The truth about HRT?

[Ataraxia]

There's something that's been confusing me about HRT for some time now, and it's primarily because of how much conflicting information there is out there. Particularly in regards to what to expect from HRT.

Whenever I read a piece of information that talks about the effects of HRT, they always stress that hormones do very little in terms of physical changes, they always make a point to emphasize what hormones don't do, and always say how the effects are subtle. For example, for the longest time tsroadmap was my go-to source of information on how to transition. And this is what they say about HRT:

There are already fantastic resources on this topic available. Here's the basics, in my opinion:

1. They are not a magic pill. You won't "become a woman" taking them.
2. I think of hormonal-induced changes as generally quite subtle, taking several years.
3. Do not depend on them alone to make you accepted by others as female, because they will not.
...
12. You can hide the effects of hormones from others for as long as you want in virtually every case. Those who say they can't seem to want people to notice.

I skipped a lot, but you'll notice the first two entries are dedicated to stressing how little they do and what they aren't (which now that I think about it, doesn't tell you anything about them, since there's an infinite number of things they don't do). So for the longest time my general impression of hormones was that I should expect little to nothing from them, so I focused on figuring out how my face could be surgically altered.

But on the other hand, on a lot of my "do I pass?" posts here, I've been told "Just let the hormones do their magic" or something like that. Plus, I've seen so many videos of people's transition over the time of taking HRT, and in every case their change was very large--to the point where I could barely tell it was the same person.

So is it "hormones are not a magic pill", or "just let the hormones to work their magic"? I know that obviously not everyone will have the same results, but the conflict seems to be in what the range of variation is. Tsroadmap and other sources seems to be saying "expect your results to be anywhere from completely undetectable to subtle at best". Whereas people who actually have experience with them seem to be saying "expect your results to be anywhere from subtle but effective to making you completely unrecognizable".

[Apples Mk.II]

"Just let the hormones do their magic" or something like that.

I've been told that same one, including the "magic" word. Nearly everybody has told that the hormones to little than nothing, that they are just a crutch... "Although it's still better than not taking them".


Yes, I've seen those amazing changes in other person's transition timeline. My appearance is completely different from what I was some time ago:



I like to keep this one in my phone to remind myself of what I was before whenever I have doubts. And almost 6 months of hormones have done little for me. A bit of breast development, softer and thinner skin, some of the hairs have turned a bit more transparent.... The rest has been pain (laser), hard work (learning to find a clothing style, learning some basics of makeup, constant grooming, and a lot of frustration followed by "The bridge is colapsing. If you stop moving now, you will fall into that abyss. So deal with it ang go". I am almost a complete different person now, but it was more a matter of mind and self-acceptance.

[Flan]

The kicker with (estrogen) hormone therapy is it takes years for everything to really get into place (changes wise). A lot of the "isn't magic" mostly refers to psychological effects and expectations by some that it'll do something (change fat on its own) faster than what the body can actually do.

As far as the extent of the effects imho it's more related to how far you take other changes (use of makeup, facial hair removal, body language, voice, etc). One can continue to present a certain way and be treated as such or one can go all the way (with variable results).

[Sammy]

I can offer You this as a humble point of visual reference - of course, this extends only to five months, but for me those have been longest five months in my life
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,143968.0.html

[Ataraxia]

I've been told that same one, including the "magic" word. Nearly everybody has told that the hormones to little than nothing, that they are just a crutch... "Although it's still better than not taking them".


Yes, I've seen those amazing changes in other person's transition timeline. My appearance is completely different from what I was some time ago:



I like to keep this one in my phone to remind myself of what I was before whenever I have doubts. And almost 6 months of hormones have done little for me. A bit of breast development, softer and thinner skin, some of the hairs have turned a bit more transparent.... The rest has been pain (laser), hard work (learning to find a clothing style, learning some basics of makeup, constant grooming, and a lot of frustration followed by "The bridge is colapsing. If you stop moving now, you will fall into that abyss. So deal with it ang go". I am almost a complete different person now, but it was more a matter of mind and self-acceptance.

You look wonderful! And I absolutely love your sense of style

So you don't attribute any of your changes to HRT? Because I could swear I see some physical changes...

[Ltl89]

There's something that's been confusing me about HRT for some time now, and it's primarily because of how much conflicting information there is out there. Particularly in regards to what to expect from HRT.

Whenever I read a piece of information that talks about the effects of HRT, they always stress that hormones do very little in terms of physical changes, they always make a point to emphasize what hormones don't do, and always say how the effects are subtle. For example, for the longest time tsroadmap was my go-to source of information on how to transition. And this is what they say about HRT:

I skipped a lot, but you'll notice the first two entries are dedicated to stressing how little they do and what they aren't (which now that I think about it, doesn't tell you anything about them, since there's an infinite number of things they don't do). So for the longest time my general impression of hormones was that I should expect little to nothing from them, so I focused on figuring out how my face could be surgically altered.

But on the other hand, on a lot of my "do I pass?" posts here, I've been told "Just let the hormones do their magic" or something like that. Plus, I've seen so many videos of people's transition over the time of taking HRT, and in every case their change was very large--to the point where I could barely tell it was the same person.

So is it "hormones are not a magic pill", or "just let the hormones to work their magic"? I know that obviously not everyone will have the same results, but the conflict seems to be in what the range of variation is. Tsroadmap and other sources seems to be saying "expect your results to be anywhere from completely undetectable to subtle at best". Whereas people who actually have experience with them seem to be saying "expect your results to be anywhere from subtle but effective to making you completely unrecognizable".

Think of it this way.  Hormones are an important aspect of transitioning, but it is not going to do everything.  It certainly adds on to any changes you make to build a more feminine look, but it won't act as a magic pill (even if it is sort of magical).  It's conflicting, I suppose, but that's the best way to describe it.  For example, I've been growing my hair out long while giving hormones some time to feminize my facial features.  Combined they make a more feminine presentation.  So, think of hormones as a complementary thing.  Your best bet is to learn what hrt can and can't do.  That way you will have a realistic expectation of what may or may not happen.

Hormones take time and it's frustrating, but the changes did occur for me early on even if they are subtle.  Everyone in my life has noticed in a big way, and I have been on for less than 6 months (probably 4 months total if you count everything).  I hope it keeps developing.

[Apples Mk.II]

You look wonderful! And I absolutely love your sense of style

So you don't attribute any of your changes to HRT? Because I could swear I see some physical changes...

Prior to starting HRT I grww my hair for 8 months, took dutasteride, had 7 laser sessions and lost up to 15kg. 6 months without exercising the top par also deflated me a bit. The biggest difference is how smiling can change a face completely. One year ago I didn't how to smile, i only did a grotesque thing with my face muscle. Now, If I think about it, I get happier quickly about the small things of life and can automatically put a smile, my anger reduced a lot and I am overall less violent (unless playing videogames. I still can have major tantrums there).

[Megumi]

I'm pre everything at this moment and from all of the reading on the subject I've come to this conclusion.

HRT will feminize what you already have. It will soften physical features of your body over time.
It will make your skin softer. Change how your body hair grows. Will change how you feel in your mind. Over time and I stress the time part will grow breasts and redistribute fat to the locations where cis women get it. Your physical strength will go away and you'll lose muscle mass over time.

Hormones won't alter your height or your bone structure drastically. You might see 1-2 inches in height reduction. Your shoulders won't narrow down, your feet and hands might shrink down a little bit. Your hips won't suddenly add 6 inches of width to give you a rockin' figure until many years have passed. Your voice and Addams apple will not be altered by hrt. You will not go from a 6' Amazon down to a 5' petite woman. It just wont happen, some people respond well to hrt and others don't. Its a luck of the draw when it comes to hrt.

[Zumbagirl]

I've been giving myself injections of estrogen for about a decade and a half now. In my opinion, I agree 100% with what Andrea James has on her website. It's still just as accurate today as it was when it was created.

When I was going through this my endo told me that the changes will take 7-10 years before they are fully realized and I can tell you that's just about right. The changes are very slow, but very real and take a long time to see.

If you ask me, you get 10 times more bang for the buck with good electrolysis, really good facial skin care, and some nice  long feminine hair than anyone would from popping hormones and hoping for a miracle

That being said, they do work. The skin will become incredibly soft, upper body strength will fade away until it's gone, the hips do become fuller and full of more fat, and of course boobs. There's a whole host of other smaller changes such as body odors and stuff, but honestly no one is clocked by BO, at least not that I know of.

Hope that helps!

[Sammy]

Your shoulders won't narrow down, your feet and hands might shrink down a little bit.

Unless, You had some muscle mass, which will go away with weight loss and the HRT. The bones themselves will stay where they are, but in many cases, average male shoulder width (with very little muscle) is within the upper female shoulder width. So, getting rid of those muscles will help a lot. I went down from L male size clothes (and I had to wear L mostly because of my shoulders and long arms) to somewhere between M and S male size, and there are still muscles left in that area. Of course, another female feature is having hips wider than shoulders, but there is plenty of cis-women with narrow hips, besides getting Your hips fuller will add an inch or two, and loosing a bit from shoulders might get the result when hips = shoulders or they are just a tiny bit narrower, which helps too - at least You wont have that reversed triangle shape, which screams "male" from the distance.

[Alainaluvsu]

Hormones work more on the face if the face has naturally soft features. It also depends on DNA and possibly chromosomal factors, and how many estrogen receptors your body has / can produce. Otherwise, hormones (can) also have a strong psychological effect (both tangible and mental). Being able to empathize better with others goes a long way in social interactions as a girl, which can in turn offer some validation effects to the treatment. HRT also does a very real effect on body development, as the less testosterone you have, the less muscle mass you will be able to maintain; and with estrogen comes fatty deposits locating to the lower body instead of the upper body (excluding breasts, obviously).

[Apples Mk.II]

I can give proof on the should thing, in the fact that I've finally been able to wear some tops that would nearly break on me, one year later. Of course, I've had a lot of muscle loss already, but now I can user a women's L size top without any fear (M if it is sleeveless).

[Asfsd4214]

The truth is, HRT has different effects for different people. The truth is the transgender community as a whole, does not want the truth.

Most disturbingly, the truth can be different from the correct.

[Carrie Liz]

All I know is that I've seen only maybe one or two trans-girls my age who passed in the early stages of HRT. And that was only because they had thick full feminine heads of natural hair from the very start, and were blessed with very feminine facial features. With the rest of them, it was pretty obvious when they were pre-hormones. But nearly all of them passed after two years or so on HRT. Not sure how much of that was HRT versus learning the mannerisms and how to dress and how to do makeup and all of the other things, but it's definitely a big factor. Specifically the changes in skin texture and the muscle atrophy. Those things make a big difference in making one look "right" as a girl.

It also makes a HUGE difference in how one feels. That's been the biggest difference for me, is that I've noticed a huge change in my mannerisms and my general "feel." The hormones made me feel much calmer and more at peace internally. I don't have that male bluntness and power to my motions and voice anymore.

[Jenna Marie]

I think it not only varies from person to person, but probably is both true and false for EACH person. Meaning that we'll all see some factors that are affected very profoundly by HRT, and some which are not. (I got big boobs but almost no waistline, for example; my face changed a lot fairly early but my thighs are only now starting to be noticeably different and it's been three years. Etc.) So which answer a person gives... probably depends both on what they noticed, and on what *mattered* to them. I'd be inclined to say in one conversation that I had to move up my date for going full-time b/c breast development and facial changes meant people were getting very suspicious, but on the other hand if the question were about how much the downstairs region changed - I had (and HATED!) almost the same size and functionality as pre-HRT and wouldn't claim there was much if any effects. And so on.

And of course the "don't get your hopes up and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised" is wise advice, though I think the phrasing on that site is a bit more determined than that.

[Apples Mk.II]

rse the "don't get your hopes up and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised" is wise advice, though I think the phrasing on that site is a bit more determined than that.

I think that's been my motto since I was a kid...