HRT: 8 week update

[CostaRicaRachel]

Hi everyone
I’ve been on hormones for 8 weeks now, so I thought I would give an update, in case anyone is interested.

I took a lot of photos the day before I began hormones and I tried to replicate the photos after 8 weeks.
Sadly, there is no real discernible difference in the photos.

If you zoom in real close, my breasts, butt and thighs might look a tiny bit bigger but you have to zoom in a
lot and look for it. It might only be in my head.

Following are the detailed changes I’ve noticed, but to summarize, I can see much changes in the photos,
but I can see physical changes when I look at my body, especially my legs. I have more fat around
my ankles, knees and things.

BODY HAIR
Happily, almost all of my body hair is gone. I used to have to shave my legs once per week and I would have to
shave my chest every 3 or 4 days. And there would be a lot of hair. Now, 1 week after shaving there is a
little bit of hair on my breasts and you can feel a little stubble on my legs but really can’t see any hair.

There does not appear to be any hair growing on my biceps and my underarms and hands have very little hair also.

Sadly, there appears to be no change in my facial hair or scalp hair.

NIPPLE SENSITIVITY
My nipples are painful to the touch. I also believe my breasts are just a slightly bit bigger. There is a
little more fat around the nipples.

PHYSICAL CHANGES
The day before I started hormones, I took a large number of body photos and also measured most parts of my body.
As far as measurable body changes go, my hips increased in size from 37” to 37.5” (maybe even 37.75”),
my upper thighs increased in size from 21” to 22”, my flexed bicep decreased from 14.5” to 14”, and believe it
or not, my neck decreased in size from 16” to 15”.

But the funny thing is, none of these changes are easily discernable in the photos, not even the neck size
decreasing by 1”?

STRENGTH
The day before I began hormones, I took a strength test, pullups, military press, bench press, bicep curls, leg
extensions and leg curls. The only real difference was the number of pullups decreased from 24 to 21.
One note, before starting hormones, I worked out 4 or 5 times a week, now I work out about 3 times a week.
So the decrease in pullups could be attributed to that.

One comment, I think I might be looking less muscular, I had a couple friends ask if I am still working out?

LIBIDO
My libido has been reduced significantly, however, I believe I could still perform sexually, if I wanted.

I hope this gives others an idea of what to expect after 8 weeks on HRT.

I will give another update in a month or 2.

Rachel

[Pat]

There's a tendency to think photos don't lie, but that's a lie. What you see is very much a function of the lighting you use. For the kind of changes you want to document, you'll need fairly pronounced side-lighting that emphasizes the contours of your body. You'll see the changes in the shadows that are cast.

I'm just rounding the corner on 16 weeks and I have similar results to yours except I've reached a point where there is undeniable breast development. (At 8 weeks, I was still twisting back and forth in front of the mirror trying to decide if there were boobs there or if I was just imagining it.) I'm still not as much as an A cup, but I'm no longer concerned that they're just wishful thinking. My favorite jeans are now subtly tighter in the thighs and seat. One of the oddest effects is that I swear they've made my smile bigger (maybe I'm just smiling more? ) I think the answer is they've reshaped my face slightly so now when I smile both rows of teeth show up and the corners of my mouth can go just a tiny bit wider because there's less cheek there. That's my guess anyway. And I documented in another thread that my sense of taste seemed to get more pronounced -- that seems to be a lasting effect. I can taste subtle flavors in wines that I know that I had never noticed before. I should have done this sooner. ;)

[ElvenPrincess]

Thanks for the update, Rachel. And thanks for your comments, Jennie.

They are really inspiring for me!! :)

[jentay1367]

Hi Rachel, Patience is a virtue, speshully when it comes to this stuff. Congrats on getting to be yourself! All my best, Lisa

[Joan.Meredith]

Wow, that helps me a lot. I'm trying to figure out how $ and when to start horomones. One of my questions was about body hair how big of a change I might see. So thank you for the information. I look forward to the update.

[jentay1367]

"might see" is your operative phrase here. This is a crap-shoot and YMMV thing in a HUGE way. Never expect anything personally from another persons results.

[Pat]

One of my questions was about body hair how big of a change I might see.

As Jentay says, it's huge YMMV. Rachel is seeing body hair go away at 8 weeks. I still have all of mine though it seems thinner (in diameter) when it grows back after shaving, I was seeing breast development very early on, but I have friends who waited two years with no change. There are no predictable patterns other than it's a long haul. There's no overnight "chick pill."