should i start?

[ichwill038]

i think i want to start HRT....i have been crossdressing for years...and i feel so much better in womens clothes and looking down and seeing a full chest and a skirt...id love to be able to shave my legs...but i havent worked up the courage...does anyone think it is ok or smart to seek counseling and start HRT just to see if i like the effects? thoughts?

[kellycan27]

I would give second thoughts on trying hormones " just to see" if you like the changes. What is the desired result that you are looking for? Breasts? You made no mention of feeling female. Just saying

So.... Shave your legs. It's no big deal.

[Angela Campbell]

Probably not. If you are not even sure enough to shave your legs it will be problematic when the effects of HRT take effect. Counseling never hurts but the hrt is pretty serious and a lot of thought should go into it first.

[Frances]

Seek counselling first.

[sandra-leigh]

Generally speaking: start HRT when the alternative is worse.

[I Am Paula]

HRT is not a route to being a better cross dresser. IMO, if you needed it, you wouldn't have to ask. Try this- get naked, look down at your penis, and say 'I don't need you'. If you can do that...carry on.

[sandra-leigh]

IMO, if you needed it, you wouldn't have to ask.

I disagree with this. I needed HRT, but since it was a big decision, I needed information about its possible consequences and its probable consequences for me. Before undertaking a serious life change, you should be asking hard questions about what it will or will not do to you or for you -- that or you should be at the point where whatever the negative consequences might be, you are sure they couldn't be worse than what you are already living with.


Try this- get naked, look down at your penis, and say 'I don't need you'. If you can do that...carry on.

I like the phrasing there. You don't have to hate your penis; you don't even have to feel at best "neutral" about your penis. It is okay to say, "I will kind of miss you, but I need to do this more than I need you."

[Angela Campbell]

I look down and I think....you poor little thing, you are more confused than I am. You are an outie and should be an innie.

[Rianna Humble]

The difference, Sandra-Leigh, is that the OP isn't asking those hard questions, she is asking whether we think it is a good idea for her to try HRT
just to see if i like the effects?

@ichwill, I think that it is definitely a good idea for you to seek counselling. Hopefully, this will allow you to work out why you want to try HRT.

Hormone therapy isn't some kind of "legal high", it seriously alters your body chemistry and even the way that your brain functions. It may be possible that you do have good reasons for wanting to do this, but simply were not able to put them down in writing at this stage. Unfortunately, we cannot tell so we have to respond to your words.

[Megan Thomas]

As others have said, HRT is life changing and you really don't sound ready to make life changing decisions yet. Go for counselling, a lot of it, and forget about HRT until you've shaved your legs and developed a mind-set which will help you cope with the major changes HRT would bring. Good luck! :)

[LeaP]

You don't have the courage to shave your legs ... but you're thinking of hormones that would fundamentally alter your body? There's a serious disconnect in that.

[Nigella]

i think i want to start HRT....

just to see if i like the effects? thoughts?

The MAJORITY of TSs don't think they "want to start HRT", they know they HAVE to start HRT.

What effects are you looking for? HRT is not an instant fix, it is a gradual process, feminising the body and brain over a period of time. How long do you have?

[Georgie]

Sorry to sound judgemental here or anything but if your not sure you want to start hrt or not and hell you have not even shaved your legs, don't do it!

[JohnH]

Why in the world would you want to have breasts, a more feminine face, and a feminine redistribution of body fat when you don't have the courage to shave your legs? Let me tell you something - I can be completely dressed as a man and still I get ma'amed. What I mentioned above happened to me being on M2F HRT.

Added section:
Your male function will definitely be altered. It is much harder for me to get an erection, and the semen is much less than before {almost non-existent) and it is clear. If you want to present as a man - forget it. About the only thing that makes me able to present as a male at all is my deep bass voice.
End added section

As for me I feel much better about myself being on HRT. HRT has lifted me out of decades of depression - but I sure would not go through with it if I wanted to maintain a masculine presentation.

Still another addition
As my breasts continue to develop, there are breast pains. I have to wear a bra when I walk or drive or ride in a vehicle. Otherwise the breasts hurt when being jounced. I wake up at night and feel the breast pain.
I say that is that you need to count the costs of assuming a feminine body. Some participants have complained about less muscular strength while being on M2F HRT. I have not noticed much of a difference at all, and I feel more energetic with the HRT.
End added section

John

[Sharon]

Hi ichwill038,
Hormone therapy is heavy duty stuff and shouldn't be considered unless you feel you are female and not male. Period. It's not about comfort -- it is about identity. I am not a cross-dresser but I assume most cross-dressers do what they do because it makes them feel comfortable for a length of time.
HT may or may not give you the full chest you so enjoy, but it is likely there will be less growth than what I'm guessing you would want. But, more importantly, are you prepared to abandon the parts of maleness you may enjoy and take for granted? Are you aware that it is very possible you will no longer be able to attain an erection? Are you prepared for the looks that strangers give you when they see that you are a male wearing a skirt? Are you ready to be ostracized by some of your acquaintances, or, if not outright ostracized, at least kept at arm's length by some. In short, your world will turned a kilter to one degree or another and there is no way to know how much until it can be too late. Are you aware of the possible dangers and side-effects of taking estrogen? It is a drug not to be taken lightly which is why the medical profession requires a referral from a licensed therapist. Do you know that if you grow breasts, they may not revert back to male size if you discontinue taking hormones?
If you simply want a full breast that looks good with your skirts, I recommend a set of quality silicone breasts. Unlike real breasts you can remove them when you want.

[Jorja]

I can't tell you whether or not to start HRT. You do not give enough information about yourself and what your goals are. Like everyone else has said, HRT is nothing to fool around with if you are not serious about transitioning to a woman. There are serious life changing effects that must be considered. Make an appointment with a gender therapist if you are serious about it and go from there.

[Lynnmorgan451]

Why is leg shaving being considered such an important first step? I know GGs, cute ones, that don't shave their legs. It's about how you feel. If you think HRT would help you psychologically, then try it! Maybe courage will come through definitive decision making! It is a big step though. ....definitely don't self medicate. If you're serious go to a doc :)
Good luck !!!

[Megan Thomas]

Why is leg shaving being considered such an important first step?

It wasn't the actual shaving of the legs but the OP's lack of courage to shave them. If the OP can't get to grips with leg shaving they are going to find getting to grips with HRT a darn sight harder!

[Rianna Humble]

Lynn, it is not a question of whether GG's do or don't shave their legs, the question is whether the OP - who declares that she doesn't have enough courage to shave her legs - should be considering much more major modifications to her mind and body.

Unlike you, I don't think that drugs which will indelibly alter the whole endocrine system should be taken on a whim because a cross-dresser thinks that they might like the effects.

Despite being given the opportunity on more than one occasion, ichwill has so far said nothing to indicate that she even believes she might be transsexual and has made absolutely no mention of Gender Dysphoria (even by another name) at all.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

hello OP??

so what do you think now?

one way to work up the courage to see a therapist (something that took me years!! so i get it) is to practice here...respond to the all these thoughts with more info..challenge yourself to consider what you own gender thoughts really mean...

is you desire to just get a little more feminine (taking estrogen probably not a good idea) or something else?... if you don't come at this from a perspective of knowing what you want, it can be much more difficult.

[sandra-leigh]

I lost nearly all the hair on my legs during HRT. (Sadly, now that I am off anti-androgens, it is regrowing.)

If leg-shaving is problematic, the even if only for this reason alone, HRT would be problematic.