Today is my one month mark on HRT! I just took my morning dose and I'm feeling like posting a quick update on my progress. Changes are subtle but definitely happening. Just for reference, I'm on sublingual estradiol, Spiro, and Finasteride.
My mentality has absolutely shifted. I'm generally more calm & upbeat but my mood has more of a tendency to turn on a dime and I get weepy way more easily now.
I'm exhausted all the time! I find myself going to bed earlier and struggling to get up in the mornings. Apparently second puberty is hard on the body.
My breasts have started growing. I started to feel a little bit of soreness at the one week mark and since then they have started to swell up a bit, the buds beneath my areola are slowly expanding and they hurt like hell! I work in a warehouse and the slightest bump practically has me yelping in pain. My nipples have also gotten a bit darker. So far the growth isn't noticable if I'm wearing a shirt but looking in the mirror I can see a difference, and my wife has been complaining about being poked in the cheat when we hug. They also seem to be more sensitive in an erogenous sense, but the soreness quickly wins over that at the moment.
My hair continues to slowly but surely improve. I've been tracking progress with pictures since starting Finasteride in January and some of the regrowth has been miraculous. I'm seeing new vellus and terminal hair springing up along hairline and crown, and I'm even getting a bit of fringe hair starting back up! Now if only it would speed way up so I can start growing it out! Hopefully another 3-6 months and I'll feel comfortable.
Hip pain/tightness. I've been feeling this the last week or so, walking is just the slightest bit painful but seems to alleviate if I reposition my hips more forward. I do have some intermittent soreness around the rest of my body, too, but I think that is more attributed to side effects from Spiro.
Libido. For the first couple of weeks I was uncontrollably horny, mornings we're reminiscent of my teen years. That has since subsided and I'm back down to around where I was before. But even as my libido spiked, the orgasms started feeling different. Typical orgasms aren't as powerful and leave me wanting more, but the more foreplay that gets added, the more satisfying things get. Getting myself there in other ways is also proving to be more satisfying.
I think that's about all so far. I'm not noticing any changes in my face, skin (mine was already pretty soft before starting). The day to day of this process has been slow but I can't believe how quickly the month has passed already