What's a reasonable timeline?

[Mirya]

I went full time after 4 months on HRT. I was consistently getting weird looks from other guys in the men’s restroom at that point, even while presenting male. More importantly I simply couldn’t stand to live as a man any longer. I think the HRT made me feel an increased urgency to transition.

I’m a pretty rare case though, and I know that most don’t transition nearly as fast as I do. Some people can be on HRT for years without going full time. But based on my experience it can and does happen very quickly sometimes.

[Melissa Rose]

Elizabeth, you may not like this answer, but I think it is a reflection of reality - both mine and others. A timeline could be a few months up to a few years before HRT is clearly noticeable by more than a few. There are so many variables based on the individual, and a number of these variables are not controllable by the individual. Big variable is how an individual responds to HRT. Some show significant physical changes and other very little. There is also the speed variable with some being fast changers and others much slower. Using myself as an example, I experienced significant breast growth by 6 months (B-cup), but skin softening and body hair thinning was not pronounced until about 2 years. I completed hair removal before HRT.

A second twist on the issue is knowing when people start to notice. Unless someone says something to you or you overhear a comment, how do you know if someone notices? Most will not say anything out of politeness or feeling it is none of their business. Different people may notice at different times or come to different conclusions as to your subtle or modest change in appearance. My niece and her husband thought I was ill.

If I was forced to make a prediction, it would be a guess of about 1 year with a big "your mileage may vary" caveat.

I understand wanting a timeline (I am a planner and organizer type of person), but it needs to have a lot of room for unpredictability and "error", or contingencies in case things to do not go as planned.

[LexiNexi]

I went full time after 4 months on HRT. I was consistently getting weird looks from other guys in the men’s restroom at that point, even while presenting male. More importantly I simply couldn’t stand to live as a man any longer. I think the HRT made me feel an increased urgency to transition.

I’m a pretty rare case though, and I know that most don’t transition nearly as fast as I do. Some people can be on HRT for years without going full time. But based on my experience it can and does happen very quickly sometimes.

Thats awesome! Did you have long hair at the time? What gave you away?

[Mirya]

Thats awesome! Did you have long hair at the time? What gave you away?

No, my hair was super short. I kept my hair very short until I started HRT. Although to be fair I also had 7 months of laser hair removal and a rhinoplasty by that point. As I said, I'm a pretty rare case... I don't know too many people who get a feminizing rhinoplasty before HRT and before deciding to transition, haha. But other than my nose I also had a somewhat feminine face to begin with. I'm Asian, and we tend to have more delicate facial features than others.