cat

neat! I've heard about that before, but hadn't really thought about it. I imagine that could also make my T levels go up, just by absorbing T through my dick though? although I guess probably way less sustained T going up than dropping spiro

Maybe I'll look into it some more, ty for the tip!

so long, and thanks for all the fish @fluffy-shenanigans4/9/2023, 6:41 PM

definitely look into this! I don't have personal experience with topical hormone creams, but I have heard from my friends who do that it's very effective at keeping things functional down there while not messing with your overall levels too much 😺

Aqueous [Lv. D Sluggish Edgegirl]@AqueousAblution4/9/2023, 10:20 PM

From what I've read, so long as you're using the right ones, it doesn't penetrate enough to really enter the bloodstream that much and thus the effects remain pretty localized to the area where you apply it (in this case the peñer region), though I haven't looked into it much myself, and the only discussion I've seen of it was just in passing.

Kwisatz Haterade @LowBeyonder4/10/2023, 8:55 AM

From what I understand, mono-E therapy (without a separate anti-androgen) can bring down T levels too, it just has to hit a certain tipping point. My endo and I discussed it when I wanted to go off spiro anyway, but I ended up switching to a GnRH agonist instead (nafarelin), which dropped my T down basically zero almost immediately with no significant[1] downsides[2].

[1]: However, I cannot speak to the physiological reaction most directly relevant to this post, as while I've experienced no change of function in that regard, honest compels me to confess it wasn't terribly functional to begin with and also I don't miss it.

[2]: It does have two minor flaws: it's a nasal spray, so that's annoying, and it can be kind of a nuisance to actually get, depending on where you are. For example, in Ireland it's on a special list of meds they won't take an EU-but-not-Irish prescription for, so I had to change from just getting everything mailed to me to forwarding the recommendations to my GP who actually issues the prescription. Fortunately, my GP is a saint.

(FWIW I've also seen positive reports of topical testosterone cream for that purpose, without a significant effect on blood T levels.)