How fast did T start working for you?

[Mitternacht]

This topic probably exsists but I couldn't find it. I'm pre- T and trying to gather as much information from people who have experienced it as I can before making the final decision.
I was wondering, how fast did T start "working" for you?
What features changed first, and how soon did you start feeling the effects?
Did any negative side effects accompany the start of your treatment that have gone away now?
Did anything change emotionally and if so how soon?
I've had people tell me they have felt changes as soon as one day, other people tell me it took them months. Maybe I need to find out why that is.


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[LordKAT]

Some of it is just a feeling of relief that you are now running on the right 'juice' so to speak. Physical changes happen at a different pace for different people. I would guess that it is first noticeable from anywhere of a few days to months. For me, it was about 2 weeks.  The emotional calm came within a day.

[Elis]

From the first day I started to feel calm as I was no longer on the wrong hormones. Not sure if that was s placebo effect though or because I no longer had to worry about whether I could start. I think I do feel less frazzled though and still do feel calmer and more at peace. The first thing I noticed was a lot more peach fuzz so I now have very faint sideburns and moustache. Plus downstairs growth has already taken effect. In general I don't have any increase in energy levels or am any less emotional than I was. I also only experienced an an increase in apetite in the first month (I'm a month and 11 days on T now).

[Dar]

Hi Mitternacht

I am in the same boat as you're, pre T and am trying to collect as much info about HRT transitioning as possible. Have you made your final decision already?

Somehow I am less focused on potential emotional changes, more so on the physical ones. I am very excited/curious and scared at the same time. 

[Sebby Michelango]

I'm pre-everything, so I have no own experience. But I have a bit knowledge.
T works very similar as it does for cisguys. It's like the second puberty, I've heard. When you're at T, you would notice changes after a couple of months. It's depend from person to person how they experience it and how fast they change.

It's very common for trans guys to notice their voice change, increased appetite and emotional changes first. Hair growth, muscle increase, fat change and face changes is change that comes later. It's depends so much that I don't want to say when it would come. Beard takes several years to come. For many it's take 2 - 4 years before they can get a thick beard.

List over changes.
- Voice change
- Hair growth and beard
- Fat change and muscle increase
- Skin change, more masculine
- Face may change, more angular/square
- The downstairs grows bigger, clitoris

More negative changes:
- Hairline change, male pattern baldness can come
- Acne
- Disease percent increase, you can google it for more details

Other changes
- Increased appetite
- Emotional changes

Changes you risk at transistion
- Relationship changes: family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, relative, work
- How your society would handle it

Here is a link to a page with T information.
PS! You doesn't need to believe at everything. People react difference to T and not everything are 100% true for you, as it may be for another person. You doesn't need to listening to the workout advice either, because it's just some people who need more workout than other. You know yourself better than the page do. It's about T generally, not individual. Take it with a pinch of salt. 
http://www.southwindwomenscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Masculinizing-Hormone-Therapy-Information.pdf

[FTMax]

My voice started dropping by the end of the first week.

[2fish]

T changes started within six hours after my first dose. First thing I felt was a tingling sensation down below on my little guy. Just the tip though. The next morning I woke up and my face felt like it was dumped in a pan of oil. The tingling sensation then spread to my entire little guy. The first week was growth and oily face. I also had a huge amount of energy. The only negative thing I experienced the first week was a knot on my leg near the injection site. I forgot to rub the area after giving myself the shot. That lasted about a week. It was painful to move my leg around but after the week it was fine.

[RaptorChops]

I am also with Max on this my voice started to drop within two-three weeks. People just thought I had a cold.
Negative side effects for me were some minor irritation downstairs, major weight gain, and acne. I don't have the irritations down there anymore, I have definitely slimmed down more. My face was really chubby and now it's starting to get more masculine I guess you could say. Acne is still a bit of an issue for me but it's mainly "backne" (I'm a little over two years on T).
Emotionally I mellowed out a lot more after about a year and half on T. I don't cry, I can handle female co-workers a lot better than I use to, it's very weird. Also my attention span is absolutely horrible now lol. I was always pretty good at listening to someone talk and do a bunch of other stuff. Now I focus on one thing and someone talks to me and I completely zone out and don't hear them .

[Olol094]

I started T a week ago. I'm due for my second shot tomorrow morning. The past week has be weird. Definitely increased sensitivity below the belt and I've been itchy all over since day 2. The worst thing is that I've been spotting all week. Like my uterus (dude-erus, as I and my super uncool trans guy friends call it  ) is trying to completely implode. The BEST thing has been that my depression just vanished. I've felt so calm and relaxed and just generally mellow all week, without being tired. I wouldn't say I've had MORE energy, but more consistent energy levels.

But tonight... I'm not sure whether it's that my T levels are dropping as I'm due for my next shot, or if it's just psychological because I ran out of clean clothes and had to resort to wearing lady pants today, but I am cranky as all hell.

[FtMitch]

I'm three months as of yesterday (my 13th shot).  Here is what I have noticed in this early time:

Week 1-2:
Bottom growth
Increased calm
Oily skin
Extra energy
Less need for sleep
Slight increase in (already high) sex drive

Week 3-4:
Calming down of oily skin
Inability to sing soprano anymore

Week 5-6:
More bottom growth
Major increase in sex drive
VERY slight change of voice

Week 7-8:
Couple of pimples that went away quickly with basic Clearasil
Roughening of skin
Muscle gain around shoulders and arms (been working out to help)
Narrowing of hips/weight loss on butt
Severe increase in appetite
Single brown chin hair
Several long blonde chin hairs (longer than peach fuzz)
A few brown hairs popping up on my legs

Week 9-10:
Voice dropping a little more (still sounds female)

Week 11-12:
Brown "love trail" developing
More brown hairs finally growing on legs
A couple of temper flashes (but these could be me not the T--I have always had anger issues and being clocked as "she" has started to wear on me)
Voice dropping a little more (still sounds female)

EDIT: Actually, I just listening to my recorded voice and it is starting to cross into teenaged boy for sure.  Yay!  (Of course in my head it still just sounds like me, albeit more gravelly haha)

I have not seen any acne beyond a couple zits one week and I have seen no hair loss yet.

...and that's where I am now!  I really hope the brown hair sprouting on my body will fill in and that my voice will drop soon.  I am very happy with how much my shoulders have widened.  I looked like a stick figure before.  Even my personal trainer commented on it.  I think it's a combo of working out when I never did before and the T as I have gained an inch in them in three months.  I was just bones before!

Sadly, other people's journeys can't help you predict yours.  I wish my voice would drop more!

[Tory]

I noticed a difference in my skin almost straight away, and my acne seemed to get worse overnight. For a couple of days after my first injection I had a bit of back ache too.

Four weeks later I woke up and my throat felt like I had been swallowing glass. Soon after that I caught a cold and after it went away it left my voice a bit deeper- not dramatically, but enough to be noticeable.

For the first month my hair fell out a lot more than usual. Not excessively, but enough to be noticed. I had a little bit of hair coming in under my jaw too. My voice continued to drop, and all the customers at work kept asking me what was wrong with my voice.

At around three months I had a few nasty migraines after one of my injections, apparently this can be fairly common. I lost my appetite for a while, and hair growth continued on my face, and a little on my stomach.

Four months on my voice seems to get deeper with each shot. I seem to have lost a lot of fat around my hips because none of my pants fit me anymore and I've gone down a few sizes.
I've got some nice stubble on my face, which really surprised me. Lots of guys wait months to be able to grow anything, and I seem to be doing really well in that department.