Two months ago my endocrinologist said the estradiol levels in my blood weren’t high enough for him and switched me to injected estradiol. He had me get blood drawn four days after my fourth injection to see how the levels are, and after two rounds of testing, it’s not looking great.
Last month the numbers were really low so he had me double how much estradiol I injected every week, going from 25 mg to 50 mg. Last Sunday was the fourth injection of the higher amount of estradiol so after I left physical therapy on Thursday I walked down the street to my primary care doctor’s office and had more blood drawn.
I just noticed that the results came in yesterday and I somehow missed the email, but when I checked the results I saw that my estradiol level is still lower than it was when I was using two estradiol patches at a time. I haven’t heard from my endocrinologist yet but I’m wondering what the next step will be. The insulin syringes he prescribed only hold 50 mg so if he wants me to increase the dosage again I’ll have to see if I can use the same syringes twice or if I’ll have to use two syringes, or if there’s another medication to put me on completely. I doubt he’ll want me to refill the syringe since always hear ads for injectable medications saying not to reuse a needle.
I’ll probably hear from my doctor on Monday and when I find out what we end up doing I’ll post it.
One bit of good news
My orchiectomy’s been scheduled for late October. I’m getting a little anxious, partly because I’m wondering how much pain I’ll have post op and partly because I’ll finally be getting part of my gender change surgery done. I’ve only been waiting for surgery since 1989.
I’m also having to start planning on how I’ll make the groceries for Thanksgiving. I won’t be able to carry heavy items, which means I’ll have to be really careful how big a turkey breast and a ham I get. I’m thinking 5 pounds may be my limit (if I can go that high, I need to ask my surgeon soon), but I just realized that even if I get my Thanksgiving noms via Peapod I’ll still have to pick them up and move them to my fridge. Damn!
My other BIG question for my surgeon ( I just sent him a message with the Qs) is will I be able to tuck my boy part underneath in the month I’m recovering. I know there will be bandaging down there, but if I can’t tuck myself under it’s going to be really weird having that bulge in the front of my pants, dresses, and skirts.
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