Do you feel different on hrt?

[Guest Krisina]

When I ask if you feel different on hrt, I'm not asking about the breasts or stuff like that.

Your senses when you touch. Do your arms, hands, feet, legs, neck feel different? How long does it take before you only have to shave your kegs arms chest, a week? Do the bumps from shaving the chest go away. How long before your legs start changing and looking more feminine?

Do you feel different in your head, your brain even when you have just started taking hormones. How does it change. I often have read that if you were shy before you will still be shy. Your interests would stay the same. That in most cases your attraction to the opposite or same sex would stay the same.

I'm in my 40's so I'm particularly interested in responses around that age range too.

Krisina

[Guest Robin Winter]

Well...I'm 31...only been on hrt for 7 months, so physical changes aren't abundant yet. I haven't really noticed a difference in hair growth. I do seem to be more sensitive in areas than I used to be, most areas in fact, but I'm more sensitive to light touches, not so much normal contact.

I don't get bumps really when shaving my chest now, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I remove most of them at the root, either with an epilator or tweezers, and only really shave to get the really small hairs that are too thin to pull out effectively.

I have to say, as far as interests go...mine have changed, somewhat. I'm not as interested in video games or reading as I used to be. I'm more interested in tactile activities, things I do with my hands like cooking and crafts. I also find I'm less passive than I was before HRT, but that may be attributed to the fact that I'm more confident now that I'm taking charge of my life, and less a direct result of the hormones. It's hard to say.

I wasn't very good at conversation and preferred to keep to myself, which nearly cost me my marriage, but I find I'm slowly becoming more social (very slowly, but it's progress). I am, without a doubt, more emotional, in every way.

Being more emotional is really the only thing I'm confident is a direct result of the hormones, though. I wouldn't swear to the rest, though I think it's notable that it all started changing after starting HRT.

Above all else, though, there is a definite sense of rightness and well being, like I'm finally properly aligned. I know that sounds sappy and probably a bit cliche, but it's absolutely the truth.

[Guest Svenna]

Krisina,

Hmmm. Where to begin?

Okay...first, I am only 12 1/2 days into HRT, so although my impressions are still fresh and expanding, they are limited..

Yes, my body feels different to my touch and it began to feel smoother, silkier and softer within the first 4 days. I am even softer now and I LOVE it! Some may credit other factors for this difference, but I know what I know.

My brain is changing very rapidly. I can honestly say for the better. These changes include, but are not limited to, taste, smell and sight. Within a week I was trying foods that I used to shun. One example is a particular condiment that I just could not abide on fish, one that my spouse (female) has favored since childhood. Without any premeditation I found myself mixing catsup with tartar sauce and dipping some fish and chips into it. I had always insisted that I hated catsup on breaded fish, and as recently as a month ago I had tried it again, but I still found it very objectionable. About a week ago I made fish and chips and without provocation, I mixed catsup into my tartar sauce and a light went on in my head! WOW, I thought, this IS good and I began to sing the praises of such a simple concoction. I used to loathe mayo on fries, too, unlike my spouse who prefers it. But the same tartar sauce and catsup combo is GREAT on fries now too!! Coincidence or self-fulfilling prophesy? I don't think so...Another example is salad dressings. I used to favor vinaigrettes, roqueforts and other sharper flavored dressings and I shunned the sweet, creamy ones. Since starting HRT my spouse and I have gone through two bottles of buttermilk ranch. Did I mention that I used to HATE buttermilk, too?

Since starting HRT I have been doing 10x the housework I used to do. And I WANT to clean up after making dinner, I want the dishwasher loaded and emptied, I just got done doing 2 loads of laundry (and folding them up and putting them away, immediately after the dryer stopped) even though I could have let it go. Historically, I used to wait until EVERY shred of my clothing was dirty before doing laundry in one big get-it-done-and-over-with session, about once every 3 weeks. Now, I like to stay on top of it. Why? I'm not sure, but I know it isn't because I'm trying to prove anything to anybody. I'm not one to do things that I don't really want to do, and certainly not so frequently..

There have been other incremental changes, too. I shaved everywhere on my body except my lower legs and forearms, but I did clip those areas almost to the skin. I had 'wanted' to do this for a while, but in my head it didn't 'feel right' and it made me feel conflicted. Not so anymore, I am now conflicted about leaving the little hair I have left, but I am leaving it there out of concern and consideration for how my spouse feels about me 'feminizing'. She doesn't yet know about the shaving, but guess what? Since the E started kicking in, NOT shaving seems weird. I don't believe this change a purely psychologically motivated, this behavior shift is due to a subtle change in my whole being. I am less a man now than ever, and instead of feeling empty as my maleness recedes, I am feeling like my femaleness is overflowing and filling the void.

I don't know how I could ever 'unlearn' what I have learned about myself since starting HRT if I ever had to stop. The feeling is so congruent, so profoundly symmetrical, so deeply satisfying. This is a chemical confirmation that I have longed to experience and I am so very glad that I was not disappointed!

Yes, I know that everybody is different and I bet some people have less immediate results. Some might even believe that what I am saying is just not possible and likely all in my imagination. But I know better. See, I am me now. I am the person that has been waiting to be fueled-up and taken out into the world. I am she whom he has been hiding, protecting, denying. I will not suffer in silence any longer. HRT has given me wings and I will no longer live on the ground, I will soar, as is my birth right...

So, be certain before you start the hormones, young Krisina, you just may find your 'self' in ways you never knew you could. It is a terrifying thing to leave the domain of hypothesis and theory and find yourself concretely female, with no safe refuge in denial ever to be found again. This can be a gloriously challenging time, but one that I feel especially blessed to experience..

The wrong hormonal balance skews how we see almost everything in some way. Correcting this imbalance opens up possibilities never before imaginable, let alone possible. I am giddy at the prospect of how I might feel when my dosages are upped to full-transition levels.

I don't know how far my road goes, but I am finally on the correct path!

Yes, your mileage may vary, but I am very satisfied that amazing things are ahead for me. Without HRT, I was just rehearsing for an improvised script. Silly me!

You didn't ask about breast stuff, but let me say this much: WOWZA!!!!

Love, life and lucidity, at last! Svenna

[Guest]

Hi Krisina,

HRT made a big difference for me.

The initial effects were apparently from reduction in testosterone, which was noted within just a few days of starting Besides the obvious physical effects, I lost that male agression that was always in conflict with everything else I was. It was the first peace of mind I'd felt in my life! I heard another T-girl describe it as Nirvana. Pretty close!

Estrogen apparently took more time to begin it's magic, perhaps a month. What I noticed was a big jump in sensitivity. I'm very much a visual and tactile sensitive person, and suddenly the world became far more colorful, smells were sharper, I had to touch everything - it was Alice in Wonderland. It didn't take long before my emotional responses were heightened too. Of course, the tears flowed, in rivers at times. But, for me, the tears were always happy tears. It hasn't been until the last month that sad things have had the same effect.

I am reminded of prescribing lithium to correct a chemical imbalance in the brain of bipolar patients. It felt like HRT corrected my brain imbalance too. Of all the things about transition, I keep asking: why did I wait so long to start HRT?

Love, Megan