Hi everyone, I'm really glad to have found this site. I reached the momentous day on Monday this week when I started my hormone treatment to transition into a woman. I'm currently feeling extremely excited, but also very nervous and apprehensive, which my doctor assures me is natural.

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice for me regarding what to expect exactly from my hormone treatment? My doctor has explained things to me and I've read numerous booklets on the matter, but I'd love to hear from people who have actually been through this themselves. Did things happen you weren't told about or didn't expect? Did some things happen much quicker than you expected, ect? I hope this makes sense. Also, if anyone has any advice or coping strategies for the less pleasant effect of the treatment (my doctor has described it as like going through puberty again) I would really appreciate it. Just for clarity – although I don't know if it makes any difference - I'm 23 and currently live in the UK.

Thanks a lot and hope to hear some of your thoughts!

Hi, Miloyo!

Welcome to Susan's.  And congratulations on starting HRT!

In the first few days, some people feel a strong sense of emotional relief.  For some, it is an actual effect of the hormones.  For others, it is just relief at getting the show on the road.  And some people don't feel much at all right away.  All of these are normal.

Within 2-3 weeks, your nipples will start to tingle as your breasts start to wake up.  Enjoy the feeling, but be ready to protect them, because they will hurt easily.  You might want to wear a sports bra for protection, and possibly for concealment as they grow.

Other changes take longer.  Facial changes may become apparent after a few months.  Same with body fat redistribution.  Some of these effects can be pretty subtle.

If you are on spironolactone as an anti-androgen, expect to pee a lot.  You will need to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated.

And the big thing to remember is that your mileage may vary (YMMV).  No two people will react the same way.

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Enjoy the start of your HRT ride :-)

You will see your body odor change
You will develop breasts
You will see facial hair turning a bit lighter and growing a bit slower.
Your thighs and butt will fill out
Your face will get rounder and fuller.
Your eyes will change shape due to fat deposits that change on HRT
You might experience more headaches
You might experience more mood swings
Your dreams will be more vivid on Estrogen compared to Testosterone
You will feel calmer if you are trans
You will see your head hair growing thicker and fuller
Your skin will change to a lighter tone and you will bruise more easily
You might develop stretch marks and varicose veins
You will have a different sex drive. More whole body orgasms instead of local orgasms.
You will feel more awake, less on automatic pilot
You will feel that interacting with others is easier as a woman than as a man. Men are often ignored.
You will see that men treat you differently and react to your female body odor.
Your genitalia will smell differently. More fishy. That's because the tissue behaves more like that of a vagina on HRT.
You will see your penis and testicles shrink.
You will be tired more easily.
Your voice will not change by itself.
Beard growth will not dissapear.
Body hair will decrease over years.
Your vision might change on MtF hormones. Many people report this. I had this too.
You might see your shoe size drop a bit due to muscle shrinkage.
Your muscle mass will decrease in your whole body.
Your hip bones might widen if you are younger than 25.
Your hips will store more subcutaneous fat.
You might walk differently because your pelvis might rotate.

Welcome to Susan's Place, Miloyo!

"..what to expect?"

I'll go out on a limb and guess that three weeks from now you post "OMG! They're growing!" 

Good luck and I'll be seeing you around.

Hugs, Devlyn

Oh everything mentioned above and some wonderful warm feelings and some highly emotionally feelings. I was on phytoestrogens for 7 months before estrogen so I had a head start on a lot of changes. Already had 40c girls and genital changes body odour etc, but my goodness the kick from estrogen is so wonderful feeling IMHO.
💕💗Donna 💕💗

Thanks so much for the warm welcome.  I really appreciate your comments. I have to admit that even though I started treatment only 6 days ago I've already started to feel the effect of what I assume are the hormones entering my body. I'm feeling like I'm on a rollercoaster and my emotions are all over the place (I knew this would happen of course, so I'm not complaining), and my whole body just feels different and weird. For some reason I've not slept much so I'm just feeling a bit tired and grumpy today, unfortunately. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still very happy this is all happening and I am going through with this. I assume this is all normal though, right???

Kathy & Devlyn – Thanks for the advice regarding nipples and breasts. My doctor mentioned this would start happening very quickly, which was something I found very surprising, but also quite exciting. Thanks for confirming this is one of the initial things to happen. My doctor actually suggested I go bra shopping this weekend, and I might go and have a look tomorrow. A sports bra sounds like a good idea to start with for both protection (and also because they conceal your nipples well I assume?)

Also, I've read and heard that it is quite likely my penis and testicles will shrink. Is this very common? I'm prepared for this to happen and know it is part of the process of transitioning, but I just wondered how quickly this is likely to happen. Will I basically lose all sexual desire around that area that some point until I reach the point of my operation? Again I am fine with this, and understand it is part of the process, but it would reassure me to know a bit more.

Thanks again for all the great comforting advice. It has made me feel a lot more relaxed about things to know other people have experienced this. At times speaking to a doctor and reading pamphlets can feel a bit clinical.

Quote from: Miloyo on March 03, 2018, 03:06:13 PMA sports bra sounds like a good idea to start with for both protection (and also because the conceal your nipples well I assume?)

Yes, it works well for both purposes.  Don't expect to be able to wear T-shirts after the first month if you are trying to present in male mode.  Chances are that either the nipples or the bra would give you away.  Baggy, opaque shirts are best.

Quote
Also, I've read and heard that it is quite likely my penis and testicles will shrink. Is this very common?

Very common indeed.  It is pretty much expected.  I don't recall the exact time frame, but by about three months, I think, my boy parts were a mere shadow of their former size.  It make it much easier to tuck them!

Thanks a lot Kathy! I really appreciate your reply.  I guess I was expecting your answer about what is going to happen to my boy parts. I know it is all part of the process, and as soon as I can I hope to have surgery on them, but I guess it is still a big thing hearing that they are going to shrink.

I don't know if we are allowed to be explicitly sexual here, so please forgive me if this is against the rules of the forum. I currently have a girlfriend who is extremely supportive and happy with my decision to transition (in part because she is bisexual). I've read that sometimes people sex drive can decrease a huge amount.  Is this likely too? This couples with what is going to my genitals is freaking me out a bit. I'm a little bit worried that our sex life (which is probably unconventional, but highly active) might be badly affected by this in the short term? (Obviously in the long term I hope it will get a lot better.) I hope this makes sense. Any thought?

Quote from: Miloyo on March 05, 2018, 02:50:51 PMI've read that sometimes people sex drive can decrease a huge amount.  Is this likely too? This couples with what is going to my genitals is freaking me out a bit. I'm a little bit worried that our sex life (which is probably unconventional, but highly active) might be badly affected by this in the short term?

Yes, it is quite likely that your libido will take a dive.  Mine is pretty much nonexistent, and has been since shortly after starting HRT.

The effect on your sex life is one of the factors that you need to consider before starting HRT.  If you are not okay with zero libido, then you should reconsider HRT.  You may get lucky and retain some, or you may not.