Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Hormones

Those of us who are taking Cross Sex Hormones (CSH) know they are very powerful and not only creating physical changes but also emotional changes. There is a new study out that looks into those changes.
A Systematic Review of the Effects of Hormone Therapy on Psychological Functioning and Quality of Life in Transgender Individuals

ABSTRACT
Objectives: To review evidence from prospective cohort studies of the relationship between hormone therapy and changes in psychological functioning and quality of life in transgender individuals accessing hormone therapy over time.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and PubMed were searched for relevant studies from inception to November 2014. Reference lists of included studies were hand searched.

Results: Three uncontrolled prospective cohort studies, enrolling 247 transgender adults (180 male-to-female [MTF], 67 female-to-male [FTM]) initiating hormone therapy for the treatment of gender identity disorder (prior diagnostic term for gender dysphoria), were identified. The studies measured exposure to hormone therapy and subsequent changes in mental health (e.g., depression, anxiety) and quality of life outcomes at follow-up. Two studies showed a significant improvement in psychological functioning at 3–6 months and 12 months compared with baseline after initiating hormone therapy. The third study showed improvements in quality of life outcomes 12 months after initiating hormone therapy for FTM and MTF participants; however, only MTF participants showed a statistically significant increase in general quality of life after initiating hormone therapy.

Conclusions: Hormone therapy interventions to improve the mental health and quality of life in transgender people with gender dysphoria have not been evaluated in controlled trials. Low quality evidence suggests that hormone therapy may lead to improvements in psychological functioning. Prospective controlled trials are needed to investigate the effects of hormone therapy on the mental health of transgender people.
I think I will always remember when I first went on hormones it was such an emotional roller coaster and it took month for that roller coaster to level out. I was once asked by a doctor at a panel discussion at a local teaching hospital why take hormones? Why not just get breast implants and inserts for my butt and hips and I said that it is not just the physical changes that are important but also the emotional changes.

I remember one time watching Love Story and one moment I was crying and the next I was laughing because I knew why I was crying, it was because of the hormones. I have since learned what a good cry is. Watching the “Danish Girl” I was sobbing at the end, it was so sad and you know what? It felt good to be crying over her death.

I was on Cross Sex Hormones for about six months when my father died and I hadn’t transitioned yet. At the church services I was crying non-stop, my sister-in-law was sitting next to me in the church handing me one Kleenex after another. At the cemetery I don’t know what the military honor guard thought of me balling my eyes out.

But those are some of the changes that we go through when we go on CSH.

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