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Transfem @lemmy.blahaj.zone
Chloë (she/her) @lemmy.blahaj.zone

How long until testicular atrophy is irreversible?

Does anyone know how long (if it happens at all) are testicules irreversibly atrophied from HRT? Basically I'm scared that if I stop HRT they'll just go back to working the way they always have and I'm hoping that they won't.

I've been on HRT mono therapy for a year now and my testosterone has been nearly totally suppressed for the whole time, so I wonder if the girls are done for essentially...

14 comments

  • From personal experience: if you stop HRT you turn back into a pumpkin.

    I stopped after a couple years on hormones and pretty much everything reverted (except breast growth).[EDIT: Over the course of a year or so,] Body and facial hair came back in full force (on face only where it had been lasered, but electrolysis'd portions remained bare). Hair on my head resumed its retreat. My member grew back to normal size and I started producing sperm (didn't test for motility). Quality of orgasms changed, scent changed, and probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting. Dysphoria massively increased.

    Luckily a while later I went back on hormones and everything sorted itself out. I got an orchiectomy to ensure this never happens again, highly recommend it. Quick, simple surgery with almost no recovery time, that doesn't impact eligibility for GRS later on.

    [EDIT]: All that happened after being off HRT for a year or two. If you just end up going off titty skittles for a couple months, you're probably fine. Wanted to clarify.

    • Welp, that's terrifying. I'm planning to get an orchiectomy as soon as possible but it's expensive (I'm a student) And the waiting lists can be a bit long.

      Hopefully my estrogen supply never cuts off ;(

      • DIY is cheap and pharma grade and you can buy an 18 month supply upfront for like 70 usd

      • If you don't already, switch to injections and ask for the Rx to provide a new vial once a month for sanitation reasons, then try to use the vials more than just a month and stockpile the extra vials. Even if you aren't intending to stockpile, this is just a good idea in case one of your vials is contaminated or is cored.

  • I don't think there is such a thing, unfortunately. I think if you stop estrogen there is a good chance your testes will begin producing more testosterone again.

    There are people who after years of taking estrogen stop and are fertile again. Sometimes people are not able to be fertile again, but my point is that you can't count on testicular atrophy to be permanent.

    If you want that kind of guarantee I would look into having the testes removed with an orchiectomy, which is a much cheaper and easier surgery to recover from than a vaginoplasty, and which would guarantee your body will permanently be unable to produce large amounts of testosterone.

14 comments