2 weeks on hormones

[Amy A]

Ok so it's now officially been two weeks on oestrogen. Exciting eh? :D

In all seriousness I just wanted to post up what I've noticed so far, just to see what's in my head and what's real.

- a lack of GD. Feel calmer than I did. This could be mental changes or just a placebo effect.

- skin is a touch less oily. Just a touch though, could be just coincidental.

- libido has dropped a bit.

- nipples feel 'on edge' and are sensitive to touch. Feels like there's something small underneath them.

This is everything so far. Do these sound realistic in this short amount of time or is it all in my head?

[LeaP]

You don't mention whether you are on any anti-androgens.

Calmness after start is almost universal. I'm hesitant to call it a placebo effect. I attribute it more to taking affirmative action. Though that too is a psychological effect, the differences are pretty profound.

Assuming you are on an anti-androgen, lowering your T levels alone will reduce GD. Anne Vitale has speculated that trans women have something like an allergic or poisonous reaction to testosterone (funny, I've called it poison for as long as I can remember). Estrogen also affects mood, but I would attribute the calmness more to lowering T. The real effects of estrogen come later as it starts to influence how you think and how you connect your emotions to your thinking.

It's very early for physical effects to be noticeable. The primary action of sex hormones is in the biochemistry of gene expression. The short version is that this isn't a fast process. If you have a noticeable breast bud after two weeks, you better start saving for a reduction, not an augmentation! A more typical timeframe would be 2 to 3 months. So two weeks? Possible, but unlikely.

And yes, exciting! Congratulations!

[Angela Campbell]

In two weeks I was going to the bathroom a lot, I was definitely calmer and happier, but it took a couple of months before I noticed much else.

Hang on....its coming! Slow but sure. Yeah the emotions will wake up.

[sandra-leigh]

When MTF go on anti-androgens, the majority do not get notable breast response in two weeks, but neither is it "rare". The earliest figure that I have heard from several people is "10 days". I was less than 2 weeks myself after starting anti-androgens, but I had had an odd case of spontaneous development a year before that (which faded by itself quite quickly, but that episode did leave me further ahead than what I had started with.)

Sensitivity within two weeks does not appear to correlate with large breast size. In my particular case, breast growth seems to go in waves: growth over 2-ish months, peak, visible shrinkage that none-the-less leaves me further ahead than before. And then wait wait wait before it starts sprouting again for no obvious reason. The peak and quick reduction can apparently be caused by water retention, so when whatever was triggering the retention goes away, it doesn't take all that long for the water to be reabsorbed.

[Amy A]

I'm not on an anti-androgen, no. Dr Curtis gave me clear reasons for this, and they will be prescribed if needed. I'm not going to go into it any further as I don't want the thread to become a debate about that :D

It's interesting to me how the mind works when you are starting a physical change. You end up looking for things, perhaps convincing yourself of progress, or doubting actual change. I'm fairly impatient though which doesn't help :D.

With the nipple issue, there's definitely been a change, but it's very minor. They definitely feel different, and they are for want of a better word, perkier.

[dreamer_2.0]

Glad to hear everything is going well so far, Amy!

[JohnH]

- skin is a touch less oily. Just a touch though, could be just coincidental.


I use to have very oily skin with blackheads and a few pimples before M2F HRT. Now I use skin lotion on my hands, arms, and face since my skin is now dry. Also the skin is quite a bit softer

Johanna

[I Am Paula]

Everything sounds about right. Don't you feel wonderful?
Be prepared for the onslaught of emotions. They hit me at about 6 weeks. A picture of a baby, or a bride, and I'd burst out crying.

[Rachel Smith]

I am much less emotional since starting HRT and anti-a's. I noticed that at about 2 months in. It was and still is I am just so happy inside now, balanced like I should be. That is the feeling I had been without my whole life.

My nipples were like yours, perkier as you say and way more sensitive. It's been a year now and I still can't fill a "B" cup bra.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

Amy i'm glad you are making progress and I figure that it doesn't matter if some of it is just "in your head"...if its good its good!!!

[annaaustintx]

Besides the changes mentioned here, two other really obvious changes for me were that my body hair (facial, pubes, etc.) becomes much finer, and a vast reduction in body odor! :) I can go without deodorant and my underarms never even smell in the slightest bit. (Sorry, that's kinda gross! :) ) Ditto other normally sweaty and smelly crevices.

[juliana]

Sounds like normal for me so far.

[annaaustintx]

Oh, I should also mention that, previously, while I was on a low dose of estrogen (Estradiol patch), my emotions and moods had not changed much. I was thinking, "What emotion/mood changes?" !! But my MD has just upped my dosage, and Holy Cry-baby, Batman! I was arguing with my Dad, sticking for my brother and his wife against an (minor) accusation from him, telling him that my brother & his wife acted the way they did only because they love him and my Mom, and I started breaking down crying, which caught me (and my Dad! :) ) COMPLETELY by surprise!