Starting on HRT while young, advice on changes?

[Tanya1]

I came out to my family when I was a teen, they took me to a therapist. Many times my family had always told me to make sure that this is really who you are and this not some type of "fetish" your going to regret later. After 2yrs of therapy and being challenged to dress full-time, I finally have been prescribed hormones and anti-androgens in august although I recently just started. My endo had checked my liver, blood work, wieght, body fat, kidney, heart and overall health. He said I was healthy. He told me to do lots of cardio, quit junk food, increase water, and starting taking care  of my self more because he said your body need's to be in shape to manage hormones.

Anyway, I am really young to be starting and i have been told the results from HRT are much more quicker, requires loss dosage and has more of an impact the younger you are.

recently I have been instructed to first start on Androcur on a low dose for a couple of days, then on estrofem on low doses for a couple of days. gradually my endo said he'll increase it to mimic female puberty over-time. Then afterwards he'll start progestorones to counter-act the bad effects of estrogen, maximise breast growth and to full feminize the body.


Any way I need some advise on what to expect over the course of a couple of months to 1 yr.

1)will people start noticing changes in school?
2)will my breasts be noticable?
3)will i start having a hard time passing as male?
4)if people do notice a few changes, how are they most likely to react?
5) When will I have to start wearing bras to support my breasts?
6)my doc suggested to stretch and do some excericises to become more flexible to get a better figure, does it  help?

i know that every person gets changes differently and results vary but I just want you ladies to tell me generally what is expected in at least 1yr and considering that I'm am young,how dramatic are the results? I'm not expecting to become a women overnight but after 1yr what parts of the body will be very noticable in my normal clothing?

Thank You ladies,

Tanya

[gothique11]

1)will people start noticing changes in school?

Yeppers. It won't be too long. I was 27 when I started and people noticed a month into (although, I looked sorta feminine to start with -- by three months in people really noticed and there was no hiding, but then I was full-time and it was welcome). I would say, 3-ish months (or less) for you and then people will start to notice some changes (you'll notice them first, but then people will start cluing in). If you develop slowly, 6-ish months. I can't tell you how many friends started HRT and ended up having to go full-time -- one friend was in her late 30s.

One other thing -- they will notice changes in your behavior first, before they notice your body. Hormones don't only affect your body, but your mind.

2)will my breasts be noticable?

You'll notice them first, and depending on how your body (genetics, etc) is, you may develop sooner or later. People will notice once they poke out a bit.

I developed fast, while my other friend (age 20) has hardly developed and she's been on hormones for 10-ish months, I think.

3)will i start having a hard time passing as male?

As you get further a long, you may find that this is the case. If you are worried about this, you may want to re-consider HRT. Trying to live male and be on HRT isn't easy and I don't know of many people who did that for long. Because the both the body and mind are changing, people will notice that something is up. Also, you're going to get to the point where you'll really, really want to go full-time... trying to hide things will eat at you.

4)if people do notice a few changes, how are they most likely to react?

It depends on who your friends are and the people that are around you are like. Are your friends okay with this? Are you willing to talk to them about who you are? Are you willing to talk to strangers about who you are? It's a big thing, and people are going to question. I had people questioning me for months and months, mostly friends, but it was a lot of work.

Not to scare you, but there may be some people who won't accept this and might say or do mean things. Be prepared for it, but hope it doesn't happen, either.

5) When will I have to start wearing bras to support my breasts?

When your breasts grow. You can ware a cami under your shirt when they are small, the ones with built-in bras. I wouldn't try to bind the breasts in order to hide them, since that could cause damage to growing breasts. And, if you really want to be a girl you got to accept that you're going to have breasts and that people are going to know eventually and you'll need to come out full-time.

(Cami's are comfortable. I love mine! I just wear them around the house since mine are too big to go running around outside with a cami).

6)my doc suggested to stretch and do some excericises to become more flexible to get a better figure, does it  help?

It might help. There's nothing wrong with stretching and exercising. I've re-started doing cardo and making sure to stretch with each work out, that way I won't bulk up (Estrogen helps you not to bulk up, too). You'll lose muscle mass on HRT. I lost a lot. Since I started HRT I've lost 40 (my feet also shrunk and I also lost some height, too). Exercise is good for you, I know I avoided it for a while for fear of bulking up, but now I know that won't happen with cardio.

I've been on HRT since Aug 2006. My results are not the same as anyone else, and I know people who were faster and people who were slower. Don't try to compare yourself to everyone else or when they see results -- what is more important is that you focus on your results and be happy for each milestone you overcome.

--natalie

[Tanya1]

hey thanks for replying,

I'm ready to go full time and I'm not afraid. I was just asking so once I didn't fit in well with males I can go full time.

1)About height, are you serious when you said your height decreased? I'm 5 6" and would like to be 5 4" or less.

I guess I should be prepared at all times to go full-time.

about friends, I only keep friends that are accepting. my friends already know and haven't told anyone! I was just wondering about teachers, co-workers, strangers etc. I'm going to keep it a secret from far relatives and not very close friends. Only close family members and friends know. The bashers need to get a life, they usually have low self-esteem so they try to hurt others to make them feel better.

I think cardio is good, keeps the weight off from the waist, doesn't bulk
you up and good for the heart.

2) did your shoe size get smaller?

3) some people say the voice get's higher with E, which i think is true because recently a study from a reliable source had said that women on birth control get a higher voice. I think for some people it does mae their voice higher.


4) what type of behavorial changes occur typically?

thanks for replying,

Tanya

[HelenW]

Hi Tanya!  Welcome!!

Our WIKI has a very good article on HRT here: https://www.susans.org/wiki/HRT  It's long and covers FtM hormones first so scroll down to see the MtF stuff.

I'm very much older than you are so recounting my experience with HRT probably wouldn't count very much or relate to what you'll be experiencing.  Suffice it to say that your experience will be unique and unpredictable, just like any natal female going through puberty, and you'll have to take things one step at a time and make changes based on the messages that the universe hands you.

Good luck, hon', and welcome to the club!

hugs & smiles
Emelye

[Tanya1]

^ Thanks everyone is friendly here,

I agree, I can't relate much with people on HRT that are much older than me. Maybe my pelvic will enlarge, maybe my voice will get higher, maybe i will get shorter, etc. But I have seen some ladies with amazing results in 1-18 months that are older than me so I can make a educated guess that the results will be faster- if not faster, more dramatic. But again everyone reacts differently so..I'll see what happens. i took some pics of myself to compare afterwards.

Starting Estrofem on monday!

Thanks ladies!

[shanetastic]

^ Thanks everyone is friendly here,

I agree, I can't relate much with people on HRT that are much older than me. Maybe my pelvic will enlarge, maybe my voice will get higher, maybe i will get shorter, etc. But I have seen some ladies with amazing results in 1-18 months that are older than me so I can make a educated guess that the results will be faster- if not faster, more dramatic. But again everyone reacts differently so..I'll see what happens. i took some pics of myself to compare afterwards.

Starting Estrofem on monday!

Thanks ladies!

Welcome Tanya1   First off, I don't have much experience in this field. . . well sort of.  I've been on HRT for about 2 weekish and I'm 19.  So were a little close in age I think.  Anyways I don't believe the pelvic is going to enlarge, voice change is really doubtful too, but you never know it might happen. 

Congrats though on starting hormones at a young age as well   I still claim it's later than wanted to start, but hey, just part of life I guess huh. 

[Tanya1]

^ yea, actaully it's better to start at around 10-13 yrs old- those are the light years!  pelvic- it may happen, it may not, voice- they did a study and found estrogens to make some ppl's voices higher- so it depends.


But 17-19 isn't too late, honestly I consider anything 21 and over late. but you can still get results. some ladies start at 50- I wouldn't because that is too old for the body to manage hormones.

So I'll have to see myself, I have a good feeling though. starting Estrofem on monday and going to do electrolysis on weekend- get rid of facial hair, legs, arms, chest etc.

[Ron]

Since I started HRT I've lost 40 (my feet also shrunk and I also lost some height, too). Exercise is good for you, I know I avoided it for a while for fear of bulking up, but now I know that won't happen with cardio.

--natalie

Your feet shrunk and you lost some height? How? Hormones don't effect your bone structures other than reinforcing them. The only time you'd ever grow on hormones was if you were FTM and young when you start T. Shrinking, really? At 27?

Look, I'm sorry if I seem a bit aggressive here, I just do not for the life of me understand how estrogen could have caused you to shrink. I know mine stopped me growing, but I haven't shrunk.

A quote from my favourite site on the interwebs, Wiki:

A number of skeletal and cartilaginous changes take place after the onset of puberty at various rates and times. Sometime in the late teen years epiphyseal clusure (in other words, the ends of bones are fused closed) takes place and the length of bones is fixed for life. Consequently total height and the length of arms, legs, hands, and feet are not affected by HRT.

[seldom]

Word of advice with HRT: You do shrink.  If you are 5'6" it will not be by a ton, maybe an inch at most.  But my body shrunk. 
The changes can happen very quickly too.  HRT did not change my face quickly (face is changing at a normal rate), but my body is another story altogether.   I wan an a cup in less than a couple of months.

PS Quite a bit of the male height and mass is muscle.  The reason why many MtF shrink, and it does happen, is muscle mass decreases.  Its not the bone structure, it is the muscle mass which is effected by HRT. 

Also there is no such thing as too late. 21 is not late.  I am getting better development then those who started much younger than me.  It has more to do with genetics and some other factors than it does to do with age.  The only thing age really effects, is ones hair (mine is AWFUL).  That is why you have people like Keira who looks great, at 39.  But how ones body or face develops is largely a factor of luck over everything. 

[Tanya1]

^ thanks. all my answers have been answered. I guess it has more to do with your doses, doc, diet, excersice and how fast your body can adapt to changes. Age does play some role I heard in the receptors though, the estrogen binds quicker and easily but I guess that doesn't automatically mean they would do a better job.

Thank you everyone

[shanetastic]

I know metabolism is supposed to slow when you get on HRT. . . but ever since starting a couple weeks ago, I've lost like 7 pounds. . . and I'm already skinny as was for being 6' tall.  I'm worried that my light weight is going to effect breast growth later on.

[Kate]

I know metabolism is supposed to slow when you get on HRT. . . but ever since starting a couple weeks ago, I've lost like 7 pounds. . . and I'm already skinny as was for being 6' tall.  I'm worried that my light weight is going to effect breast growth later on.

I did that too... I lost 5-7 pounds in the first few weeks. But I was also stressed-out beyond belief, so I dunno.

I regained the weight soon after that, and pretty much stayed there... but it's a CONSTANT battle since HRT, as I just craaaaave food. Anything. If it's semi-edible and put in front of me, it's gone. And to think I once had a food phobia and barely ate anything! Oh we cured THAT alright, lol...

~Kate~

[Annie Social]

Your feet shrunk and you lost some height? How? Hormones don't effect your bone structures other than reinforcing them. The only time you'd ever grow on hormones was if you were FTM and young when you start T. Shrinking, really? At 27?

The explanation I have heard goes something like this: One of the body's reactions to reduced testosterone levels is a reduction of fluid retention in the cartilaginous tissues. This causes shrinkage of those tissues.

Since cartilage is what makes up the discs between the vertebrae, any shrinkage allows the vertebrae to settle, resulting in reduced height. Depending on the person, this can reach as much as an inch and a half or two inches in time.

[shanetastic]

I know metabolism is supposed to slow when you get on HRT. . . but ever since starting a couple weeks ago, I've lost like 7 pounds. . . and I'm already skinny as was for being 6' tall.  I'm worried that my light weight is going to effect breast growth later on.

I did that too... I lost 5-7 pounds in the first few weeks. But I was also stressed-out beyond belief, so I dunno.

I regained the weight soon after that, and pretty much stayed there... but it's a CONSTANT battle since HRT, as I just craaaaave food. Anything. If it's semi-edible and put in front of me, it's gone. And to think I once had a food phobia and barely ate anything! Oh we cured THAT alright, lol...

~Kate~

Haha yeah.  Don't get me wrong or anything I do eat a decent amount a day.  That's why I don't get why I'm losing weight haha.  I went from like. . . I think the scale last time was like a 143 and now I'm at 136.  It's a little odd so hopefully it won't effect anything for the time being.

[Tanya1]

I'm 114lbs,waist 26 and chest frame is I think 27-31. 

[shanetastic]

I'm 114lbs,waist 26 and chest frame is I think 27-31. 

Not sure on my chest frame, I've never measured.  Being 6' is also no fun but what can you do about it! Hehe.  I'll be happy if I can lose an inch in time with HRT, but I'm not so sure that's going to happen.  Oh yeah, my waist is roughly 28 I think. . . the last time I that it was checked.  Either way I don't think HRT is ever going to give me a butt

[Tanya1]

^ well, you have to work with what you have. About your butt, you never know! I saw a pic of a trangender women that had the most roundest and most curviest butt! It was something GG's would kill for and would be jealous over. Her breasts were really large too(no implants) and coned shape.

I could show you a pic if you pm me.

So you can't say so right now. just make sure your T is blocked fully and your doses are good(by good I don't mean more, more doesn't mean better, my doc told me)

[Kate]

Either way I don't think HRT is ever going to give me a butt

Oh, be very Careful What You Wish For

~Kate~

[shanetastic]

Either way I don't think HRT is ever going to give me a butt

Oh, be very Careful What You Wish For

~Kate~

True I'll take that advice for the time being   But in a year or so then I'll look back and see! Haha.

Posted on: September 18, 2007, 12:09:08 AM

^ well, you have to work with what you have. About your butt, you never know! I saw a pic of a trangender women that had the most roundest and most curviest butt! It was something GG's would kill for and would be jealous over. Her breasts were really large too(no implants) and coned shape.

I could show you a pic if you pm me.

So you can't say so right now. just make sure your T is blocked fully and your doses are good(by good I don't mean more, more doesn't mean better, my doc told me)

Yeah I'm making sure of that and taking a nice and middle dose of estrogen too, so we'll see how things start happening months from now.