Day 273 – Zap! Zap! Electrolysis!
11 days of facial hair growth in super Hi-Res (The longest it’s ever been!)
Today I had an electrolysis consult and had my first few hairs zapped! I will be documenting the removal of all my facial hair in a new section under the timeline page. It felt good to make another step towards femininity.
I found my electrologist online through a site called the Massachusetts Association of Electrologists (MAE). I basically went down the list of local electrologists and sent emails to the ones I would be willing to drive to. One of the first to respond was June, from the Advanced Electrology and Skin Care Center in Newburyport, MA. I heard from a few others but she had the best prices and seemed like she had a lot of experience.
At the beginning of my consultation I was met in the waiting room by June and was brought back into a room where the electrolysis equipment was kept with a desk and a few chairs. The first thing to take care of was paperwork. Any place that performs laser or electrolysis will most likely require you to fill out a form to make sure you have no pre-existing health conditions that may interfere with the treatment as well as to take care of any liability issues. She then began to explain about how electrolysis works and about the different stages of hair growth. All of this was pretty interesting even though I had a good understanding of the process from my own research. The type of electrolysis that she chose to use was High Frequency, or Thermolysis. This method sends high frequency radio energy through the probe into your hair follicle. The energy agitates or vibrates the hair follicle and the surrounding tissue and creates heat in an attempt to do enough damage to prevent re-growth.
By the time we were done talking there was only about 5 minutes left. In that amount of time she was able to get prepped and treat 5-10 hairs in a minute or two. It really did not hurt much at all. It hurt about as much as plucking a hair from your leg or eyebrow. The only difference is that it is more of a hot/burning sensation and feels a bit like a bee sting(Just not as painful). She thought that she might be able to clear my face with two 1 hour sessions which would be awesome, the optimist in me is hoping the first wave is that quick! I made an hour appointment for next Tuesday, a few hours before my endocrinologist appointment. Next week is going to be busy. 🙂
This site provides an excellent description of the various electrolysis techniques and has a lot of information about hair growth: http://www.transgendercare.com/electrolysis/methods/overview_methods.htm
Weight: 177
Abbey
Day 271 – Fenugreek & Measurements
Well today I finally got a 40 days supply of an herb called Fenugreek. It is most often used to help increase lactation in nursing women. As well as some other health benefits, and it also makes you smell like maple syrup! I am going to be trying it out to see if it has any effect on breast growth or lactation in MtF’s. I don’t expect there to be much of a difference, but smelling like maple syrup will make it totally worth it! I will be starting out taking 2 610mg capsules 3 times a day, thats 6 capsules, or 3,660mg/day. If I don’t see any effects from that dose I will raise it to 9 pills a day, the common dose for nursing women.
I will be taking my body measurements and adding them to this post a little later on tonight!
Around the Upper Arm: 12″
Around the Forearm: 10″
Bust: 37″ +0.50″
Under Bust: 33″
Natural Waist: 31″ -1″
Belt line: 38″ +0.25″
Hips: 42″
Thigh: 24.25″
Calve: 15″ -0.50″
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.738 -0.024
Waist-Shoulder Ratio: 0.747Â -0.024
Weight: 177
Abbey
Day 268 – Prolactin or Bust!
I finally got around to updating my timeline! It has been a month since the last photos on there but I haven’t gotten any good pictures since I cut my bangs. I got some fantastic news in the mail today, the results from my most recent blood work finally came. What’s even better is that my prolactin levels are  down to 9.20 ng/mL which is well within the normal range of 2.64-13.30! This means that when I see my endocrinologist in a week and a half he will most definitely update my estrogen dose. 😀
This means that the anti-psychotic, Invega, that I was on was indeed the cause of my high prolactin. I guess going in the hospital did set me back in terms of progress, but I am thankful that I am finally moving along.
Abbey
Weight: 178
Day 264 – Body Mods
It’s 6am and the sun is coming up so I thought I’d grace you with this wonderful picture of me with no makeup and messy hair (I also cut my bangs by the way). On Friday I went to get new lab work done to see how my levels are doing. My next appointment with my endo is on the 28th, only 16 more days! Hopefully my prolactin is within normal range and I can finally raise my dose of estrogen from 1mg to 2mg or so. If he puts me on 2mg I am going to ask how he feels about raising me to 2mg for a month to get used to it and then going up to 3mg after that rather than waiting the full 3 months until our next appointment.
If my high prolactin levels were indeed caused by the anti-psychotic that I was on, they definitely delayed my progress with hormones. I see other girls at 8 months with healthy A cups or even B cups when I can’t even fill out an A cup! It just makes me jealous; but my time will come, and I’m sure they will grow to my liking.
On another note, I’ve been growing increasingly interested in body modification. I’ve always liked piercing and various other forms of expression but I never was able to indulge in it myself. In a way I like to think of transition as an extreme form of body modification. 2 weeks ago I went out and got a second hole pierced in my lobes.
The jewelry is a 16g purple CBR. I’ve since  stretched my first hole to 14g to fit a titanium barbell that I ordered. Once my second hole heals I will be putting in some stainless steel 12g circular barbells.
Aside form piercing, I’ve grown increasingly interested in some hardcore body mods. In particular, ear pointing. The cartilage is first cut at the top of the ear. Then a small portion is removed and the edges are scored and then folded into a point and sutured together. The result is a fairly elfy looking ear. Here are a few examples: #1 Â #2 Â #3
I’ve wanted elf ears ever since I was a little kid but I never knew it was possible. Now that I’ve realized that it can be done I am super excited! I’ve talked to a few artists including Steve Haworth and Brian Decker, who perform the procedure, and I’m confident I will get it done at some point. Though before I rush into things I will wait 2-3 months to make sure it is something I really want to live with for the rest of my life!
Abbey
Day 258 – Busy Summer
Hello! I’ve been doing all kinds of things with my gf recently and I’ve been enjoying the time off. Last week we went out to Rockport, MA. It is a cool little area on the coast where there are lots of little shops. I got an awesome jacket for half off from this fair trade store called the floating lotus, definitely check them out! This is a picture of us out by the break water, excuse my horrible hair and manly expression.
Last week I started a project on some black pants that I got a tear in. I attacked them with some bleach and then got some dye and dyed the splotches purple and I think they turned out pretty good!. I also dyed some white shirts and a tank top, as well as a pair of my dad’s underwear XD I think they turned out pretty good and I will definitely try dying more clothes in the future!
As far as my transitioning goes, not a lot has happened lately. My breasts continue to develop ever so slightly but not nearly as much as those of girls on a higher dose of estrogen. I see my Endocrinologist again in 22 days so I should be on at least 2mg of estrogen by the end of the month. I am looking for some graphing software to show how different doses of estrogen and spironolactone effect the human body through measurements and weight.
Weight: 181
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