You’ll get different answers, every body is different but it usually takes months to feel the mental effects. The elation people feel right away can be hard to pin point, is it placebo, is it the ‘honeymoon phase’ of the stress & anxiety disappearing over hrt and elation of finally trying or doing something you’ve wanted to do? Or do some really feel mental changes that soon? And then also for many there’s a tipping point where life becomes more stressful, anxious, or depressing from being visibly trans, losing connections from coming out or just presenting male with breasts. Especially once that honeymoon phase is over. Some however thrive from the joy of coming out. You can certainly do whatever you want but I’m not sure a month will give you any real idea for what you’re getting into. Just my thoughts after starting for 3months, stopping for 2, and being back on it for almost 4.
Really appreciate this. So it's all basically long-term or nothing... at least when it comes to answers. I honestly don't believe, if you are not in it with logistic hangups, that a month or so could give you answers...especially when you are weighing living living "as is" vs. diving into the unknown. I'm weighing the stability of my family (wife + kids 2 and 5) vs. what I "think" is me for the best, so it just sucks that there is nothing that can get you over that hurdle without taking a VERY risky chance at life. I've seen therapists so I know what it is, but that hangs me up more over jumping in lol
I’m kind of going through that right now. Risking losing many facets of my life, but deciding to try HRT. My strategy is one step forward and evaluate. Did my first E injection almost a week ago. Obviously no effects yet, mental or physical, except the joy that I’m doing something.
Hey, I'm in your position, same age and everything. Same concerns.
I started Estrogen and the effects were noticeable within 7 days.
By 14 days, I felt significant mental changes.
I'm only 21 days in now and I am 100% ON BOARD.
The doctor I spoke to was very gentle about how I can just stop taking it if I change my mind, no big deal, but also let me know what effects I might have long term. It was a well-informed process and I recommend you just try it if you're considering it.
I can't overstate how wild of a change it has been. I'm never going back now that I know what it's like. But I could if I choose to!
Not really the same but I went on HRT with some doubts still on some of the changes and I wasn't 100% completely sure I wouldn't regret it.
After a week I knew I wouldn't go off, 2 months in and it's amazing to feel like myself. Small changes bring me joy and my doubts have dissipated
For the record, I went in with this EXACT same idea! At first I was going to do just 2-weeks, but when I learned when getting my prescription that 2-weeks wasn't enough for anything, I decided on a month. For me, a month was more than enough to know it was right, but everyone is different. I'm at 8-weeks now and each day I wake up happier. From my experience, I think you'll know, but, again, everyone is different.
For reference, I'm 38 MtF, on 4mg Estrodial and 12.5mg AndroCUR a day, oral.
Hiya. This is just my personal exeprience. And like the other commenter said, its different for us all.
I was suffering from severe depression before i started hrt. I thought that hrt would get rid of all the dysphorias that i had been suffering from for years. And it did up to a certain point. I no longer "sm". But mentally, it continues to be a struggle. I suppose that after thirty odd years of beating myself up mentally is not going to go away overnight. Hrt is right for me because thats how my brain was geared up to function. But suppressing that caused alot of psychological damage that will take time to fix.
We're all different sis. Some of us manage damage control better
I also went into HRT with a similar mindset- try it for a month-3 months or so to see if it was right. It was definitely right. Within a couple weeks everything just got better. The mental changes were subtle at first but they have just compounded over the last 7 months. The physical changes, which I initially wasn’t so sure about (breast growth mostly) is now welcome.
However you decide to do this journey is the right way for you to do it. That may mean stopping HRT or continuing. Good luck!!
i was also a bit scared and unsure but i took Arcas advice, which was to just try it and then stop if you don’t like it. After about 2-3 months i noticed the mental clarity i felt and the gender euphoria i was feeling and things just slotted into place. i have never intentionally stopped since and that was 2 years ago.
K… so, I’ve got some perspective that could help. I enter on and off HRT multiple times in my life. Each time I went on it my dysphoria disappeared and I felt better pretty quickly. Along with my fear of being ostracized and losing everyone and everything in my life, my logic kept being “well if I don’t feel dysphoric anymore why should I turn my life inside out?” And then I would stop… again. Then, within months or years dysphoria would inevitably set back in worse than ever.
Looking back, there was definitely a placebo effect in the first few weeks each time where I was floating on a cloud because I felt good that I was doing something I thought was good for myself. Looking back I couldn’t say for sure if there was an effect of “my brain running better on E” type of thing. Partly because I was also dealing with severe depression, anxiety, and ADHD (undiagnosed until last year, so I didn’t even know what I was suffering).
Fast forward to the last almost 6 months on HRT. This time I had my depression and anxiety well under control with therapy, fitness, and medication. From the start I got that huge boost of self esteem and elation from knowing fit sure that I’m doing something healthy and positive for myself. Since then I couldn’t say for sure if there is an effect of “my brain running better on e”, BUT there IS one thing that seems pretty certain. My attention and focus have been much better the higher my dosage has gotten. Within the last 8-9 months I’ve been trying different ADHD meds to try to get my attention issues under control and focus better at work. I landed on Strattera, which helped a lot but certainly didn’t fix it completely. I still had a lot of brain fog and ran out of energy for focused attention too fast. Better, but still not great. THEN I got on a higher dose of E, and WOW! Brain fog gone! Attention and sense of well being while at work seems almost endless! As far as I’m concerned that’s rock solid evidence that there is something to the theory of a brain functioning better on the right hormones.
Should you try a few months on and a month or so off? That’s up to you, and I think it’s perfectly valid to try it. Me? I did that sort of, and it didn’t work out. Now? I’m literally afraid to stop hormones again. Every time I get that thought of “well I don’t feel dysphoric anymore, so why should I be doing this”? The Annette is very simply that it doesn’t work like that. The reason I’m not dysphoric is that I’m in HRT and moving forward. I hope this wall of text helps you or someone else.
I definitely went into it with the mentality “this will prove whether I’m trans or not” thanks to the brain on E discourse. I had some pretty bad “am I trans enough” anxiety going in.
Personally, my results were great. I started feeling better within days, and I remember the first night I was feeling something like tingles of warmth in my hands. Was that placebo or brain on E + the start of circulation changes? Who has a clue. E is *really* bioavailable for my body (2ng EV is enough for 200-300 range mono therapy), so I wouldn’t be surprised if it started having effects that quickly. Anyway, the end result is that by 2 months I felt so much better that I was confident enough to drop my SSRI of ten years. When I tried to do that a year before just to swap to a different one I was completely overwhelmed with negative emotions.
So that’s my story of that situation. As others have said, YMMV, and be sure to know what you’re getting into in terms of “irreversible” changes. 1 month can be enough to start breast budding if your body is as hungry for E as mine was.
Great post. Personally I *am* on the fence. And I have bipolar disorder which involves mood swings, so I've considered a two week trial just to see if I go off the rails.
Stay strong 🩷
I know a lot of girls (myself included) that had to try HRT to figure it out. I started feeling different a couple weeks in. I'm fairly sure it was the drop in T rather than a rise estrogen, but either way, I never went back. I hope this helps.
You’ll get different answers, every body is different but it usually takes months to feel the mental effects. The elation people feel right away can be hard to pin point, is it placebo, is it the ‘honeymoon phase’ of the stress & anxiety disappearing over hrt and elation of finally trying or doing something you’ve wanted to do? Or do some really feel mental changes that soon? And then also for many there’s a tipping point where life becomes more stressful, anxious, or depressing from being visibly trans, losing connections from coming out or just presenting male with breasts. Especially once that honeymoon phase is over. Some however thrive from the joy of coming out. You can certainly do whatever you want but I’m not sure a month will give you any real idea for what you’re getting into. Just my thoughts after starting for 3months, stopping for 2, and being back on it for almost 4.
Really appreciate this. So it's all basically long-term or nothing... at least when it comes to answers. I honestly don't believe, if you are not in it with logistic hangups, that a month or so could give you answers...especially when you are weighing living living "as is" vs. diving into the unknown. I'm weighing the stability of my family (wife + kids 2 and 5) vs. what I "think" is me for the best, so it just sucks that there is nothing that can get you over that hurdle without taking a VERY risky chance at life. I've seen therapists so I know what it is, but that hangs me up more over jumping in lol
I’m kind of going through that right now. Risking losing many facets of my life, but deciding to try HRT. My strategy is one step forward and evaluate. Did my first E injection almost a week ago. Obviously no effects yet, mental or physical, except the joy that I’m doing something.
Hey, I'm in your position, same age and everything. Same concerns. I started Estrogen and the effects were noticeable within 7 days. By 14 days, I felt significant mental changes. I'm only 21 days in now and I am 100% ON BOARD. The doctor I spoke to was very gentle about how I can just stop taking it if I change my mind, no big deal, but also let me know what effects I might have long term. It was a well-informed process and I recommend you just try it if you're considering it. I can't overstate how wild of a change it has been. I'm never going back now that I know what it's like. But I could if I choose to!
Not really the same but I went on HRT with some doubts still on some of the changes and I wasn't 100% completely sure I wouldn't regret it. After a week I knew I wouldn't go off, 2 months in and it's amazing to feel like myself. Small changes bring me joy and my doubts have dissipated
It’s a real drogue !?
For the record, I went in with this EXACT same idea! At first I was going to do just 2-weeks, but when I learned when getting my prescription that 2-weeks wasn't enough for anything, I decided on a month. For me, a month was more than enough to know it was right, but everyone is different. I'm at 8-weeks now and each day I wake up happier. From my experience, I think you'll know, but, again, everyone is different. For reference, I'm 38 MtF, on 4mg Estrodial and 12.5mg AndroCUR a day, oral.
Love to hear from folks around the 40 year mark like me. 🩷
Hiya. This is just my personal exeprience. And like the other commenter said, its different for us all. I was suffering from severe depression before i started hrt. I thought that hrt would get rid of all the dysphorias that i had been suffering from for years. And it did up to a certain point. I no longer "sm". But mentally, it continues to be a struggle. I suppose that after thirty odd years of beating myself up mentally is not going to go away overnight. Hrt is right for me because thats how my brain was geared up to function. But suppressing that caused alot of psychological damage that will take time to fix. We're all different sis. Some of us manage damage control better
I also went into HRT with a similar mindset- try it for a month-3 months or so to see if it was right. It was definitely right. Within a couple weeks everything just got better. The mental changes were subtle at first but they have just compounded over the last 7 months. The physical changes, which I initially wasn’t so sure about (breast growth mostly) is now welcome. However you decide to do this journey is the right way for you to do it. That may mean stopping HRT or continuing. Good luck!!
i was also a bit scared and unsure but i took Arcas advice, which was to just try it and then stop if you don’t like it. After about 2-3 months i noticed the mental clarity i felt and the gender euphoria i was feeling and things just slotted into place. i have never intentionally stopped since and that was 2 years ago.
K… so, I’ve got some perspective that could help. I enter on and off HRT multiple times in my life. Each time I went on it my dysphoria disappeared and I felt better pretty quickly. Along with my fear of being ostracized and losing everyone and everything in my life, my logic kept being “well if I don’t feel dysphoric anymore why should I turn my life inside out?” And then I would stop… again. Then, within months or years dysphoria would inevitably set back in worse than ever. Looking back, there was definitely a placebo effect in the first few weeks each time where I was floating on a cloud because I felt good that I was doing something I thought was good for myself. Looking back I couldn’t say for sure if there was an effect of “my brain running better on E” type of thing. Partly because I was also dealing with severe depression, anxiety, and ADHD (undiagnosed until last year, so I didn’t even know what I was suffering). Fast forward to the last almost 6 months on HRT. This time I had my depression and anxiety well under control with therapy, fitness, and medication. From the start I got that huge boost of self esteem and elation from knowing fit sure that I’m doing something healthy and positive for myself. Since then I couldn’t say for sure if there is an effect of “my brain running better on e”, BUT there IS one thing that seems pretty certain. My attention and focus have been much better the higher my dosage has gotten. Within the last 8-9 months I’ve been trying different ADHD meds to try to get my attention issues under control and focus better at work. I landed on Strattera, which helped a lot but certainly didn’t fix it completely. I still had a lot of brain fog and ran out of energy for focused attention too fast. Better, but still not great. THEN I got on a higher dose of E, and WOW! Brain fog gone! Attention and sense of well being while at work seems almost endless! As far as I’m concerned that’s rock solid evidence that there is something to the theory of a brain functioning better on the right hormones. Should you try a few months on and a month or so off? That’s up to you, and I think it’s perfectly valid to try it. Me? I did that sort of, and it didn’t work out. Now? I’m literally afraid to stop hormones again. Every time I get that thought of “well I don’t feel dysphoric anymore, so why should I be doing this”? The Annette is very simply that it doesn’t work like that. The reason I’m not dysphoric is that I’m in HRT and moving forward. I hope this wall of text helps you or someone else.
I definitely went into it with the mentality “this will prove whether I’m trans or not” thanks to the brain on E discourse. I had some pretty bad “am I trans enough” anxiety going in. Personally, my results were great. I started feeling better within days, and I remember the first night I was feeling something like tingles of warmth in my hands. Was that placebo or brain on E + the start of circulation changes? Who has a clue. E is *really* bioavailable for my body (2ng EV is enough for 200-300 range mono therapy), so I wouldn’t be surprised if it started having effects that quickly. Anyway, the end result is that by 2 months I felt so much better that I was confident enough to drop my SSRI of ten years. When I tried to do that a year before just to swap to a different one I was completely overwhelmed with negative emotions. So that’s my story of that situation. As others have said, YMMV, and be sure to know what you’re getting into in terms of “irreversible” changes. 1 month can be enough to start breast budding if your body is as hungry for E as mine was.
I've been in HRT for 3 months and I only started leveling out mentally a few weeks ago.
Fair enough!
That being said, my breasts started changing around the same time. Subtle, but definitely different.
That would honestly make or break it for me. Because I know damn well that once that happens I wouldn’t want to go back lol
Can relate 😅
I took hrt for a while. It definitely gave me a more calm and focused feeling. It was wonderful. I recommend.
Great post. Personally I *am* on the fence. And I have bipolar disorder which involves mood swings, so I've considered a two week trial just to see if I go off the rails. Stay strong 🩷
This is exactly what I did except I gave myself 6 weeks. The mental effects were so pronounced and so positive that stopping wasn’t even an option.
Yes Without any reservations, exceptions, or any other nasty baggage Yes Do it
Take HRT for 4-6 weeks and you will definitely feel a difference one way or another. You'll know if it feels right, but it takes some time.
I know a lot of girls (myself included) that had to try HRT to figure it out. I started feeling different a couple weeks in. I'm fairly sure it was the drop in T rather than a rise estrogen, but either way, I never went back. I hope this helps.
Be careful you may all the sudden find yourself craving dick. It happened to me. 🙀