Well. Hi! I've been on HRT - spiro/estrace - for about seven months now. That is, since Dec 8 2010. Yay! I have noticed a grand total of almost nothing, as far as physical changes go - no breasts, not anything else estrogen-related. The spiro seems to work; I can definitely tell that my testosterone is under control. My mood is great, my mentality is great, but physically? It feels like the estrace I take has been substituted for sugar pills. I have effects from the low testosterone, but nothing really estrogen-related. I even have some slight breast development - nothing I would call "breasts" as I still have a long way to go for an A - but as much as I would expect spiro alone to give me. The development can get a little itchy - and it's slightly more tender, occasionally, than the rest of me - but honestly, my experience doesn't seem to line up with the common stories. Which is to be expected, though I didn't expect to do this badly.

I don't really have a gauge to the miscellaneous changes - but I'm a little disturbed by my lack of progress. My sister and mom are very large-breasted... and I turned eighteen only last month. So, I'm wondering - is it possible to be insensitive to estrogen? Or for estrogen to do (almost) nothing? Could I be a non-reactor?

That was one of my biggest fears before I started. It seems time has passed, and it has come true. It may be just that the hrt I take may be administered less-than-ideally, or perhaps the estrace really are sugar pills, but I'm exploring the possibility that estrogen just doesn't work. Does that happen often? I feel naive posting this, but I would appreciate other voices...

Best wishes.

All your fears are perfectly possible and here's some things about the process:

- From around here, it seems that the process truly is slow. The three month mark seems to be usually where folks on E start to "recognize" changes (softer skin, possibly breast development, very subliminal things) and it seems to be usually a year until you look different in any major way. This truly isn't an overnight process and it takes even a year for Facial Feminization Surgery to look "natural" in most cases. These things are pretty darn slow and our bodies really have to adjust to it.

- Everyone reacts differently in terms of emotion - some men may be extra filled with testostrone and were punching walls every 5 minutes, and then start cuddling with bunnies when the estrogen overpowers the testosterone. If your mentality hasn't changed all that much, it may just mean you had more of a female thought process or hormone balance than other men do. If you were already a calm, stress-free, mature person, it's not gonna really do all that much emotionally.

- Your doctor could be giving you sugar pills. Certainly wouldn't be the first time this has happened and it certainly won't be the last. If your in doubt, get a second opinion, get a doctor to check your meds, and even get a second opinion on what dosages and meds you should be taking. Every single therapist and professional has a widely varying opinion on these things, and many of them will try their absolute best to keep Trans from fullying transitioning because of religious beliefs.

- You could be insensitive/oversensitive/imbalanced to a whole slew of things. There really are a billion imbalances of the hormonal body that are documented out there, and really the best thing would possibly be to see your Endo doctor again and prescribe what you feel. Possibly mention that you want to make sure you have no imbalances or sensitivities beyond the hormonal dosages; the Endo should have checked this thurougly before your dosages took place, but about 5% of doctors in the country do their job right.

I had to move to synthetics many years ago because the other more natural orals (ie. estrace) did not even measure a blip for me.  No matter the dosage, nothing.  This was in the early-mid 90's.  For all the bad press Estinyl got, it was the only thing that ever contributed to HRT effects...its disappearance from the US market even several years post-operative was problematic for me. 

Quote from: Sarah7 on July 15, 2011, 08:46:49 AM
That's not really enough information. What do your blood tests say about your T and E levels? Have you expressed your concern to your prescribing doctor? What do they say? What delivery method are you using?

It's possible to be insensitive to estrogen, but it is very rare. More common to only get small results, but that would also be rare at your age.

My T and E levels are within normal ranges, apparently. T being 2.2 from starting at 73 (units I'm guessing are ng/L, and not dL), and the E being in the mid-300s - I don't remember exactly where. That's likely the usual pg/dL. My doctor says my levels are where they should be, and she doesn't know why I'm not seeing much in terms of difference... My estrace/spiro are prescribed to be taken at once daily, and swallowed.

I've asked about moving to injections, but she doesn't do those. And I can't really afford the long drive to get to someone who can... She's fairly conservative with HRT - prescribes only pills/patches, and doesn't prescribe pills to be taken sublingually. I know several other of her patients being treated in a similar fashion as me, however, and they have for the most part done okay. I doubt she would be interested in trying something she hasn't done before - it's hard to do something that she has done before if, in theory, my present method should be working. I'm a little stuck, because she's possibly the only doctor in this area that deals with trans patients and HRT...

Actually, I just got a prescription for progesterone. So I'll be taking a little of that, tomorrow, also.

As far as sublingually, I'll see if that works. Divide the dose by three and take every 8 hours is what should work, so I've read. No expectations... but I do carry a hope or two.

Thank-you Sarah and everyone for your responses. I'll have a peak and see if there's any difference - and I'll be back here if there is.

Best wishes.