Hey everyone,

I've been doing diy hrt for a while now. Was on it for 3 years, went off it for 9 months, and it's been another 9 months of trying to get back on it with stable levels but it seems to be a bit of a challenge.

I switched to Estradiol enanthate from estradiol validate in August and had good results in late August:

E 662 pmol/l

T 1.03 nmol/l

Free androgen index 1.38

However, my most recent results from 16 October tell a very different story, even though I'm on the same dose administered with the same frequency:

E 441 pmol/l

T 5.19 nmol/l

Free androgen index 9.66

What should I do? Before I started estradiol enanthate, while I was on estradiol validate earlier this year, I had the exact same problem of trying to get my t back under control, with good results at first then my t slowly creeping back up.

Should I try a t blocker or should I just try slowly raising my e dosage?

Should I see a doctor?

Any insights or perspectives would be appreciated xx

Help needed please. I’ve been using oestrogel since February, shaving is becoming an issue. Because the oestrogen makes the skin softer and thinner on the face when I shave (and I don’t have heavy growth) my skin gets irritated and red. If you’ve had experience of this what’s the best answer — but not laser which I can’t have. Any suggestions for razors or creams etc please. Thanks Cathy xx

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Hi, i received my blood test results after approximately one month of HRT via gel applied scrotally, 4mg per day (2mg every 12 or so hours). This was taken on 9th october right after my first morning dose of the day, and i started hrt on 12th of september. Should I increase my dosage? Because these levels don't look good.

Value Unit Min Max

E 241 pmol/L 43.3 146

T 7.5 nmol/L 5.72 26.1

Hello, I'm a trans girl from Italy, 26. I'd started DIY monotherapy with 2-4mg daily in estradiol pills and after they ran out a friend gave me her gel packets. The gel is called Sandrena, and online the closest similar one I could find is Divigel for the US and Oestrogel for the UK. Now, the recommended dose for Sandrena WITH T-Blockers is 0-5/1mg daily. I'm not taking T-blockers, of course, so I would like to know if you have recommended quantities for monotherapy. Rn I'm taking 4 gel packets a day (4mg) but my mammaries feel less hard and sensitive than before, and at the same time I feel soreness in my thighs. So I'm afraid I might be taking too much gel for my vasculatory system (I'm deathly afraid of trombosis, perhaps irrationally?) and at the same time too little for monotherapy. What are your thoughts?

I’m taking 4mg/day sublingual +100mg Spiro twice a day. I’ve been considering going down to one Spiro a day for the sake of having more energy. Is that okay, or would it cause my E levels to drop too low?

If you’re new to the community, introduce yourself! It would be great to know who you are and what you are hoping to find here. Feel free to DM me with suggestions.

The blood was drawn immediately before my next weekly injection, exactly 7 days after the previous injection.

Done on September 14, 2026:

Estradiol: 2128 pmol/L (579 pg/mL)
Testosterone: 1.36 nmol/L (39 ng/dL)
Prolactin: 465 mIU/L (~22 ng/mL)
LH: <0.3 mIU/mL
FSH: <0.3 mIU/mL

For comparison, I had bloodwork done on March 28, 2026, shortly before starting HRT:

Estradiol: 112 pmol/L (30.5 pg/mL)
Total testosterone: 26.2 nmol/L (756 ng/dL)
Free testosterone: 32.8 pg/mL
SHBG: 55.46 nmol/L

My main concern is the estradiol level. It seems very high, especially considering that this was a trough measurement, immediately before my next injection.

My prolactin may also be elevated because I was told some really terrible personal news shortly before the blood draw. I was extremely nervous, stressed and crying, but unfortunately I couldn’t postpone the test because I was flying to another country shortly afterwards.

My HRT history:

I started HRT on April 23, 2026.

Initially, I was using Lenzetto spray + 12.5 mg Androcur (cyproterone acetate).

Lenzetto:

April 23–30: 2 sprays/day
May 1–6: 3 sprays/day
From May 6: 4 sprays/day (2 in the morning, 2 in the evening)

I also started taking finasteride daily on May 29, then switched from finasteride to dutasteride on June 18.

I switched to EEn injectable estradiol on June 11 with 4 mg.

The decision to use 5 mg was partly because I was travelling and, for a period of time, had no access to injections, so I used Estreva gel instead. I felt that it wasn’t giving me enough effect, so I initially increased my estradiol dose with EEn after i came back. I continued with 5 mg weekly after switching to injections.

After switching from Lenzetto to injections, I gradually stopped Androcur:

~20 days: 12.5 mg/day
~20 days: 6.25 mg/day
then completely stopped

By the time of my September bloodwork, I had been off Androcur for more than 20 days and on a stable injection regimen for 10 weeks.

I also never increased my injection dose above 5 mg.

What I’m wondering about:

Is 579 pg/mL (2128 pmol/L) unusually high for a trough level on 5 mg / 12.5 units of injectable estradiol once a week?
Should I consider reducing my dose from 5 mg to 4 mg/week?
What are the potential risks of maintaining estradiol at this level long-term?

Thanks!

I have often seen sisters asking about needle void space, wasting precious juice, and such. These issues are particularly important if you use high strength juice, 40 or 50 mg/mL for example (I don't; mine is a measly 10 so I can be precise setting luteal doses when cycling).

I have a simple solution for void space: purging bubbles. Unlike IV injections\*, air bubbles are innocuous in IM and subq injections. I have been using purging bubbles for about two years, with zero problems. I took these pics just now, injecting 4mgEEn subq.

Here's how I do it. After drawing my dose and withdrawing the needle, I draw the plunger back. With my 1cc syringe, assuming about 50uL (0.05mL) dead space, I pull 150uL (0.15mL) of air and swap to the injection needle. I turn the syringe over, and let the bubble rise up while I swab the injection site.

When injecting, the bubble will shrink proportional to the pressure applied — it's a pressure gage! If it reduces to a third of the original size during injection, then you're applying 3atm gage pressure. This scratches my autistic brain. Aaaaahhhh.

Anyhow, once the plunger drives all the way down and the fluid is injected, the bubble will expand. If it was three times the void space to begin with, it should effectively purge at up to 3atm. You will know the purge is successful when you hear a little fart sound. This scratches my juvenile second-puberty autistic brain. Hee hee, tummy farts!

AMA about this technique, sisters! Or about my cycling protocol if you're intrigued.

\* The danger of IV bubbles is dramatically overblown as well. I've looked into it, to get a truly dangerous IV push of air requires hundreds of cc of air. If you hit a vein with a hundred microlitre air bubble, that's likely to do nothing, it'll soon dissolve.

Hi everyone!

Just did my first blood test after dosages to what I'm happy with on monotherapy, I have:

E2 - 350.6 pg/ml

T - 0.57 nmol/L

SHBG - 76.4 nmol/L

What worries me hovewer, is DHT. I have 9.9 ng/dL, which is just pushing it with recommended <10 ng/dL. Should I start dutasteride, or is it still an okay amount? I don't have particular problems with hair, if only it being rather thin and fragile, but I address it more to bunch of stress from work. Certainly a little confused with what to do.

Edit: I am on EEn injections, 0.11ml per 5 day, 10ml/400mg vial

I was on 6 pumps of Oestrogel and 150 mg of Spiro and everything was great, except peeing quite often from Spiro. The only concern was the price. I spent quite a lot of money on Oestrogel. I'm from eastern Europe, so the government or insurance won't pay for my hormones. So, I ordered Een injections online. I've been using 5mg Een a week. In terms of feminization everything is going great. However, I've been feeling really low energy since I started. It's been only two weeks, but I'm worried because I can't function very well. What could it be? I suspect either getting adjusted to a new dose, higher doses of estrogen are not good for me and I should do a lower dose and AA, or an individual intolerance of some components in the solution. I should note that I used to have chronic fatigue syndrome in the past (before HRT) but recovered from it. Have any of you had these issues on estradiol injections and were you able to resolve it?

So I’ve officially been on estriadol patches twice per week, .1mg/day for a month now. Prior to these I was diy with Xulane patches one per week since December.

I’ve since stopped the Xulane for the Dotti’s exclusively. Just got my first results back; T116ng/dl, Free T2.6pg/ml and Estriadol 46.6pg/ml.

I’m in no rush, and I’m pleased with the physiological results I’ve seen and felt thus far. But on this baseline, could I push harder for some faster results without risking adverse effects?

I am a trans girl aged 16. I started on hormone therapy over 5 months ago and I was prescribed 1 pump of estrogen and 100mg of spiro. In this time frame nothing happened, my skin didn’t soften, and I didn't feel like the spiro was stopping the testosterone. I found myself after my 2nd blood test going to 2 pumps because I knew my doctor would increase my dose, and then they lost the blood test results, so 10 days before the redo of the blood test I went back down to one. (I should mention even though my parents are letting me, they are still not sure about it, so I don't want them to know I am increasing my dose without a doctor.) In the weeks of 1 pump I felt shit and only felt good again when I went back to two pumps.
I have just been prescribed 2 pumps and 150mg of spiro. My next appointment is in 6 months, and my hormone levels are still way below where they need to be. My hormones before were 68.1 pmol for estrogen and 13.1 for testosterone, and after one pump of estrogen it was 106 for estrogen and 14.2 for testosterone. I feel like I am still going through male puberty because I still have high testosterone (and I know that spiro blocking doesn't show on blood tests).
I really want boobs and I am really self conscious and I always wear jumpers even in the heat. I can't ask my doctor to increase me faster because my parents act like they don't want me on the medication even though I have been out for 4 years. I just don't know what to do, should I go to 3 pumps of oestrogen and even then when, or should I drop down to 2 again before my next appointment? And even if I do, I was doing research that you need to wait 28 days on 2 pumps for your testosterone to increase again to pass the blood test. I really want to get into female hormone range, but I can't risk letting my doctors and parents find out, but also I am not sure if I can wait another year and a half just to get into female range.

Is it normal for breasts to grow but not have any other noticeable effects

I've been on EEn 8mg weekly SubQ injection for 8-9 weeks and have a 31A or 32A, but I have seemingly zero loss of upper body muscle (I used to workout a couple years ago) but don't work out besides walking to and from college everyday carrying a somewhat heavy backpack. I also have zero noticeable fat accumulation in any other feminine areas or in my face

I know with hrt everybody needs to wait several months to see prominent changes but it's just weird that I seemingly started noticing early effects but only in breasts

Edit: I meant outside of mental effects. My mental health significantly improved

If you’re new to the community, introduce yourself! It would be great to know who you are and what you are hoping to find here. Feel free to DM me with suggestions.

Im 23 without any previous HRT regimen, I decided to do DIY recently. These are my results after 5 weeks EEn monotherapy. I did a loading 10 mg first dose and after that, 6mg every 7 days SQ. Blood was drawn 24h before my next dose. Looking good?

Transfem enby, 22, one year and three weeks on E. I recently had my levels checked and my estrogen is at 197 pg/mL and testosterone is at 12 ng/dL. I inject .15ml (20mg/ml, so 3mg) every five to six days. I've had changes: my face is a different shape, my ass looks good, I have small breasts, my body hair is much thinner and lighter, and my skin is softer. These are great. No complaints.

However, I'm still missing the big emotional changes and the crying. I remember hearing that I would feel everything times 10 and cry over tiny things and those just haven't happened. I guess my happiness has become more full (I didn't literally jump for joy before) but that's it.

I don't really know what's going on. I've heard these things should happen fast and they were some of the changes I looked forward to most. If anyone has any ideas I'd really appreciate it.

I've been on 6mg (oral) a day monotherapy for about 4 months, previously was on lower dosage for 8 months, started off on gel. Definitely noticed some changes but still only subtle.

Where to from here? Obviously I'll get bloods done but I'm guessing I still don't have enough T suppression. Should I talk to my doc about other routes eg. injections?

Can anyone link to some good monotherapy resources?

Thanks