about to start HRT

[ann45]

I'm a 72 yr old male and have been in therapy off and on for the last seven years. Spent most of my life in deep denial. With the help of several good therapists, I was able to accept the truth about myself but decided I could keep this under control. But alas that has not worked out and I have been seriously considering starting Hormones. My therapist will write the recommendation letter and my GP will monitor my hormone therapy. I think I have resonable expectations of the effects hormones will have at my age. Since hormones don't work that fast, I thought I could start and monitor how I am feeling. If I am comfortable with the changes I will continue and if not I will discontinue. I would appreciate any comments or perspectives that anyone would like to add.

[Angélique LaCava]

Your not going to see noticeable changes for like a 1-2 years. Hormones is not an experiment. If your only wanting this just to see what happens then don't start them because some things can't be reversed.

[Devlyn]

I'm not sure how much time you think you have, but I had my "Holy cow, my boobs ARE starting to grow!" moment about three weeks into the process. You do some serious thinking when you realize physical changes are taking place.

Hugs, Devlyn

[RobynD]

While age may be a factor in some aspects of feminization through HRT, you will definitely experience results. 100% of people do as you are altering a pretty critical system in your body. Some people experience fast results ( i had immediate breast development for instance) others gradually do, sometimes over a 1-7 year period. It is sort of lottery, but expecting results too quickly may lead to disappointment. Basically you should see everything in the list of changes that occur on this sites Wiki, (save for the hip bone changes, which happen in the very young) mitigated by age and your personal genes. Also increased dosages and other factors may cause spurts of changes, the change thing is not linear.

You may experience mental changes pretty quickly. Those are generally fairly quick. Your doctor will be able to give you more detail but as Angélique says be sure of what you want.

[Angélique LaCava]

I'm not sure how much time you think you have, but I had my "Holy cow, my boobs ARE starting to grow!" moment about three weeks into the process. You do some serious thinking when you realize physical changes are taking place.

Hugs, Devlyn

my boobs started to come in after 3 days, but I didn't think about it I was just super excited jumping up and down. If you have to think about it then being a woman isn't who you are, you should want to be on hormones regardless of being comfortable with the changes of your truly a woman.

[Devlyn]

You should be on hormones if it's what you want. Being a woman doesn't really enter into it.

Hugs, Devlyn

[Angélique LaCava]

You should be on hormones if it's what you want. Being a woman doesn't really enter into it.

Hugs, Devlyn

im not saying hormones makes the difference, but the OP said they will stop if they arnt comfortable with the changes. If your a woman then you should want tits and a more feminine body. Sorry, but that's just the truth.

[KathyLauren]

If your a woman then you should want tits and a more feminine body.

There is no "should" about transition.  There is no right or wrong way to be trans. 

Therapists often recommend a trial of HRT to see if it helps the person decide whether or not they are trans.  It is a reasonable test for a month or two.

[Angélique LaCava]

There is no "should" about transition.  There is no right or wrong way to be trans. 

Therapists often recommend a trial of HRT to see if it helps the person decide whether or not they are trans.  It is a reasonable test for a month or two.

well that's irresponsible. My therapist made me live as female  for years before considering to write the hrt letter. Like y'all said, hrt has nothing to do with being trans; you should know before hand. Living as that gender will let you know without any permanent changes.

[RobynD]

Informed consent works for many people. Actually my therapist brought up the low dose test idea too and when i did it i still changed pretty rapidly. There was no requirements for RLE etc.

I think RLE is great if that is something that works and makes sense to you, then that is really cool. I probably would have if it was required of me but it wasn't. I do think that many people need the confidence building, mental changes etc that HRT provides to make RLE successful.

[Barb99]

well that's irresponsible. My therapist made me live as female  for years before considering to write the hrt letter. Like y'all said, hrt has nothing to do with being trans; you should know before hand. Living as that gender will let you know without any permanent changes.

Oh, I so much disagree with this. Having to live as female without HRT is gate keeping and precisely why I didn't transition 40 years ago. I sometimes wish I had gone black market back then. It is possible to be on HRT for several months without any permanent changes. Had I been able to experience the mental changes back then I may have overcome my fears and transitioned back then.

[Wednesday]

I think despite of being a little blunt, @Angélique LaCava made a  true (but maybe uncomfortable) point.

Also RLE (which can turn out into a little harsh experience) without HRT may give you a clear and pretty accurate idea on how things may turn out for you, how confortable you will be, etc etc in case you finally decide to transition. Even it has an important upside, since your experience transitioning later would be likely easier having HRT and other stuff like surgeries that may help a lot.

Having said that, I also believe in everybodys right to test (even experiment if you want) in their bodies and with their lifes as long as they would be correctly informed on their decision.

[Harley Quinn]

Oh, I so much disagree with this. Having to live as female without HRT is gate keeping and precisely why I didn't transition 40 years ago. I sometimes wish I had gone black market back then. It is possible to be on HRT for several months without any permanent changes. Had I been able to experience the mental changes back then I may have overcome my fears and transitioned back then.

What I told my therapist is that I have been living as a woman since grade school... she questioned me coming in wearing guy clothes and not shaving... if I am actually a trans woman, then it doesn't matter that I wear guy clothes... I'm still living as a woman. Just a very butch woman. Lol! RLE is nothing more than living with yourself... been doing that all my life, so checked that block.

[Dena]

I suspect that the testosterone blocker will make a difference in how you feel and some estrogen may also help as well. If you don't like how you feel after a month or two, you can stop an you should only have minimal if any changes. If at the end of the period you like it, continue with treatment as it far better than some of the mood altering medications normally give to people.

I looked at your posting history and discovered you first joined in 2013 then stopped posting. It would be a good idea while you are running this experiment if you hang around the forum so we can provide feed back to anything you notice. We know you are transgender and you have just as much right to be here as we do so don't be shy about it. All of use had feelings similar to you when we were starting out so don't feel uncomfortable about imposing on us.

It's not necessary that you transition and there are members on HRT that have remained in their male role. The following thread are about this subject.

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,207785.0.html
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,209589.0.html
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,130268.0.html

[ann45]

I agree with what has been said. A lot of wisdom in these comments. To give a little more background, I have always been slightly on the feminine side as a male slightly built almost no body hair and I have been taking medication Finastride for the last couple of years. Since I have a very low Testostrone level to begin with I have seen some small changes which I like very much. Every small change that has resulted in a more feminine body has left me with a feeling of satisfaction and joy. My hesitation is not about questioning whether I am a woman but the effects it will have on my family. My wife is aware of everything and we have gone to counceling together but my two grown children and their significant other have no idea. I think? The girls have probable noticed dads shaved legs. I have been shaving for at least seven years. I realize that with significant breast change it will not be possible to hide and I will have to confront this reality. I guess I am at that fork in the road. One road, the one i have been on my whole life is pretty clear. The other road, the one I want to go down is covered in fog.

[Wednesday]

For what is worth, from what I'd seen til now and from what I get logically and intuitively, children (of any ages) usually are the ones who have less issues dealing with this kind of coming outs and also the most accepting ones.

Normally relationships between parents are children are not affected in any way by parents coming out/sex-change/you name it. In the end your parents are your parents, and who they date, how they dress, how they look or what is below their underwear doesn't affect you as a son/daughter at all.

Interesting to note when it comes to romantical relationships (doesn't mind its a 20 years marriage or just a just-baked engagement) the coming out/gender-change/whatever frequently affects the relationship (though not always to the same extent, nor in the same way, nor with the same outcome).

[Angélique LaCava]

For what is worth, from what I'd seen til now and from what I get logically and intuitively, children (of any ages) usually are the ones who have less issues dealing with this kind of coming outs and also the most accepting ones.

Normally relationships between parents are children are not affected in any way by parents coming out/sex-change/you name it. In the end your parents are your parents, and who they date, how they dress, how they look or what is below their underwear doesn't affect you as a son/daughter at all.

Interesting to note when it comes to romantical relationships (doesn't mind its a 20 years marriage or just a just-baked engagement) the coming out/gender-change/whatever frequently affects the relationship (though not always to the same extent, nor in the same way, nor with the same outcome).

my parents practically accepted it from the start, my dad gave me hell about it for a few years, but 2 years ago he started accepting it more and more and actually gets mad when I break up with a guy I'm dating that he likes and thought would be good for me.

[Wednesday]

my parents practically accepted it from the start, my dad gave me hell about it for a few years, but 2 years ago he started accepting it more and more and actually gets mad when I break up with a guy I'm dating that he likes and thought would be good for me.

I had pretty much the same experience. Although none of them gave me hell, they weren't excited either. But as time went by, they became fully supportive. Same as yours, my mom is sometimes way too much interested in my boyfriends and relationships lol, specially if she likes them. Also she becames quite fond of them really quick.

[my mother's other daughter]

I started HRT at 67 and haven't regretted it at all.  And yes changes do happen.  One thing I did learn was I did not need a t blocker.  As we age our T levels drop and for me just taking E took my T level to almost zero.  Which was a good thing because my brief time on spiro was a disaster.  As a potassium sparing diuretic, potassium skyrocketed and sodium level collapsed, which made a mess of my electrolytes and created a bad circumstance for my heart and cardiovascular health.  Other than that hiccup in the first month, it has all been good just doing E via injection. 


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