How soon do you feel "something"?

[debbiej]

I took my first dose of my HRT this morning (8 hours ago) and I'm already imagining that I am feeling "things". Hard to describe what they are but I am curious if its possible that having estrogen in my system would have an effect this quickly. It is a very happy day!! Mostly because I am starting to do something but maybe because of the effect of the drugs?

Debbie (Dee)

[NicholeW.]

If you 'feel' it after 8 hours be sure you didn't perforate an artery with the stick!!  Ouch, those you really feel!! That's why I'd suggest upper quadrant of butt-ocks, left then right sides, for injectibles. *smile* Less blood supply to mess with there.

What you probably 'feel,' Debs is elation at starting. It generally takes a bit more than 8 hours to start feeling physical effects. At least a month, probably two, you'll need to build up some sort of therapeutic dose in your system.

N~

[Kate]

I felt a headache within hours of my first pills.

~Kate~

[Lisbeth]

I didn't feel anything until the third or fourth time she increased my dosage.  Then it took a couple of days.

[CassandraR]

I noticed my scent changed within hours of taking my first pill. I have since tested this by smelling of my female relatives when they are sweaty and determined that my scent is now similar when I have a decent dose of estrogen in my system. Though I did stop noticing the change in scent after my brain swapped over to recognizing male pheromones instead of female ones. When I had to stop taking my anti-androgen I lost a lot of progress but I have started to notice my female scent again. I hope my brain doesn't get fried from switching back and forth from male to female so much. Eek.

[debbiej]

Thanks so much. I AM pretty excited. I'm looking forward to seeing how its really effecting me. At least I don't have the headaches you had Kate. I did have some nausea early this afternoon but it passed fairly quickly. Maybe its not gone for good, we'll see.

I do have another question. I did read the sheet from the Pharmacist on side effects and what NOT to do while your taking each med. One sheet said to avoid alcohol.  It slipped my mind and I had a single beer when we went out to eat this evening. I drink maybe 2 or three beers or glasses of wine a MONTH. Do I have to give up my very occasional indulgences in alcohol?

Debbie (Dee)

[Tanya1]

^ Depends. If you have a serious liver issue and kidney problems then yes. If your obese, have blood pressure problems than yes. 2-3 times a month isn't going to do harm. It's moderate and they say that moderate amounts are good for you.

Don't do it weekly or daily, I'd suggest it occasional. I also recommend excersicing because HGH will help you A LOT b/c it's need for female puberty. Sleep, diet etc etc.

I'm going on injections soon, can't wait, pills sucked!

[debbiej]

BP is good, a little overweight but not too bad for my age. Liver is healthy. I'm gonna enjoy my occasional Import or microbrew. Thanks.

I'm curious. What sucked about the pills. I'm on pills and I wouldn't be too excited about having to inject myself. I've always hated needles. Are pills so bad that a needle might look good to me someday?

Debbie (Dee)

[Tanya1]

^ They will all give you the same results!-injections just give you a faster feminization. I was also on a low-dose regimen on pills so that's probably why I got so-so results.

Your doc should start low and then go up b/c a low dose maybe all you need.

I'm also on injections b/c it's cheaper: why pay more when you don't have to?

Ps..a faster feminization may help because as you get older your HGH falls and you don't want that.

[debbiej]

Thanks for the information Tanya. I absolutely hate needles but when it came time to get the blood taken for my base line blood tests, well, I had no problem at all with the needle. Perhaps because I was so motivated to get things started? I've got an appointment to go back to my endo in August. We'll see where I am then and I'll ask him about injections. cheaper does sound good to me. He did suggest patches but I thought they were pretty expensive. He suggested them because they don't effect the liver as much. How about injections? Are they better for the liver too?

Debbie (Dee)

[Tanya1]

^ LOL, I'm only 18 but I have some info.

Despite what many people think, Injections still do get processed slightly by the liver but not as much. They are much safer, less clotting factor, blood pressure, DVT, stroke. They are safer but the risks are still there for cancer and other things.

Injections can be very cheap even w/o insurance. Try to get your insurance to cover it.

There are two types of injections. Estradiol Cypniate(typo) and Estradiol Valerate.

EC is bio-identical but has a longer half-life and is considered less safe. I think EC is fine, not too bad than EV.

EV is a modified version of bio-identical estradiol.

I never tried injections, I'm going on spiro today. But from what I heard, they get easier to do yourself. Some doctors are scaried of giving injections b/c of fear of over-dosing. Which is a little easy to do with injections. Also you may get pre-packed syringes with estrogen in it, so it is easier.


I suggest you tell your doc about it. If they refuse, try to explain to them all the reasons why it's better. Also make sure they give you enough doses, often times they have a habit of giving menopausal doses to us. Tell them to start small on the dosage and then slowly increase if results don't come in.



By the way, hormones levels have little correlation with feminization. Your T levels should be down to female levels though.


Well I wish you get all the results from HRT.