I'm FtM, but before deciding to transition, I thought I had the option to be female, and tried to feminize with estrogenic herbs (I suffer from PCOS, so my hormones are more on the male side than female).
I don't remember how long everything took to happen, but within a year (that's how long I stayed on them), I noticed:
.Less patience and ability to deal with stress
.Brain fog (constant)
.Body hair grew in slower (although my hypothyroidism also kicked into full gear this past year, and I lost a lot of body hair permanently because of that, so it might not have been all hormones)
.Softer skin
.Breast growth
.Slower muscle growth at the gym
.Butt growth
.Chubbier face, also might have been from my hypo
.More susceptible to crying
These are just the side effects I experienced with my natural herbs. I'm sure it might vary slightly for those of you taking hormones from a doctor. For whatever reason, some people tend to notice an improved mental state on hormones, while others (like me) tend to go the other direction. I'm hoping since E and Progesterone made me so unstable, that T will stabilize me even more. I noticed basically roid rage the first few weeks off hormones as my natural levels adjusted again, but now I feel like my normal self again.
Since experiencing both ends of the spectrum, I understand the differences between the sexes so much better now. As a full female, I became a terrible driver because of my brain fog. I had trouble making decisions and got confused easily. As a pre-HRT FtM now, I can't even force myself to cry and feel more confident in the little decisions I make each day. I can honestly say going through this has helped me learn to tolerate other people when they're obviously having overly hormonal moments. I understand just how hard that can be to take control of now.
