Trans men and the menopause

Should have said, if you're not familiar with reddit, once you're into r/ftm, type "testosterone" into the search bar.

A neutral and supportive conversation with your DP's sister would be to ask if she's found the reddit "r/ftm", especially the many posts there about the effects of testosterone - you yourself should have a good read, if you haven't already. Then you can express that you are concerned for her (your SiL) as you know she's got to be prepared to see her beloved (presumably!) daughter change (get acne, put on weight, grow a beard and learn how to manage an atrophied vagina and an enlarged clitoris). And you can see that this may well be very hard for her. And make sure you drop into your message/conversation that you've learnt which of the effects are not reversible (find out, if you haven't already). If DP's sister hasn't yet done her research, it'll be one hell of an eye-opener. It's up to her to talk to her daughter about whether they're fully informed about the reality. Reddit "r/ftm" is first-hand experiences, not a medical website couching everything in neutral language. The posters thereon are talking about their struggles. DP should be sat down to read it too. The family ought to know the intimate bodily details of how hard this is going to be. No-one can turn on you or badmouth you for suggesting consulting an F-to-M resource!

I’ve just listened to the podcast about the effects of testosterone on women and it is a really good, informative and measured listen, but at the same time horrifying and depressing to think what women are putting themselves through.

Unfortunately you can't stop this young girl on her journey, even with all the info at your fingertips.
Maybe not but I still think it is worth trying. A different scenario entirely but when I was her age I was in a very toxic relationship. Family members who saw red flags did not say anything as they thought they would not change my mind. Fast forward a few years when it all fell apart, I wish they had said something. I was young and very naive but I would have realised that not everyone saw things the way I saw them. That is useful information to have.

@Senso
Having read the thread Senso it seems that many posters are urging you to take a position on this, in the hope that you can prevent your niece from going down this path which may harm her in the medium and long term.
None of the information is incorrect in my view, taking cross sex hormones is not the panacea that people are led to believe (particularly unhappy, vulnerable people). But people believe what they want to believe. And in my experience, raising the contraindications of cross sex hormone treatment just alienates you from the person who wants to engage with it. They won't want that info, and if you force them to face it, you become the bad guy. It sounds like in your family, that wouldn't just be for the young person in question, but everyone involved.
Unfortunately you can't stop this young girl on her journey, even with all the info at your fingertips.
It's good that you're looking out for her, and you have an understanding of the down sides, but you can't support her out of this hole until she's ready to leave.

@Sensoplease listen to this podcast nutmeg posted. I listened to it this week, and Elaine Miller, pelvic health physiotherapist and very funny woman talks about the effects of different hormones on the female body, including lack of oestrogen and addition of exogenous testosterone. She handles the subject honestly and with compassion and I too learned a lot about my pelvic floor that I didn’t know before!

I think in many cases where the person has autism, they (are encouraged to) attribute their feeling different/like they don’t fit in, as due to the fact they’re trans, rather than accepting it’s a feature of autism. As vulnerable people, they’re ripe for exploitation by the movement.

There appears to be some autism or ADHD or mental health issue or eating disorder or loathing or being scared of becoming what the body is - female. So they or them or cutting bits off and saying she is he, is a way of sticking head in the sand and ignoring or postponing. Mental health support is what is needed though.

Wow that is frightening @WarriorN

I mean, even if you didn’t detransition those issues are all just as relevant and debilitating for those that remain trans. What a life :-(
I hope that the world wakes up soon.

i lost a friend in 2020 when i liked a JKR tweet (“never contact me or my family again”) and was so upset to be accused of ‘hate’ towards her and her trans child (as far as she was concerned just the liking of the tweet comprised a hateful act). Now I am doubly upset to think what her child will go through, and I just can’t fathom it. I really really can’t ☹️

Posting this again, and flagging up that the author went through cancer treatment as a young woman and sees the correlations clearly

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0092623X.2025.2531167

From what I’ve personally been learning about perimenopause and female hormones, the rise of testosterone naturally each month with ovulation helps bone density along with natural progesterone and natural oestrogen and of course physical activity that stimulates bone.

However, these hormones are suppressed with cancer drugs/ puberty blockers and hysterectomies thus risking bone density. This is a huge concern for much older women who have to have these drugs due to breast cancer.

it should be a huge concern for young women too.

(I’ve had Bc and am now more aware of all these issues as I’m on tamoxifen and of course worry about bone density when everyone around me is happily waving their hrt prescriptions.)

A very small amount can enhance female pleasure, within normal female limits.

From what I’ve read/ heard, large amounts overly and permanently enlarge the clitoris (which can become very uncomfortable in day to day life, especially with low oestrogen) and triggers extremely painful uterine cramping, especially after an orgasm.

But the effect of testosterone on the female reproductive system causes atrophy e.g. of the vagina. Removal of breast tissue removes sensation from that area as well. Removing the female external sex organs and attempting to give a woman a penis can cause septicaemia etc. If the clitoris is interfered with - and it is purely an organ for pleasure (which is why it is removed in FGM) - and the vagina atrophied then there are no pleasure sites left.
Testosterone given in large quantities to women sterilizes them and removes sexual function.
Sex drive is not the same as having sexual pleasure.

Also bear in mind that many trans charities signpost to Gendergp which has deliberately set up an complex international legal structure to evade U.K. drug regulation and has given puberty blockers and hormones to children with either zero or minimal medical supervision - at one time they would sign up any child with access to a credit card as a ‘secret shopper’ discovered.

I have linked to the BBC article for speed but it is worth reading up on the court documents etc in this as the BBC have played it down because they are utterly biased in this area. This girls life was put at risk. Unfortunately she is not just an extreme outlier, the system is set up to create more cases like hers. This was just one that came to public attention.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68944273?app-referrer=deep-link

women start to lose bone mass from the age of 30/35 whilst bone density is built up til your mid 20's....that early 1/3 of your life is incredibly important in determining what happens to you from peri menopause onwards. It's not a case of imagining we will be able to rebuild damaged skeletons in the future and guess what, the treatment for under 50's is generally taking oestrogen!!

No, it will happen pretty much immediately if she takes testosterone. So the risk of skeletal damage etc. is very high.

@Senso loss of oestrogen can also cause incontinence....imagine being a 21 year person trying to find your life partner whilst experiencing incontinence and painful atrophy....neither conducive to sex as many post childbirth/older women know too well! Whereas someone given adequate mental health support may come to realise and accept they are who they are and someone will love them regardless of their identity. Having excess testosterone also can cause mood changes (irritability, mood swings,anxiety) in women...knowing the emotional lability of ADHD'ers , having a teen with it and being used to that extreme rollercoaster, this would also be a concern .

Possibly in very small doses, but in the large doses designed to bring about physical changes to make a female appear more masculine as it cause vaginal and uterine atrophy, that also causes severe pain when having sex or orgasm after a shortish period of time - maybe a couple of years.

There are quite a few instances reported (obviously there are huge attempts to suppress all negative info by trans activists and some even warn patients against looking for full information) of the vaginal and uterine atrophy getting so painful after 5 years that the only option is a hysterectomy.

Many girls also report clitoral overgrowth that happens quite quickly (within months). This means that the tender area protrudes from underwear and causes chafing etc which can again be very painful.

The promotion of phalloplasty in the NHS has thankfully gone a bit quiet. A couple of years ago they were opening a hospital dedicated to such procedures. These have been openly promoted at medical conferences in America as being a great profit generator due to the eye wateringly high complication rate - from memory 75+% .

Obviously the US pharmaceutical companies (2 headed up by trans identifying men (‘transwomen’) sell a lot of their drugs and services to the NHS and have pumped a lot of money into ‘marketing’ trans as a concept across Europe.

Scott Newgent is a campaigner on this and is very open about her experiences and wish to prevent other girls making the same mistakes she did. Obviously she receives cj stand threats and abuse from the trans activists who want her to be quiet.

This!! As a woman with adhd and endo and menopausal, I have days where I feel less feminine so it has a huge effect on my MH someone definitely needs to connect the dots. I also work in SEN and it’s like a pandemic of “trans” teens in our school. All autistic!

It's such a shame your niece is not getting mental health support to help her to work out why she wants to run away from the person she is.
I'm sure younger people would be more resilient if society encouraged self-appreciation and care rather than sold the idea that delusions are real.
You can only voice your concerns for her health from a position of loving her, then step back (you haven't caused this!).

Doubt that it will ever be possible to replace mammary glands or restore fertility to a body flooded with an opposite sex hormone. But never mind, because sexual pleasure will also be a closed book. Has no-one explained all this to OP's DP's niece?

This, why is it that they don't want to see any of the info out there that discusses the concerns? 5 or so years ago, I would have felt sympathy, but now, less so.
Some of these transitioners are so vocal re BIGOT! TERF!! I will ruin your life if you don't submit....I have compassion fatigue.

Sorry, no, putting massive doses of testosterone into a female body basically accelerates the girl/ woman into menopause. For example, vaginal & uterine atrophy & all their attendant risks & disbenefits aren't bugs of this drug regime, they're features.

IDK why you'd assume medical advance in this field. Just as an eg; surgeons have been remodelling mens' gentials since the early 20th century & have not yet bothered to produce one piece of "vaginoplasty" research fit for Cochrane Review, nor have they developed any surgical standards for anything other than "no-depth vulvaplasty". This area of "medicine" is the Wild West, do not expect improvement.