What is the most noticable physical and\or mental change that you experienced once you started HRT? 
The first thing that made you realize "WOW this is actual happening and working!"

Aching like crazy for a week

Quote from: Kimberly on May 26, 2006, 11:04:30 AM
Aching like crazy for a week

Just remind us which week that was Kimberly... lol this week or last week   .......


Hugz

Debbee

Feeling girly all the time, and not just like 3 days each month.

Quote from: Kimberly on May 26, 2006, 11:04:30 AM
Aching like crazy for a week

I'm not sure if its the HRT that makes me ache or all the running I've been doing lately.

I'll tell you what I notice that my breasts have begun to enlarge in the 3 months and I have to start finding ways to keep em tamed at work.  I really notice it when I go running on the treadmill.

Quote from: Debbee on May 26, 2006, 12:13:48 PM
Just remind us which week that was Kimberly... lol this week or last week   .......
...

Just the first week

Sore from head to toe like I had hiked for miles and miles. ^*shrug* No idea if it is common or not but that is what was the most "IT'S WORKING!" thing about starting,

The second thing was suddenly noticing being two steps away from falling down bawling, lol

just realized never stated what mines was....
When people at work began noticing I was developing a chest and began to gossip about me! 2-3 months after i started Depo-Estradiol injections. After that it was just a manner of changing my work attire.

PS they still gossip...LOL

The most noticable change so far is probably my breasts developing.

The first thing that made me realize "WOW this is actual happening and working!" was some pigmentation changes.  Specifically I had the area darken and raise a little where I would have had labia, had I been born correctly.  So it appears like a dark brown vertical stripe in that area.

Melissa

I started to become very emotional right after I started HRT (ages ago); my mood changed drastically, I became more sensitive to sounds and smells, I started to cry for no reason,  my libido decreased to almost nothingness (which I didn't care and still don't by the way), my skin became smoother, and my breasts became swollen and sore.  After six months or so, I began noticing weird looks from people; it was as if they were wondering "is this a man or a woman?"  you know...that kind of look.
Now it's been a while since those first moments...but I still remember them with joy.
tinkerbell

Quote from: tinkerbell on June 12, 2006, 07:50:24 PM
I started to become very emotional right after I started HRT (ages ago); my mood changed drastically, I became more sensitive to sounds, I started to cry for no reason,  my libido decreased to almost nothingness (which I didn't care and I still don't by the way), my skin became smoother, and my breasts became swollen and sore. 

Ya know the jury is still out on how or if HRT affects one's emotional state, there is nothing conclusive out there either way.  But yet like you I experienced a huge emotional swing along with the other things you listed.  But hands down it has to be my emotional state (in a good way).

Take yesterday, I was listening to Reba McEntire's "The Greatest Man I Never Knew" - the tears were streaming down my face.

Steph

Quote from: Stephanie Craxford on June 12, 2006, 08:04:04 PM
Ya know the jury is still out on how or if HRT affects one's emotional state, there is nothing conclusive out there either way. 
Steph

Hi Steph:
I was not stating anything conclusive about the emotional effects of estrogen on MTF people; I was simply letting you all know what I PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED after I started HRT.  As you probably know, the effects of hormones vary significantly from person to person; some may become very emotional like I did, and others may not;   some of the changes we experience may also be psychological, to what degree this is true, I honestly don't know, but it happens.  Thank you for letting me clarify what I wrote on my previous post though.
Tinkerbell

Quote from: tinkerbell on June 13, 2006, 05:52:19 PM
Hi Steph:
I was not stating anything conclusive about the emotional effects of estrogen on MTF people; I was simply letting you all know what I PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED after I started HRT.  As you probably know, the effects of hormones vary significantly from person to person; some may become very emotional like I did, and others may not;   some of the changes we experience may also be psychological, to what degree this is true, I honestly don't know, but it happens.  Thank you for letting me clarify what I wrote on my previous post though.
Tinkerbell

Hmmmmm, I wasn't directing my comments at you or your reply to the topic, rather I was making a general statement on the topic.  But what the heck, you're welcome

Steph

The hard thing for anyone who tries to study the emotional effects of HRT is separating any effect of the hormones themselves from those stemming from the feeling that one is finally taking a positive step, that you are actually on your way!

I know I felt a huge sense of relief, almost a giddiness, the very day I started. I also express emotion much more easily, but part of that is likely to be because I'm now allowed to do so.

Physically, the first noticable change was the feeling that I had had clothespins on my nipples all day...

Annie

I remember the emotional catharsis I felt upon finally getting the hormones from the pharmacy.  That was pure bliss.  I cried tears of happiness.  I have never even began to miss a day of HRT now for over 4 months.  The changes I have experienced have been nothing short of miraculous.  I can now look in the mirror and see a woman.

Melissa

I'm not sure if this is a physical change or a mental one but I do know that I'm far more productive at work   I definitely know that this is as a result my being so happy at work not having to hid who I am and being able to be me.

Steph

Me too Steph. It's amazing what taking that weight off your shoulders can do for your productivity.

Dennis