I will try to make this story as short as possible without leaving anything otherwise essential out. This is of a need to know basis only and i would appreciate your respect and common courtesy given my unusual medical circumstances.
First of all it’s important you know that i am a transsexual male, which means i was born biologically female (XX sex chromosomes) and from the age of 19 (i’m now 23) i have been taking prescribed testosterone giving me a higher then normal male hormonal level, which has resulted in me fully developing male sexual characteristics, such as deep voice, facial hair, muscles, big shoulders, adams apple etc and male pattern hair loss.
After starting testosterone i shortly developed a rare skin condition known as Cholinergic urticaria (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholinergic_urticaria) This condition was extremely debilitating to me as i was unable to perform even basic daily functions without intense pain and irritation to my skin. This meant that normal activities such as walking or any movement which changed my internal body temperature would cause an outbreak of hives and so for years i suffered a very extreme form of Cholinergic urticaria. Doctors had no idea why this was the case and all my test results came back as normal for everything.
It’s actually impossible to be allergic to hormones as they are not drugs and occur naturally within the body, despite this i knew the testosterone was the cause and it was likely due to upsetting my “female” hormonal balance which resulted in these hives. I was a rare case and to my knowledge no other transsexual men had ever encountered such a side effect.
For years i suffered with hives barely leaving the house until i was prescribed propecia for hair loss. An hour after taking propecia the hives were completely gone and i was able to walk, run and move without pain to my skin. This got me thinking that i was somehow allergic to DHT and not testosterone.
Propecia caused the expected negative side effects, i was no longer able to become erect (yes, i get erections normally as other males do) i had no sex drive, and felt somewhat foggy. I quit propecia and it took 3 weeks for side effects to go. After 3 weeks the hives returned to normal, which was devastating for me as i was once again suffering with them.
I then started taking saw palmetto thinking it was a safer alternative to propecia. Everything was fine for two weeks then i began getting the same sexual sides as propecia. I then quit saw palmetto and the sides effects took 4 months to go this time! But the strange thing is that saw palmetto seems to have permanently altered my hormones because the hives are at least 70% reduced and i am finally able to enjoy some parts of my life.
After quitting saw palmetto and propecia the only lasting negative side effect i seem to have is chronic fatigue, which is very difficult at times. I don’t know what other damage i may have caused in this process. I originally took these DHT inhibitors because of hair loss and accidentally stumbled onto a “cure” for my hives.
I know this is an unusual case given my biology, but i thought it was important to document as it shows propecia and other drugs like these can permanently alter the way your hormones are used and synthesised in the body. I am completely convinced that propecia can have extremely devastating and permanent side effects. I’m lucky that my sexual sides effects have mostly recovered.
It’s also important to note that my male hormones are a constant because i inject them and they are maintained at a regular constant level and because of this i know that propecia definitely caused those side effects to occur.
Perhaps i have less DHT now? I really have no idea, but i know it has hormonally changed me! So far it has been 9 months and hives continue to be reduced to a liveable standard and i really hope it stays this way for my own sanity.
Feel free to ask questions, but i mostly just wanted to post this story in the hope that it may benefit someone.
Regards.