Mental effects?

[LuciSinger]

So this past week I've been having super strong cravings for foods at times like if I don't get those foods, it feels like my world will end. I'm also dreaming in 1080p and I've never really dreamed or well I've never remembered them, are these things normal?

[LuciSinger]

I've been on Spiro and estodiol for five weeks

[rachel89]

I'm interested in what mental effects HRT might have on me. It sounds like I will need to lose a lot of weight (5'10 and 160) before HRT if food cravings are that bad. The dreaming sounds interesting, I already get enough extremely bizarre dreams, and no less than 3 dreams about transitioning in the last 2 months, including one where I was getting electrolysis. I'm hoping HRT can do a lot  for me from a mental perspective (yes, I definitely want some curves, softer skin, and female orgasms)

[LuciSinger]

I'm not worried about weight (5"11 & 124) I have a thyroid issue that keeps me from gaining weight, so im trying really hard to get a little fat. As for orgasms I can say from experience that those change very quickly, while I've seen little physical growth other than a little hip widening. I just don't know, if that serious of food cravings is normal.

[Obfuskatie]

Everyone is different, but I definitely noticed the changes in my dreams after starting HRT.  If you imagine that switching hormone dominance in your body is similar to the massive increases in hormonal shifts for pregnant women, then the food cravings will hopefully make a little more sense.  Weight is an issue, but in order to help HRT do its thing with body fat repositioning, it's important to keep a healthy diet with plenty of essential fats and proteins.  In the first few months, HRT cannibalized most of my muscle-mass, and I had to deal with pain and cramps on top of the new emotional roller coaster.  But the most important effect I had was how much calmer I became.  [emoji5]️

[LuciSinger]

Oh okay, and what I meant by not worrying about weight is that I can eat whatever my body needs and not be worried about gaining excess weight. I also know what you are talking about with the pain and cramps they started last week and they suck

[Wynternight]

I've always been a vivid, lucid dreamer but of late they've become ever more vivid.

I have an intense, undeniable craving for salt since starting HRT. I cannot get enough. I salt when I cook, I salt the overall meal, and lately I'm salting every bite. That's the only real food issue I've had.

My mood has been more even and I don't get as angry as I used to but there are times when I can go from 0-Raging Bitch Monster From the Darkest Depths of Hell very quickly. I don't like it when that happens so I try and avoid those kinds of triggers but sometimes they come looking for me.

[Alex2020T]

I went to the supermarket this evening specifically to buy toffee and chocolate eclairs (sweets) - that's all I bought. I absolutely never ate sweets before I started HRT.

[LuciSinger]

Yes its like that, im buying tons of sweets because I have to have them, and all sorts of food its constant, it isnt occasionally its like 10+ times a day

[LuciSinger]

I'll pass taco bell and I will feel like im gonna die if I don't get tacos, or I'll see some drink and I'll just have to have it, and it goes on all day, and I'll go out to get just one thing if it gets mentioned and I get a craving

[Jill F]

I used to be wound up pretty tightly and could explode at any time.  Now I'm pretty chill, even when some jerkwad cuts me off in traffic.

I also crave dark chocolate now and for some reason, refried beans.

[JoanneB]

There is a thread somewhere on Food Cravings or Taste. Some interesting bits in there. A few women, as well as I, developed a craving for all things pickled. After the age of like 12 I wasn't a big chocolate fan. But post HRT I do crave dark chocolate.

Plenty of mental effects. Certainly a lot more emotional. My wife is sometimes worried about how much I do cry now. Not that I never did before. Just a lot more now. My dreams haven't really changed but some in my group said that theirs had. Sure, over time more and more often I am a woman in them. Before HRT I also was but a far lower percentage. A good half the times my dreams were and still are third person.

I don't fly as much as I used to in my dreams.... I sort of miss that. But when you think about I am spreading my wings and flying, for real 

[Laurette Mohr]

 First full week on HRT and I'm literally sedate. Also I crave dill pickles. I always hated dill pickles. Oh and I sleep soundly.

[Tori]

PICKLES!!! Salt and spice and vinegar (so Tobasco sauce). Salty foods.

Yeah, I am hungry all the time now and I like flavor SO much more.

Mental changes? No longer suicidal nor depressed. More vibrant and nuanced emotions. Much more vivid dreams. Calmer and more patient. More empathetic.

Hormones change just about everything but most changes are quite small. It is the culmination of all those changes that is profound.

[Obfuskatie]

The spironolactone acts as a diuretic, and makes it harder to absorb salt and easier to retain potassium.  So salt and brine cravings are a pretty normal response since your body is used to a much larger stockpile before HRT.  Still, it's not terribly healthy to pickle yourself with salt, so be careful with the extra you add to food.