First Week on Hormone Replacement Therapy (MtF)

Are you a part of the transgender community thinking of starting Hormone Replacement Therapy, also known as HRT?

Are you not a part of the community but just curious about a loved one? Or are you currently questioning your identity, trying to navigate through your disconnect, and want to learn more about the transitioning process? Well, you've come to the right place because, in my blogs, I'll be posting all of the changes I experience as I transition into the dream woman I have always dreamed of becoming on Hormone Replacement Therapy!

Indescribable Sense of Euphoria

On Tuesday, June 28th, 2022, I took my first dose of HRT, and ever since, I've never been happier and more at peace in my life. All of the self-doubts from the opinions of the loved ones around me, went down the toilet when I took my first dose that day. All of the fighting, the confusion, perseverance, and the hope of finding and accepting my identity, were finally validated. I remember shortly after taking my first dose, I felt this sense of euphoria rush through my body, a feeling I've never felt so strongly before. It felt like I was high on life, and I remember just being completely at a loss of words when this happened because from all the videos I've watched and all of the research I've done about HRT, I've never come across this one before.

Over the span of the next week, I've noticed both physical and mental changes, making sure I logged them down on a day-by-day basis. Although I knew I was obviously not going to experience major results from HRT in just only a week, such as a breast growth and body fat redistribution, I was shocked to see the changes that I did notice in just the first couple of days after starting.

Before diving right into the changes I've experienced, I do want to mention that everything I talk about in this post is just from my personal experiences, and in no way am I trying to act as a therapist or doctor.

What is HRT?

So now let's dive right into the juicy part! Firstly, for those that have never heard of HRT before, it's basically a set of medications one takes to get into their desired gender through redistributions of the testosterone and estrogen levels in the body. HRT stands for Hormone Replacement Therapy, and the medication a trans woman takes, consists of a testosterone blocker and a dose of estrogen. I currently take a 50mg pill of a testosterone blocker called Spironolactone which I take twice daily, along with a 1mg sublingual pill of Estrogen called Estradiol, which I leave under my tongue, twice daily as well.

The Changes

The biggest change I've noticed in the first few days of starting HRT, and that I've noticed immediately after, was from the testosterone blocker, Spironolactone. I took my first dose of the testosterone blocker in the morning of that Tuesday, before starting my Estrogen medication later that night. I remember shortly after taking my first dose of the testosterone blocker that morning, I was walking to the train stop to go to school when I noticed my sex drive became nonexistent. I no longer felt that strong sex drive that ran me into a wall every time. Before taking the testosterone blocker, I had this sex drive that was different from the other guys around me. While the other guys around me would always talk about "hot" girls and try to talk to them, I was secretly crying inside, feeling attracted to those guys saying this instead. Because of this strong sex drive, I often socially withdrew myself from people, to save myself from those feelings of sadness. But after taking my first dose of the testosterone blocker, I no longer felt those feelings so strongly anymore and it felt like a brick was taken off my shoulder. I know, I didn't care so much about having a love life at the moment, which is perfect for where I'm at in life right now.

On June 30th, 2022, on Day 2 of starting HRT, I noticed my appetite got smaller and I lost a few pounds. I usually eat one big meal a day but I remember this time, I could only eat half as much as I usually do. That night, I measured myself on the scale and noticed I'd dropped from a little over 170 to 165lbs. Over the next couple of days, I noticed that I would get full much faster from food, and would prefer snacks over meals. On Day 3, I noticed that my bladder got smaller. Usually, when I need to go to the bathroom, I need to go to the bathroom! However, on Day 3, I noticed I could control it a lot better. Day 4 is when I started noticing changes in my skin. My skin had become softer and also noticed it had this glow to it. That assumption was soon confirmed the next day when I asked a friend if she noticed any physical changes in me, and that's when she told me that she had noticed a glow in my skin. On Day 5, I noticed that I started feeling more tired than usual, but over time, this went away. On Day 6, I noticed I got a little weaker. I had gone grocery shopping that day, and when I went to carry my groceries upstairs, I noticed I couldn't lift as many bags as I normally could. Lastly, on Day 7, I noticed that I started to lose muscle mass. I remember looking into the mirror and noticing my shoulders starting to become less defined. Back in high school, I used to lift a bit and the body I developed from it started to slowly fade away on HRT. Some would see this as regrettable, but I see this as incredible!

Stay Tuned For Future Updates

That concludes all of the changes I've experienced in my 1st Week of Hormone Replacement Therapy, and as the days go by, the more I will look and feel like the dream woman I've always wanted to be. Thank you all for reading my first blog post about my 1st Week on Hormone Replacement Therapy, and I'm beyond thrilled to go through this journey with you! My next blog post "Breast Growth on HRT" will be coming out later this week so make sure to stay tuned! See you all tomorrow!