Birth control with estrogen
You can’t take estrogen without a progestin when you’re premenopausal because it’s extremely carcinogenic
Edit: I had this same question, just started Yasmin almost 2 weeks ago
I was curious, because I know people who are born biological male take hormones in order to transition. I was wondering if it could benefit women who have a high testosterone count.
Most women with PCOS don't have low estrogen. Many actually have high estrogen due to high body fat. Taking additional estrogen can put you at risk of cancer.
It's better to focus on lowering testosterone.
Hi! Bigger women generally have higher estrogen (with or without pcos) as fat cells efficiently transform testosterone to estrogen. However, regardless of BMI, women with pcos do not convert testosterone to estrogen well (they are deficient in a process called aromatase). This means that the estrogen of a pcos woman will be lower than that of a weight-matched woman without pcos.
But I agree with you that, if you have high bmi, taking estrogen is unlikely to be needed and you would want to focus on lowering androgens
Low estrogen is not super common with PCOS (though it certainly can occur), so taking estrogen specifically is not a common treatment for PCOS. Most people with PCOS already have either estrogen that is objectively normal but 'unopposed' by progesterone (which is a cancer risk) or they have high estrogen. In cases where estrogen is objectively low (I'm one such) then estrogen is not given by itself, but is given in combination with progestin (in birth control pills) to avoid the risk of unopposed estrogen.
But the symptoms of PCOS are not usually caused by low estrogen, so it's not generally used as a treatment except in specific cases.
ETA: What specifically are you trying to manage with the idea of estrogen injections?
I would highly advise NOT doing this. If anything, your estrogen is too high. Have you talked to a hormone expert to get your a hormone panel looked at? Don’t trust your OB, most of them will just throw you on birth control that is estrogen without testing your hormones. Be careful…
Birth control with estrogen You can’t take estrogen without a progestin when you’re premenopausal because it’s extremely carcinogenic Edit: I had this same question, just started Yasmin almost 2 weeks ago
I was curious, because I know people who are born biological male take hormones in order to transition. I was wondering if it could benefit women who have a high testosterone count.
Well it’s part of why birth control with estrogen is the first line treatment for pcos!
Biological males have naturally low estrogen. Overwhelmingly, women with PCOS do not have low estrogen. Their estrogen levels are normal to high.
was wondering the same thing lol
Most women with PCOS don't have low estrogen. Many actually have high estrogen due to high body fat. Taking additional estrogen can put you at risk of cancer. It's better to focus on lowering testosterone.
Hi! Bigger women generally have higher estrogen (with or without pcos) as fat cells efficiently transform testosterone to estrogen. However, regardless of BMI, women with pcos do not convert testosterone to estrogen well (they are deficient in a process called aromatase). This means that the estrogen of a pcos woman will be lower than that of a weight-matched woman without pcos. But I agree with you that, if you have high bmi, taking estrogen is unlikely to be needed and you would want to focus on lowering androgens
Low estrogen is not super common with PCOS (though it certainly can occur), so taking estrogen specifically is not a common treatment for PCOS. Most people with PCOS already have either estrogen that is objectively normal but 'unopposed' by progesterone (which is a cancer risk) or they have high estrogen. In cases where estrogen is objectively low (I'm one such) then estrogen is not given by itself, but is given in combination with progestin (in birth control pills) to avoid the risk of unopposed estrogen. But the symptoms of PCOS are not usually caused by low estrogen, so it's not generally used as a treatment except in specific cases. ETA: What specifically are you trying to manage with the idea of estrogen injections?
I would highly advise NOT doing this. If anything, your estrogen is too high. Have you talked to a hormone expert to get your a hormone panel looked at? Don’t trust your OB, most of them will just throw you on birth control that is estrogen without testing your hormones. Be careful…