Estrogen Information

Gender affirming hormone therapy refers to taking medicine to change the level of sex hormones in your body. [...] The result is slowing the growth of facial hair and helping stop spontaneous erections. Androgen blockers tend to have a mild feminizing effect when used alone. [...] Estrogen works on cells in the body that have estrogen receptors. Eventually, taking estrogen will have an indirect effect of suppressing testosterone production. [...] What are the risks of taking feminizing hormones? As treating transgender youth is such a new practice, long-term effects of using estrogen and androgen receptor blockers is not known. [...] Transgender medicine is an ongoing field of study and more will be known the longer it is practiced. [...] There is a chance that taking hormones over a long period of time can put a strain on the liver, leading to liver disease. We check your liver function at the initiation of therapy and at regular intervals afterward. [...] • Galactorrhea and Prolactinoma When breasts grow, there can be a milky discharge from the nipples. This is called galactorrhea. [...] We check levels of prolactin regularly, and especially for those experiencing galactorrhea, to monitor for very high levels that may indicate a small tumor on the pituitary gland that produces prolactin. [...] We will ask you to sign a release of information (ROI) so that our team is able to follow up with your outside mental health provider as needed. 2. [...] She will also call in a prescription for the treatment and you can start it at home.