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Steph.TS
06-09-2014, 04:29 AM
I'm excited and scared, I'm 31 and in August it looks like I'll be on hormones! any advice you can offer, about preparing in advance or how to deal with them at the start would be appreciated, also I hope that I'll be able to pass I worry about how I'll look. anyway, I've been waiting for this for a long time, and finally have a doctor to work with me through this...

PretzelGirl
06-09-2014, 04:48 AM
Curious why you know now that it will be August? If the decisions have been made, why isn't it now?

I don't think you can be prepared. As it goes, you can be ready because you need it. But prepared is another thing... It affects everyone in at least slightly different ways. Let it come and deal with it as it comes.

Well, you can tinker with your looks, but I wouldn't worry about whether you "pass" or not. I don't believe it will be productive. Be yourself, then you will pass in our eyes anyways.

Steph.TS
06-09-2014, 05:00 AM
I have an appointment to see a doctor, he's already had me do the blood tests, now I just wait until August 14th...

MichelleHart
06-09-2014, 05:05 AM
In a way there is nothing you can do except research everything about the effects as well as the possible side effects. Learn from others what they experienced as time went on so that you can be aware of changes that you will see. One important thing you must always remember is that everyone is different. Never get it into you head that HRT will be the salvation. Just as GG's you will have to learn and experience life in the female lane so to speak. There are so many different pratfalls being a woman as well as many delights. Keep an open mind, never stop asking questions when visiting your doctor/therapist and by all means those that talk to those that came before you. Knowledge is power

Aimee20
06-09-2014, 05:32 AM
The best advice I could give is start practicing proper skin care and have realistic expectations. The first part because far too many people don't use a moisturizer and the second because with all the build-up people look to hard for immediate changes. During this wait time before your next appointment it would also be a good idea to start forming your transition plan and timeline in a rough fashion.

Aprilrain
06-09-2014, 06:59 AM
Don't expect anything to happen in the first 6 months and you won't have to post a thread about how you've been on hormones for a month and nothing has happened. Think years not months, besides hormones after puberty are a crap shoot! There is no telling what you might or might not get.

JohnH
06-09-2014, 09:36 AM
I also can vouch for the need of using moisurizers. I used to have very oily skin with blackheads and did not need to use moisurizers before HRT. Now my skin is on the dry side of normal so I now need to use moisurizers.

Johanna Anna

rachael.davis
06-10-2014, 04:37 PM
My therapist's mantra is Baby steps are OK as long as you're moving forward.
It's going to be a very different world, and as near as I can tell it's different for each of us

Janelle_C
06-11-2014, 10:19 PM
Everyone is different, all I can tell you is for me it had a very calming effect on me. It help calm down GD a lot. Then I was a little more emotional. I to was very worried about passing and my voice. But after the fear of coming out to everyone was over and I realized the majority of people don't even notice the you are there or they just don't care. It became less important. I feel so good about myself for the first time in my life there's o going back.

LeaP
06-12-2014, 12:09 PM
Don't expect anything to happen in the first 6 months .... Think years not months, ...

+1 on April's response.

While starting hormones is one of the most consequential and meaningful steps, psychologically and medically, the drama is more apparent than real.

Reducing T has mood benefits that mostly relate to removing a powerful irritant, in my view. Estrogens have well-known effects on mood. Still, sex hormones are NOT primarily psychotropic drugs. Their primary role is to mediate gene transcription. Nothing is going to explode, you won't suddenly acquire a different view of life, see more colors, or change your personality. Were you to take away the starting euphoria most of us experience (not that I would want to), you would essentially experience nothing at first. I.e., there is nothing for which to prepare in that sense.

My best advice for preparation is to educate yourself as thoroughly and completely as possible on the topic of cross-sex hormones biology, administration, and management.

Why? Because you have two options: Manage your own care. Or put yourself at the mercy of providers. I do not mean this as a reflection on the competency of any one provider or provider type (e.g., an Endocrinologist). The reason why many TS become backyard HRT experts is because NO-ONE else covers the spectrum of both our biology and our concerns from our point of view. Moreover, the science is thin to non-existent, the drug usage is off-label, and the responsibility will be yours anyway. That is, unless you take the "informed" part of informed consent to mean "yeah, whatever, give me the drugs." Many do!

Getting back to April's comment about thinking in years, recognize that while the wanted physical effects can take years to complete or even appear, risks also change over time. Now ask about all the rigorous, peer-reviewed, double-blind, long-term population studies documenting the health effects of long-term cross-sex hormones administration. Hear the crickets? The bottom line is that you not only need to shift your thought horizon to one of years, you need to consider the position into which you are putting yourself should you decide not to transition.

NavyM2F_WAM
06-21-2014, 11:50 PM
I have thought about becoming a woman for many years, but never got the courage to do it. Now that my divorce is nearly final, and that it appears that I will be out of the Navy in less than 2 years, I want to start as soon as possible.

Major question: Will the hormones affect my penis/testicles or erections? I already have issues down there (can explain in private; no courage to do that in here), so it might not matter. Since I'm not seeing anyone right now, the only "fun time" is by myself, but I still want to have "fun".

Angela Campbell
06-22-2014, 04:32 AM
Yes the hormones will effect all three of those. If there is anything about those that you like at all, stay away from hormones.

Frances
06-22-2014, 07:47 AM
Steph,
You have started many similar posts over the years. What is different this time?