At the beginning of the last semester I began hormone-replacement therapy under the strict supervision of an endocrinologist, a general practitioner, and a psychologist. I can never go back to being the person everyone expected me to be. I have been set free.<\/p>\n
Since then, my body has changed. My hip-to-waist ratio, muscle mass, fat distribution, breast development, and softening of the skin are noticeable.<\/p>\n
These drugs and this therapy come with a price, however. Estrogens and anti-androgens (which block testosterone) can cause heart attacks, strokes, low potassium levels, blood clots, and numerous other side effects.<\/p>\n
Anti-androgens can\u2019t be taken long term. And if you don\u2019t block the testosterone, taking estrogens is pointless. So, what can be done? Well, that is what I thought about this New Year\u2019s Eve while out with the girls, dancing the night away.<\/p>\n
Where is testosterone made? In the testicles, of course. I\u2019m not ready for complete sex reassignment surgery yet, so what can I do? I can have an orchiectomy.<\/p>\n
An orchiectomy is the removal of the testicles, which the anti-androgens are blocking, anyways.<\/p>\n
So, this will mean two less pills to take every day and less health risk.<\/p>\n
But, wait! I know that in vaginoplasty the surgeons use the skin from the scrotum to create a vulva. If they remove my scrotum, then I would need to get other skin grafts, and I don\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n
Upon consultation, however, I discovered that removal of the scrotum is an entirely different procedure than removal of the testicles is.<\/p>\n
No worries then, my future lady parts are safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At the beginning of the last semester I began hormone-replacement therapy under the strict supervision of an endocrinologist, a general practitioner, and a psychologist. I can never go back to being the person everyone expected me to be. I have been set free. Since then, my body has changed. My hip-to-waist ratio, muscle mass, fat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columns","category-january-11-2012"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t