I've only been on HRT (and at a low dose to start with) consisting of three different meds for only five days now. The doctor said I should notice some mental/emotional changes at around a month and some physical changes at around three months.
What is odd is that I've noticed definite mental and emotional changes with most of them being for the better. I still get irritated over the same things (computers, traffic, stupid people, etc.) but my responses to them are diminished. I'm less aggressive over the irritations and they don't stay in my mind as long. A stupid driver that would have me irritated for the next twenty minutes now results in a 1 minute irritation. I have been more focused lately and less preoccupied with other people. Previously I would enter a store, coffee shop, etc. and make a point of looking around at everyone (but not staring) and would occasionally wonder why a particular person kept staring. Now, I don't even bother to look at anyone who isn't in my immediate field of vision or close proximity. Instead of me regularly initiating conversations with employees (including men) I wait until they talk to me. It may seem selfish or arrogant but I have been more selective with people. People who normally want to talk about stuff that doesn't interest me causing me to get distracted from things I'm trying to do I am now blatantly tuning out.
I am not sure if these things are just mind over matter or the low dosage hormones. My body has undergone changes pre-HRT as well. The doctor did a brief breast exam and noticed the breasts being feminine. The nipples and shape are larger and more feminine than a typical male and I noticed them get larger (and even some others noticed as well) about a year or more ago without the use of HRT. My penis has also always been smaller than just about every other one I've seen but isn't unusually small. The doctor said with regards to the breasts that it could be my mind doing its own physical preparations for transition. There is no question that my breasts have increased in size and shape since I started dressing as a female before HRT.
My only guess is that I may already have higher estrogen and lower testosterone levels to begin with and being that I am mentally female my body might be significantly receptive to receiving the HRT regardless of the low dosage. I guess I'll have to wait until the lab results come back to see what my current levels are. I'm not worried but more or less baffled. I have heard that many MTF TSs naturally have lower testosterone levels to begin with.
So has anyone else had sudden changes? Thanks to the responses already for those in the estradiol thread.
Yes totally! I had emotional changes within a few days to a few weeks of starting HRT =)
weird, i haven't noticed many mental changes, but have noticed physical changes almost from the start. i'm pretty sure that's not usual though
Yes I did. I'm 37 so I didn't expect much but I felt immediate facial changes starting, like someone was pinching my cheeks softly. My face started looking younger. Not where I was hoping to see changes first but that's ok.
I didn't notice any emptional changes but my wife keeps telling me I'm acting like a "bitch". I also find myself feeling cold more.
Quote from: melissa42013 on January 20, 2011, 06:38:36 PMI also find myself feeling cold more.
Has anyone else noticed this? Cold rooms have never been my favorite, and having had roommates that say its great when the thermostat is like 60 has always had me wondering what is wrong with those people, but HRT makes me feel even colder than usual.
I was pretty sensitive to cold pre-HRT, but in the past few days I've noticed that my hands feel really cold right after dinner. Not sure if the timing has something to do with it... I can't seem to warm them up either (by sitting on them, my usual technique).
It doesn't seem like they just "feel" cold but aren't either... using an IR themometer they read out as being just 25 degrees (that's 77 degrees Fahrenheit) on the palm while my fingers are a frigid 21 degrees (70 degrees Fahrenheit)...
Btw I'm 4.8 weeks HRT.
yeah I've always been too cold most of the time so I didn't notice that change at all
Quote from: HitOrMiss. on January 20, 2011, 08:15:01 PM
I was pretty sensitive to cold pre-HRT, but in the past few days I've noticed that my hands feel really cold right after dinner. Not sure if the timing has something to do with it... I can't seem to warm them up either (by sitting on them, my usual technique).
I've been doing my own transition experiment and I've had the same thing happen. I get cold, particularly after eating. I also seem to produce a lot less body heat in general. I tried rubbing my hands together to create friction, but it doesn't work as well as it used to.
Even though I get colder, I can operate better in the cold without freezing. So it seems that being cold is more of a nuisance than a hindrance. I've been ignoring the cold unless it starts causing practical problems. So far my job has actually become easier, because I don't have to constantly rub my hands together to keep my mobility.
Has anyone else noticed an increased ability to operate the body at lower temperatures? I know that a month ago I would lose mobility in my fingers very quickly if I went outside in the cold. Now it seems that I can last longer before I start to get stiff.
the pre hrt i think it aplies to me, mi nipples are kinda big for a guy (and sometimes i actually feel them again my shirt) and my penis and balls are small for my age, but maybe it's coincidence (i wish not)
I started feeling a little colder too even a week after my start. I brought it up with my neato physical therapist because she always felt cold, and she suggested that I have more iron in my diet. Seemed to have worked for her lately and lo' and behold I noticed my vitamins weren't giving me iron at all (I maybe got 30% from food). Switch of a vitamin later and I feel a bit better. Apparently iron demands for guys is lower than girls (Something to do with how testosterone makes the body handle iron?).
Give it a try if you can.
Hi Britney,
I documented a lot of the changes that I was going through in my blog on here, like the first 6-8 months:
1 1/2 weeks:
1) I noticed that my body has a different smell, like I'm basically really not perspiring anymore, and if I do, then it really doesn't have a smell.
2) I've been really tired like the last 4 days (hence why I haven't been on chat to everyone I usually talk to at night)
3) My breasts are starting to get really tender and sore. It's right under the nipple and a little bit on the sides of the nipples. Ow!
4) I've been having migraines pretty bad for like the last week but I had some dental work done too so I don't know what's causing that.
3 1/2 weeks:
1) Changing body smell - This is pretty much the same, I don't really have much of a smell at all. I have skipped deodorant at the gym a few times and I don't seem to have a smell at all, it's weird, lol.
2) Tiredness - Well, I've had a few days where I've slept 12 hours, but I've been getting 7-8 hours of sleep lately. This hasn't really been an issue lately.
3) Breast Tenderness - This is the biggest change I've seen in the last few weeks. Before, the nipples were a little sore and tender. Now they are really puffy and hard and there's an area behind the nipple the size of a large marble that is growing. It hurts when my shirt brushes up against it or when I put pressure on them. I often forget that I have sensitivity there and do something I'd normally do and then be like "OWWW" when I do it. An example is when I went to wash my bathtub tonight. I leaned over the tub and kind of rested my body weight on my chest, forgetting of course, and I pretty much screamed out when I did. Oh my God!! That hurt bad!!! So, I'm getting more used to knowing that they are there and not to have anything make contact with them.
4) Migraines - These have gone away, I haven't had any more issues here.
The the first real emotional changes were at 60-90 days:
"I went into the kitchen and just started sobbing, thinking about things. The weird thing was, it WASN'T just like sad thoughts or anything. I wasn't feeling really down, just...emotional. So they called my name and came in the kitchen and they were really worried and I just said that I was going to miss coming over and they wanted me to still come over, where did I get the idea they didn't want that, etc. I explained that it was just...things are changing, which is a GOOD thing and that I was just feeling a little emotional about it.
So it passed about 5 minutes later and everything was good :) Then, today (see previous blog entry) I started writing the card to my father and it happened again, just, the lump in my throat and then the tears, and then gone. The funny thing is that I've always been pretty emotional but I think I am realizing how little I actually cry in my adult life. I did it so much up until about 17 or 18, then just didn't do it that much. I think it's my natural state to be emotional anyway."
And this was at four months:
My blood labs - The E level really went up and the T level really went down, that kind of jumps out at me. I'll see what she says about my levels and take it from there.
Ok, so what has three months of HRT done to me? It's still so, so early. I have noticed the breast development, I guess maybe Progesterone helped with that, I don't know. They are definitely growing. They are to the point where I really need to wear tight tank tops under my t shirt under my work shirts and you can still tell if you look, but really, who is really looking at them? Plus, I'm out to most of the people at work, so does it really matter?
Emotions...ok, so it's pretty much been like clockwork the last three months, it happens when I've got 2 - 4 pills left in my Progesterone right before I start the sugar pills. I don't know if it's coincidence or what, but it's just a little convenient. It doesn't cripple me or anything, but I have thoughts that will kind of dominate my mind for a few days, make me extremely emotional and cry a lot for a half hour or so, then go away. It isn't depression or anything serious, it just gets to where I need to cry. I've read descriptions of that before from other people and my experience seems to be very similar. I don't get any more emotional at other times, but I've always been a very emotional person anyway. I was a little worried about mood swings and stuff like that that I've read and heard about, but I haven't experienced that.
You know, I hear people say "OMG, being on HRT has been like magic, euphoria, makes me feel so, so different" and I honestly haven't felt that. It's what is supposed to happen. I'm very, very content with my life and feeling good :)
Body dimensions, no changes really other than breasts and a little bit of fat on the area below my butt and above my thigh, kind of on the outside, the notorious saddlebags. I just don't want too much there, I have stupid thick thighs anyway, ugh, I hate them!!! The love handles are really almost gone which basically gives me no shape from below my ribcage to my hips. I know body fat redistribution takes a LONG time, these are most likely changes due to diet and exercise. I'm back on my caloric restrictions to get down to 135. I have stayed between 143 and 148, I just want to bring it down to 135 and this works. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle :)"
So, sorry for posting a book on your post, lol, but I tend to write narrative-type stuff and I just cut and pasted out of the blog. The key things I think is that everyone has different changes but that many of the changes we have are similar :) Keep on the right path for you and congrats! Meghan
Quote from: MeghanAndrews on January 22, 2011, 11:14:35 AM
1 1/2 weeks:
1) I noticed that my body has a different smell, like I'm basically really not perspiring anymore, and if I do, then it really doesn't have a smell.
That same thing has been happening to me in my own experiment. I never perspired much to begin with, as I maintain a low hydration level due to the water quality here being somewhat bad (is there such thing as good city water?). But it seems that now I am perspiring even less, and my body odor has reduced significantly.
within a couple of days i felt more balanced and settled in myself...
Quote from: Sutara on January 22, 2011, 08:55:41 AM
Seemed to have worked for her lately and lo' and behold I noticed my vitamins weren't giving me iron at all (I maybe got 30% from food). Switch of a vitamin later and I feel a bit better. Apparently iron demands for guys is lower than girls (Something to do with how testosterone makes the body handle iron?)
Men shouldn't take iron because there is no way to get rid of it. Women menstrate, which helps them shed iron. You should talk to your doctor about iron intake, it could still be dangerous. TS women might want to hesitate in taking women's mutli-vitamins due to the iron content. Genetics play a large role.
Read an awesome book called "Survival of the Sickest" about evolution and disease. There are people who literally rust on their inside
from too much iron. It also causes cancer Iron staying in the body was a good thing back when we fought and bled more.
Quote from: japple on January 22, 2011, 05:56:51 PM
Men shouldn't take iron because there is no way to get rid of it. Women menstrate, which helps them shed iron. You should talk to your doctor about iron intake, it could still be dangerous. TS women might want to hesitate in taking women's mutli-vitamins due to the iron content. Genetics play a large role.
Read an awesome book called "Survival of the Sickest" about evolution and disease. There are people who literally rust on their inside
from too much iron. It also causes cancer Iron staying in the body was a good thing back when we fought and bled more.
Ah, perhaps that's the difference. I give blood pretty regularly though so I'm not sure if I'd gotten behind on iron intake that way.
Okie then, I'll write it down to ask next visit.
That don't make sense, menopausal women still need iron and so do I. I don't get a period and haven't for some time now. My doc still says I'm low on iron and have to take iron pills.
Thanks for everyone's responses. I guess it just varies from person to person. It has now been a week and the two main things that are standing out are: A) I'm less aggressive but more assertive and B) chemical castration. If I were to take a guess at it I don't think there has been enough time for the estrogen to do anything but that the real change has been with the testosterone. I probably had low levels of testosterone to begin with as I always had a much milder sex drive than most genetic males I've known so if it was already low to begin with then even the low dose of sprio would have been enough to make a major difference. I still have an interest in sex but sex has been in my mind far less often and I recently "tested" the parts out and I'd say they are already about 40% as functional as they were pre-HRT. What a difference in a week.
Quote from: LordKAT on January 22, 2011, 06:10:15 PM
That don't make sense, menopausal women still need iron and so do I. I don't get a period and haven't for some time now. My doc still says I'm low on iron and have to take iron pills.
Actually post menopausal women ARE supposed to watch out for iron. http://www.ehow.com/about_5422410_postmenopause-iron-supplements.html (http://www.ehow.com/about_5422410_postmenopause-iron-supplements.html) There are a million other factors. Exercise, stress, diet and ethnicity. Menstruation isn't the only reason women need iron but it's one of the main reasons women don't usually have to worry about TOO MUCH iron. Men's multivitamins don't contain iron and some men should avoid spinach and other foods that contain iron because it can build up. Obviously TS women aren't going to be too excited about taking a vitamin that says "Men's" but they should look for general multivitamins without iron and shouldn't take "Women's" or "Prenatal" vitamins without their doctor checking for iron.
Quote from: Sutara on January 22, 2011, 05:59:13 PM
Ah, perhaps that's the difference. I give blood pretty regularly though so I'm not sure if I'd gotten behind on iron intake that way.
There you go...
Quote from: japple on January 22, 2011, 05:56:51 PM
Men shouldn't take iron because there is no way to get rid of it.
I might have to agree with this. It is a lot easier to correct a low iron problem than a high iron problem. The body has few ways to eliminate iron other than bleeding.
Signs of Iron Overload
# Post-menopausal women should watch for these signs that suggest the possibility of having an iron overload: chronic fatigue, pain in the joints, pain in the stomach, an irregular heart beat, lack of interest in sex, hair loss, change in the color of the skin and the cessation of periods.
Read more: Post-Menopause Iron Supplements | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5422410_postmenopause-iron-supplements.html#ixzz1BsVKuaDp (http://www.ehow.com/about_5422410_postmenopause-iron-supplements.html#ixzz1BsVKuaDp)
Somehow a cessation of periods as a sign of high iron in a post menopausal woman makes no sense.
It does make sense to not need iron supplements but you do still need iron. You just aren't losing as much as you used to.
Quote from: LordKAT on January 23, 2011, 10:57:16 AM
Somehow a cessation of periods as a sign of high iron in a post menopausal woman makes no sense.
Not necessarily. Remember, the body has limited resources. More iron doesn't mean that you'll have heavier menstruation to remove the excess iron. The body only has so much ability to move, transport, and remove the excess iron from the body. If there is too much iron, the body will favor storing the iron, even though there will be limited means to remove that iron later. Thus, cessation of periods is a completely logical result of iron toxicity, as the body doesn't have enough resources to properly remove the iron.
This is the thing that I hate about biochemistry. It is not intuitive. While it's true that bleeding is the best way to remove iron from the body, it's not true that iron toxicity causes one to bleed more.
If you think about the body in intuitive terms, you are going to completely miss what is really going on. Or, to quote the great Charles Darwin, whether or not something seems absurd to our sensibilities is not an indication of whether or not it is true.
EDIT: Nevermind, I think I misunderstood your comment. It seems that you're saying that cessation of periods as a sign of high iron in a
post-menopausal woman makes no sense. In which case, I agree, seeing as how cessation of periods is a defining attribute of post-menopause. It seems that the article needs to be rewritten.
It took ya a second but you got what I meant.
Quote from: LordKAT on January 23, 2011, 11:29:56 PM
It took ya a second but you got what I meant.
Yeah. Sometimes I miss the simple details because I always have too many things on my mind.
I'm sure that some of these changes by now are not just my mind playing tricks on me. I hate to be blunt but to use a variation of the Wizard of Oz song: "Ding Dong the Dick is Dead." My sex drive has gone down by probably about 80% and my functionality down by 60%. Something I actually don't miss.
How is everyone doing now? Hugs shannon
I kept a hormone diary for about a month, but then my laptop died and I lost the file. But as far as I can remember the changes I've noticed have so far been:
24 hours - calmer, no more anxiety
1 week - fat started moving towards the breasts
2 weeks - skin went from oily to normal/dry
1 month - breasts started hurting, glands started growing behind the nipples
2 months - b-cups, body hair grows much slower
I haven't noticed any changes in my face, but I might be missing changes because I look in the mirror so much every day. But I think my eyes might look more awake and open now, which might be from the hormones. And my upper lip maaaaaybe looks slightly fuller. The downstairs bit is sleeping most of the time, but every once in a while it decides to wake up before I do.
Breast growth. Nipple changes. More weight in my face hips thighs butt and tummy
Quote from: japple on January 23, 2011, 12:15:36 AM
... but they should look for general multivitamins without iron and shouldn't take "Women's" or "Prenatal" vitamins without their doctor checking for iron.
Is the doctor really a necessary step here? Everyone should read labels (though I've been guilty of buying
then reading). In the USA, at least, iron content of vitamins must be listed (unless it's 0%). It's more dangerous to ask a third party than to check yourself... if you don't trust yourself, find someone else to double check it for you.
We probably
should be asking our doctors about what supplements are necessary and when. I'm not on HRT yet, but I have a reduced diet and take a multi (men's - 'til they run out, anyway - then non-gendered). I'm also taking Tums (Calcium) and probably shouldn't be until AAs or E starts.