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Just a statistical curiousity , has HRT helped or not

Physically, it's already helping make my face and body look more feminine.  Mentally it's seriously reduced my libido, taken away much of the dysphoric feelings and enabled me to focus better on other things besides wishing my body was something different than it is.  So yeah, it's definitely helping me.

I'm a lot less depressed amoung other things.

Yes, it helped me become more confident and become more outgoing.

Thinking back, who knew.. that shy boy would grow up to a confident outgoing woman. I must say when I started experimenting with wearing pantyhose, I never dreamed it would lead to me to realizing I was a woman trapped in a mans body and actually transforming into a woman.

I don't mind taking longer in the morning getting ready, by putting on makeup or having to wear a bra or wearing high heel shoes or feeling a little cold when I know I look good in my dress.

YES, it has helped with Depression and anxiety! I am a lot more relaxed and happier!

Emily

Yes, it has helped, both mentally and physically!

Nope.
Mentally: A tiny bit
Physically: Not one bit

Heck, yes!  Physically, things are developing well.  Mentally, I am much happier and have a startling amount of self-confidence that I never had before.

Yes, it has greatly feminized my body in 14 months HRT. But I can see no difference in my face even though friends have said too many times that I have lost a lot of weight, especially in the face. I don't see it, but okay. I am self-conscious of my newly buxom chest every time I go out (nearly flat to C-cups). I saw myself in a security camera screen at the pharmacy today and I definitely have large noticeable breasts. Mentally I am better, even though I have battled depression all my life. I am nervous of more breast growth because I am closeted (always must be, sadly)....

Yes.  I'm at a bit over 1 year of HRT.  I was started on spironolactone first.  As the testosterone level dropped below the male normal range, I started experiencing periods of calm, when the 'buzzing bees' of distracting mental noise started to fade away for longer and longer periods of time. 

I was started on estradiol patches at a fractional dosage after several weeks, and over the first 5 months my dosage was raised, although serum estradiol (E2) never rode past 50 pg/mL.  For the past 7 months it has been at 112-115 pg/mL, in the female range, high for a woman my age (post-menopausal!  Terrible reference to use, Doc!).

On the combined regimen and careful diet control, I've lost several inches of band size, 38 to 34.5".  Breast development is obvious, with a 34B cup (AKA 36A, 38AA, but those wouldn't fit.)  Waist has lost a bit, and hips have gained.  Skin is thinner less oily, and pores on and around the nose are smaller.  I've added a little fat on the cheeks, and lost a little muscle near the jaw, the Masseter muscles.

I'd say it has helped me.  I've posted before/after pics in that thread.

I have been on spiro only for months, I won't consider it as true HRT until I start E

That said, I have had some (very small amount) of breast development and also I am so much more happy and confident.

I also don't get angry as much anymore things that would previously want to make me throw a chair across the room ah a lot me meh then they use to be.


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Eminsly, Starting HRT was the best thing I could have ever done. Low dose E was like waking up. Now at 4x the E and medroxyprogesterone I feel better than I can ever remember. My self confidence has begun to rise as I feel more and more just a natural being everyday. It's been strong enough of a change that if I miss my antianxiety medication I don't start to feel it by the very next day. In fact I am going to talk to my doctor about lowering my dose. I've been on Zoloft enough years now.

Being a late transitioner, I went into HT with low expectations. About eight months in, I'm totally underwhelmed so far.

All the best,
--AshleyP

OMG yes! I guess I'm lucky.

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,225936.0.html (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,225936.0.html)

   mentally it has been nothing short of a miracle after 2 days my brain fog has disappeared my energy level is at the highest in 20 years my depression is all but gone  physically I have lost over 20 pounds in the last 2 months before I struggled to loose 10 pounds in 6 months and i am starting to get some action in the breast department 
  so yes i would have to say HRT has been good for me

    bobbisue :)

I'm three days in and noticed changes immediately - the spiro really helped me pee, and my skin feels a titch drier.   Orgasm loads were down by half, so I'm saving on kleenex.  What?  TMI?   >:-)  Left nip stood up in a big way on night 1, right one on 2.  I've occasionally felt a kind of tightness there, which isn't heart problems, thanks for asking - I have way low cholesterol from eating a truly dull diet.  These symptoms may have been happening before, for all I know.  When I look up 'hard male nipple' all I get are pages about gynecomastia, though. 

I've also read a bunch of stories from gals who were developing up top within a month.  All the tables I've read said 3 months minimum, I'd planned on having a while to see where my head was at, as they liked to say in the 1960s. 

Absolutely. Done miles more for me physically and mentally in a matter of months than however many years of anti-depressants, alcohol, counseling and navel-gazing. . .

I'm still very early so I don't have a whole lot of changes. I have very tender quarter sized breast buds, skin is more sensitive? Like I get cuts/bruises out of nowhere, my sweat doesn't have a smell anymore and hip pain but I don't know if that's a result of HRT or just poor posture... that's pretty much all I can think of so far.

For me it was the mental calmness that came within a few weeks of starting on estrogen.  The physical changes came later, mostly in breast development.  Finally, my female brain emerged full force and the only thing to do was transition all the way.  Half of my gender dysphoria was due to testosterone toxicity, the rest was male body dysmorphia and social integration.

Hrt was a means to an end. An end to being scared. An end to the feeling I am the only one out there like me. The end to being an introvert. The end to lying to my family. The end to living someone else's life and not the one I always felt I should. I am confident I will live the rest of my life, such as it is and contribute something to society. At minimum giving my body and brain to research when I die. I hope to contribute to understanding what we are and why. I do not feel I am an anomaly now that I have been on HRT and realize that finally I am just being myself.

Dawn

Hormone Therapy has helped quite a bit in my life... It's the outside stressors that try to give me the big smackdown!

HRT has done nothing for me. Started on a low dose of E and now I am on quite a high dose. No mental effects at all and no physical effects that I have noticed. My therapist does say my face looks a little softer, but I can't see that.

With me the answer has been Yes.  I started estrogen just 10 days ago and this has exceeded my expectations.  This is why people say your mileage may vary. 

Too early for any physical change but I've had 3 people tell me my face is different.  2 of the 3 were unprompted, people who know me well.  What I can't hide (and don't want to hide) is my facial expression - I've noticed this in the mirror when I am not thinking about it.  The mental changes were obvious within a day and have remained that way so far.  https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,226341.0.html

All of my senses have been amplified.  My eyesight is the same of course, but my perception - what I see - is different. 

I'm alive today thanks to HRT
I'm happy living in my own skin thanks to HRT

It's a double edged sword for me. For the most part is has been an immense help while immensely complicating a life that was stuck in a swirling vortex gasping for air

HRT was life saving and life changing for me, all for the better.

Yes, I noticed changes. I knew starting around day 3 when I felt like I had cotton balls in my head and I didn't have any of the same intensity in thoughts. My levels of anger and irritation generally reduced consistently. After a few weeks of fuzzy brain, I felt more like my usual self but less dysphoria and more relaxed. Thankfully this has continued. I always hope for more physical changes, I just hope it doesn't stop. I am on a low dose so far and it has been better than anticipated.