Ms January

Or Maybe "Miss" January, because I'm certainly no Hit. Not yet. But then, it's only been 5 1/2 months since I started HRT, so by all the normal rules, I should only just now be seeing subtle effects visible in a photo. Did I say "Subtle"? Ye Gods.

This is the first picture I've published since leaving the old life behind which shows my real hair, rather than an artificial enhancement. It shows the effects of not quite 10 months after my old "short back'n'sides", which, while simple and easy to manage, doesn't fit very well now. Well, my hair always did grow rapidly. Like a girl's in fact.

This as I've found is fairly typical of people who are TS. There's often (not always) many minor anomalies, things "not quite right" when it comes to gender, but individually not nearly enough to be abnormal.

Only to be expected really, given a biological cause. The masculinisation that should have happened (or shouldn't have happened for guys in female bodies) due to the chromosomes was badly awry in one area (neurological development), so minor glitches in other areas are more likely than not.

One weirdness though, proving yet again that I'm a bit unusual even for someone born transsexual. My latest blood test. I was expecting the oestrodiol (oestrogen - female sex hormone) level in my blood to be on the order of 350 picoMoles/Liter, probably somewhat higher, perhaps 450, due to my originally high (195 pMol/L) pre-HRT level. People with the normal average male level of 50 pMol/L on this dosage usually get about 300 more.

Instead, the level was 185, a drop compared to pre-HRT levels!

The best theory that fits the data is that my system, for whatever reason, was "aromatising" a truly huge amount of testosterone (the male sex hormone) in my blood into oestrogen. This happens to some extent in everybody (or every body), but nowhere near to this degree. This would explain the pre-HRT low testosterone levels, and the high oestrogen levels.

But now, due to the anti-androgens I'm taking, I'm producing only a female level of testosterone, so the oestrogen level from aromatisation has plummeted. The 350 pMol figure was always +/- 50% depending on individual metabolisms, so +175 is possible, as is +525. Assume an abnormally low base level of oestrogen, usually (over)compensated for by aromatisation of testosterone, and the 185 pMol/L figure is just within the bounds of normality.

Trying to figure out what the heck is happening continues to provide me which much harmless amusement. Certainly my individuality is only enhanced by being the woman whose oestrogen levels actually dropped as the result of feminising hormone replacement therapy. I have a perverse sense of pride in that.

Oh yes, the photo: my bust development is nowhere near as large as it appears to be. I just have a large ribcage, and a B-going-on-C cup. Still unusually good going for anyone undergoing transition, and very good indeed for a newbie like me. I could easily end up quite normal looking.

I'm happy with it, anyway.

Might just update the Blog Icon again.