Hi, Im turning 30 next month and have been on hormones for 6 weeks now.
I can find lots of example of others detailing their transitions but Im particularly interested in hearing some timeline details of a MTF whom started hormones around the age of 28-32.
So far in my 6 weeks i have noticed very little, infact I'm going to say no primary changes. Only side effects like sore nipples, testies and headaches. The fact that i havnt seen changes makes me very depressed.
So I'm wondering if its my age or perhaps my dosages but basically want to know what others have experienced starting around this age?
No Dosages Please
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Hugs
V M
Sorry VM,
No Dosages, Check!
Hi Jenna,
Timelines?? At any age you can expect years. This is a marathon you're running, not a sprint. A naturally born woman will take years of puberty to fully develop her breasts alone.
Depending on the HT format regime your Endo puts you on, the uptake rate your body accepts this change and your mental understanding of what's happening will determine your timeline. Having said that, look at something between 4-8 years for the full effect to take place.
In the meantime, sit back enjoy and embrace an experience like no other. It literally changes EVERY fibre in your body.
Huggs
Catherine
It seems so individual, I am not sure such data is helpful. I am 28, I have been on hormones since February and I am very pleased with the results so far. My avatar is from me last month and I am not wearing any padding in my bra (though, I did have some small development prior to starting HRT). I know of some people who have started before me, and on doses 3 and four times what I am taking who only have a B cup after two years...
That being said I don't know your dosages (forum rules and all) but, I am going to assume you are on a fairly small dose this early on. Your Endo will likely want to let things go at a low dose, then based on blood test results move doses up or down to get the levels where he or she thinks they ought to be. Also if you are on oral estrogen alone, that is with no Anti-androgen then results could take some time.
I would give it 3 months at least before I started leaning on the endo about exactly what was in your regimen. I take Bicalutamide, Sublingual Estradiol, Micronized Progesterone, and Dutasteride; which works well for me, all at quite low doses.
So to provide the specific information you asked for:
Month 1 Estrogen Only: No morning wood, sore breasts
Month 2 E + Spiro: Same with, slight breast growth, skin softening, dizzy spells, and dehydration, Libido diminished.
Month 3 E + Bicalutamide + Dutasteride: Same as above except dizziness and dehydration went away, body hair growth slowed
Month 4 E+B+D: Massive breast growth explosion, real reduction in chest/tummy hair. Skin appeared even softer.
Month 5 E+B+D+Progesterone: Plenty of breast growth and pain, along with diamond hard nipples, and an increase in libido.
And that brings me to current.
Quote from: Hikari on July 17, 2014, 08:13:09 AM
It seems so individual, I am not sure such data is helpful. I am 28, I have been on hormones since February and I am very pleased with the results so far. My avatar is from me last month and I am not wearing any padding in my bra (though, I did have some small development prior to starting HRT). I know of some people who have started before me, and on doses 3 and four times what I am taking who only have a B cup after two years...
That being said I don't know your dosages (forum rules and all) but, I am going to assume you are on a fairly small dose this early on. Your Endo will likely want to let things go at a low dose, then based on blood test results move doses up or down to get the levels where he or she thinks they ought to be. Also if you are on oral estrogen alone, that is with no Anti-androgen then results could take some time.
I would give it 3 months at least before I started leaning on the endo about exactly what was in your regimen. I take Bicalutamide, Sublingual Estradiol, Micronized Progesterone, and Dutasteride; which works well for me, all at quite low doses.
So to provide the specific information you asked for:
Month 1 Estrogen Only: No morning wood, sore breasts
Month 2 E + Spiro: Same with, slight breast growth, skin softening, dizzy spells, and dehydration, Libido diminished.
Month 3 E + Bicalutamide + Dutasteride: Same as above except dizziness and dehydration went away, body hair growth slowed
Month 4 E+B+D: Massive breast growth explosion, real reduction in chest/tummy hair. Skin appeared even softer.
Month 5 E+B+D+Progesterone: Plenty of breast growth and pain, along with diamond hard nipples, and an increase in libido.
And that brings me to current.
Wow, you have a researched and progressive Endo! I don't know if my treating M.D. would know of any of those meds off the list other than Spiro/E. and she is awesome. Are you experiencing any adverse effects with Progesterone? My doc is considering it but does not want to do it unless I feel it absolutely necessary.
Quote from: whatever on July 18, 2014, 06:54:45 PM
Wow, you have a researched and progressive Endo! I don't know if my treating M.D. would know of any of those meds off the list other than Spiro/E. and she is awesome. Are you experiencing any adverse effects with Progesterone? My doc is considering it but does not want to do it unless I feel it absolutely necessary.
After the run around I had before when dealing with some people from a clinic, who I am not sure knew what they were doing, I have a fairly knowledgeable person monitor my blood work (don't think their actual title is endo). Monitoring and advising is what the doctors do for me now, I have control over my regimen. This keeps me reasonable, my E dose is still really small, I kinda wanted a much bigger dose and was warned that I should try it smaller and see what the results were and they have been great.....I couldn't tell you what my levels are, I was told sublingual E levels vary too much to be helpful and Bicalutamide doesn't lower my T it just makes it not work, so that test is pointless too. So basically we monitor liver function, and some things that make no sense to me like lipids (isn't that like fat?). I can't really recommend this to others though, I mean I have ultimate control, but this makes me really cautious. Not everyone is like that, and even with monitoring people can really get themselves into trouble.
As you can see from the timeline, Spiro made me have really bad dizziness (if I got up too quick I could just pass out) and it dehydrated me. That is when I switched to Bicalutamide.
I am only 2 weeks into progesterone (this is month 5, and it is the 18th). I have noticed no adverse reactions yet, I am tracking the changes I attribute to it in my blog here at Susans, but the changes 2 weeks in are very minor. I am under the impression micronized progesterone is very safe, MPA has been known to cause problems, so I stayed away from that stuff.
Nice name. ;)
I started HRT at 32 and five months. I had breast budding and soreness on day 5, and significant breast growth - I was a 42C by about four months in. However, the rest of the changes came more slowly; I actually didn't notice skin softening for several months, and body hair reduction and lack of "lower functioning" also took a long time to set in. Fat redistribution has been VERY slow; in fact, it's only around this past spring, four years on HRT, that I noticed I had really distinct hips and thighs and a nicely shaped butt. I'll second what everyone else says about it being a gradual and often slow process, and cis girls' puberty taking a while. From what I can tell, some people have some changes faster than others, but everyone gets there in the end.
I did have subtle but profound facial changes, and although I can't pinpoint what it was, I haven't been misgendered since about six months in.
Six weeks is still really, really early. Seriously, you're looking at a scale of several years. I understand the desire to have it all improve overnight, and I hated when people told me this, too, but... be patient. :)
I started hormones at 29, am now 30 and at 9 and a half months.
Obviously YMMV.
I'm almost a full A cup, but the growth has been slow.
My facial changes are happening but again they're every slow. Im not full time yet and in boy mode have never had a mail fail.
I have some photos of me on my twitter @f_anna_tastic taken 12 months apart if you want to see a before and after body shot, the difference when seeing that is quite remarkable.
I have pretty much decided i will need FFS to pass and i had a consulatation for that before.
Mentally however i feel amazing :)
The addition of Progesterone for me has been great. My Endo swears by it for help with breast formation and fullness. Some experience depression on it, but my body is eating it up. No complaints at all from me on it! :)
Hey thanks for the replies everyone.
I've been feeling allot better about my transition lately. Its taken some realizations that i've had some unrealistic expectations what the hormones will do for me and at what stage. I think i'm settling into it now and have actually noticed some initial breast growth at 2 months which is making me much happier.
Some people have sent me PM's and i cant figure out how to reply. I'm sorry this site is confusing, i don't want to be rude but i simply cant find the reply button *crazy* and really sorry.
Glad to read that things are going well for you Jenna :)
You may not be able to reply to (or send) PM's until you have made 15 or more posts on the forum.
I would echo what others have said about transition being a marathon, not a sprint (thanks Catherine :) ). The changes from HRT are very gradual and happen over months & years, not days & weeks. Puberty spans years for most people. We are basically inducing a second puberty when we take HRT. It doesn't take any less time the second time around.
I started quite a bit older than you - I was 43. I am 45 now. FWIW, here is my experience over the past 15 months:
Finasteride quelled the seemingly incessant involunary erections. I started Estradiol & (low dose - my blood pressure has always been at the low end of normal) Spironolactone 7 weeks later (& stopped Finasteride). E removed my obsession & compulsion to dress after 2 days. The desire has remained, but it is nice to be rid of the obsession about it.
Spiro changed some things down below a bit too fast for me, so I stopped after 7 weeks. I was not prepared to feel such obvious shrinkage. After 5 weeks of only taking E, I realised that I had been on anti-androgens for a reason (ie: to shut down the non-stop libido), and restarted an even lower dose of Spiro with a low dose of Finasteride. While I made the decisions myself, I did consult with my prescribing physician each time I wanted to make a change, and always made sure I never took more than the prescribed dose at any time. At some point while I was trying to find what worked best for me, I started to take the E sublingually & have done so since.
I still felt there was something missing by the end of 2013, and wanted to start on Micronized Progesterone. This took a few discussions with my HRT physician since he was concerned that Progesterone might worsen the depression I had suffered from for about 30 years. As it happened, my depression took a bad turn for the worse in January 2014, very shortly after my Prometrium prescription had been sent off to the (mail-order) pharmacy. I had two episodes where I felt very suicidal. I white-knuckled through the first, and received some powerful help from a couple of trans friends on a TG chat room to help me through the second.
The Prometrium arrived near the end of January, and, after making sure my wife was watching me very closely, I started taking the capsules as prescribed. 5 days later, the fog of depression left me (it felt as if the fog was completely gone, instead of just lifted a bit - which is all that anti-depressants had ever given me). That was a little over 6 months ago. I have not suffered from depression since.
I have been taking the same dosage of E since June 2013. I am back taking the (low) dose of Spiro that I was initially prescribed in June 2013. I am taking Finasteride as prescribed (sometimes less). I am taking Micronized Progesterone as prescribed; although I have stopped taking Prometrium a couple of times for a few days to see if I would feel different when I restarted. Each time I have felt growth pains in my breasts for a week or two after restarting. I cannot tell if this translated into actual breast growth.
It is now 15 months since I started taking Finasteride, 14 months since I started E & Spiro, and 6.5 months since I started Prometrium.
My body hair pattern is definitely female, with significant reduction in body hair in many places (ie: chest & arms, not much less on my legs). I even had a small reduction in beard growth (half the growth rate, & almost no hair on my cheeks). My hairline has moved forward by about 1 inch (my hair had not receded very far to begin with). My underarms no longer stink if I forget deodorant.
I have between 38C & 36C breasts, and a feminine fat distribution. My hips are slightly wider, and when I gain some weight in my belly, the weight is below my belly button rather than above it. Note that I said "feminine" fat distribution, not "supermodel" fat distribution.
My height has dropped by 0.5 inch (I am no longer 0.5 inch taller than my wife). Within the past 2-3 months I have noticed some significant loss of upper body strength.
My libido disappeared completely for several months, but has since returned as something very different. What I have now is much more manageable for me, & responds to quite different stimuli. My sexual orientation has not changed - I am still attracted to women.
My wife & several of my friends have commented many times about how much easier I am to get along with now. I do not become angry nearly as often. I seek & find compromise much faster than before I started HRT. My marriage has been remaining strong, even though my wife is definitely not a lesbian. She is
not happy about any of the physical changes. And yet, because my emotional & mental improvements from HRT have been so obvious, she would much rather have me as I am now compared to the person I was before. She still sees me as her husband, not her wife, but we have been finding ways to make our marriage work through mutual care for & understanding of one another. Being on HRT has given me a better ability to be considerate of others and a better realisation of which are the times when I need to compromise. This has significantly improved my work performance. I am much more content within myself. I feel comfortable being me.
All these changes from HRT are gradual. I tend to notice them in retrospect, often not until they are pointed out to me.
The single biggest thing I have done that has made the most difference to how I feel has been to get laser hair removal on my face. Suddenly seeing no 5 o'clock shadow when I look at my reflection has made a world of difference to how I see myself. For me, that was the first time I felt that I might ever actually be able to find the courage to present as female in public.
That was a bit longer than I expected. Feel free to ask me any questions you wish. You may need to do so here rather than via PM until you have 15 or more posts.
Be well,
Tessa
Quote from: Jenna_ on August 11, 2014, 03:00:37 AMHey thanks for the replies everyone.
I've been feeling allot better about my transition lately. Its taken some realizations that i've had some unrealistic expectations what the hormones will do for me and at what stage. I think i'm settling into it now and have actually noticed some initial breast growth at 2 months which is making me much happier.
Some people have sent me PM's and i cant figure out how to reply. I'm sorry this site is confusing, i don't want to be rude but i simply cant find the reply button *crazy* and really sorry.
I have been trying to find a topic just like this since I joined this site and here it finally is. I'm 27 but only a few months from 28 and only seeing a therapist for the first time tomorrow. It really helped me feel at eaze to read all these posts from girls right around my own age! You all look amazing btw!!!
This is the info I've been looking for. I'm 36...and I wonder how it would turn out.
I tend to have a fast metabolism. Does this factor into the changes?
Totally depends on genetics. It could be wildly successful, or have little physical impact. Best to not make the decision based on maybes, but to make it on whether it will improve you and your life