I've not heard about a common reaction like that to estrogen, but I'm not a doctor. No clue about bicalutimide though.
this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2025
29 points (100.0% liked)
Transfem
4091 readers
128 users here now
A community for transfeminine people and experiences.
This is a supportive community for all transfeminine or questioning people. Anyone is welcome to participate in this community but disrupting the safety of this space for trans feminine people is unacceptable and will result in moderator action.
Debate surrounding transgender rights or acceptance will result in an immediate ban.
- Please follow the rules of the lemmy.blahaj.zone instance.
- Bigotry of any kind will not be tolerated.
- Gatekeeping will not be tolerated.
- Please be kind and respectful to all.
- Please tag NSFW topics.
- No NSFW image posts.
- Please provide content warnings where appropriate.
- Please do not repost bigoted content here.
This community is supportive of DIY HRT. Unsolicited medical advice or caution being given to people on DIY will result in moderator action.
Posters may express that they are looking for responses and support from groups with certain experiences (eg. trans people, trans people with supportive parents, trans parents.). Please respect those requests and be mindful that your experience may differ from others here.
Some helpful links:
- The Gender Dysphoria Bible // In depth explanation of the different types of gender dysphoria.
- Trans Voice Help // A community here on blahaj.zone for voice training.
- LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory // A directory of LGBTQ+ accepting Healthcare providers.
- Trans Resistance Network // A US-based mutual aid organization to help trans people facing state violence and legal discrimination.
- TLDEF's Trans Health Project // Advice about insurance claims for gender affirming healthcare and procedures.
- TransLifeLine's ID change Library // A comprehensive guide to changing your name on any US legal document.
Support Hotlines:
- The Trevor Project // Web chat, phone call, and text message LGBTQ+ support hotline.
- TransLifeLine // A US/Canada LGBTQ+ phone support hotline service. The US line has Spanish support.
- LGBT Youthline.ca // A Canadian LGBT hotline support service with phone call and web chat support. (4pm - 9:30pm EST)
- 988lifeline // A US only Crisis hotline with phone call, text and web chat support. Dedicated staff for LGBTQIA+ youth 24/7 on phone service, 3pm to 2am EST for text and web chat.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Can confirm I didn't have this when I took bicalutamide, nor is it a typical side effect.
See https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/14985192 and paging @[email protected]
this seems similar to what she was describing, pain in legs after injecting estrogen
EDIT: I should say, I've never experienced this, even when I was taking bicalutamide. I did have some sensations I would describe like a body buzz, but it was never painful (was pleasant, even).
You might experiment with different doses and see if switching to spiro makes a difference. Might also try monotherapy, just see if any of those experiences are different.
But yes, bioidentical estrogen should be totally safe, esp. if you are injecting it or using it transdermally. Oral is still safe, but it's very spikey, and arguably not as great:
Estradiol levels are found to rapidly rise on the order of ten times that of the peak of oral estradiol, then rapidly decline with an elimination half-life of a few hours (Kuhl, 2005).
For that reason I wouldn't recommend oral, even though it's so popular. I would assume negative side effects like mood swings, slower and uneven testosterone suppression, and low average estradiol blood levels are more likely on oral. Still, lots of people are fine on oral so it's more something for you to experiment with and see what works best for you.
I should have specified in my post, but I was taking oral estrogen.
Unclear whether it matters or not, but you might experiment with other routes of administration as well as dose to see if they make a difference. Hopefully that other post will give you some helpful ideas, too, in case it's related.
For me they stopped eventually, but was there constantly for a few days after each injection. I tried three different esters and thought the newest one worked because of different ingredients, but when I tried one of the previous ones again I had no pains. I dunno if it was caused by stress, if me doing more exercise or eating better helped, or really have any good explanation for what happened and why it stopped.
I also did have some random but minor pains when I first started HRT, before I tried injections, but it was very bearable and stopped within a few weeks. To me it seemed like different kinds of pains because my body got new instructions etc, like my ligaments changing, but I don't really know. All I know is it was just briefly now and then before stopping.
sounds hopeful, yay! Glad that they eventually went away ❤️
When I started HRT, my doctor had me ramp up the antiandrogen slowly over the course of 4 weeks. It was spironolactone and that caused some odd issues shortly after the increase day. Also I was on 4mg/day of sublingual estradiol. The weird feelings were weakness and an inability to regulate temperature, but nothing painful.
Other antiandrogens are available, it's probably a good idea to make some sort of change to your medicine. Pain is usually an indication that something is wrong.
Not only slowly ramping up, but starting one then the other separately (i.e., starting one, then starting the other two weeks later) means you can isolate which one is causing you problems
@[email protected] and @[email protected] I think I might have a guess as to what the pain is.
I was having some leg pain that sounded similar to the symptoms you both report, and it made me think about what it was most like. Then I realized I experienced this most when I was a teenager going through puberty!
I think they're growing pains!
Growing pains are often described as an ache or throb in the legs — often in the front of the thighs, the calves or behind the knees.
from mayo clinic
Does that seem right?
It wouldn't be surprising to me that starting second puberty you might experience growing pains again 🤔 And like growing pains, they seem to subside over time.
I was thinking about that but like, growing pains come from actual growing... I doubt I'm getting taller than my current 6+ ft on estrogen.
we don't actually know that it comes from growing or the lengthening of the legs, though
from that mayo website:
Growing pains don't usually happen where growth is occurring or during times of rapid growth. It's been suggested that growing pains may be linked to restless legs syndrome.
It could just be that like in first puberty, the change in hormones is causing some other physiological changes we don't understand, resulting in these pains; could be vascular or other causes, but either way I think the phenomenology seems rather similar and the onset in both cases are caused by the start of puberty.
Gosh you know that sounds likely. I did notice other pains which I wrote away as growing pains and such, I don't remember if I mentioned the day sometime a few weeks after first starting E where every single joint in my body hurt at the same time.
The only odd thing is that I only got those leg pains from injections, not from gel :S Still growing pains sound more likely than any other thing so far
Are the stabbing pains skin-deep like an insect sting, or deeper like a pulled muscle?
deeper, like a pulled muscle. My paranoid brain thought blood clots immediately buuuut that seems unlikely