I’m a trans woman, and I’ve been experiencing pretty annoying levels of nausea recently – like, daily, for a few months. It’s not too disruptive, but I get hungry really sporadically, and I spend the rest of the time feeling vaguely queasy. I’m wondering if it’s at all related to the drug cocktail I’m on.
I’ve been on HRT for about 2 years now. I take estradiol (4 mg/day orally) and spironolactone (100 mg/day). I get my hormone levels checked regularly at a clinic. The spiro used to be 50 mg/day, but I had to up the dose after my testosterone levels started creeping back up several months ago.
The T uptick seemingly coincided with when I started taking bupropion for depression. My T levels are back in range, and I’ve since switched out the bupropion for lamotrigine (a mood stabilizer). But now I have all this nausea.
Despite what I’ve described, my HRT prescriber and my psychiatrist both insist that this drug combination shouldn’t be causing nausea, nor the jump in T levels. So, it’s a mystery, and quite a frustrating one. I feel like I’m a big bag of pills that’s been shaken up until it’s good and dizzy.
Not sure if anyone can relate to this – how many depressed trans women are there out there, anyway? But if you have any advice, I’m all ears.
I am ftm, but when I started trying to transition with hormones I had the same issue. I even cut weed out in hopes that was causing my nausea. Mine was so bad that I would not eat for weeks and I ended up getting a saline bag twice because I didn’t want to hydrate. My endo was not as sure as your doctors that hormones couldnt cause the nausea, and when she investigated she found it’s a very rare side effect. I quit t and was fine afterwards.
But, the fact you’ve been on hrt for so long before the nausea makes me think you have something else going on. Maybe you have an ulcer? I can see that lowering your hrt absorption. Buproprion can definitely decrease appetite, and I have taken enough mood stabilizers that I’m sure appetite loss is a common side effect. Honestly, if I were you, I’d be going to my primary care doc and trying to approach from a gastrointestinal point of view
Wow, I’m sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, but I’m glad you found some relief. I’m really hoping it’s not the HRT for me – I’ve had enough progress with that and laser hair removal that I’m finally smiling back at my reflection instead of cringing at it.
But then, I also hope it’s not some more complicated gastrointestinal issue. I had some problems like that years and years ago, and it was a long and painful road to get it all fixed.
lol i don’t know what i’m “hoping” it is, actually. food poisoning? i’ll ask my docs to take another look at things.
well look at you, having an actual primary care doc