In my case I started Spiro first and it had a noticeably strong calming effect for a while although this has lessened somewhat over the first 12 weeks. Once Estrace was added I noticed nothing but an occasional feeling like it was acting as a stimulant and like my heart was racing a bit. Overall what HRT has done is allowed me to relax more quickly, easily and fully when I get stressed.
Before HRT I felt nauseous and anxious with a strong nerve buzz upon waking up in the morning - the only way I can describe it is a cross between a mild electric current in my whole body and the physical sensation of sitting at the back of an idling transit bus and feeling all the various frequencies of vibration and rumble. Although all this would subside a little on its own it would be with me at a significant level all day every day. That was quite literally driving me insane and causing severe fatigue. Now that I'm on HRT I feel almost perfect when I wake up in the morning and any bad sensations dissipate much more quickly. About an hour after my doses I can clearly feel the effect take over. Throughout the day I feel almost completely normal until some of the effect starts to wear off in the evening. I used to feel so sick and tired in the morning that I couldn't eat breakfast and needed coffee to function properly. It was a running joke at work that I didn't actually wake up until two hours after arriving and this wasn't far from the truth. Now I'm able to eat breakfast every day and don't have to keep drinking coffee through the day to stay awake. I also used to struggle with severe groggyness when trying to wake up but now when I decide to get out of bed I can quite literally snap awake like a normal person. While I'm sure that lessening depression played some role in this change, it has been quite clear that HRT has had a dramatic direct effect on my well-being. Whatever is happening is sticking with me and definitely not temporary.
Throughout this process my mood has been good and rock-stable. I am significantly less anxious in situations that would have bothered me greatly before. Maybe when the Estrace dose gets up to the highest point I'll be prescribed this may trigger mood fluctuations but my experience so far tells me this is unlikely. It was before HRT that I was having weepy moments a lot, especially right after I would achieve a significant milestone in the process towards where I am now - I've had those 'tears from the bottom of your soul' moments that were purging a storehouse of sadness and frustration. This has almost completely stopped since. I wouldn't mind being less stone-faced emotionally now because the new baseline I've established gives me a strong footing.
I think I am smelling different (not that I really stunk to begin with) and my face is less oily. The hair on my head also seems to get oily more slowly. I have not noticed changes in body hair growth yet but I've started full-body laser to accelerate the reduction. Unfortunately this will prevent me from documenting how the hair is affected by the HRT directly.
A new thing I've discovered recently - I finally have a proper appetite again and after eating I am calmed further for a while after. This is a godsend because I've struggled for at least 15 years to force in enough calories in a day and just felt horribly uncomfortable trying. I've always been under-weight and struggled to gain or even build any muscle. Now I'm actually gaining weight slightly and feeling good doing it. Fat doesn't seem to be landing anywhere undesirable (yet). And speaking of muscle, I have lost a bit of strength over my entire body and feel occasional mild soreness as my muscle mass adjusts.
Body change caught me be surprise. My neighbor hadn't seen me in months and just asked if I'd lost weight. As I mentioned above I'd actually gained a few pounds but it forced me to check out what was going on. Something I can't quite guage has happened to my face and I think this is what they noticed. I also decided it was time to re-measure my body. The changes I found were virtually impossible to see but the measuring tape told the story - I've gained about two inches around my bust and lost about two inches around my waist. I was really shocked to see this so soon. I was wearing a compression garment when dressed femme that would cinch my waist down to 30". My waist is now an actual 30" and I feel confident enough to leave off the compression garment. This is wonderful because it was hot, uncomfortable and a pain when using the toilet. Breast growth is a tough one to pin the start time on. All I know is that on the 12th day of Estrace my nipples started hurting and getting a bit firm, the areolas have been puffy since, and now when I press on my nipples it feels kinda like getting jabbed with a needle inside. I will await clear evidence of breast shape before making the final call on true breast arrival.
