A question to those who've been o hormones for a while

vagrantxspirit · May 23, 2009, 01:31:00 PM

Hi,
I have been curious for some time. You see, a majority of my familly and my cultural background is that of the people of Finland. And so I inherited the trait of having a build of some random Norse God. But I've read often enough that when on hormones a lot of the muscle goes away which can result in frame reduction. Have any of you noticed this? if not do you know of anything I can do to help reduce the mass of my chest cavity? it really bothers me.

lisagurl · May 23, 2009, 01:56:38 PM

Hormones do not change bone structure. I been on hormones 5 years and my chest size (under breasts) has gone down two inches.

vagrantxspirit · May 23, 2009, 02:44:28 PM

well. 2 inches is promissing to me. and yeah. sadly I know that bones themselves don't change from hormones. *grrr* If only.... but I didn't know if the way the muscles and fats move and change had any substantial effect. I am glad to hear there is a possibility

Alyssa M. · May 23, 2009, 04:18:44 PM

Lisa, how does that work? Just because changes in musculature, or weight loss, or what? I'm basically on the small side of 38 in terms of bra band size, and figured that would only go up or not change at all -- going down to 36 would be nice, for clothes fitting and selection and so on.

Steph · May 23, 2009, 05:09:20 PM

I have been on HRT for 5 years myself. In my own particular case I lost an incredible amount of muscle mass, mostly from my arms and legs. I haven't experienced much loss from the chest area.

I agree that HRT isn't supposed to change bone structure but I have lost an inch in height over that time. It's hard to say whether this was due to the HRT or the fact that I'm getting older.

-={LR}=-

Feever · May 23, 2009, 05:29:38 PM

This is something I wonder about myself. I have developed a fair amount of muscle mass over the years, and would be interested in losing it.

fae_reborn · May 23, 2009, 07:34:43 PM

I have been on HRT for 2 years now. The effects of hormones are different for everyone, but they don't change bone structure, your bones will stay the same as they were before hormones. However, muscle mass does decrease and fatty tissue does relocate to typical female areas of the body.

Incidentally, I grew an inch since starting HRT!

Feever · May 23, 2009, 07:38:18 PM

An inch taller?

OMG I am too tall already!

fae_reborn · May 23, 2009, 07:45:10 PM

Quote from: Feever on May 23, 2009, 07:38:18 PM
An inch taller?

OMG I am too tall already!

Like I said, it's different for everyone. It may have just been a delayed growth spurt.

Jennywocky · May 23, 2009, 09:41:33 PM

I experienced a lot of muscle/fat loss from my upper back, shoulders, upper arms, etc., so my top size dropped a size.

But yeah, bone structure doesn't change. Males tend to fill out in their 20's, so if you can transition earlier, that's always good; otherwise you're stuck with a broader rib cage.

Basically, you can count on some fat redistribution and some upper body and neck muscle loss... but some of your progress here will come from learning how to dress in ways that minimize your masculine features and add more feminine shape to your body. Sorry, but yeah, them's the breaks.

ArleneTgirl · May 24, 2009, 12:53:51 AM

An aspect of my ultra male behavior (to suppress the true me) was to bodybuild. At 5'7", I developed 16" arms, a 42" chest, and weighed a trim 185#. I have been on hormones for 50 weeks, and been full time since last Sept. At 5'7", I now weigh 155# with a 40" (B cup) chest. Of course, I have been dieting strictly, and continue to do cardio, and was blessed with a smaller frame.
In addition to muscle loss, I lost most or my strength, but, I enjoy being helpless. (lol) Incidentally, I am 58.

Chrissty · May 25, 2009, 08:11:23 AM

I always understood that because of flexible the nature of the
ribcage a slight reduction was possible as muscle was reduced,
so up to 2" sounds possible.

There may also some mileage in re-training the torso with
corsetry, though this takes a fair bit of determination and
time, and is less likely to work when you are older.

Princess Katrina · May 29, 2009, 01:52:33 PM

When I started HRT, my bra band was 40". Now, I'm between a 36 and 38. Some of that's been weight loss, some of it's been muscle loss in the chest area. I won't be surprised if I get down completely to a 36.

But yeah, while bone itself won't change, the tissue around that bone can change, which can result in an overall reduction in size due to bones moving closer together and whatnot. Before I started HRT, I wore size 17 men's shoes. After 6 months, I was wearing size 12 women's (size 11 men's) shoes. It turned out I was retaining a lot of water in my feet and the diuretic nature of spiro caused me to get rid of that water, allowing my feet to reduce in size. ^^

Cyndigurl45 · May 29, 2009, 03:22:40 PM

Having a barrel chest really does suck, I see someone mentioned corrsetry, well wearing a corrset does work some especially the bottom few ribs after a few years will start to turn down some and give you a more feminie appearance, HRT deffinatly zaps your strength and mass, there have been times I just couldn't open a jar no matter what.......

ArleneTgirl · May 29, 2009, 03:36:16 PM

Quote from: Cyndigurl45 on May 29, 2009, 03:22:40 PM
Having a barrel chest really does suck, I see someone mentioned corrsetry, well wearing a corrset does work some especially the bottom few ribs after a few years will start to turn down some and give you a more feminie appearance, HRT deffinatly zaps your strength and mass, there have been times I just couldn't open a jar no matter what.......

That's what guys are for....lol.

Cyndigurl45 · May 29, 2009, 03:43:02 PM

Quote from: ArleneTgirl on May 29, 2009, 03:36:16 PM
That's what guys are for....lol.

All man bashing aside I can think of at least one other thing men are good for

ArleneTgirl · May 29, 2009, 03:50:08 PM

Quote from: Cyndigurl45 on May 29, 2009, 03:43:02 PM
All man bashing aside I can think of at least one other thing men are good for

Yes, and that makes them very easy to manipulate, lol. It's so much fun being a girl.

Tammy Hope · June 01, 2009, 09:26:23 PM

This is a subject I'll have to come back to. I am probably some ways away from HRT but right now, it's pretty tough for me to distinguish between bone, muscle, and fat because I am still far too fat.
(5'10" 260)

That said, I measure 46-48" in the bra-band area (with so much soft tissue it's tough for me to be accurate)

I'm hoping several inches of that is fat.

I really would like to at least get down to the point where I could buy off the rack.

There's a lot I can relate to in this thread though - getting a bit shorter, dropping a shoe size or two, being "helpless" - all things I can relate to. I was never into being muscular anyway and given my size I'd much prefer to be "delicate" if I could get there lol.

K8 · June 02, 2009, 07:11:23 AM

I'm only two months on HRT but have already noticed a few changes. I seem to be smaller, but part of that is holding myself differently. (I was in the military for 24 years and had a good military posture. Now without thinking I kind of hunch my shoulders and "walk smaller".) Also, when I backed my motorcycle down the ramp out of the garage the other day it was more of a struggle than it had ever been before.

(Less back muscle?)

So far, though, my women's clothing sizes are the same as they were when I was just a male crossdresser.

- Kate

Chrissty · June 02, 2009, 03:58:16 PM

Hi Kate,

Quote from: K8 on June 02, 2009, 07:11:23 AM
...Now without thinking I kind of hunch my shoulders and "walk smaller"...
- Kate

Walking with smaller steps is fine, but I would avoid the temptation to huch your shoulders. Walking tall and proud gives a much more attractive posture and appearance, so make use of that military training Honey...Pushing your shoulders back helps reduce the apparent width of your bone structure, and as your other "assets" develop more they will also look great.

Chrissty

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