I almost have to laugh in hindsight thinking I would feel or notice something different in a week or two... Wow. Three months as of today. And still nothing. I don't see or feel a single change inside or out (besides the natural exhilaration that comes with finally getting on the stuff of course). My Endo has even increased my dosage two times now. :(
I know, I know. "Give it time. Give it time. Give it time." But sheesh if I have to go half a year just to get a tiny teen weeny change, at this rate hormones won't do much of anything tangible for me at all. I'm kind of scared I'm in the bad genes batch that will see minimal benefit from the stuff. :(
It can be frustrating, I understand. During my first attempt at transition it felt like I had next to no change even though I'd been on HRT for two years... a pair of very itty bitty titties and that was about it. :( Truth was that a lot of other changes had happened without me realising or noticing (I was so focused on the bust as the only change that mattered). In fact I was damn close to male fail and never even realised (or admitted it).
Anyway, there have doubtless been some changes, subtle as they are. But it may be that your body is just taking some time to gear up for the shift. Your endo is on the case by the sounds so something should hopefully happen soon.
4 years I was on Estradiol Valerate and I had no boobs nor hips anything. Just softer and smoother skin.
My friends told me to take more powerful and potent form of Estrogens as Ethinyl Estradiol or premarin despite outdated. I tried both but it was incompatible with me, I felt heavy headache and wanted to vomit every time.
Hormones didn't work a sh*t on me, only surgeries revolved all. I need butt surgery left but and I also need hips badly and there's no even surgery for that, dunno how to do...
If you're taking Estradiol Valerate it's the WEAKEST estrogen but the SAFEST...if you want quicker results you may try to adventure with the ones I mentioned above with approval of your endo. And after all hormones is very variable in each individual.
Yes consult with your endo if you can try progynova & androcur , these 2 gave me pretty good result
Hmm.. I did well on EV shots. I was on sublingual E for 2 years before I switched to injections. The last year I've seen quite a bit of improvement (of course my E levels have been off the chart, too...)
I had 3 unsuccessful attempts of HRT, all of them about 6 months long and I saw almost no effects. Now, the fourth attempt is already succesful, so I will share what was the difference and you decide by yourself if it is applicable for you:
The first attempt was on Estrofem and Spironolactone - both taken orally. No effects at all... only small buds behind the nipples, hot flushes and better sleep.
The next two, I was taking Spironolactone and Finasteride orally, but the Estrofem sublingually and have better effects, than before, but still insufficient, although I was on pretty high Estrofem intake.
The fourth time (now - almost 15 months) - Estrofem sublingually, the first seven months - Androcur orally, and after my 1 year anniversary - micronized progesterone sublingually.
Beside the medicals, there is one very significant difference between the unsuccessful attempts and the successful one - before my last HRT, I was drinking a lot of beer and whiskey and smoked two packs of cigarettes daily, also smoked weed quite often. I was eating almost everything, which doesn't contain meat (I am vegetarian).
Now I don't smoke anything and drink almost no alcohol - sometimes I drink 1-2 glasses of red wine or beer and nothing more. I drink a lot of water and I don't eat junk food.
It can get frustrating. At 3-4 months I was a little upset. Now at 7-8 months I guess, my breasts are really growing, competion is so much smoother, body hair growth has slowed substantly, so some changes do occur but slowly. I'm on E patches, some spiro & some fin to stop hair loss. I'm a long way from any beauty that's for sure but at least there are some nice changes.
Good luck GF
Bear in mind that cis girls show the first clinical signs of puberty around 10-11 years old... and 99% of them won't look much different for another year or two at least. :) It's frustrating as heck, I know, but your body could be doing all sorts of things on the cellular level to prepare for some major changes.
I didn't start to see any real difference in my appearance until the 4th month in after 2 different dose increases. At the time, I was ready to say nothing will work, only to be surprised. While this was only my experience, maybe things will play out in a similar way for you. Believe me, I understand how you feel, but you are early on in and it really is a waiting game. Even after being on months of hormones, it still takes time to continue some of the changes. Even though it's happening, I hate waiting. So I feel what you are saying, but I wouldn't wory about it too much at this point.
Are we talking solely about physical changes? Are there not some marked "emotional" changes that occur long before anything physical happens? For someone like me, it's the emotional changes that are important, not the physical (at least right now), and it's worrying to hear that a good number of people seem to have little noticeable happening with their HRT.
Quote from: __________ on May 03, 2014, 10:34:50 AM
Are we talking solely about physical changes? Are there not some marked "emotional" changes that occur long before anything physical happens? For someone like me, it's the emotional changes that are important, not the physical (at least right now), and it's worrying to hear that a good number of people seem to have little noticeable happening with their HRT.
Physical changes take a much longer time compared to mental ones. Many report experiencing mental changes in the first few days or even within the first month. I must confess, however, that I never noticed much of a mental change other than a slight sense of euphoria during the first week. To be honest, I've always been a very emotional and sensitve person, so that might be why. Also, I had a very low t rate, according to my endo, before starting. So, the changes I noticed were much more subtle. For example, enhanced perception of color, smells seemed much stronger and tastes were a bit different. Emotionally, I never really changed, though I have been told that I can get much more moody/emotional and experience mood swings more often. My family likes to point out that I'm being hormonal which annoys me to no end. Also, I've been told that I'm a little more freer with myself and less guarded than I was in the past, which I can concur with. Other than that (and certain libido details that I'd rather keep private) I am the same.
With all that said, this is only my own experience. You may report much more emotional changes and they may impact you very early on as that's possible. It depends on the person and the circumstances. I hope you will find and experience the emotional changes that you are looking for. :)
Quote from: Aquarelle on May 03, 2014, 05:13:59 AM
I had 3 unsuccessful attempts of HRT, all of them about 6 months long and I saw almost no effects. Now, the fourth attempt is already succesful, so I will share what was the difference and you decide by yourself if it is applicable for you:
The first attempt was on Estrofem and Spironolactone - both taken orally. No effects at all... only small buds behind the nipples, hot flushes and better sleep.
The next two, I was taking Spironolactone and Finasteride orally, but the Estrofem sublingually and have better effects, than before, but still insufficient, although I was on pretty high Estrofem intake.
The fourth time (now - almost 15 months) - Estrofem sublingually, the first seven months - Androcur orally, and after my 1 year anniversary - micronized progesterone sublingually.
Beside the medicals, there is one very significant difference between the unsuccessful attempts and the successful one - before my last HRT, I was drinking a lot of beer and whiskey and smoked two packs of cigarettes daily, also smoked weed quite often. I was eating almost everything, which doesn't contain meat (I am vegetarian).
Now I don't smoke anything and drink almost no alcohol - sometimes I drink 1-2 glasses of red wine or beer and nothing more. I drink a lot of water and I don't eat junk food.
You were doing EVERYTHING wrong then. Alcohol, while it does raise estrogen levels, blocks it from binding. Furthermore, as we all know, it dehydrates (and causes one to be malnourished), which makes the skin look awful. Marijuana doesn't do great things to the endocrine system either. Also, protein is essential for cellular development necessary for changes due to HRT to occur.
I bet this time makes all the difference in the world. Drinking lots of water probably made a huge difference in your skin.
Quote from: __________ on May 03, 2014, 10:34:50 AM
Are we talking solely about physical changes? Are there not some marked "emotional" changes that occur long before anything physical happens? For someone like me, it's the emotional changes that are important, not the physical (at least right now), and it's worrying to hear that a good number of people seem to have little noticeable happening with their HRT.
No, any kind of changes. As I outlined in my original post, no changes to report. Inside, or out. :(
Go ask someone who hasn't seen you in 2 months or so..
What is your testosterone level?
How are you taking your estradiol? I didn't experience any chance and my levels stayed very low even with a high dose of oral, I switched to sublingual and noticed changes happening within a week
does your endo ask you to have blood test to check your hormone level ???
Quote from: HeatherR on May 04, 2014, 12:39:32 PM
How are you taking your estradiol? I didn't experience any chance and my levels stayed very low even with a high dose of oral, I switched to sublingual and noticed changes happening within a week
So pills just aren't as good as the other methods, dosage be damned? That might be a bit of a pickle for me as the pills are by far the cheapest solution and I'm extremely poor. would sublingual have to be administered in person? That might be a challenge for me because my endo, the closest one to where I live that takes transgender patients, is hours away and I don't own a car.
Quote from: @Diana on May 04, 2014, 10:57:58 PM
does your endo ask you to have blood test to check your hormone level ???
Yep, she sends a lab work order to my primary care doctor that is near me and they fax her the results and she raises my dose once a month based on the results. I'll have to actually request to see the estrogen and test levels, although it's all greek to me.
Just to concur with above with my own experience, was on spiro and sublingual e for a month with like next to nothing happening, switched to injections and e levels are higher and I definitely notice stuff (like my hands filling out with fat) breasts started growing 3 weeks in. it still feels a bit slow, but almost three months in its definitely working physically
I'm guessing the injections are super duper expensive compared to the pills?
Three months is nothing. I did not see any really significant changes until after the one year mark which corrsponded with an increase in estrogen levels.
2.1 months is certainly something of a big deal for me. :D A perusal of YouTube MtF transition videos will show some real big changes with a lot of these gals in less than a year.
Maybe you wearen't on a therapeutic dose...?
Sublingual meaning pill under the tongue.
I've been on ht for years now, and recently post op too. Ht isn't the same for everybody. Maybe it's because it is "right" for me but the effects it has had were unremarkable to me. They would be pure toture to a male.
Well, a month ago my estrogen level was 586, up from 288 in January.
My is at 1.1, down from 2.2 in January
My progesterone levels remain in the 70-80 range
Im wondering if these levels are good, like high enough?
My endo says they are...
I want my estrogen dose to be increased more
I think it's just different for different people. My butt and hips developed quite early and now 18 months in are very girlish. My boobs suck, getting implants. This is all due to genetics. My face has come on a lot in the last six months and looks rather feminine these days.
I will be aiming to push my estrogen level as high as possible though; it was over 1000 at my last blood test a couple of months ago.
I'm about to reach 3 months on a combination of Spiro, Medroxyprogesterone and Estradiol (not sure if its valerate or the other one, all i know is that they are small blue-ish pills) and while I feel the changes have been minimal, people who see me either once a month or even every day (my wife) have noticed significant changes. Not a whole lot of physical which is fine because its still early, but emotionally, mentally and behaviorally, theres no denying that i'm female. My mannerisms, responses, reactions, posture, etc. All consciously and unconsciously female. My skin has DEFINITELY gotten smoother, it actually glows now and kinda glistens in the sunlight, and my body hair (while still pretty dark and fasts-growing) is thinner and shaving is not such a nightmare anymore. I think my cheeks are starting to develop and someone told me that my lips look fuller. And the more obvious changes are that my boobs have started growing, they are sore and tender and sensitive all the time, the areola has expanded and i have about a little bigger than quarter sized breast buds.... and this is only 2 months and 2 weeks in taking regular doses of everything.
My head hair is growing differently and my legs have reduced in size... I figured that a lot of all this can be related to how now I actually do maintenance on my hair and I'm on a strict balanced diet and hardcore cardio workout and muscle toning.... but the part of me that makes me believe the shrinking of my legs is hormone related to some degree is the fact that while my legs have drastically gotten smaller... my weight remains the same or 1 or 2 pounds lower... And you don't go from size 14 to size 10 simply by working out and dieting for only half a month (which is the amount of time i've been doing it all) so the hormones MUST be affecting my muscle mass to a very slow degree. All i know for sure is that i've never been this skinny in my life and i'm only BEGINNING to shrink.
Also; a lot of the times we cant see our own changes because we are too focused on what we've seen for years so sometimes we become fixated on those traits, but in reality there are many changes occurring. It also helps to do external, non-hormone related activity because, well, hey lol it can't hurt. All i drink is water and I only drink alcohol from time to time, and drinking water does wonders for your skin and for your metabolism. I also use face and body lotions and home-made hair masks. According to my mom, my face is becoming more feminine and my waist is developing :P There are a lot of things you can do to feminize your body without the help of hormones (certain supplements for skin and hair, specific diets and exercise specialized for body feminizing), and a few miracle items like: COCONUT. Coconut water, coconut oil, etc. Its a miracle fruit lol You can also eat grapefruit sparingly to increase estrogen absorption but dont overdue it or you can cause harm to your body. I eat grapefruit (simply because I like it) maybe once every 2 weeks out of caution. Wish i could eat it more xD
ALL of this in just 2 and a half months seems highly unlikely, but it just proves that everyone is different. I still hate my body when I'm naked and I want my arms to shrink.
Side note: my eyelashes have also gotten longer, now I look like I'm always wearing light eye-liner lol, and if no one minds me getting slightly TMI, my "bits" have reduced in size dramatically. Probably the most exciting and surprising change so far has been my taste in food. I have a new-found liking for Black Olives, Plain Lettuce, Pickles, Blue Cheese and Blueberries after 23 years of HATING all of that and attempting to acquire the taste every year by constantly tasting it and giving it a chance... it wasnt until i started hormones that I actually began LIKING these food items lol... I havent found any food items that I no longer like though, which i find fascinating.
Take into account that this is all happening in a person who started off with higher than normal T-levels. The men in my family genetically produce more T than average (probably explains the genetic explosive anger lol)
I'm sure you've gotten some changes, but 3 months is still very early and the changes are still very subtle. Try to enjoy the mental and emotional changes because they are (in my opinion) quite breath-taking.