Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

How did HRT change your sense of you?


Heather Shay

Recommended Posts

  • Forum Moderator

For me the anziety, panic, depression, all that left me. I never felt as good in my life nor do I ever want to go back. Thank God my dysphoria wasn't as great as it could have been or else I'd never have made it to making this post. Having a long term marriage and living in a community where my old self is well known has made full transition difficult but it's worth it because I've never felt this good on the inside EVER.

Link to comment

Hey Heather Shay I have been on HRT now for 3 months and the changes have been already huge. I am able to stay focused and I am not getting angry when interrupted like I used to. Also the constant buzzing or white noise in my head has faded out which allows me to be more relaxed and I am for the first time starting to enjoy life. Like you my dysphoria was never debilitating but it sure was there. Finding myself single before I decided to transition has made some thing easier but as far as my job only HR and my immediate supervisor know but I am have to float between my self and the male side at work, and I am starting to get impatient and want to just present as myself but I also no I have to take it one step at a time.

 

Hugs

Billie. 

Link to comment

For me, the changes have been a combination of physical and mental. I've been on HRT a little over 11 months now, estradiol along with duotestaride (sp?), and the physical changes include developing noticeable curves and breasts, softer and clearerskin along with much less body hair; especially my beard which is pretty much gone now. (I did have both laser and electrolysis done, but when I started HRT I had to shave twice a day.)

 

Mentally, the changes include some pretty acute mood swings, but those have tapered off, much more patience and far less anger, as well being calmer and much more able to express my emotions. 

 

Finally, the physical changes seem to have accelerated over the last three months.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

The biggest change was that I no longer have to keep checking to see if I am staying in character.  In the before-time, it was like I was in a play, and I had to keep checking with the director to make sure I was following the script.  Now, I just get to be myself and not worry about it.  I can relax!

 

Like @Heather Shay, I am married and living in a community where my old self was well known.  However, people here are accepting (or at least tolerant), so being me is way easier than being that other guy.  And that makes me joyful.  I never felt joy before.  People said, "Follow your joy", and I was like, "Huh??  What's that?"  Now, I have some joy, and I love it.

Link to comment

I get it about the joy. Before HRT I had neither joy nor happiness. Certainly, I had joyful moments--when my daughters were born for example--but I never had any permanent sense of joy or happiness that I can recall. Now I do. And, there is a difference between joy and happiness.

Link to comment

At 3 weeks away from 2 years on estradiol (patches), I have reached a level of comfort with my body and my mind.  Stress is so much less, anger has vanished, replaced by acts of kindness to my spouse and others that are genuinely felt.

 

For me, HRT is a decision that was definitely worthwhile, and from which I could have benefitted from starting much earlier, had I the insight that I have now.

 

Astrid

Link to comment
  • 4 months later...
On 11/10/2021 at 11:59 AM, Marcie Jensen said:

I get it about the joy. Before HRT I had neither joy nor happiness. Certainly, I had joyful moments--when my daughters were born for example--but I never had any permanent sense of joy or happiness that I can recall. Now I do. And, there is a difference between joy and happiness.

Never been a parent but I can certainly tell the difference now between the latter. Haven't had any sad moments in transition yet, but I came from a very dark level of hiding from the marriage until she left. Had a few very happy cries surprise me with the close support friends. Didn't realize until they pulled it out of me how much I was the victim of a narcisistic woman. Vuldnderability is a new thing for me. It's a little scary but in a good way :)

Link to comment

It's really feels as just becoming who I really am, who I was born to be. All the physical and emotional "changes" are like things falling into place. My skin feels quite different and is, but yet like everything else, it's become "natural" to me. Emotions are definitely like doors have opened, lots of different variations there. I think I expected a kind of "novelty" to it but actually HRT has been like a desert has been finally had rains after a long drought. Nature simply takes its course. There is something quite subtle and proufound: not earth-shattering revolution, but sweet, soft and patient. 

 

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

It's so weird how HRT made me look better, like my facial features are less sharp and more feminine, but like others are saying, I feel so much more patient, at peace, and SO much less irritable. Also, more optimistic.  I didn't expect such a dramatic difference. But I'm really grateful.

Link to comment
  • 6 months later...
On 11/10/2021 at 11:59 AM, Marcie Jensen said:

I get it about the joy. Before HRT I had neither joy nor happiness. Certainly, I had joyful moments--when my daughters were born for example--but I never had any permanent sense of joy or happiness that I can recall. Now I do. And, there is a difference between joy and happiness.

This really hit me... It makes so much sense Except for the birth of my son was neither joyful or a happy moment. It was definitely profound seeing it happen but I truly felt sad. But yeah the depression throughout my life was confusing because I could never figure out why. This is soooo encouraging to hear 

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

HRT was amazing for me.  I'm about 2.5 months in and have experienced some physical and psychological improvements.  The latter is by far the best, because I am feeling much more comfortable in my body now.  My gender dysphoria has reduced, generally, possibly due the stage my electrolysis treatments are at now - hard to notice more than a few facial hair between visits.  I am absolutely loving being a woman and it's been so easy for me (mostly).  I love not having to think about how others might judge me because of the words/actions I'm about to say/do.  I'm also reveling in the caring for and helping of other people.
On the physical front, I love the change in the way my skin feels already - long way to go I expect.  I definitely have breast growth - started running without thinking or a bra twice, stopped almost immediately.  My wife suggest that I avoid going downstairs (we have two male boarders in our house) without a top on, not that the thought had entered my mind.  My wife has also suggest that my face looks more feminine and there is an inkling of shape to my hip.

Link to comment
  • 1 year later...
On 11/10/2021 at 10:53 AM, Heather Shay said:

For me the anziety, panic, depression, all that left me. I never felt as good in my life nor do I ever want to go back. Thank God my dysphoria wasn't as great as it could have been or else I'd never have made it to making this post. Having a long term marriage and living in a community where my old self is well known has made full transition difficult but it's worth it because I've never felt this good on the inside EVER.

❤️

Link to comment

I have been on HRT (Estrogen and Spiro only) for one month today...I have noticed myself behaving more feminine (walking, sitting, playing with my hair, etc...oh and one very confusing "why am I crying?" moment)...and I know one month is not long, but I feel like I should be feeling more effect by now...or even seeing some physical changes begin, but I don't see any yet. Does anyone have advice on this? 

Link to comment
28 minutes ago, Charlie Dakota said:

Does anyone have advice on this? 

Give it time and enjoy the process.

 

This website has a good rundown of what to expect: https://transcare.ucsf.edu/article/information-estrogen-hormone-therapy

 

On page S254 of the WPATH Standards of Care 8 you can find the estimated onset of physical changes: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644

 

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   4 Members, 0 Anonymous, 70 Guests (See full list)

    • Evelyn J
    • Susan R
    • awkward-yet-sweet
    • VickySGV
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.5k
    • Total Posts
      767.2k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      11,942
    • Most Online
      8,356

    taxicab
    Newest Member
    taxicab
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. Amyjay
      Amyjay
      (58 years old)
    2. bettyjean
      bettyjean
    3. Breanna
      Breanna
      (52 years old)
    4. Emily Ayla
      Emily Ayla
    5. JET182
      JET182
  • Posts

    • awkward-yet-sweet
      Colorado isn't exactly a Republican place, and won't become one anytime soon.  I think those folks might be better off not spending their time playing Don Quixote.    We certainly have our share of California "refugees" moving into where I live, so I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing Coloradans too.  I suspect the trend over the next few years will see the blue areas getting more blue and the red areas getting more red as anybody who can relocate tries to find a place where they fit better.   
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      Well, at least it'll be a place some folks could choose.  Options are a good thing.
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      My family would have gobbled that jar up in a minute or two.  When we do have pickled herring, its usually for Christmas.  I didn't grow up with that particular dish, but I grew up in a Greek family so I like just about any kind of fish if I can get it.  However, ocean fish and freshwater fish taste so different.  We usually have more catfish and tilapia to eat than anything else.    What I can't quite get used to is the tons of cabbage my GF insists on eating.  When you live with a Russian, there is always cabbage soup.  Always.  When I first moved in with her, breakfast was "shchi" for soup and either bread or "kasha" which is a bowl of boiled buckwheat with butter and salt.  Those dishes can be made in any number of ways, some are better than others.  In the winter, it can even be salty and sour like kraut.  Not exactly sauerkraut, but packed in tubs with vinegar and salt so it keeps partially for the winter.  But I drew the line when the cabbage soup included pieces of fried snake one day.  😆
    • Ashley0616
      Good evening to you as well @Mmindy   That is awesome that you have support from her side. My dad has communicated with me once and that was because he was forced to. His new wife wanted to spend time with my kids. He hated me so much he was in the process of taking my rights away as a parent to my two boys. He was talking to a lawyer and I called him out on it. I don't love him at all. I'll respect him because I wouldn't be here without him but I wished I had another father. My uncles don't talk to me and unfriended me on Facebook. Almost all cousins except for two are still Facebook friends but they don't give me any support. My mom said she won't support me with that but she has said that she loves me. I have nieces and nephews that are still Facebook friends but they have yet to talk to me. I have one sister that supports me out of three. The other's disrespect me by deadnaming me. They have never called me their sister. I think for them they think it's still a phase. They don't ask questions about me being trans. I have to bring it up and on the look of their faces they don't look comfortable about it. 
    • Mmindy
      Good evening @Ashley0616,   I just got offline with HP tech support trying to get my printer tool box icon locked to my tool bar. This is one of the most important features of my printer that I like because it keeps track of ink, paper, and scanned documents. I'm diffidently not a computer geek.   I'll catch up with the other bookmarks next week. We leave to go home for the Easter Holiday with our families. Saturday with her side, and Sunday with my side. What's odd about that is I'm out to more of her side and they're reluctantly supportive. My side on the other hand are less supportive, and my sister just under me in age will not acknowledge my being there. She will be constantly moving to keep from dealing with me. I'm dead to her.   Hugs,   Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋  
    • Ashley0616
      I used to follow baseball and the team I would cheer for is Boston Red Sox. My favorite player was Papi. He was an awesome guy and even held a child during the National Anthem. I haven't watched baseball for a long time. It just died off to me. 
    • Ashley0616
      That stinks that nothing transferred, and no bookmarks were saved! 
    • Ashley0616
      I'm doing patches for now but I think soon I'll go to shots because it's hard to alternate when you are doing two xx patches at once. Unless she gives me Estradiol and progesterone
    • Sally Stone
      Go Cleveland Guardians!  I love baseball and I loved playing it when I was younger.  
    • Sally Stone
      My view is we are "dependent" on government, because as a society, we are too lazy to stay actively involved. So, we let politicians do our bidding for us.  I think we'd be in a better place government wise if we policed the actions of our politicians.  We elected them; they work for us.  Sadly, we are allowing them to run amok.  We are where we are because we have chosen to let politicians make all decisions without us.  Remember "by the people, for the people?" That was the intent of our democracy.  Today, however, it is "by the politicians, for the politicians," the people be damned. 
    • Mmindy
      "Play Ball! Batter Up!" is the closing line of the National Anthem as far as I'm concerned. It's the call of the Home Plate Umpire and signals the start of the game. I grew up in the TV and Radio broadcast of the St. Louis Cardinals. Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Tim McCarver, and Mike Shannon, were the voices on my transistor radio. KMOX 1120 AM pushing 50,000 watts of Class A clear-channel non-directional signal. It could be picked up all across MO, IL, IN to the East. KS, OK, CO to the West. IA, MN to the North, and KY, TN, AR to the South. There has always been a rivalry against the Chicago Cubs, in the National League. As for the American League, I have to pull for the Kansas City Royals. I've also been a Little League Umpire, and fan of everything the Little League stands for. Going to Williamsport, PA and seeing the Little League World Series is in my top 10 things to do on my bucket list.   Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋
    • Mmindy
      Good evening everyone,   I don't think my mother ever cooked a meal that I didn't like. We also had a kitchen where mom fixed the food, dad filled your plate, and you eat it. It wasn't until our baby brother was born that we could have Pop-Tarts for snacks. Before that all snacks had to meet mom's approval, and in her opinion wouldn't prevent you from eating supper.   Well my day started off on a good note, but has become frustrating because my IT person didn't transfer my saved videos I use for teaching. Then I found out that they didn't save any of my book marks for websites I use frequently.   Best wishes, stay motivated,   Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋
    • MaeBe
      The number is relative to method of deliver, the time of the dose, and when the blood is drawn. However, I do want to keep away from DVT and other potential issues. I assume I may be getting backed down from my current dose, but my doc told me to stick with the higher dose, so? I also wonder if this has anything to do the my breast growth and mental changes that have been happening over the past few years, like I have some estrogen sensitivity so a little goes a long way or something? I don't have enough data to postulate, but who knows!   With weekly, subcutaneous, shots you expect to see big swings of serum level estradiol from shot to peak to trough. My doctor is interested in mid-week testing (for E and T levels only), which would be post-peak blood serum levels but they will be higher than trough. Most, if not all, resources I've seen online is to measure at trough (which I might do just to do it next time) along with a SHBG, LH, and other metrics.   This is from transfemscience.org for Estradiol valerate in oil, which is very spiky compared to some other estradiol combinations. It's also for intramuscular, which will have a slower uptake and is usually dosed in higher volume due to the slower absorption rate from muscles. They don't have subcutaneous numbers, which I would expect to see similar spikes but higher levels at similar doses due to the relatively higher absorption rate direct from fat.   Are you doing pills, shots, or patches? And when you do get your levels checked are you getting that done when your levels are lowest or some other time?
    • Willow
      Both of my parents were from the “North Shore” of Boston.  My mother Lynn and my father Swampscot.  They had an early 1900s Scots-Irish New England diet.  My sister and I were born in the 40s in Ohio well away from New England seafood and in an area where food was more German and Polish.  My first experience with liver and onions was during basic training.  They ate salt cod but never forced us to eat it same with oysters.  My dad ate oysters but my mother wouldn’t.  Anyone who ever ate an oyster can figure that one out.  I grew up eating lamb.  My wife won’t touch it. I love brazed ox tail, again no way. And the list goes on.  
    • KathyLauren
      My mother was German, so yes, I think it was a cultural thing.  If I'd known you when we were cleaning out my mother's place, I could have sent you her "threat jar". 

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...