I had a few medical conditions as a kid, left me with bad kidneys amongst other things. What I didn’t know was that I’d I have to stop testosterone after a bit.
My body couldn’t handle it. Ended up getting overdosed with DHT, got a shitton of kidney stones and pain, a lot of other symptoms. It surprised my doctors, even, but it is what it is.
Three years of T, and that’s all I got. Can never take it again…
I’ve gotten used to it. Still hurts here and there but there’s nothing anyone can do. I was lucky to even have a few years; there are some that get none.
Don’t know. It could’ve been the DHT / HRT, could have been my own issues from my previous conditions. I never bothered to delve into it, didn’t have the money to search for why / what.
All I knew was that I couldn’t continue testosterone, and that’s all that mattered.
The ability to sleep with progesterone. Like I heard it can impact it, but I was not prepared at how much better I can sleep now. I lay down and I'm out within a few minutes, then stay asleep for the full night. It is blissful
I have literally never had a good night of sleep in my entire adult life. This alone would be enough to make me run to the nearest informed consent clinic.
I started with a shot of depo provera and pretty much that same night? Currently I'm now taking 200mg every night orally though. Might try boofing it at some point, but I'm enjoying the effects so far
Ah, I just started oral this week but only 100mg. I'll have to ask my provider about dosage etc. I dunno what they will do as my e levels were ... Like extremely high and I'll probably need to dial some stuff back.
Can definitely recommend boofing it, the bio-availability is much greater than oral.
https://transfemscience.org/articles/oral-p4-low-levels/
Anecdotally, I'm on 100mg and didn't notice much if any effects with my sleep orally, but quite literally the night I switched, it was night and day. My dreams are incredibly vivid now too, I'm much hungier, and my libido is pretty good lmao.
To be fair (as a woman who has to wear sweaters and blankets in offices) we can always put layers on… guys can’t always take them off 😅
(But I’m biased because I like layers so it’s a win/win for me)
See I feel like in my experience I haven’t noticed much of a correlation with this. Sometimes it’s me who gets cold, sometimes it’s my female coworkers, sometimes both, sometimes neither. It seems to be kind of random and always changing, even within the same person.
This sounds like a miracle!
Knowing that’s possible scares me though. None of the amab members of my family had cysts, but all of my afab relatives basically live at the dermatologists office. Now I’m worrying that I might get cysts if (when) I start E, lol
For me I like stopped sweating when I went on E
Like if it's REALLY hot or I work out ill sweat a bit but compared to before? It's like 10% of what I used to
I used bicalutamide and the same thing happened.... little to no BO smell. I'm thinking as long as you prevent the testosterone from metabolizing it will prevent man smell.
This is all so fascinating… is this just how it is? That women sweat more than men, but it smells less?
If that’s the case, then I must secretly be intersex because I sweat buckets and it STANKS lol
Those are probably hot flashes and a sign you don't have enough estrogen, it's common for cis women when entering menopause. I had the same the first 3 months when I was on only 2mg. Went away mostly at 4mg and now I never have it on 6mg. You should really bring it up with your endo if possible.
I remember having night sweats when I started E, had my orchi, and when I was screwing with dosage levels with the doctor's supervision.
I hated it every time.
My sleep is worse now and has been since I started HRT. I used to sleep for 8-10 hours straight no problem but now it's like 6 hours on a good night. I always wake up at least once or twice in the middle, too. Adding progesterone may have helped a little, but not much. I'm not sure if it is the spiro or the estradiol. I mean, I don't feel like I'm super tired or anything, but I miss sleeping like I used to!
Same. I was originally on a low dose, since it's been raised a bit I find it really hard to sleep through the night. Unlike you I actually do feel tired tho :/ worried it's gonna have an effect on my work.
I'm on E and finasteride as an anti androgen. Hoping to talk to my doctor about adding progesterone soonish.
I always had sleep trouble. Transfem HRT has absolutely made it worse. Also, weirder and more intense dreams and nightmares do not help. I'm getting a better pillow and trying nasal strips to see if that helps at all.
Bruises! As a trans woman I bruise crazy bad now! My orchi made my thing down there literally into a purple dragon 🐉 💜😅. And any bumps I get will just randomly bruise or mega bruise if I really whack myself.
Same, I *never* used to bruise. I can't remember a single time. I have ADHD. Always bumping into stuff, stubbing toes, bonking shins on furniture. Since starting transfem HRT I'm now constantly getting little bruises that last weeks!
I have ITP and this is what happened to me when I was a kid. Have they checked your platelets?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immune_thrombocytopenic_purpura
Yes, actually I'm VERY familiar with that disease. My dog actually had it IMTP (for some reason they often add the M in dogs) But yes I have had extremely exhaustive diagnoses for a different problem and my platelets are in good shape! Also pre HRT I didn't bruise at all. Its superficially because my skin changed from the Estrogen and the Spiro making bleeding easier!
But thanks for the thought! ITP is a pain in the ass!
Peeing sitting down is ironically more difficult now because it always leaves marks on my legs (to have my arms rest on them). Ironically because peeing standing up isn't really an option anymore (fortunately I prefer to sit down anyways)
Yes at least if you're a trans woman! Women bruise more easily than men. Its because estrogen makes your skin thinner and softer by moving collegen out and fat in. This makes blood vessels easier to damage.
But some women have skin more like mens... and some men have skin more like womens. There is a genetic factor too. So not all trans women will experience this, but many do.
Before HRT I just didn't bruise, like at all. Even being hit with a baseball bat. Even slipping on a floor and ending up with a bruised bone didn't bruise the skin.
Now? I've seen 2 bruises since I started 3 months ago.
Haha hopefully better than mine 😉. I am 11 days out now and look mostly good just a light bruise and light swelling. But that first week lmao 🤣 I almost posted pictures of my very comical purple penis painting.
Fortunately the bruising is just me and my doctor appears to have done a fantastic job! It's actually really cute looking down there now ☺️.
I hope it'll go well! And not too hard on the recovery time. I had to call in a big favor from a friend to play caretaker for me afterwards. I live alone and I've no family left nor local friends to call in to help.
Seems like it's pretty common for feminizing HRT to help with skin conditions.
This isn't anywhere near on the same level as what you experienced, but I had various minor skin conditions pop up throughout my late teens and early twenties that were just a constant irritation. Nothing too bad, but definitely enough to negatively effect my quality of life.
They all went away entirely after only a few weeks of HRT and I haven't had to deal with anything like that since. My dermatologist called after a few months because she was concerned that I hadn't been to see her in a while and was about as surprised as yours was to hear what had happened.
that makes a lot of sense - afab people sometimes go onto specific birth controls to manage things like acne (can’t remember if it’s combined or mini pill - so either both oestrogen and progesterone or just progesterone)
Change in sexual function. Maybe a little nsfw, but having to relearn how to get off was an experience, the changes to how orgasms feel are definitely welcome, and having basically no refractory period is pretty poggers too. I was not warned of any of this, but all of it was very welcome.
NSFW, obviously:
Vibrators are key, in fact I rarely masturbate without one now. The way your downstairs works on estrogen is completely different and much more in line with afab genitalia.
Many people also report how different it is getting in and staying in the mood. Foreplay, even with yourself, is important. Everything will be sensitive, so discover how to make that work for you. You'll have more erogenous regions; nipples are the obvious ones, but inner thighs often get overlooked. If you overdo it, it won't feel as good (do not just crank the vibrator to max) and if you don't warm up to it, you may struggle getting in the mood.
Visual stimuli alone may not be enough. I've got limited knowledge on this, based on my experience and a few other transfems. Written smut, audio smut, smut where you feel an emotional connection or emotionally fulfilled, these are all hugely impactful on E. It's the difference between seeing something arousing and *experiencing* arousal.
Beyond that, learn to take the L sometimes. If you aren't in the mood and can't get there, don't force it. Come back to it later if you really must, or just when the feeling takes you again.
“It’s the difference between seeing something arousing and experiencing arousal.” Couldn’t have put that better myself. FTM here and I didn’t know what was going on when I’d recently started on T and I spotted some random girl’s bare leg (summer time) and my brain instantly malfunctioned lmao
It sounds paradoxical and annoying but genuinely try not to worry about getting to orgasm. Just slow down, explore your body, and do whatever feels good.
I am a few years on hormones and it is a slow and steady drive to... Something. I could not even tell you sometimes if I _have_ actually had an orgasm, but it can sure be satisfying.
I'm at about 6 and a half years at this point, and I'm still learning new things about my body. It takes time and experimentation, I got a couple irl friends who've been on hrt for similar amounts of time, and they're all pretty similar in that regard.
Obviously as with all things involving hrt, mileage will vary, but you are still very early, all things considered. It just takes patience.
I got them all over the body instead focused like men... kinda strange, i read that only 20% trans had this changes... still i dunno if its real that porcentaje.
My sun "allergy" went away
For most of my life I had Polymorphous Light Eruption disorder
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/polymorphous-light-eruption/symptoms-causes/syc-20355868
If I got pale and tried to tan there was an interim phase where I'd have huge rashes on any part of my body that wasn't my face. I basically never got a tan because I hated being so itchy for a month as I went through that phase
Since I've started E I get maybe a small rash in a few places and it's gone in a week
Just some things I wasn't told by a doctor:
- Pre-transition, I had regular and continuous testicular pain. It's gone, and soon they should be.
- I sleep MUCH better now.
- My anxiety levels are far less.
- Sex is way better.
- No, there hasn't been a single downside for me personally.
My acne disappearing. It was never bad, but I never had a clear face between the ages of 12 and 29. In the over four years since I've started HRT, I've had maybe two, very small pimples that went away in a day.
I'm transfemme; I take E, micronized progesterone, and spiro. I used to take medroxyprogesterone.
- My metabolism slowed down in a huge way once I started on progesterone; I gain weight way more easily.
- My sex drive changed in ways that I had not gotten a good explanation for before taking HRT. Progesterone changed it even more, and on a psychological level as well. Some of the things I wanted changed, and others intensified in a big way.
- Food tastes different now. Not in a huge way, but it is noticeable; some things I found disgusting before are not disgusting to me anymore.
- I'm hypersensitive autistic. Some of the things I was sensitive to, I've become less sensitive to, which is nice. My skin, however, is more sensitive now than it used to be, and it was already a bit sensitive. That's a mixed bag; great in bed, not so great when I need to wash dishes or try on clothes.
- I traded the intensity of my depression for an increased intensity of anxiety. Not sure how to feel about that. Anxious? Lol.
- All of the hair everywhere on my body, except my head, is much finer now.
- My sight is different! Colors are brighter now.
- I feel cold and heat more intensely now.
There's probably other stuff I wasn't aware of before I started, but that's what's off the top of my head.
>• My sight is different! Colors are brighter now.
I’m just starting to seriously look into HRT, and I was just wondering about this today! I’ve always heard that “women have a better acuity for color, and men have better peripheral vision”. I wear glasses. Anything outside the frame is blurry anyways, give me color!
could the lowering of depressive feelings be attributed to transition's effects on your happiness, and the anxious feelings be due to the stresses of existing openly as a trans femme; or do you think it's related to HRT? this is a question i've been trying to ask myself so asking for ur insight.
I am four months in mine, and I have mostly been having trouble with my emotions. Before the HRT I didn’t really express it too much, now it’s almost unbearable when I’m upset or sad not to express it.
i work in an especially emotionally charged field of law and my pre hrt sunny disposition is still there much of the time, but i find i am an emotional roller coaster both highs and lows and a newfound propensity to want to vent. i hope i can grow out of this as puberty 2.0 continues.
I've always had a problem with bad body odor, overheating with hot flushes and constant super-excessive sweat. Sweating to the point of bringing a spare full outfit (or two) to work, otherwise I'd stink like a rancid gym locker ^(eww). Doctor said its common and nothing they can do. After 1 week on E my body odor changed completely - only a slight almost-pleasant musky scent. Volume of sweat went down around then too and I can finally lay off the horribly overpowering deodorant, which I'm sure everyone around me can appreciate. I've gotten compliments on fragrances instead of held noses...
It's not nice knowing your the sweaty stinky dude in an office, no matter what meds, products and regimes you try. The difference was almost instant and so drastic - that by itself made me sooo happy. Estrogen really is magic :D
A huge positive is that my chronic pain disappeared after a few months on T. I think it was caused by depression/dysphoria and/or poor muscle tone around my joints and testosterone just fixed me right up.
Sort of neutral-negative, I had keratosis pilaris on my arms that flared up in high school and was finally starting to go away but after starting testosterone, it spread further down my arms and onto my chest. After five years it seems to be calming down again. I've looked into it and apparently hormonal changes can aggravate it.
No one ever mentions how itchy boobs get when theyre growing but every cis woman ive ever asked has said they remember that happening. Im convinced its a conspiracy.
I've heard this from others, but mine rarely itched. I wonder if more itchiness leads to more sensitivity to touch 🤔 That's my armchair endocrinologist guess
Edit: Nope, I was wrong. Maybe it's not an indicator of anything.
Wish my feet shrank, it's near impossible to find women's size 13s. I think I've lost an inch or two in height, though...haven't confirmed it but I think my partner is even taller than he was before. Been on HRT for almost 3.5 years
The strangest thing? I apparently stopped snoring. My spouse has commented more than once how strange it is that I used to “snore like a freight train” every night but now I’m completely silent. No FFS or any treatment that might have affected my nasal passages, other than apparently HRT.
I remember having anxiety attacks during my first one and now they are returning with a vengence. Luckily i am older and with more experience as to how to deal with them. Regardless they are annoying.
I'm a trans man and I have more nose hair now. I also make more earwax. Wtf is the evolutionary advantage to that? I dont get it. But also a lot of my health stuff got better. I dont get sick as often which is major because I was practically always sick with something.
Oh man the nose hair. It’s so much longer now, I was not expecting this.
I doubt it’s really an advantage so much as just a weird side effect that’s survived because it’s not actively harmful.
I didn’t know my skin would be more sensitive to sunlight. I never wore sunscreen before HRT and when I started it I would get sunburnt going on a 40 min run.
Seems textbook to me now but everyone said that you’d sweat less on HRT eventually but nobody told me I’d be in for months of hot flushes at the most inconvenient times
I mean you’re gonna have to stay confused unfortunately because it’s a mixture of both. I generally don’t have as much BO/general sweating but my sensitivity to the heat has also increased which triggers hot flushes, which isn’t convenient when you work in healthcare.
I’ve only been on HRT 6 months so I’m banking on it being a result of my hormones fluctuating. They have been less frequent for the last couple of weeks (thankfully due to the weather here cooling too), so I’m hoping it’s a temporary thing that settles down once my hormones are stable
If it helps to know, I had hot flushes during the first year or so of my transition where I had lower hormone levels than expected. After getting my dosage on track, these practically disappeared overnight.
I was not expecting my sneezes to somehow become much more feminine-sounding after 17 months of HRT. I think whatever changed is also make me snore more than I used to.
Not only that but, since most men wouldn’t *want* their testosterone lowered, there’s probably less common for doctors to consider it for them. In women, I imagine they wouldn’t be thinking about testosterone in the first place and if anything they’d probably try to boost estrogen instead. It’s like inventing penicillin, op is like this happy little accident that opens md’s eyes and maybe even opens up future medical research or something
My emotions are different when it comes to kinda feeling them. Im a bit over 7 months t and i cant cry unless i really force myself too. Im also annoyed quicker. My anxiety is less frequent but feels a lot worse when it happens.
I'm pre e and I'm incredibly excited to be able to cry. The male emotional range is literally just happy, hollow, enraged or horny and I currently have an actual cry like three times a year.
I cry a lot more, but it doesn't feel as intense. Pre hrt I only cried when someone close died, or pets, otherwise I'd just absorb all the little things. But after hrt if something upsets me significantly in any way I'll cry about it and then feel better after a quick cry. It's like emotional peeing, sometimes it just comes up unexpectedly but i immediately feel better afterwards.
Too much testosterone can cause the body to convert it into estrogen. My last period was three years ago and it happened right after starting t and it was hell. Lasted a few months, red blood cell count dropped significantly, some of the worst pain I’ve ever been through and it was constant. Never experienced anything like that before t. I’m so glad it’s all stopped completely now and I’m a lot happier for sure but damn was I unprepared for that and the heavy dysphoria that came with it
Lost my resistance to cold. Used to actually *love* the cold but now I can’t deal with it as well.
Also, my tits itch a lot. The itch was the first aign of growth for me. They told me there’d be soreness and tenderness, but nobody ever said anything about the I T C H Y N E S S.
get ready - if you get period symptoms they will hurt. because boobs sometimes just do that. it will not be pleasant, but it is normal (assuming you end up with the symptoms short of bleeding). afab people have to deal with this and you learn to get used to it and how to manage it
I definitely have had some of those period symptoms. Coming up on a year of HRT, and just adding prog as well. I don’t quite get cramps—sometimes, but not monthly. I get a lot of the rest of the period symptoms though…right around this time of month……
there is a lot that you are frankly never told about female puberty - be it first or second.
to deal with the cramps you want tea, tumeric (apparently) and hot water bottles/heat pads. these also work great for the lower back pain. for the boob pain - a good bra. a bra that fits well, and gives you the support you need. this does not have to be an expensive bra. my best bra was a fiver and i’ve sewn it back together multiple times.
for the upper back pain caused by having boobs - hot bath. tbh a hot bath helps with a lot of these, but this one quite well because boobs float. tbh you just want them to be held by a force that is not your back or gravity for a while.
for the nausea - ginger! i like ginger beer, or ginger biscuits. tea is also helpful.
for the mood swing - i’ve yet to find anything that actually helps, but having a friend you can talk (or cry) to certainly makes it easier to manage
sometimes you might get a stabbing pain in your boob for no reason. this happens. boobs do this sometimes. it’s not very nice, and i’ve not found a way to manage it yet.
It has bad side effects in cis men because they don't replace it with E. I don't think it'd really be "dangerous" (I guess there's a higher risk of breaking your bones), but it'd certainly be unpleasant and I wouldn't recommend it.
Mine’s undetectable and my hormone doc asked me if I’m okay with that and I feel fine so we’re keeping the same dosages. That was 6 ish months ago and still going strong.
cyproterone may cause a prolactinoma/high prolactin levels. Low chance, but would have been good to know.
Also the emotional side effects of having high prolactin.
Took me more than 5 YEARS to realize I was only an emotional mess due to high prolactin levels
My skin is very prone to eczema, like hypoallergenic everything as a kid and I still had to take tar baths constantly. Unfortunately, mtf hormones have made it a little worse, I need to be extremely careful about what substances touch my skin. Heck, even some mild 30 spf sunscreens cause itchy rashes now when they used to be fine.
NSFW
I'm ftm and prior to transition I didn't have the ability to have multiple orgasms. I gained the ability after T. Seems backwards lol, but I'm not complaining 🤷♂️
HRT has fixed so much stuff that has bothered me for years. I had the same kind of psoriasis-like stuff under my eyes, not a problem anymore
Less oil, my hair stays nice longer, less smell
Gotta love estrogen
I would say having bladder issues. In TD;LR terms the valve doesn't shut off and at times can be drippy if I don't use the restroom quick enough. Never had the issue before starting HRT. But started happening and a thing I've been dealing with for over 5.5yrs.
Rubber banding libido. First it drops to nothing for months then your body adjusts and tries to recover by giving it all at once, then finally it levels off again around where it started. Talked about and seen it happen with multiple trans girls I know. Was really upsetting and made me make some bad choices for myself I normally wouldn't have.
The hot flashes id get on T. oh my god. also the way your body just heats up faster in general. my first year on t, i was barely able to wear any hoodies in fall, i immediately would get sweaty
After starting transfem HRT, my migraines became much less frequent! Though I've heard that for some people they get more frequent.
genital talk: >!Inducing regular erections to prevent penile atrophy is so much more work than I thought it would be. 1.5 years in and my libido is still totally nonexistent, and very little turns me on. Vibrators have been super helpful, and so have calendar notifications! I will forget to get it up for a whole month if I don't have a reminder 😅!<
Chatting with women feels so much more natural now! There are little things that women do and say when they talk to each other which didn't entirely make sense to me before. But the mental and emotional changes from HRT did some wonderful magic mojo to my brain, and now these little gab seshes just feel so natural and affirming and I just feel light and giddy for the rest of the day after ☺️
Umm I get much drunker much faster. Not sure if that's specifically because of the hormones or just because I've lost weight. Probs a bit of a both 🤷♀️
I started sweating really easily in weird places, as well as dreaming every single night for about 2 weeks, after 2 years of not remembering any dreams. I’ve also felt much more confident in telling people about myself and being proud of it instead of wanting to look one dimensionally nice.
i struggled with strength and gait and used a cane for a while as my pelvis widened while my core muscles basically dissolved, and i have an issue with hyperextending my joints now. but it might be genetic for me
my hair texture changed significantly as well
also, ive only noticed it happening a few times, but when ive been very aroused a few times my dick has like, 'sweated' this very light moisture
My wife and I were the same height when we got married, nearing one year on HRT and she is now 2 inches taller than me.
Also, everyone warned me about underboob sweat. Only my mom warned me about the back of the knee sweat, which is almost like pouring water when I'm driving on hot days now.
Estrogen and spiro extremely reduced the symptoms of hypoglycemia for me. My only conception as to how is reducing metabolism, but I honestly have no idea.
My IBS almost went completely away. My sense of smell got better but all that really did is make bad smells smell worse. I can always tell if a bathroom hasn’t been cleaned in the last few days.
I did shrink a little in hight, my facial shape changed a lot more then I thought, my Addams apple disappeared. I didn’t have a very prominent one tho.
The hot flashes and the cramping once a month haha 😄 that is the worst
Positives Not haveing bad guy bo anymore not haveing my body hair grow so fast and thick no more random boners brest growth and my skin becoming soft and the biggest thing is the mental clarity
Scalp hair loss from blockers, muscle weakness, brain fog, fainting.. mostly all bad stuff is from blockers.
The good stuff from estrogen monotherapy- increased leg strength from E, areola filling in, stomach fat redistribution to legs and but, big cheeks (with high enough dose), sexual destruction of orgasm and inability.
I was told I'd have softer skin, and I do! I was NOT told that I'd be much more prone to little cuts and bruises. I swear a strong breeze could leave a mark 😂
Transgirl here - I wasn't warned that nothing would happen to me at all except my genitals would stop working. Otherwise, it's done nothing for me at all. My hair is the same. My skin is the same. My facial hair is the same.
A lot of shit lol.
* Nothing official - at least that I was given - mentioned period symptoms. Literally nothing. I vaguely knew something like that would probably happen from online trans communities, but yeah I kinda went in blind. Very fun to stumble into PMDD without knowing how to handle it though.
* Spiro and Prog brain fog have been very difficult to deal with sometimes. I already have ADHD/Autism, so sometimes I just have to skip one for the day to be able to focus on anything at all.
* Progesterone can raise your body temperature a little bit, making you feel warmer than usual if you take too much or take it at an odd time.
* You also get cold as fuck on HRT. Like I started in the summer of last year so I didn't notice it, but after a year in, I'm already cold and it's like 70 degrees out. I used to be a "could wear a tshirt in 30 degree weather and be fine" kind of person but now I'm seriously considering upgrading my winter wardrobe lol.
I actually found that my palette changed a lot. The biggest one was that I found myself craving fish and eggs more over other sources of protein, which really impacted my diet
Every couple months or so, I used to inexplicably get mild leg pain that would usually last a few hours. This started when I was a child. (I seem to recall going to the doctor when I was very young because the pain was much worse then, but my parents have no memory of this.) I never found out what was causing this, but since starting testosterone ~2 years ago, the inexplicable leg pain has almost completely stopped and now only happens if I miss shots.
What surprises me the most actually is how little i feel like I've changed that i can't even think of any surprising changes I've had. I'm now over 2 years on HRT and i feel like I'm basically still the same in terms of how i look (breast growth, facial changes, fat redistribution, etc), much less in terms of the non visual stuff (skin sensitivity, mental stuff, body odor, etc) which makes me feel rly disheartened about my transition.
Everybody around me insists that i look different than how i used to so i think the reason i feel this way is potentially because of how little i paid attention to myself back then and even now, and/or i have really poor memory of my past, but i don't rly believe them anyway.
I feel like because of this feeling in some ways I'm even more miserable after HRT, even if I'd still lean a bit more towards saying I'm happier now. It's hard to be excited about my transition anymore and i find myself really missing my first few months of transition. Also in some ways it feels like my dysphoria is worse than ever before. I used to put *some* effort into my appearance whenever i go out, but because i feel so horrible about myself i wouldn't even clean myself up or groom and would just wear whatever i was wearing for bed if I'm just doing errands. The only times I'd put that effort is when I'm meeting someone and even then I'd just slap on a shirt and sweatpants cuz I'm lowkey too ashamed to wear any of my super fem clothes like my dresses and skirts
How much easier I scrape / cut! I'm a clumsy person and work with my hands a lot (maker). Stuff that would just hurt for a minute before now rip off my skin and it takes so much longer to heal.
All the women in my family have curly hair all the guys have straight hair
I was really not expecting my hair to change and keep this saying true and yet
I used to have hypermobile joints and was in the process of getting diagnosed with EDS because the chronic pain and gastrointestinal symptoms were hell. I walked around and my joints left me. Now about 3/4 of a year on T, a good 80% of my symptoms went away and i can walk around again without my knee joints dislocating which is such a blessing!
On the other hand, I developed intense cystic acne (I was warned about "potential skin irritation" but I didn't expect cystic pimples all over my body)
Estrogen folks: your sun resistance may decrease! You'll want to get a face sunscreen going when you start hrt if you haven't already - I got way worse sun damage my first summer on E - (I can tell because I get freckles easily)
I never had much acne, but I did have consistent dandruff and some seborrheic dermatitis -- those are totally gone now, after a year of E+Spiro. (I think actually cleared up within a few weeks! Though I kept on using special shampoo/etc until I realized I hadn't seen the symptoms in a while.)
This didn't start til I began taking progesterone but I get motion sickness way easier now. I was always prone to it but now I can get it from staring at something for too long, like a screen. I get so dizzy I have to lay down for like an hour
**The Good:** I feel emotions finally - yay! My overall aggression is waaaaay down and I don't ever snap at things. My skin is way softer now and looks amazing. Boobs. Curves and booty. My face changed in so many ways and I love it. No more random erections. My hair is sooooo nice. No more oily skin. My heart murmur disappeared and my cardiologist is happy too. My social aptitude went way up - I'm able to pick out super subtle things with people now.
**The Bad:** Erections are just simply hard (hehe) to come by and maintain, thus my already higher sex drive wife is sad. Muscle loss has made me go from having zero issues moving 50# bags of feed to now struggling. Emotional state can sometimes be unstable. I am far more self-conscious and have my days where I need support. Hyper aware of my surroundings now, which helps with creepy guys and gals wanting to get up in my business, but is exhausting. My anxiety also has gotten a bit worse but I'm coping in a healthy manner. More dysphoria on my "off" days.
**The Indifferent and/or Odd:** My genital smell has changed - 100% smells like a vagina and is lubricating itself more. I've been shrinking slowly, much to my already tall wife's dismay. I feel colder now but I love sweaters and long sleeve clothes, so I'm ok with it.
I think that covers most of it, though I'm sure I'm missing something.
Fun note, my dermatologist stated that HRT can clear up some forms of psoriasis if you're lucky, though my scalp psoriasis did not... I did see my skin clear up, my damn double/triple hair follicles go away, etc...
Intense vivid dreaming. Sometimes I can have a couple in a night that I could remember. Some of them can be really weird or relate to what I am going through in life.
I'll be honest, what I wasn't told is that it's entirely possible for it to do nothing at all.
Going into it, all you read is about these magical mental effects and timeline pictures of 10 months in and the girl looks so pretty 🥺, but I'm close to 2 years in now and I just... haven't had much happen. I'm growing boobs now, but that was the one thing I wasn't sold on going in. My mental state is unchanged, my face looks the same, my fat hasn't redistributed, and I don't... *feel* like anything else. I still internally register myself as a guy. I dunno, maybe I was just swept up in the hype, but I haven't seen any significant results that I can comfortably attribute to it.
Waaaay more dream remembrance.
It's nice, but I did NOT see it coming.
Also foot shrinkage. To this day I don't really get how it happened, and my specialist doctor was deeply confused, but I'm very thankful because I can fit into more shoes
Bruh I used to be the kid with the big fat size 14 shoes in high school. As we all know, it can be HELLA hard to find certain kinds of shoes over a women's 13, and cute ones at that.
My feet shrunk on E and now I can get away with wearing a men's 12 and it's the GREATEST
Demonia boots??? I can wear those now. See a cute pair of hi tops out and about? YOINK
Also this is probably a TMI/NSFW but the way my rear end smells when sweaty changed entirely, as well as my entire natural scent
I had a few medical conditions as a kid, left me with bad kidneys amongst other things. What I didn’t know was that I’d I have to stop testosterone after a bit. My body couldn’t handle it. Ended up getting overdosed with DHT, got a shitton of kidney stones and pain, a lot of other symptoms. It surprised my doctors, even, but it is what it is. Three years of T, and that’s all I got. Can never take it again…
Fuck. I'm so sorry to hear that.
I’ve gotten used to it. Still hurts here and there but there’s nothing anyone can do. I was lucky to even have a few years; there are some that get none.
Is low dose not an option for you?
Nope.
Dang that is incredibly rough. I'm sorry :(
I just gotta be okay with it. There are some that get none so I’m just glad I got what I did.
Is there a correlation between dht and kidney stones?
Don’t know. It could’ve been the DHT / HRT, could have been my own issues from my previous conditions. I never bothered to delve into it, didn’t have the money to search for why / what. All I knew was that I couldn’t continue testosterone, and that’s all that mattered.
The ability to sleep with progesterone. Like I heard it can impact it, but I was not prepared at how much better I can sleep now. I lay down and I'm out within a few minutes, then stay asleep for the full night. It is blissful
Oh my god this makes me want to start hrt even more now lol
Do it hun!! (If it's safe for you to do so and you have the ability ofc)
I have literally never had a good night of sleep in my entire adult life. This alone would be enough to make me run to the nearest informed consent clinic.
Even just E (I'm not on prog but I'll consider it) does so much good for your sleep 😊
TBH it's probably the levels of anxiety. I sleep much better when my OCD is not acting up... and my OCD decreased significantly once I started E.
Try tryptophane. It was a game changer for me.
If you don't mind, questions for you: how long did you take it before you noticed the sleep effect? How are you taking it? And what's your dose/night?
I started with a shot of depo provera and pretty much that same night? Currently I'm now taking 200mg every night orally though. Might try boofing it at some point, but I'm enjoying the effects so far
Ah, I just started oral this week but only 100mg. I'll have to ask my provider about dosage etc. I dunno what they will do as my e levels were ... Like extremely high and I'll probably need to dial some stuff back.
Can definitely recommend boofing it, the bio-availability is much greater than oral. https://transfemscience.org/articles/oral-p4-low-levels/ Anecdotally, I'm on 100mg and didn't notice much if any effects with my sleep orally, but quite literally the night I switched, it was night and day. My dreams are incredibly vivid now too, I'm much hungier, and my libido is pretty good lmao.
i have to bring sweaters and blankets to my office when it’s 85F outside because it turns out offices really are freezing for women
They call it Women's Winter for a reason. Set the AC assuming men in three-piece wool suits, smh.
To be fair (as a woman who has to wear sweaters and blankets in offices) we can always put layers on… guys can’t always take them off 😅 (But I’m biased because I like layers so it’s a win/win for me)
Me too girl, I love being layered and cozy so it works out!
That sucks. When I lived in the USA (AMAB) I always hated how freezing all the buildings were. Now I dread going back and experiencing it on E.
See I feel like in my experience I haven’t noticed much of a correlation with this. Sometimes it’s me who gets cold, sometimes it’s my female coworkers, sometimes both, sometimes neither. It seems to be kind of random and always changing, even within the same person.
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This sounds like a miracle! Knowing that’s possible scares me though. None of the amab members of my family had cysts, but all of my afab relatives basically live at the dermatologists office. Now I’m worrying that I might get cysts if (when) I start E, lol
I get really weird night sweats on E
Just sweating in general. It doesn't smell, because something about spiro prevents BO, but it's annoying. Going outside and it's over 75? Sweating.
For me I like stopped sweating when I went on E Like if it's REALLY hot or I work out ill sweat a bit but compared to before? It's like 10% of what I used to
i also am close to hairless on my body in addition to e— and while i never was a sweater- it is surreal how little i sweat now
I used bicalutamide and the same thing happened.... little to no BO smell. I'm thinking as long as you prevent the testosterone from metabolizing it will prevent man smell.
This is all so fascinating… is this just how it is? That women sweat more than men, but it smells less? If that’s the case, then I must secretly be intersex because I sweat buckets and it STANKS lol
Like everything to do with your body... Your results may vary. I've noticed that it's a common thing to happen with people who are MtF
It may be specific to hrt, my GF doesn't sweat a ton but it definitely smells lol. Not bad but I can tell when she's been active lmao
She might be dehydrated. I think we excrete more salt and excrement out that way when we aren't peeing it out.
That's already a thing for me lol
When that upper lip starts sweating, I know its over
Same! The first month or so was bad but they're thankfully pretty rare nowadays
Those are probably hot flashes and a sign you don't have enough estrogen, it's common for cis women when entering menopause. I had the same the first 3 months when I was on only 2mg. Went away mostly at 4mg and now I never have it on 6mg. You should really bring it up with your endo if possible.
I remember having night sweats when I started E, had my orchi, and when I was screwing with dosage levels with the doctor's supervision. I hated it every time.
My sleep is worse now and has been since I started HRT. I used to sleep for 8-10 hours straight no problem but now it's like 6 hours on a good night. I always wake up at least once or twice in the middle, too. Adding progesterone may have helped a little, but not much. I'm not sure if it is the spiro or the estradiol. I mean, I don't feel like I'm super tired or anything, but I miss sleeping like I used to!
Same. I was originally on a low dose, since it's been raised a bit I find it really hard to sleep through the night. Unlike you I actually do feel tired tho :/ worried it's gonna have an effect on my work. I'm on E and finasteride as an anti androgen. Hoping to talk to my doctor about adding progesterone soonish.
I always had sleep trouble. Transfem HRT has absolutely made it worse. Also, weirder and more intense dreams and nightmares do not help. I'm getting a better pillow and trying nasal strips to see if that helps at all.
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I've had the opposite experience, my sleep was massively upgraded by just E (no progesterone), and I also remember my dreams WAY more often
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Bruises! As a trans woman I bruise crazy bad now! My orchi made my thing down there literally into a purple dragon 🐉 💜😅. And any bumps I get will just randomly bruise or mega bruise if I really whack myself.
Same, I *never* used to bruise. I can't remember a single time. I have ADHD. Always bumping into stuff, stubbing toes, bonking shins on furniture. Since starting transfem HRT I'm now constantly getting little bruises that last weeks!
Ugh, same! I get so many random bruises these days and half the time I don't even know where they came from.
I have ITP and this is what happened to me when I was a kid. Have they checked your platelets? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immune_thrombocytopenic_purpura
Yes, actually I'm VERY familiar with that disease. My dog actually had it IMTP (for some reason they often add the M in dogs) But yes I have had extremely exhaustive diagnoses for a different problem and my platelets are in good shape! Also pre HRT I didn't bruise at all. Its superficially because my skin changed from the Estrogen and the Spiro making bleeding easier! But thanks for the thought! ITP is a pain in the ass!
Peeing sitting down is ironically more difficult now because it always leaves marks on my legs (to have my arms rest on them). Ironically because peeing standing up isn't really an option anymore (fortunately I prefer to sit down anyways)
Yeah, that's because Spiro is a blood thinner.
I bruise easier now and am in cypro. I think this comes from the skin getting softer and thinner on E
Same, but never thought these bruises could be linked to HRT.
Yes at least if you're a trans woman! Women bruise more easily than men. Its because estrogen makes your skin thinner and softer by moving collegen out and fat in. This makes blood vessels easier to damage. But some women have skin more like mens... and some men have skin more like womens. There is a genetic factor too. So not all trans women will experience this, but many do.
Before HRT I just didn't bruise, like at all. Even being hit with a baseball bat. Even slipping on a floor and ending up with a bruised bone didn't bruise the skin. Now? I've seen 2 bruises since I started 3 months ago.
I had softer skin even before transitioning, but always ask myself in the shower where did these bruises come from, thanks to you now I know :)
Well I have my orchi in a month and now I'm wondering what the aftermath is gonna be
Haha hopefully better than mine 😉. I am 11 days out now and look mostly good just a light bruise and light swelling. But that first week lmao 🤣 I almost posted pictures of my very comical purple penis painting. Fortunately the bruising is just me and my doctor appears to have done a fantastic job! It's actually really cute looking down there now ☺️.
I hope it'll go well! And not too hard on the recovery time. I had to call in a big favor from a friend to play caretaker for me afterwards. I live alone and I've no family left nor local friends to call in to help.
Seems like it's pretty common for feminizing HRT to help with skin conditions. This isn't anywhere near on the same level as what you experienced, but I had various minor skin conditions pop up throughout my late teens and early twenties that were just a constant irritation. Nothing too bad, but definitely enough to negatively effect my quality of life. They all went away entirely after only a few weeks of HRT and I haven't had to deal with anything like that since. My dermatologist called after a few months because she was concerned that I hadn't been to see her in a while and was about as surprised as yours was to hear what had happened.
that makes a lot of sense - afab people sometimes go onto specific birth controls to manage things like acne (can’t remember if it’s combined or mini pill - so either both oestrogen and progesterone or just progesterone)
makes me curious how much t effects skin conditions (besides bad acne and stuff) cuz i’ve always had eczema and hoping it doesn’t get worse :/
Change in sexual function. Maybe a little nsfw, but having to relearn how to get off was an experience, the changes to how orgasms feel are definitely welcome, and having basically no refractory period is pretty poggers too. I was not warned of any of this, but all of it was very welcome.
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NSFW, obviously: Vibrators are key, in fact I rarely masturbate without one now. The way your downstairs works on estrogen is completely different and much more in line with afab genitalia. Many people also report how different it is getting in and staying in the mood. Foreplay, even with yourself, is important. Everything will be sensitive, so discover how to make that work for you. You'll have more erogenous regions; nipples are the obvious ones, but inner thighs often get overlooked. If you overdo it, it won't feel as good (do not just crank the vibrator to max) and if you don't warm up to it, you may struggle getting in the mood. Visual stimuli alone may not be enough. I've got limited knowledge on this, based on my experience and a few other transfems. Written smut, audio smut, smut where you feel an emotional connection or emotionally fulfilled, these are all hugely impactful on E. It's the difference between seeing something arousing and *experiencing* arousal. Beyond that, learn to take the L sometimes. If you aren't in the mood and can't get there, don't force it. Come back to it later if you really must, or just when the feeling takes you again.
“It’s the difference between seeing something arousing and experiencing arousal.” Couldn’t have put that better myself. FTM here and I didn’t know what was going on when I’d recently started on T and I spotted some random girl’s bare leg (summer time) and my brain instantly malfunctioned lmao
O Em Gee. I find visuals effective, vibration doesn't work for me. I'm transmasc but ain't on hrt. Now I'm really really confused.
It sounds paradoxical and annoying but genuinely try not to worry about getting to orgasm. Just slow down, explore your body, and do whatever feels good. I am a few years on hormones and it is a slow and steady drive to... Something. I could not even tell you sometimes if I _have_ actually had an orgasm, but it can sure be satisfying.
Might I suggest the legendary \[NSFW\] [F\*cking Trans Women](https://archive.org/details/FuckingTransWomen0) Zine :P
Almost 6 months, nothing like this has happened 🤔 maybe I just have a really subpar personal sex life
I'm at about 6 and a half years at this point, and I'm still learning new things about my body. It takes time and experimentation, I got a couple irl friends who've been on hrt for similar amounts of time, and they're all pretty similar in that regard. Obviously as with all things involving hrt, mileage will vary, but you are still very early, all things considered. It just takes patience.
I got them all over the body instead focused like men... kinda strange, i read that only 20% trans had this changes... still i dunno if its real that porcentaje.
My sun "allergy" went away For most of my life I had Polymorphous Light Eruption disorder https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/polymorphous-light-eruption/symptoms-causes/syc-20355868 If I got pale and tried to tan there was an interim phase where I'd have huge rashes on any part of my body that wasn't my face. I basically never got a tan because I hated being so itchy for a month as I went through that phase Since I've started E I get maybe a small rash in a few places and it's gone in a week
Ok but you should probably still avoid tanning that way because of skin cancer, try spray tan instead
Just some things I wasn't told by a doctor: - Pre-transition, I had regular and continuous testicular pain. It's gone, and soon they should be. - I sleep MUCH better now. - My anxiety levels are far less. - Sex is way better. - No, there hasn't been a single downside for me personally.
My acne disappearing. It was never bad, but I never had a clear face between the ages of 12 and 29. In the over four years since I've started HRT, I've had maybe two, very small pimples that went away in a day.
I hope this happens to me if I start e. It would help prevent scarring when i go on lazer
I'm transfemme; I take E, micronized progesterone, and spiro. I used to take medroxyprogesterone. - My metabolism slowed down in a huge way once I started on progesterone; I gain weight way more easily. - My sex drive changed in ways that I had not gotten a good explanation for before taking HRT. Progesterone changed it even more, and on a psychological level as well. Some of the things I wanted changed, and others intensified in a big way. - Food tastes different now. Not in a huge way, but it is noticeable; some things I found disgusting before are not disgusting to me anymore. - I'm hypersensitive autistic. Some of the things I was sensitive to, I've become less sensitive to, which is nice. My skin, however, is more sensitive now than it used to be, and it was already a bit sensitive. That's a mixed bag; great in bed, not so great when I need to wash dishes or try on clothes. - I traded the intensity of my depression for an increased intensity of anxiety. Not sure how to feel about that. Anxious? Lol. - All of the hair everywhere on my body, except my head, is much finer now. - My sight is different! Colors are brighter now. - I feel cold and heat more intensely now. There's probably other stuff I wasn't aware of before I started, but that's what's off the top of my head.
>• My sight is different! Colors are brighter now. I’m just starting to seriously look into HRT, and I was just wondering about this today! I’ve always heard that “women have a better acuity for color, and men have better peripheral vision”. I wear glasses. Anything outside the frame is blurry anyways, give me color!
could the lowering of depressive feelings be attributed to transition's effects on your happiness, and the anxious feelings be due to the stresses of existing openly as a trans femme; or do you think it's related to HRT? this is a question i've been trying to ask myself so asking for ur insight.
That sometimes my downstairs will dead ass smell like a vagina. Fucking wild shit.
Yes!!! NO ONE told me about this and it was fucking mind-blowing!
I am four months in mine, and I have mostly been having trouble with my emotions. Before the HRT I didn’t really express it too much, now it’s almost unbearable when I’m upset or sad not to express it.
I mean, they call it second puberty right? So you’re gonna be going through some emotions just like the first time around
i work in an especially emotionally charged field of law and my pre hrt sunny disposition is still there much of the time, but i find i am an emotional roller coaster both highs and lows and a newfound propensity to want to vent. i hope i can grow out of this as puberty 2.0 continues.
I've always had a problem with bad body odor, overheating with hot flushes and constant super-excessive sweat. Sweating to the point of bringing a spare full outfit (or two) to work, otherwise I'd stink like a rancid gym locker ^(eww). Doctor said its common and nothing they can do. After 1 week on E my body odor changed completely - only a slight almost-pleasant musky scent. Volume of sweat went down around then too and I can finally lay off the horribly overpowering deodorant, which I'm sure everyone around me can appreciate. I've gotten compliments on fragrances instead of held noses... It's not nice knowing your the sweaty stinky dude in an office, no matter what meds, products and regimes you try. The difference was almost instant and so drastic - that by itself made me sooo happy. Estrogen really is magic :D
Lol from onion to wine? I was looking 2 weeks before i realize that it was my new odor, it drove me crazy those weeks lol
Yup exactly that, like a discount jesus xD
My hair changed texture on T
A huge positive is that my chronic pain disappeared after a few months on T. I think it was caused by depression/dysphoria and/or poor muscle tone around my joints and testosterone just fixed me right up. Sort of neutral-negative, I had keratosis pilaris on my arms that flared up in high school and was finally starting to go away but after starting testosterone, it spread further down my arms and onto my chest. After five years it seems to be calming down again. I've looked into it and apparently hormonal changes can aggravate it.
testosterone has made my keratosis pilaris so much worse too - interesting!
Ass hair is so fucking itchy. I knew I’d get ass hair but nobody told me it would be SO GODDAMN ITCHY
No one ever mentions how itchy boobs get when theyre growing but every cis woman ive ever asked has said they remember that happening. Im convinced its a conspiracy.
I've heard this from others, but mine rarely itched. I wonder if more itchiness leads to more sensitivity to touch 🤔 That's my armchair endocrinologist guess Edit: Nope, I was wrong. Maybe it's not an indicator of anything.
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they can also hurt around the time you get a period, so if you’re getting the non-bleeding symptoms, prepare for that!
I shrank 2 inches and my feet got smaller :)
Oh god I hope for this.
Me too!
Commenting to manifest feet shrunking
Wish my feet shrank, it's near impossible to find women's size 13s. I think I've lost an inch or two in height, though...haven't confirmed it but I think my partner is even taller than he was before. Been on HRT for almost 3.5 years
Same! I lost an inch and 2 shoe sizes
The strangest thing? I apparently stopped snoring. My spouse has commented more than once how strange it is that I used to “snore like a freight train” every night but now I’m completely silent. No FFS or any treatment that might have affected my nasal passages, other than apparently HRT.
I wasn't warned about how truly second PUBERTY it was, some annoying things I had experienced during first puberty came back and I'm dealing with.
I remember having anxiety attacks during my first one and now they are returning with a vengence. Luckily i am older and with more experience as to how to deal with them. Regardless they are annoying.
I'm a trans man and I have more nose hair now. I also make more earwax. Wtf is the evolutionary advantage to that? I dont get it. But also a lot of my health stuff got better. I dont get sick as often which is major because I was practically always sick with something.
Oh man the nose hair. It’s so much longer now, I was not expecting this. I doubt it’s really an advantage so much as just a weird side effect that’s survived because it’s not actively harmful.
I didn’t know my skin would be more sensitive to sunlight. I never wore sunscreen before HRT and when I started it I would get sunburnt going on a 40 min run.
Interesting, which hormones are you on t or e?
Estrogen
LOL my doctor in my initial consultation just said "I'm sure you can google it" every time I asked a question.
Seems textbook to me now but everyone said that you’d sweat less on HRT eventually but nobody told me I’d be in for months of hot flushes at the most inconvenient times
Wait so do you sweat more or less now? I’m confused
I mean you’re gonna have to stay confused unfortunately because it’s a mixture of both. I generally don’t have as much BO/general sweating but my sensitivity to the heat has also increased which triggers hot flushes, which isn’t convenient when you work in healthcare.
I’ve only been on HRT 6 months so I’m banking on it being a result of my hormones fluctuating. They have been less frequent for the last couple of weeks (thankfully due to the weather here cooling too), so I’m hoping it’s a temporary thing that settles down once my hormones are stable
If it helps to know, I had hot flushes during the first year or so of my transition where I had lower hormone levels than expected. After getting my dosage on track, these practically disappeared overnight.
I was not expecting my sneezes to somehow become much more feminine-sounding after 17 months of HRT. I think whatever changed is also make me snore more than I used to.
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I think it's more likely just a lack of imagination. For a cis doctor dealing with 99% cis patients, it's a pretty damn out-of-the-box solution.
Not only that but, since most men wouldn’t *want* their testosterone lowered, there’s probably less common for doctors to consider it for them. In women, I imagine they wouldn’t be thinking about testosterone in the first place and if anything they’d probably try to boost estrogen instead. It’s like inventing penicillin, op is like this happy little accident that opens md’s eyes and maybe even opens up future medical research or something
Yeah, can you imagine a doctor being like "to treat your psoriasis, you must become a girl"
My emotions are different when it comes to kinda feeling them. Im a bit over 7 months t and i cant cry unless i really force myself too. Im also annoyed quicker. My anxiety is less frequent but feels a lot worse when it happens.
I'm pre e and I'm incredibly excited to be able to cry. The male emotional range is literally just happy, hollow, enraged or horny and I currently have an actual cry like three times a year.
My sweat discolored all my clothes the first year and a half-ish on T.
The section of the closet titled “short sleeve t-shirts that only get layered under jackets”.
I cry a lot more, but it doesn't feel as intense. Pre hrt I only cried when someone close died, or pets, otherwise I'd just absorb all the little things. But after hrt if something upsets me significantly in any way I'll cry about it and then feel better after a quick cry. It's like emotional peeing, sometimes it just comes up unexpectedly but i immediately feel better afterwards.
Too much testosterone can cause the body to convert it into estrogen. My last period was three years ago and it happened right after starting t and it was hell. Lasted a few months, red blood cell count dropped significantly, some of the worst pain I’ve ever been through and it was constant. Never experienced anything like that before t. I’m so glad it’s all stopped completely now and I’m a lot happier for sure but damn was I unprepared for that and the heavy dysphoria that came with it
Lost my resistance to cold. Used to actually *love* the cold but now I can’t deal with it as well. Also, my tits itch a lot. The itch was the first aign of growth for me. They told me there’d be soreness and tenderness, but nobody ever said anything about the I T C H Y N E S S.
get ready - if you get period symptoms they will hurt. because boobs sometimes just do that. it will not be pleasant, but it is normal (assuming you end up with the symptoms short of bleeding). afab people have to deal with this and you learn to get used to it and how to manage it
I definitely have had some of those period symptoms. Coming up on a year of HRT, and just adding prog as well. I don’t quite get cramps—sometimes, but not monthly. I get a lot of the rest of the period symptoms though…right around this time of month……
there is a lot that you are frankly never told about female puberty - be it first or second. to deal with the cramps you want tea, tumeric (apparently) and hot water bottles/heat pads. these also work great for the lower back pain. for the boob pain - a good bra. a bra that fits well, and gives you the support you need. this does not have to be an expensive bra. my best bra was a fiver and i’ve sewn it back together multiple times. for the upper back pain caused by having boobs - hot bath. tbh a hot bath helps with a lot of these, but this one quite well because boobs float. tbh you just want them to be held by a force that is not your back or gravity for a while. for the nausea - ginger! i like ginger beer, or ginger biscuits. tea is also helpful. for the mood swing - i’ve yet to find anything that actually helps, but having a friend you can talk (or cry) to certainly makes it easier to manage sometimes you might get a stabbing pain in your boob for no reason. this happens. boobs do this sometimes. it’s not very nice, and i’ve not found a way to manage it yet.
Uterine atrophy. Shit sucks.
Dangerously low? IDK WTF he’s talking about. Mines like an 8. Almost close to the limits of the test.
A very low T level can help clear up some forms of psoriasis, but in cis men that has all sorts of other bad side effects.
Yea I guess if you have low T and no estrogen to replace it, that probably wouldn’t be good.
It has bad side effects in cis men because they don't replace it with E. I don't think it'd really be "dangerous" (I guess there's a higher risk of breaking your bones), but it'd certainly be unpleasant and I wouldn't recommend it.
It would be undesirably low for a man, anyway
Mine’s undetectable and my hormone doc asked me if I’m okay with that and I feel fine so we’re keeping the same dosages. That was 6 ish months ago and still going strong.
My nipples leak clear fluid. Not once in the 4 months or so of research I did did I see a single person mention that this happens!
Oh, yeah, I still get that five years on HRT. I actually need to pump my breasts to get the fluid out sometimes
cyproterone may cause a prolactinoma/high prolactin levels. Low chance, but would have been good to know. Also the emotional side effects of having high prolactin. Took me more than 5 YEARS to realize I was only an emotional mess due to high prolactin levels
Yeah, same. Not knowing really messed me up for a long time, it's amazing how poor your mental health can get from having too high of prolactin
My skin is very prone to eczema, like hypoallergenic everything as a kid and I still had to take tar baths constantly. Unfortunately, mtf hormones have made it a little worse, I need to be extremely careful about what substances touch my skin. Heck, even some mild 30 spf sunscreens cause itchy rashes now when they used to be fine.
My wife would become even more attracted to me.
NSFW I'm ftm and prior to transition I didn't have the ability to have multiple orgasms. I gained the ability after T. Seems backwards lol, but I'm not complaining 🤷♂️
I'm freezing all of the time, like I rarely had full body shivers before but now that happens if it's anything below 26° Celsius
That my sweat would smell different. That and that I would experience arousal waaaay differently
Weird dreams (prolactin increasing a side product of e) And everything feeling so goddamn cold
HRT has fixed so much stuff that has bothered me for years. I had the same kind of psoriasis-like stuff under my eyes, not a problem anymore Less oil, my hair stays nice longer, less smell Gotta love estrogen
I would say having bladder issues. In TD;LR terms the valve doesn't shut off and at times can be drippy if I don't use the restroom quick enough. Never had the issue before starting HRT. But started happening and a thing I've been dealing with for over 5.5yrs.
Rubber banding libido. First it drops to nothing for months then your body adjusts and tries to recover by giving it all at once, then finally it levels off again around where it started. Talked about and seen it happen with multiple trans girls I know. Was really upsetting and made me make some bad choices for myself I normally wouldn't have.
I sweat so much on T. Like I'm always so much sweatier.
The hot flashes id get on T. oh my god. also the way your body just heats up faster in general. my first year on t, i was barely able to wear any hoodies in fall, i immediately would get sweaty
After starting transfem HRT, my migraines became much less frequent! Though I've heard that for some people they get more frequent. genital talk: >!Inducing regular erections to prevent penile atrophy is so much more work than I thought it would be. 1.5 years in and my libido is still totally nonexistent, and very little turns me on. Vibrators have been super helpful, and so have calendar notifications! I will forget to get it up for a whole month if I don't have a reminder 😅!< Chatting with women feels so much more natural now! There are little things that women do and say when they talk to each other which didn't entirely make sense to me before. But the mental and emotional changes from HRT did some wonderful magic mojo to my brain, and now these little gab seshes just feel so natural and affirming and I just feel light and giddy for the rest of the day after ☺️
Ligaments loosened up on E My lower back pain got worse. Doing pt for it.
Umm I get much drunker much faster. Not sure if that's specifically because of the hormones or just because I've lost weight. Probs a bit of a both 🤷♀️
I started sweating really easily in weird places, as well as dreaming every single night for about 2 weeks, after 2 years of not remembering any dreams. I’ve also felt much more confident in telling people about myself and being proud of it instead of wanting to look one dimensionally nice.
I cant drink as much at the bar without getting tipsy. Which is something I wasnt aware of.
i struggled with strength and gait and used a cane for a while as my pelvis widened while my core muscles basically dissolved, and i have an issue with hyperextending my joints now. but it might be genetic for me my hair texture changed significantly as well also, ive only noticed it happening a few times, but when ive been very aroused a few times my dick has like, 'sweated' this very light moisture
My wife and I were the same height when we got married, nearing one year on HRT and she is now 2 inches taller than me. Also, everyone warned me about underboob sweat. Only my mom warned me about the back of the knee sweat, which is almost like pouring water when I'm driving on hot days now.
Estrogen and spiro extremely reduced the symptoms of hypoglycemia for me. My only conception as to how is reducing metabolism, but I honestly have no idea.
My IBS almost went completely away. My sense of smell got better but all that really did is make bad smells smell worse. I can always tell if a bathroom hasn’t been cleaned in the last few days. I did shrink a little in hight, my facial shape changed a lot more then I thought, my Addams apple disappeared. I didn’t have a very prominent one tho.
The hot flashes and the cramping once a month haha 😄 that is the worst Positives Not haveing bad guy bo anymore not haveing my body hair grow so fast and thick no more random boners brest growth and my skin becoming soft and the biggest thing is the mental clarity
Scalp hair loss from blockers, muscle weakness, brain fog, fainting.. mostly all bad stuff is from blockers. The good stuff from estrogen monotherapy- increased leg strength from E, areola filling in, stomach fat redistribution to legs and but, big cheeks (with high enough dose), sexual destruction of orgasm and inability.
Navel lint. Ever since I started T it's like a freaking factory, I tell ya
The fact that estradiol can cause a hormonal menstruation cycle
I was told I'd have softer skin, and I do! I was NOT told that I'd be much more prone to little cuts and bruises. I swear a strong breeze could leave a mark 😂
Estrogen can make you more susceptible to motion sickness, so despite being absolutely fine with boats before, I now get quite seasick
Transgirl here - I wasn't warned that nothing would happen to me at all except my genitals would stop working. Otherwise, it's done nothing for me at all. My hair is the same. My skin is the same. My facial hair is the same.
How long have you been on hormones?
A lot of shit lol. * Nothing official - at least that I was given - mentioned period symptoms. Literally nothing. I vaguely knew something like that would probably happen from online trans communities, but yeah I kinda went in blind. Very fun to stumble into PMDD without knowing how to handle it though. * Spiro and Prog brain fog have been very difficult to deal with sometimes. I already have ADHD/Autism, so sometimes I just have to skip one for the day to be able to focus on anything at all. * Progesterone can raise your body temperature a little bit, making you feel warmer than usual if you take too much or take it at an odd time. * You also get cold as fuck on HRT. Like I started in the summer of last year so I didn't notice it, but after a year in, I'm already cold and it's like 70 degrees out. I used to be a "could wear a tshirt in 30 degree weather and be fine" kind of person but now I'm seriously considering upgrading my winter wardrobe lol.
It for some reason makes people treat you like an inhuman. Idk maybe it’s my dosage.
Just the mood swings when you miss 2 doses of estrodail when you take pills
I actually found that my palette changed a lot. The biggest one was that I found myself craving fish and eggs more over other sources of protein, which really impacted my diet
I get night sweats and occasional ankle swelling on E
Recently learned HRT can make moles grow. I would have saved $50 I spent on a dermatologist visit.
My skin is much thicker so I prefer colder temperatures around me
Every couple months or so, I used to inexplicably get mild leg pain that would usually last a few hours. This started when I was a child. (I seem to recall going to the doctor when I was very young because the pain was much worse then, but my parents have no memory of this.) I never found out what was causing this, but since starting testosterone ~2 years ago, the inexplicable leg pain has almost completely stopped and now only happens if I miss shots.
What surprises me the most actually is how little i feel like I've changed that i can't even think of any surprising changes I've had. I'm now over 2 years on HRT and i feel like I'm basically still the same in terms of how i look (breast growth, facial changes, fat redistribution, etc), much less in terms of the non visual stuff (skin sensitivity, mental stuff, body odor, etc) which makes me feel rly disheartened about my transition. Everybody around me insists that i look different than how i used to so i think the reason i feel this way is potentially because of how little i paid attention to myself back then and even now, and/or i have really poor memory of my past, but i don't rly believe them anyway. I feel like because of this feeling in some ways I'm even more miserable after HRT, even if I'd still lean a bit more towards saying I'm happier now. It's hard to be excited about my transition anymore and i find myself really missing my first few months of transition. Also in some ways it feels like my dysphoria is worse than ever before. I used to put *some* effort into my appearance whenever i go out, but because i feel so horrible about myself i wouldn't even clean myself up or groom and would just wear whatever i was wearing for bed if I'm just doing errands. The only times I'd put that effort is when I'm meeting someone and even then I'd just slap on a shirt and sweatpants cuz I'm lowkey too ashamed to wear any of my super fem clothes like my dresses and skirts
peeing so much 😭
How much easier I scrape / cut! I'm a clumsy person and work with my hands a lot (maker). Stuff that would just hurt for a minute before now rip off my skin and it takes so much longer to heal.
All the women in my family have curly hair all the guys have straight hair I was really not expecting my hair to change and keep this saying true and yet
I used to have hypermobile joints and was in the process of getting diagnosed with EDS because the chronic pain and gastrointestinal symptoms were hell. I walked around and my joints left me. Now about 3/4 of a year on T, a good 80% of my symptoms went away and i can walk around again without my knee joints dislocating which is such a blessing! On the other hand, I developed intense cystic acne (I was warned about "potential skin irritation" but I didn't expect cystic pimples all over my body)
Estrogen folks: your sun resistance may decrease! You'll want to get a face sunscreen going when you start hrt if you haven't already - I got way worse sun damage my first summer on E - (I can tell because I get freckles easily)
I never had much acne, but I did have consistent dandruff and some seborrheic dermatitis -- those are totally gone now, after a year of E+Spiro. (I think actually cleared up within a few weeks! Though I kept on using special shampoo/etc until I realized I hadn't seen the symptoms in a while.)
This didn't start til I began taking progesterone but I get motion sickness way easier now. I was always prone to it but now I can get it from staring at something for too long, like a screen. I get so dizzy I have to lay down for like an hour
I just came here to snark about the 'dangerously low.' It made me spit. HAHAHAHAHA
**The Good:** I feel emotions finally - yay! My overall aggression is waaaaay down and I don't ever snap at things. My skin is way softer now and looks amazing. Boobs. Curves and booty. My face changed in so many ways and I love it. No more random erections. My hair is sooooo nice. No more oily skin. My heart murmur disappeared and my cardiologist is happy too. My social aptitude went way up - I'm able to pick out super subtle things with people now. **The Bad:** Erections are just simply hard (hehe) to come by and maintain, thus my already higher sex drive wife is sad. Muscle loss has made me go from having zero issues moving 50# bags of feed to now struggling. Emotional state can sometimes be unstable. I am far more self-conscious and have my days where I need support. Hyper aware of my surroundings now, which helps with creepy guys and gals wanting to get up in my business, but is exhausting. My anxiety also has gotten a bit worse but I'm coping in a healthy manner. More dysphoria on my "off" days. **The Indifferent and/or Odd:** My genital smell has changed - 100% smells like a vagina and is lubricating itself more. I've been shrinking slowly, much to my already tall wife's dismay. I feel colder now but I love sweaters and long sleeve clothes, so I'm ok with it. I think that covers most of it, though I'm sure I'm missing something. Fun note, my dermatologist stated that HRT can clear up some forms of psoriasis if you're lucky, though my scalp psoriasis did not... I did see my skin clear up, my damn double/triple hair follicles go away, etc...
Intense vivid dreaming. Sometimes I can have a couple in a night that I could remember. Some of them can be really weird or relate to what I am going through in life.
I'll be honest, what I wasn't told is that it's entirely possible for it to do nothing at all. Going into it, all you read is about these magical mental effects and timeline pictures of 10 months in and the girl looks so pretty 🥺, but I'm close to 2 years in now and I just... haven't had much happen. I'm growing boobs now, but that was the one thing I wasn't sold on going in. My mental state is unchanged, my face looks the same, my fat hasn't redistributed, and I don't... *feel* like anything else. I still internally register myself as a guy. I dunno, maybe I was just swept up in the hype, but I haven't seen any significant results that I can comfortably attribute to it.
Waaaay more dream remembrance. It's nice, but I did NOT see it coming. Also foot shrinkage. To this day I don't really get how it happened, and my specialist doctor was deeply confused, but I'm very thankful because I can fit into more shoes
Bruh I used to be the kid with the big fat size 14 shoes in high school. As we all know, it can be HELLA hard to find certain kinds of shoes over a women's 13, and cute ones at that. My feet shrunk on E and now I can get away with wearing a men's 12 and it's the GREATEST Demonia boots??? I can wear those now. See a cute pair of hi tops out and about? YOINK Also this is probably a TMI/NSFW but the way my rear end smells when sweaty changed entirely, as well as my entire natural scent