u/A_Lountvink

Hello, I'm working in a lab this summer as part of an undergraduate program and have been looking for plants to take samples from. While seeing what's available, I found out that poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) may be worth investigating.

Luckily, I don't react to it, but I'd still like to minimize my exposure to the urushiol oil. Are there any specific glove materials that are better for reducing exposure? Once the sample is collected, is it possible to wash the oil off the leaf? Are there any precautions that should be taken when storing the sample? Is there anything else that is important for me to know?

I started estradiol valerate injections (2mg/week) on April 8th and had talked to my endocrinologist about trying monotherapy. He prescribed spironolactone (2 50mg tablets a day) in case the injections weren't enough suppress the testosterone. I decided to just do the injections at first, since I didn't want any spiro side effects to interfere with the remainder of my college semester (finals are next week).

It's been a little over three weeks since then, and I think my T is only partially suppressed. My mood has improved significantly, with much less stress/dysphoria, but I haven't noticed much of the other early changes yet. My skin and hair might be a little softer/less oily, but I'm not sure. I've never had much of a libido, but I have noticed less interest in those sorts of activities these past few weeks. I think my sweat odor is also lessening, though it's not gone completely.

I know that 3 weeks isn't much time for HRT and that it takes time for T levels to fall, but I also know that most folks need a higher valerate dose to effectively suppress it.

For folks who did monotherapy, how long did it take for your T levels to be suppressed and at what dose? For folks who started with monotherapy but then started spiro, what effect did it have? Did it have a noticeable effect quickly (days), or did it take longer to notice? Were there any side effects that you didn't have on monotherapy? Will those effects go away if I stop spiro later (once E levels are high enough)?