For those who started hrt in middle age, what did it do for you?

[suzifrommd]

My gender therapist was concerned hrt would not do what I hoped due to the fact that I'm in middle age.

For ladies who started hrt in middle age:

* What age did you start?

* Did it help your face look more feminine?

* Help the texture of your hair?

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair?

* Give you a more feminine figure?

* Allow you visible breast growth?

* Better align your feelings with your self-image?

[Nero]

That seems kind of an odd thing for a gender therapist to say. Do you have ridiculously high expectations or something?

There's no evidence that age has anything to do with HRT results. Urban Legend #3: The younger you are, the better you'll do

[Catherine Sarah]

Hi agfrommd,

* What age did you start?

HRT?  61

* Did it help your face look more feminine?

Yes

* Help the texture of your hair? 

Body hair, yes. Considerably finer and lighter. Also the need for body shave has gone from 6-8 weeks to 6-8 months.

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair? 

See above

* Give you a more feminine figure? 

Yes. Bum still getting bigger, thighs thicker, below waist fat redistribution, slightly more hour glass waist.

* Allow you visible breast growth? 

Yes. Considerably. from a B- to a C+. I'm currently 2 cms short of a D cup.

* Better align your feelings with your self-image? 

Absolutely. Undoubtedly the most positive and major change. I feel substantially more feminine than ever before. I read men completely differently, as a woman would.

Hope this helps you.

Huggs

Catherine

[Frances]

Please define middle age.

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

* What age did you start?
HRT 54

* Did it help your face look more feminine?
Yes

* Help the texture of your hair?
Yes.  Hair grew faster and filled in some

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair?
Finer and lighter

* Give you a more feminine figure?
Somewhat.  I would have a better figure if I could lose the belly fat

* Allow you visible breast growth?
Definitely. B cup and they are still filling out

* Better align your feelings with your self-image?
Oh yes.  Especially after orchidectomy.

I also hope this help, sis.

[twit]

I assume I would qualify as middle aged, somewhat.

I started hrt just before my 41st birthday. And yes, it did make my face look more feminine and even younger.  My hair is fine and curly and I don't think it changed the texture much although it did help to stop the balding and grow a lot of it back. My body hair did lighten and even disappear in areas like my chest, stomach and lower back. It lightened significantly on my legs and arms. it did help give me a more feminine figure, but I think mostly by reducing my upper mass as I still don't have any real fat on my hips, they are still rather bony. I'm still a small A, but so is my sister and I've always been thin and still smoke after doing so since I was like 11. My self image is better, but I still have issues with a lot of things. I don't know if I feel as other women do.

Age doesn't really play that big of a role if you start after puberty has done its bit on you. The rest is mostly just up to how your body responds to it due to genetics and maintaining overall good health.

[peky]

My gender therapist was concerned hrt would not do what I hoped due to the fact that I'm in middle age.

For ladies who started hrt in middle age:

* What age did you start?

* Did it help your face look more feminine?

* Help the texture of your hair?

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair?

* Give you a more feminine figure?

* Allow you visible breast growth?

* Better align your feelings with your self-image?

What kind of therapist is  this woman? any therapist dealing with TG/TS patients should know the answer to those questions. Either she was sleeping in class or has not done her homework.

I say: "dump the dummy"

Basically, it boils down  to your genetics and physiology, despite the urban legends, age helps but it is not the main determining factor.

Like many biological phenomena, HRT responses follow a bell distribution, a few lucky ones get great results, the majority sees improvements and changes, and few unlucky ones see no change.

[Beverly]

* What age did you start?

49

* Did it help your face look more feminine?

Yes - although laser and electrolysis helped too. Getting rid of the moustache's 5 o'clock shadow REALLY made a difference as does plucking the eyebrows.

* Help the texture of your hair?

Yes

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair?

Less body hair

* Give you a more feminine figure?

Yes. My waist to hip ratio is 0.8 and the male range is 0.9 to 1.0 and I used to be about 1.2 as 'him'. My boobs are only a A but my figure is 41-33-41 which for my height of 5' 8" is OK. I look slim and fir a UK size 12/14


* Allow you visible breast growth?

Yes. A cup at present and still growing


* Better align your feelings with your self-image?

Yes.

[peky]

In any case, as you know I cannot really answer your questions at a personal level as I have not reached middle age yet! 

[Beverly]

In any case, as you know I cannot really answer your questions at a personal level as I have not reached middle age yet!

Darn kids!

[Frances]

I wanted to know the OP's definition of middle age, but here goes:

* What age did you start?

I started HRT at 42.

* Did it help your face look more feminine?

Yes, but my features were already very neotenous. I looked odd for an adult male.

* Help the texture of your hair?

Yes, but it especially made it fuller. The hair line is still not great.

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair?

I was incredibly hairy and did a ton of laser before HRT.

* Give you a more feminine figure?

Somewhat with HRT, but a whole lot more with SRS.

* Allow you visible breast growth?

A little. A year and a half after SRS I started Androcur again (progestin) out of frustration and they finally got somewhere.

* Better align your feelings with your self-image?

Everything about HRT felt right to me and was welcomed.

[MeghanAndrews]

My gender therapist was concerned hrt would not do what I hoped due to the fact that I'm in middle age.

For ladies who started hrt in middle age:

* What age did you start?

37

* Did it help your face look more feminine?

I'm not sure, this was me after 10 months of hrt, then I had ffs:

* Help the texture of your hair?

I think in the beginning it did, now it's all old looking and I hate it. My endo is like "do you know how many women in the 30's and 40's come to me with the same complaint?" and I'm all like "THEN FIX IT!!!!!" lol. It's fine, I'm over it.

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair?

Yeah, it slowed it down quite a bit. I epilate my legs like once every other week. It doesn't do anything for the face though.

* Give you a more feminine figure?

Uh, not as much as you'd think. One thing you really shouldn't expect is your shoulder to waist ratio to change. When you look at girls in bathing suits vs. boys, the main difference in the ribcage. Take a look. The larger rib cage isn't going to change. What changed for me is my butt and thighs and hips got bigger, my shoulders and upper body did get smaller, but the rib cage doesn't change so hourglass isn't what it could be if you had a genetic 24" ribcage.

* Allow you visible breast growth?

For me it did. I'm a natural 34B. It took about two years and then I've gained a half cup since SRS in July of this year.

* Better align your feelings with your self-image?

A lot better than it was. I still have issues with my body but it's much better than before. Before it was like strong and had muscles and lines and it's a lot less so. I still feel like my biceps are big, but not muscles, just kinda fat. My shoulders are too wide, my ribcage too big, etc, etc. But you know, we accept what we have and move on.

If I could give you any recommendation it would be do NOT depend on hrt to change you significantly because if it doesn't, you'll be suuuper disappointed. If you set your expectations low, you'll be happy with whatever you get

[Shantel]

* What age did you start?............53

* Did it help your face look more feminine?.............Somewhat as opposed to totally masculinized as it had become. I had an upper eyelid lift and a neck lift later.

* Help the texture of your hair?........Not really, I've lost a lot lately and could use a wig but don't give a rip at this point!

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair?.............Don't have any except underarms and crotch. No longer shave my legs as it's stopped growing there.

* Give you a more feminine figure?.........OMG yes, been on HRT 16 years and it's still changing!

* Allow you visible breast growth?..........Big and full still growing see my link below for pix.

* Better align your feelings with your self-image?........Yes to an extent, I still vacillate back and forth with my mental self image while my emotional being is totally at peace with the feminine side.

[Michelle G]

This is exactly the feedback info I have been wanting to ask for also!

I am hoping to start HRT next year and I don't expect drastic changes but these comments make me feel much better about what to expect.

Absolutely nobody can guess my age, it's like my body has been in some weird time warp over the years lol

At 58 the most I'm looking for is perhaps a bit of facial feminization, that would make me quite happy

If I could afford it I would love to get these evil testosterone generators out of me now!!! Grrrrr

[UCBerkeleyPostop]

* What age did you start? Late!

* Did it help your face look more feminine? Yes but not enough, I needed FFS.

* Help the texture of your hair? Definitely, along with the scalp reduction, my nice head of hair might be the thing that most helps me "pass."

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair? Chest hair virtually gone, some light hair on arms comparable to what many cis women have.

* Give you a more feminine figure? Somewhat.

* Allow you visible breast growth? Yes but not enough had BA.

* Better align your feelings with your self-image? Definitely.

With the face lift I had and HRT, I look ten years younger. My girlfriend was always commenting about how soft my skin was and since she is a lesbian, this is in comparison to other women.

[Constance]

I started HRT 3 months before my 42nd birthday. I noticed effects within about 2 weeks, but these weren't visible: they were emotional changes.

I'm at 17 months HRT and I don't quite have A-cup breasts. But, they are growing and my cleavage albeit minimal is real.

My daughter and ex-wife have both said my face seems rounder, but I'm also heavier than I've ever been in my life. So, the rounder face might not be due to HRT. At this point, I do not have any plans for FFS. I like my face. You don't know how long it took for me to get to the point where I could admit that to myself and actually mean it. I don't think that my assessment of my face has changed because of HRT. It's more like just transitioning has changed that assessment. The sheer act of starting to transition was a huge confidence booster for me.

I haven't really noticed any changes with regards to my skin and hair. Shortly after starting HRT I finished 2 years of laser on my face and neck, so that took care of my facial hair.

I think the emotional changes have been the changes I've noticed the most. Things have steadied out now and I no longer cry for little or no apparent reason. I feel like I have a broader and "more real" emotional experience these days.

[JenAtLast]

My gender therapist was concerned hrt would not do what I hoped due to the fact that I'm in middle age.

For ladies who started hrt in middle age:

* What age did you start?

* Did it help your face look more feminine?

* Help the texture of your hair?

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair?

* Give you a more feminine figure?

* Allow you visible breast growth?

* Better align your feelings with your self-image?

I love the timing of your post.  I am 49 and just took my first HRT dose today!  I would add to this list:
Did you see a decrease in back/chest hair through HRT or did you have to rely on laser/electo?

[Isabelle]

I wanted to know the OP's definition of middle age, but here goes:

not sure if the OP agrees but this is what the wikipedea says

According to Collins Dictionary, this is "... usually considered to occur approximately between the ages of 40 and 60". The current edition of the Oxford English Dictionary gives a similar definition but with a shorter span: "The period of life between young adulthood and old age, now usually regarded as between about forty-five and sixty." The US Census lists middle age as including both the age categories 35 to 44 and 45 to 54, while prominent psychologist Erik Erikson saw it ending a little later and defines middle adulthood as between 40 and 65.

[Frances]

not sure if the OP agrees but this is what the wikipedea says

Thanks. I finally stopped fighting it at 42. I am 46 now. That's me on my Avatar. I guess I fit right in the category.

[Sadie]

For ladies who started hrt in middle age:

* What age did you start? 39 (I am currently at 17 months HRT)

* Did it help your face look more feminine? Yes

* Help the texture of your hair? Grows a little faster and had a lot of regrowth in thinned areas, hair is also drier along with my skin.

* Change the growth rate or texture of your body hair? Yes, slowed body hair growth and now I have very little left.

* Give you a more feminine figure? Yes, narrowed my waist, but could use more in the hips and buttocks

* Allow you visible breast growth? Not nearly enough, only about an A cup so far. No change to nipple size either but much more sensitive.

* Better align your feelings with your self-image? Yes, mental changes were big and I feel calmer but at the same time more emotional.