A safe place for trans individuals to talk to each other about anything.
Starting HRT Soon/HRT Discussion
Hi, everyone! Just joined this group and it seems pretty great so far. I'm a MTF trans woman who just got her letter to start HRT and figured I'd start off posting here asking if anyone has any interesting stories of being on HRT or tips? :)




Are you going to have spiro? If you do then you're going to start craving lots and lots of salt.
You'll probably get periods of being really emotional, I got some of those around 1.5 months after starting. Apparently they happen after changing dose levels as well.
Testicles hurt quite a bit when they're shrinking after a while of being on testosterone blockers. This wasn't something I'd heard about, so took me by surprise.
Boobs get really sensitive when they start growing. One time I managed to hurt myself dropping a blanket on them.
Very interesting, and thank you for your insight! I don't know if I'll be taking spiro, I just very recently made an appointment with an endocrinologist to start it. All I really know is that it seems I'll be doing it via injection. It's pretty exciting even with all the side effects!
That's good to know! i've not heard of testicles hurting as a side effect, but that would explain things XD The aching is annoying but at least it means things are working :D
As opposed to most advice you got I can only tell you about my failed attempt: don't run out of money, make sure you have saved enough, you may or may not be able to keep your job, the future is uncertain so be prepared for the worst even if it doesn't happen. I think I have learned from my previous mistake, now I've saved enough :D
That's very true. I'm lucky to be young enough that I can use my father's insurance at the job he's worked at for 15 years for 3 more years (I'm 22) so I have a bit of a buffer between having to use my own insurance and now. I also have ~$1000 in savings that can mostly be used for HRT. I'm glad you've saved enough! Best of luck to you! ^^
Find some way to track if you took your meds, maybe I am just a forgetful person but there were a number of times I went ya no I remember taking my dosage then felt off the next day I can typically tell from an emotional standpoint if I missed a dose.
Other people have covered the changes, I can't say my boobs ever hurt to the extent other peoples have and never really got the testicle pain ever. So as always everyones results end up being different.
Luckily I take other meds so I'm used to that, but that'll be good to remember. I care way more about taking HRT on time than any other meds, haha. I also hope I don't get testicle pain. I guess I'm lucky that mine are, well, rather small already so hopefully that won't be as much a factor.
Ya, these are the first meds I have ever been on and even though I really like being on HRT still sometimes down the road get busy and stuff.
Mine really haven't shrank because of it, though mine were really small before about 1.2in. I got a bit maybe 2-3 weeks after hormones a bit of pain for about a day.
After 6 months to a year, it feels like progress is slower than it did in the beginning. Try to not let it get you down so much. Even though I knew that some transwomen experienced that feeling, it still hit me pretty hard.
Thanks for the advice! My therapist that gave me the letter talked to me about that, giving me a chart showing a lot of stuff plateaus out after a year or so compared to the rapid progress at the beginning. Hopefully it'll all be alright!
Other than growing a lot more hair and my voice changing, I haven't noticed a lot of visual change in my appearance - except for weight gain, which is from that and a combination of other medications I'm on.
Well, to be fair, it could just be your perception. I've lost 70 pounds from working out over the past couple of years and don't feel different, but people I haven't seen in a long time are visibly shocked. So maybe it's just that. :)
The hair thing I'm very happy about. My hair has always been curly and frizzy and never grows long, just out like an afro. I'm really hoping to have more girly hair, since without it it's been very hard to look girlish. :/
Hm...are you getting enough healthy oils in it? If your hair is dry or brittle it can have a very hard time growing out - maybe some vitamin D and fish oil supplements would help you? I know that when I started taking vitamin D, my hair grew out a lot faster - which was a real pain since at the time I was dyeing it bright red, and it kept growing out faster than I could re-dye it. XD
True, some people I used to work with for a long time tended to not recognize me at first! I still mostly get pegged as the incorrect gender, though.
Oh, my hair grows. It grows out VERY fast, in fact. The problem is that it grows outward in a dome shape instead of down my back. I've achieved an afro before, even!
Well, you know what they say - work with what you've got! I'm sure you can find/create some really cute hairstyles, you just have to find someone who knows how to work with your hair type.