Books & Images

haha

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/10/fox-and-friends-bathroom-gender-neutral_n_5574824.html

I thought the article was funny :)

Vitacost: Health Food and Supplies

So recently I have started ordering a ton of stuff of Vitacost that I usually get around town, but for less money!  They have everything from laundry supplies and essential oils to gluten free oats and manuka Honey.

I included a link to get $10 off your first $30 order and the great thing is that they ship internationally!

Link here -> also below  https://www.vitacostrewards.com/kcQBhq3

Below is a photo of one of my orders  (I got a lot of honey that order)

So far they have been less expensive than Sprouts (where I do all of my grocery shopping) and less expensive than Amazon for the Quest bars that I love!

https://www.vitacostrewards.com/kcQBhq3

Blood Draw & Hot Flashes

Ugh...so I have to get my blood drawn again...and of course I am being a child about it and psyching myself out. I just need to make an appt. and get it over with.

Other than that, I have been getting hot flashes randomly.  It could also be from the fact that it has been 100 degrees the past couple of days who knows.

I have been staying consistent with my BHRT meds so that is good.

Moving :-D

So Christoph and I are talking/planning to move back to Deutschland...Germany!  And I couldn't be more excited, anxious, happy, and what the hell still even more excited!  One thing that I have to figure out when I go back there is my BHRT.  I am pretty sure I can just pre-order a year's worth of my meds, I just have to get my blood test done over there, which wasn't a problem before.  What I am curious about is, alternative to corporate pharmaceuticals are more prevalent out threre, What are my chances of finding a BHRT prescribing Dr. in der nahe von where I will be living?

New Meds

Woo!

Well to start off, yesterday was the first day I put my new pump on (1.0 estrogen 3.0 testosterone) and I actually hadn't put any of my meds on for the previous 2 days since the area where I apply it, on the inside of my legs, got these little hives and it itched like crazy!

Needless to say, the new pump is working great...so far.  We shall see if it continues to irritate my skin.  My hope is that it doesn't, since that is what Vivelle-Dot used to do to my skin.

Anyways...off to the climbing gym to climb before my membership expires.   Hopefully it isn't until at least the 18 :/

Getting New Meds

Getting new meds...the verdict was that my hot flashes were due to too little estrogen...We shall see.  I will now be on 1.0 estrogen and 3.0 testosterone and no progesterone since it made me feel horrible!

Useful Books and Links regarding Intersexuality

Useful Links: 

last updated 02/2014

AIS - DSD: 
(Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome - Differences of Sexual Development) 

About DSD's

Intersex Society of North America: 

INSA

Advocates for Informed Choice: 
(An organization to protect the civil right of children born with differences of sexual anatomy)

AIC

Zollie's Spot: 
(CAIS Author and Blogger)

Zollie's Spot

Intersex Allies:

Pamphlet

 Additional Links!  

BBC Intersex Documentary, "Me, My Sex, and I" (*NOTE: Unfortunately, at the moment you can only view the programme if you’re in the UK.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0139jv4

Intersex UK was founded by our lovely and compassionate trio: Holly, Tanya, and Imy. There vision is: “A Britain where intersex people are understood, accepted and respected and able to participate fully in all aspects of society” Check them out and support them!

http://intersexuk.org/

http://www.mrkh.org

The missing vagina monologue.

http://www.mrkh.org/files/The_Missing_Vagina_Monologue_and_Beyond.pdf

The Video of the missing vagina monologue.

http://www.gendervision.org/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=66

An intro to how CAH happens

www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/HowTheBodyWorks/SexDevelopmentAnOverview/CongenitalAdrenalHyperplasiaCAH/Pages/default.aspx

An intro to how AIS and 5-Ard happen

www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/HowTheBodyWorks/SexDevelopmentAnOverview/AISand5ARD/Pages/default.aspx

Answers to Your Questions About Individual born with Intersex Conditions. by the American Psychological Association

http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/intersex.pdf

Accord Alliance: http://www.accordalliance.org/

AIC Legal: http://aiclegal.org/

AISSG Australia: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~aissg/

AIS/DSD Support Group for Women and Families: http://www.aisdsd.org/

Barriers Outside – Taiwan: http://facebook.com/concerns.IS

Beautiful You MRKH Foundation: http://beautifulyoumrkh.org

Bodies Like Ours: http://bodieslikeours.org

Caitlin Childs: http://caitlinpetrakischilds.com/blog/

CARES Foundation: http://caresfoundation.org

Claudia Astorino (Full-Frontal Activism: Intersex and

Awesome) http://fullfrontalactivism.blogspot.com/

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Education and Support

Network: http://congenitaladrenalhyperplasia.org

GrApSIA (Spain) http://grapsia.org

HEA (Hypospadias & Epispadias Association):http://heainfo.org/

Hida Viloria: http://hidaviloria.com/

the Houston Intersex Society: http://thehoustonintersexsociety.com

Inter/Act: http://inter-actyouth.tumblr.com/

Intersex Germany: http://intersexuelle-menschen.net

Intersex Initiative: http://intersexinitiative.org

Intersex Roadshow (Dr. Cary Costello):http://intersexroadshow.blogspot.com/

Intersex Society of North America: http://isna.org

Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand: http://ianz.org.nz

Intersex UK: http://intersexuk.org

Organisation Intersex International Australia: http://oiiaustralia.com

Organisation Intersex International NZ (Aotearoa): http://oii-nz.com/

Organisation Intersex International USA: http://oiiinternational.com/oiiusa/

Michael Kreuzer:http://facebook.com/hessimichael

Tiger Devore: http://tigerhowarddevorephd.com/

Zollies Spot: http://zollies-spot.blogspot.com/

Zwischengeschlecht (Zurich, Switzerland) http://blog.zwischengeschlecht.info

Zwitterland! (A mystery local Houstonian) http://zwitterland.com

BOOKS:

Dr. Gerald N. Callahan writes a great book discussing the types of DSD's and the cellular hic-cups that cause them.  As well as giving first hand experience from patients of his.  Dr. Callahan uses his pathology and immunology background to get into the specifics of Intersexuality, while at the same time making it an easy read.

Hot Flash of the CENTURY!!!

So Yesterday, I had the worst hot flash of my life!  And here is how it goes...

I arrived at the Dentist at 8:45 am for an appointment to have some fillings worked on; well fed and hydrated I might add.  The day was a sunny and breezy 72 degrees Fahrenheit, 22 Celsius, and I had on some black, yoga pants, a black t-shirt, a green wrap-cardigan and flats.  The Doctors office was the perfect temperature just cool.

I chit-chatted with the hygienist before the Dentist arrived about how I have a high tolerance for local anesthetics and am a wuss with injections.  She also said that they would use both lidocaine and septocaine/articaine during the procedure, one for the top and a different for the bottom.  Which she told the Dentist about.  My Dentist and I were discussing the awesomeness of white-water rafting and where we had been, when he started to numb my gums with a little topical lidocaine and the hygenist have me some protective glasses to wear,  before the injections and the rest of the procedure.  P.S. Pina Colada flavored lidocaine is wretched. Then began the injections...ugh.

Surprisingly, they were not that bad!  At first, then once it got deeper, it really sucked.

After the injections, they let me sit for a minute before the procedure.  That is when things started to turn south.  The hygenist asked if I would like to sit up, and I said Yes.  Bad decision.  About 50% incline I started to feel faint-like...Hot, nauseated and dizzy. I put my feet up, took my wrap-cardigan off and proceeded to turn so red that the hygenist asked me if I was O.K.  I told her I was having a hot flash and she said I wasn't hot to the touch.  She then exclaimed, "oh my god, you are sweating...like really sweating"   I thought that was funny even though I still felt like I was going to pass out.  And I was, there was sweat dripping off my elbows in a matter of a minute...maybe two.  Then the hygenist did something that I will forever love her for, She asked if I would like some air (from the air gun they use to dry the inside of your mouth), to which I replied...YES!   And let me tell you, that puppy was the greatest thing on the planet for the next few minutes.  She sprayed my arms and then I asked her to hit my neck and sure enough within less than a minute I was feeling better.

The Dentist had them take my blood preassure 92/60 and my pulse was high.    I did get freezing cold afterwards and had to put my shoes back on and use my cardigan as a blanket.  Other than that everything went smoothly.  

Daily Update

I am really trying to update my CAIS blog in hopes of better tracking my hormones, since we all know memory fades.

A few things about my CAIS and my meds.

1. I take my trans-dermal BHRT cream at 12:30 in the afternoon, every day.  When daylight savings happens I don't adjust accordingly with the time change immediately but slowly work back towards 12:30 on the new time.  
2. I am really bad at taking my Vitamins, Especially Vitamin D.
3. I only put a half pump on every day, even though it says to put a full pump on.  I know that it means I am not getting an exact dosage every day, but I think it helps.  Sometimes when I feel ho-hum I put on a little less.
4. Yesterday I had 4 hot flashes.  One around 10:45, another around 14:00, one around 19:00 and another around 20:30.
5. My alarm just went off to take my meds.

Have a wonderful day!  Don't forget to smile. 

Point Five Estrogen = Hot Flashes

So I am calling Dr. Filbeck tomorrow, just to update him on how my hormones have been working the past month since I switched to the new formula of .5 Estrogen and 3mg of Testostrone and taking a progestrone every other day (ish).  The other thing about my hormones, is that I usually only put on a half a pump every day.  I usually don't do more, and sometimes if I am feeling weird, I do less.

Every once in a while my hormones get the better of me and I feel really, really anxious.  I don't know why my anxiety shoots up and it is like my brain is a computer and someone opened too many window's and it is running slow, but my chest feels like I just took a triple or quadruple espresso.  That is the only way I know how to describe it.  I usually have to do some deep breathing to calm myself down as well.

She never wants to look at the camera!  

And the BLOOD results are in :)

So my blood results are in...I was 1. not taking any estrogen or progestrone the last 4-6 months.  2. Feeling great except for 3. my eye sight was getting worse and my skin was less elastic.  4. barely having hot flashes...sometimes I even got COLD flashes.  

Overall:  I need a little estrogen and should be taking progesterone to help as well.  My Vitamin D was LOW so I am on 50,000 I.U. of Vitamin D3 a week and my estrogen was virtually non-existent! 

Cold Flashes!!!

Who knew!  Yesterday I forgot to put my meds on till 15:00 or so and the rest of they day I got random cold flashes...Today too!  If I can order these instead of hot flashes, sign me up!

All in all, I have had very few hot flashes as of late.  So that makes me happy.

Blood Draw: Thursday 5th of December 2013

Got my blood drawn today at Dr. Filbeck's and my right arm was not working to well.    Thankfully Christoph was with me, since the last two he was unable to make it due to work, since this blood draw did not go too well.  I started crying after the second vial in my right arm (it hurts so bad and they had to pull on my skin to keep the needle in)  (tapped out after three vials)  So we switched to my left after a minute and the other seven or so were done quickly!  Yay!    Minimal bruising even though they said I would get a hematoma on my right arm...I didn't :)

New Order

So I ordered more of my trans-dermal cream, hormones and supplements.

I am really excited, because I have been working out a ton lately and I need my vitamins!  So I am going to try and remember to take everything everyday!  I really only remember my cream everyday.  Otherwise I can really tell.

Hormones off...

So I found a bottle of my old hormones that I hadn't used in a couple of months (since I had been using the newest ones with less cream) and I decided to use the older bottle.  I figure, might as well use it up.  Plus if I do react weird to the hormones I should be fine.

ERRRR.

Well I did lose a bit of weight, since I had morning sickness.  But other than that my emotions were totally off!  I was crying and freaking out like a wuss it was very unbecoming.

So I guess I won't use old ones any more :/

Sometimes being barren SUCKS!

So it is about that time in my life that most of the women I know are having children while I sit on the sidelines jealous.  I know we live in an unfair world, yada yada yada... but sometimes I just want to cry and yell "It is not fair!"  I feel bad for distancing myself from my friends with children, but honestly I just don't want to start crying in front of their kids.  It usually happens when I get happy around kids that I cry so I have to keep my guard up.  I put up a barrier because I have to.

When people hear about my CAIS they usually try and tell me the hassles of having children which believe me I know, I was a nanny for years and have been working with children for the past 13 years, but I still can not shake the feeling of jealousy.  I understand that they are trying to make me feel better, but it usually doesn't help.  Because when you can not have something of your own it all does not seem so bad.  I love when babies squall and cry.  I find it adorable.  Call me crazy but I do.

I know I can adopt, but usually when I think about it is just makes me sad.  Personally, I don't think I will adopt, but rather work and travel the world for the rest of my life.  I have found that it is difficult to stay in one place for long.  Call it running away if you want, but I know that I will never be able to run away from this.

The other day I was watching a television show that had a baby in it and a couple of hours later as I was driving to work I simply could not stop crying.  People were looking into my car probably wondering why this girl had tears streaming down her face, but I couldn't help it.  Part of me feels weak even mentioning that it gets to me, but it is true.

I know over time the sadness will dull, but that time is not now.

Happy go Lucky

So, I have been on my BHRT for three years now and it is going good!

I actually changed by hormones a little bit in the past two months so now I am on,

My trans-dermal cream of...

1.5mg of C-E2 Estrogen, 200mg of Progesterone, and 2mg of Testosterone (Testosterone Cypionate)

and

100mg of Progesterone taken orally at bedtime.

I have lost more weight so now I'm at around 128lbs!  I also got my BMI (fat) down below 20%!! Yipee

I will post pictures of before and after BHRT later.

Lumps in Breast

So the Lumps are just there...they say they are dense breast tissue, but is dense breast tissue supposed to hurt this bad?

I call my BHRT Dr. and he said the lumps shouldn't be related to my Hormone therapy so if I really want to know what it is; they have to Biopsy my boobs...

I am now at a stand still.

Forgot my BHRT

So it is Monday (Montag) and I forgot my BHRT at home.  That means I am putting it on at 1600.  Should not be too bad since I put it on at 1420 on Saturday and 1230 on Sunday.

Also lined up for today is an Ultrasound of my Left Breast.  I have had a lump in there for the past few days and today I'm going to get a good look at it.