dandelion

DIY just means not through a prescription / doctor, maybe you thought I meant “homebrewing” (i.e. compounding your own prog)?

If you are seeing a doctor (i.e. not DIY) you can just ask them to prescribe you prog, at least in the U.S. it’s typical to be able to access oral biodentical prog gel capsules that can be safely used rectally for proper absorption.

I agree, I don’t see any rules around sourcing - it’s a common rule to protect the sources, however, and I’m just flagging the norm in case you run into trouble.

Have you checked out the Matrix HRT chatroom? That might be a better place for these discussions? 🤷‍♀️

I assume this is for DIY? I’m not sure it’s a good idea to be sourcing in a thread like this, tbh - that can lead to trouble (though it’s up to the mods, I know a lot of communities ban sourcing discussion).

I haven’t notice any difference with my allergies either way - but I never had a perpetually runny or stopped-up nose.

I would give it more time - it’s only been a couple weeks, so it could just be a coincidence. What little I glanced at indicates estrogen might cause worse allergies if anything.

this is so true, I had always thought of transition as impossible, but now I regret waiting so long - what I would give to have transitioned 5 or 10 years earlier …

That’s wonderful!

Even if you’re closeted and unable to transition, have you considered taking DHT blockers like finasteride to stop the hair loss?

Hang in there, I hope your conditions change so you are able to transition soon 💛

I’m so sorry 🫂

That’s such a tough story - especially that the surgeon made it worse. Was the vaginismus like involuntary contractions that created too much resistance for the dilator?

And I assume the surgeon might have had some solution for you if covid hadn’t happened?

This is just heart-breaking Ada. But I’m impressed by your healthy and adaptive mindset about it.

Has there been any thought about seeing the surgeon again or looking into rehabilitation, or is it easier to have moved on?

ah, I could easily see that happening to me; every day the largest dilator is just so uncomfortable and it takes so much time and pain for it to stretch everything out, and doing that every day multiple times a day could be quite a burden.

I completely understand getting exhausted with that task and not prioritizing it - that’s fair. This was a concern I had for myself, I even considered a shallow-depth / vulvaplasty for this reason (and I mean, there are so many reasons to do it - fewer risks, faster recovery, etc.). I’ve had struggles with executive dysfunction, so I was really concerned.

I’ll just have to see how it goes - but I’ve also been told that maintaining width is really up to the individual. There’s no imperative to maintain a given width, and I’ve heard of people slowly stretching and getting width back after they paused dilation for a long time.

I’m not sure how you feel about giving up on dilation, but it seems like it might be less of a big deal than some people make it out to be, at least.

Either way, thank you for sharing your experiences - I’m so lucky to be able to learn from you. ❤️

I’m so sorry to hear that Ada :-(

Do you remember when the scarring became evident, and what that timeline was like? I’ve heard tightening and scarring can happen after, and to expect to lose depth as a result - just not sure when to expect that. I’ve been using the smallest diameter dilator (Purple, 1 1/8 inch or ~2.8 cm) for the first 5 minutes to open up the canal and maintain the max depth I can (so far that’s up to the 5th dot).

It’s hard for me to tell with my own situation - there is certainly a significant tightness down there, especially with the Orange dilator (it’s my first full week with that size). It can take me maybe 10 - 20 minutes sometimes to get the orange dilator as far as it will go (which is usually with the 4th dot as far as the inner labia, and the 5th dot as far as the outer labia and the 3rd dot no longer visible).

Stretching a piercing doesn’t sound entirely outside what I experience - tense and uncomfortable describe some of my experience, I just don’t think it’s half as painful as, for example, anal sex has been for me. I was surprised by that I guess, maybe I built up dilation to be not just a day-long exhausting chore, but an intensely painful one as well.

I’m so glad you were able to get the surgery, you have mentioned it was a long term desire. Honestly it feels like a complete fantasy that this is even possible. This surgery has been one of the most difficult challenges in my life, yet I agree that it’s life-changing and entirely worth all the suffering and effort.