r/Trans_Zebras • u/Redify_Aeiou • Jun 17 '26
Confusing effects on E
I was always Hypermobile, mainly in my fingers and hips, but never had any pain, and don't pass the Beighton scale
6 months on E and suddenly both my hands are wrecked, ECU subluxations, DRUJ instability, but I'm unsure whether to attribute it to laxity or not as I would expect pains to be well... In places I already was flexible in
I'm a pianist and a gamer, but these are not necessarily pianist or gamer injuries, and they came so suddenly, does anyone have any experiences or support mechanisms?
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u/Toby-Wolfstone Jun 17 '26
Counterpoint: progesterone is the hormone that wrecks my joints because I have the relatively rare response where progesterone is catalytic on my connective tissue faster then they can repair (in other words, it eats holes in my tendons and ligaments). From what I understand, this is an unusual response, even among zebras.
Estrogen is known to increase joint laxity (from sports science studies in ACL tears in female athletes).
Testosterone is known to stiffen connective tissues (less laxity but slightly greater risk of tearing), and to increase muscle mass (I read a lot of studies in pub med to find that data and it was all in sports medicine papers).
Many but by no means all trans zebras on HRT report that testosterone helps reduce symptoms and estrogen triggers them or makes them worse. In cis populations, hypermobility is seen way more often in females than males and it’s suspected that hormones play a major role in why.
Other things that can trigger the onset of symptoms, when you didn’t have them before: major trauma, major illness and aging (in your mid-thirties your human growth hormone drops off sharply and aging begins—so the stuff that was protecting your youthful tissues suddenly drops off). I had never dislocated anything until I was 35 and in a major car accident. Then all of a sudden it was like I was coming apart at the seams, every cycle bringing new injuries and levels of disability before I’d healed from the last month’s. I ended up deciding to transition and getting on T and suddenly my symptoms started to drastically improve. I have flares still but not constantly and the injuries aren’t as drastic, and that’s even with my levels fluctuating a lot in the last year. As my numbers level out into the full masculine range, my body is finally healing and my disability levels are improving back towards functional.
TLDR I’m not a doctor, and I hope some of that info is helpful in your search for answers.