Welcome Paula! Glad you are here! I love the gender spectrum & if we allow ourselves, we find just the right place to fit. I hope you find the wonderful advice support & acceptance here as I have.   Hugs! Delcina

Thank you for the post MaeBe! I've been AWOL for a while so just read the first entry. My first bit on HRT, estradiol & spironolactone weren't very life changing. Someone said we would smell prettier, about a week in I noticed this fabulous smell, I thought omg it's true. Then a few days later I was doing laundry & there was the fragrance...in the fabric freshener, lol. I think my expectations were this dynamic change to femininity. I think the first real change was the balance between mind & body, a feeling I had been looking for since about ten years old. The anger emotions softened for me, fewer outbursts of rage. I did & do feel the compassion, empathy & such more deeply. I have a spiritual path that also helped keep them in balance. You didn't mention taking spironolactone. It reduces our T. My Endo prescribed both for me to reduce the T & increase the E. The way I am meant to be.    Hugs! Delcina

@MaeBe you look adorable 🥰

Oh that's so cool!

Welcome to Trans Pulse, Paula.  I hope you enjoy your time here.  I'm certain that you will be a valued member of this wonderful group.   HUGS   Carolyn Marie

Mirrabooka, i will try the clear gel idea and see how that works out for me. thank you.

Thank you so much, to all of you, for the kind words and encouragement. I'm sure i am going to enjoy being a part of this community. I too am glad to know i am not alone.

Update!!! The cut was supposed to be for today, but I got in touch with a trans accepting barber and we scheduled a time for tomorrow🙏🙏🙏🙏

Good afternoon everyone,   While we were up early, life has gotten busy.    Hugs,   Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋    

Not from HRT, but I am an insulin dependent Diabetic now and occasionally have the same thing happen with that stuff.  All I get told is to wait until the next dose is due and pick another injection site. My Endo who treats both my HRT and Diabetes has told me that HRT injections normally have only a limited percent of the E that will be used from each injection any way the rest will go into your normal disposal system.    If the spot where you injected turns red, bruises or develops a lump that stays for more than a few hours, do let the doctor know because it could be an infection or an injury to a blood vessel. 

Jobs backed up in my stall.Engine replacement a 2nd time in a semi,rod through the block.Customer supplied the replacement engine used that is no good.Got that one out and the yard is pulling another one that is good,heard it run before pulling it.

Also, I'll take any tips on what I should do with my make up from @Sally Stone or anyone else that knows their way around a primer and a pallet. ☺️

You are on an empowerment roll today, @Vidanjali!   Strong communication is key. I wasn't emphatic about growing my hair out with my stylist, being opposite side of wanting longer hair, and they took that as "trim it down but leave some length" more times than I want to admit. "I am growing it out" was not enough, especially as the stylist had only known me getting shorter masculine cuts. Yes, they left some length, but every quarter/half/full inch was one I was going to half to grow back and it was my fault for not being adamant about it and only wanting to "shape it". Why I kept making appointments is a question I have yet to ponder!   Go with your heart, go in with a style in mind, and own it. My eldest is trans masc and has gone through these struggles, but has found a stylist that gets him and was able to pin down what he wanted. He really enjoys his hair now.

Thank you the encouragement, @Ivy, @Mirrabooka, and @Vidanjali. This is the last side of family that is yet to know. I did, however, make my decision. ☺️

Thank you!

I am noting that the awkwardness you fear is your uncle's potential awkward feeling. In particular, it seems you are overlooking the awkwardness you would have to endure by not presenting as yourself. You refer to not presenting as yourself as compromising your appearance. See how you've also softened that language for the sake of others' potential awkward feelings. This is in no way to admonish you, love. I think most of us struggle with this. I just wanted to point out the color of the narrative in which you've framed this dilemma. It is admirable to be so sensitive to the feelings of others. But that must be applied to yourself as well.   My opinion is that if your uncle feels awkward, then that's something he'll have to deal with.   Something else I have learned which is profound and mysterious. At times I have felt plagued by recalling bad or inadequate behaviors or actions of mine from past circumstances. But consider the axiom that without challenge we cannot grow and evolve. Now also consider that you are a part of that dynamic ecosystem, call it natural, spiritual, or whatever makes sense to you. Therefore, at times you are the catalyst for the challenge that someone else needs in their life to change or evolve in some way. And that may entail what you subjectively perceive as bad or provocative behavior which does not necessarily make you bad or provocative.    Being yourself is not meant to provoke. It is meant for you to exist free of anxiety and expansive in your potential to become the best you can be within this lifetime. If that happens to unwittingly challenge someone else, then it's not necessarily a bad thing. Of course we need to discern decisions carefully for our safety. But this is a useful challenge for you as well. If you can, rip that bandaid off, I say.

Has anyone that uses injections run into the situation when after your injection, an amount of the injection escapes with some blood? I am pretty sure I lost up to half my dose in my shot this morning. Not looking for doctor's advice, I figure I'll make due with what got in there until next week, but curious if anyone else has run into this issue.

I woke up late today. I should have been awake at 5:00 a.m. or 6:00 a.m. like I usually am, but I didn't wake up until 9...  I guess my nest was just too comfortable.  And my little partner was snuggled next to me.  The beginning phase of pregnancy is making her feel tired and sick.    So its time for me to do something productive, even though I don't have any energy for it...

I've gotten better haircuts from proper barbers. Other stylists I've gone to, they seem to be hit or miss for doing short "women's" haircuts (which is how they see it unless I come out to them...and then maybe not even then, who knows). I've gotten many bad "women's" short haircuts, but so far never a bad barber cut. But it depends on how short you're going.    Also, I get the dilemma over the look of men's long hair. For a while I was trying to go for kinda a cross between a men's mod and 60s rocker haircut. But on me it just looked like an in-between phase (as if I were letting short hair grow out or indecisive about going very short) and ultimately more feminine than I wanted. So, I had to separate my aesthetic appreciation for how men look with the hairstyle I admired & make a decision about what would best work with my appearance.    Gather up all your courage and assertiveness and make sure you communicate well to the hair stylist. Don't leave the chair until you are satisfied. Examine your haircut with two mirrors to see all the angles. Don't feel like you're being a nuisance or too picky by asking them to alter something. And if you feel that way, don't apologize to them, but rather thank them for being patient with you and listening.    I hope you'll be happy with the result!

I don't think it's disrespectful to be yourself.   "I'm sorry you're offended, but that's on you." If there is any disrespect it's disrespect of you.