Most people rely on medications. Personally, I don't even like taking aspirin, so not taking medication is normal for me. But it was driven home to me how unusual this is at my last HRT appointment. The nurse was taking down some of my medical history in the course of which asked what medications I was on. None, I said. What?? None at all? she asked incredulously. Apparently she had never met a patient (of my age anyway) who was not on regular medication.
So I understand the reluctance to take medication.
On the other hand, our bodies have let us down. They developed in a direction that was not aligned with who we were inside. My body should have been producing its own estrogen, but it didn't. Instead, it produces testosterone that makes me someone I don't want to be. So, by taking my medications, I am fixing it. This is how I will become myself.
You know what is best for you. But if you reject the hormones, the dysphoria will not go away. It gets stronger over time. My dysphoria was low-key enough that I was able to put it on the back burner for most of my life. It just got stronger and stronger until, at age 60, I could no longer deny it. You are aware of it at a much younger age than I was, so yours is already pretty strong.
You may end up going on HRT anyway, eventually. The younger you start, the better your results will be.
