I have been extremely low dose hrt for 1 month now. Without stating dosages I am basically only taking the meds every 4th day and no AAs. I spoke to the doc about this beforehand and he said he was fine with me taking less, but not more.
Depression and feelings of dysphoria are gone, yay!. The reason I started it is just for a mental vacation really. It totally gives me that. I can't begin to describe how much better I feel. My mood has done a 180. I really am not looking for any physical changes. I don't have the desire to go through all the makeup and clothing issues that cis women have to go through. Simplicity makes me happy. I don't know if that will change but for right now I'm good with just the mental part. The problem is, even with as little as I am taking, my nipples are going freaking crazy. They are twice their original size and so sensitive it's insane. In this month, my hormone levels have barely budged so it's not like my T has taken a dive and my E has exploded.
All that the doc said was that everyone is different and how it affects everyone is always different. If the changes bothered me I could stop.
I don't want to stop though. My mind is finally quiet for a change. I can focus on the things I am doing without the dang nagging feelings all the time. This month I am going to reduce the frequency a little more.
Also, since starting on E, it's like there is never enough ice cream. Weird, or is that normal too?
Has anyone else had something similar happen? Could it possibly slow down?

So far I've only notice nipple changes and can barely feel a nodule under them. Not sure if the nodule is new though. I didn't check for it before. And my feet may be a bit softer looking. Not sure if that is real or not though.

I know that nipples can be hidden, that's not really the issue. I would rather if boobs didn't start coming in. That would be more work to hide.

Ha!  That was my original plan.  Same reaction (ow), and I liked it, too.  Ah, well.  In for a penny, in for a pound.  My spouse was upset by my existance, and the 'low dosage' response sure didn't help, so the heck with it.  I ramped up pretty quickly to transition dosage on spiro, and tonight, on estradiol.

My life over the next year will likely be tobogganing through a boulder field.  I'll live, though, and I'll find out who my true friends are and likely make new ones.

As your doc said everyone is different.

I started on both a low does of spiro and E and things changed immediately. Nipple and breast changes happened within a week, today i am a C cup and i think i am heading to D territory. Many other changes both physical and emotional. I have only increased dosages once. I wanted to feminize physically though.

I think the best thing is to keep in touch with the doc and monitor blood work etc. You may reach a point though, where you may have to decide whether the emotional up turn is worth the effort to hide more feminization. Also as some people have experienced, there may be a downturn that is very noticeable if you decide to discontinue.,,or maybe you will experience none of this and it will flatten out and stay as it is, effects wise.

Life is truly a box of chocolates in so many ways.

Btw, clothes and makeup are not that big of a deal - its just ads 30 minutes to the morning. (sorta kidding it sometimes is a big deal)

In my experience, my nipples started KILLING me. I had to start wearing a bra all of the time and that quelled the sensitivity (at least enough to not have the feeling in day-to-day life.) Nobody noticed I was wearing a bra, so that shouldn't be a huge issue.

Noticeable breast growth for me took ages. It really varies from person to person, but rest easy knowing that yours might take a long time.

Also, the whole comment about makeup and clothing... IF that's not your cup of tea, that's perfectly fine- plenty of cis women don't do makeup or wear fancy/stylish clothes. They are still women nonetheless, and the same rule applies for trans women.

Since I started on E, it just isn't as important to me anymore. I used to daydream all the time. Now I'd really just wear wranglers, a t-shirt  and a baseball cap everyday if it were up to me. I have to dress nice at work so I just wear the typical black pants and dress shirt. The only feminine clothing I wear are my socks. I like crazy knee socks, they are fun.

Yes, my nipples are super sensitive and hard all the time. So much so that if my shirt rubs against them it almost takes my breath and I just wish they weren't so big. They are easily in the female size range. I worry that they will end up freakish.

I've tried  sports bras but the sizing is weird to me. The smalls are too tight around my ribs and the mediums have too much boob room and my nipples rub just as bad.

Michelle,

"Tobogganing through a boulder field", ouch.
I wish you luck.

RobynD,

What you said has been crossing my mind this last month too. I enjoy the mental benefits tremendously and I worry how bad it would be if I stopped. I haven't read any stories here of anyone that was happier when stopping after having started. It's not something that can be unseen.

Over this past week I definitely have boobs coming in. I first noticed odd shadows in low light in the mirror last week but now I definitely have extra fat over the muscle that I didn't have before. They aren't all that big but I have enough that a 36A pushup actually has something to push up. Along with that I have noticed that my face is getting softer. When I showed my license to buy some wine the lady was visibly upset that she was my age. She just said that I must have good genes or something and no other words for me. I felt bad that I upset her but figured it was best to not say anything.
The doc confirmed that I do have a nodule forming but if I quit now most of what I have would go away. It scares me that I don't really want it to go away now. I am defiantly at the point at which I need to either quit or start making a serious effort to hide the changes unless I want to come out. Having to make this decision this early stinks.

My breasts and nipples started changing within the first week to two weeks. Super sensitive and girly looking. My body responded to E really quickly.  Hugs Shannon

It's a blessing and a curse.