Hello joshbuzzell,
welcome to Susan's!
Before I was sure about my need and ability to transition fully, I have experimented with herbs and spices, including some of those you have mentioned. My observation was that some herbal substances are quite potent, but very hard to control dosage-wise. I got hot flashes, sleeplessness, small and soft testicles, skin edema, but also some breast growth and changes to my skin. The experience has helped me decide that I was ready for permanent changes to my body, that full transition was right for me, but a good therapist might have been able to get me to that point years earlier, with less risk and fewer side effects.
I have been on HRT for two years now, and of course I have stopped using any herbal stuff before I started the real thing under the supervision of a psychiatrist and an endocrinologist. My positive results from HRT have much more pronounced and consistent than anything before, and I have not had any negative side effects at all.
If you want to find out whether transition is your path, get a therapist and sort it out as quickly as possible. If it is right for you, you will probably end up transitioning anyway, and you will regret any delay. You can start low dose HRT to ease into it and see whether you want to stop it before permant changes occur, or whether you need more.
It is your choice, of course.
