I’m trans femme, considering hrt. By a long way, most reports of what it’s like say: within the first week I felt different emotionally /in my mind. Feelings seem to vary from calmer, to the author feeling more herself. This initial euphoric feeling is reported to fade over time, usually.
I just wondered how it would feel for a cis man if he were to take it for a week. I understand that if you stopped after a week there would not be any long term effects at all. So I’d be surprised if it hadn’t been tried!
Why do I wonder this? I suppose I’m wondering if it feels good for everyone. I’m scared of taking it. But I’m scared of living with the constant doubt. Most gender affirming actions I’ve taken have been very helpful, really made me feel more myself. But if hrt makes everyone feel better, at least at first, I wouldn’t be able to know whether it would be right for me by trialling it (and thereby judge whether it might be worth all the downsides that come along with the positives or not).
Any experience shared is v welcome!
Edit: Thanks everyone for interesting info! I wanted to add here at top that in no way am I saying a person’s reaction to hormones has any effect on their gender. I’m not looking to “test” my trans-ness by trying hrt. Just interested to learn more about the range of responses. Many thanks all 🙂
Every CIS man I know reacts to Estrogen like it’s radioactive. The couple times I jokingly offered them some they recoiled like I pulled a knife on them. I’m not sure how someone would test that ethically.
That being said, not every trans woman has a euphoric reaction to estrogen, either. Hormones and our reactions to them are complicated and individualized. I’m mentioning this because it seems like you’re setting yourself up for a massive dose of imposter syndrome if E doesn’t immediately live up to your expectations.
Your gender is still valid regardless of your body’s reaction to HRT. If you start HRT and realize it’s not for you, that’s fine. HRT doesn’t define your gender.
I semi often offer cis guys a know an E pill, and their reactions are always so funny. Then one time I did this to a friend I was meeting in person for the first time, and he so casually said “sure” took it popped it in his mouth and let it sit there to dissolve like it was nothing. 👀
Did you ask if it tasted like eggs?
What? Is that in the canon? I have never noticed or placed a specific taste when I take mine…
No, it’s a joke about them being an egg.
Oh my gosh!! WOOSH for real. We’ve kind of talked about that. I try not to say anything, but one time he was streaming YouTube in discord and I had to suppress a laugh when I saw his feed. He noticed and literally clocked my ass and knew I was chuckling about all the trans creators he follows.
“Trans creator” is a fun turn of phrase
I have some post somewhere where I said “the closest I’ve seen to godliness is trans joy” or something like that.
The permanent effects of testosterone causing vocal cord changes and hair growth and estrogen causing breast growth certainly means that it’s not something you should just try for fun.
Nice straw man, 1855.
It’s not, the point is that hormones are powerful and you shouldn’t mess around with it unless it’s prescribed for you.
I mean half of cis men are afraid of eating vegetables because they think it will estrogenize them. I would be beyond surprised if any cis men have tried a week of HRT
Closest I can find: supplement huckster/wannabe vampire Bryan Johnson takes 8mg per week of some particular type of “non-feminizing estradiol” which he claims doesn’t affect him in any perceptible way but made rats live 16% longer in some study.
But I just don’t know if we’re gonna be able to track down exactly what we’re looking for. My 2c, everyone I know who takes it had an amazing experience and totally transformed in a positive way, and not just physically. But it is a serious decision, so I get doing as much research as possible first. Wishing you the best of luck!
Thank you
So there isn’t a lot of data on that, but there are many cases of cis women taking testosterone (bodybuilders). The symptoms described in those cases are very similar to untreated biochemical dysphoria in trans women.
My educated but ignorant assumption would be that cis men taking estrogen would be very close to untreated biochemical dysphoria in trans men.
But you have to understand that dysphoria doesn’t need to be biochemical. There are instances when trans women take estrogen and end up feeling terrible and stopping. I’m sure there are trans women who do not have any biochemical imbalance and they would experience the same symptoms.
Also I think I remember reading that estrogen was used to lessen the symptoms of covid in men, but that might have been a cheese dream or something.
Interesting, thanks!
Yes, I understand re biochemical vs gender, good to clarify though, thanks.
I’m a trans woman. My first couple weeks on HRT I was just very tired and emotionally unstable/grumpy. I never really felt euphoria from it. Overall, estrogen has felt better than testosterone did, but that doesn’t need to be the case for someone to be trans femme. I’ve also met trans men that noted the exact same positive effects when they went on testosterone. Everyone is different, and gender isn’t a chemical thing.
Yeah makes sense. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I have a picture of me from day 6 on HRT, and its the first picture in recent memory with a smile that reaches my eyes. However I’m only able to conclude that retroactively. The effects are so small and gradual it was difficult to notice the changes during the first week. I didn’t feel noticeably different until at least the third or fourth week, but even so normal feels like normal.
You sound trans. You should start HRT. I don’t think a limited trial is a good idea. If you’re going to go through the effort to obtain the HRT, you should just start it, with the knowledge that you can stop at any time if it doesn’t feel right for you.
If you really want to know the effects of HRT on cis men, read into history. HRT was a punishment for homosexuality. Alan Turing was notably sentenced to probation and a year of synthetic estrogen injections. I’m sure there are surviving letters from him and men who underwent that if you’re interested in doing research into the topic.
Wow thanks for that history, I had no idea that happened!
I’m not looking for advice on whether I’m trans, thanks, I know I am, but I’m just reading around the subject!
Going to go look up Alan Turing!
I bumped into a video a while back of a cis man taking e for a month, that might answer your question somewhat:
Thank you for this link that was very funny and not at all scientific.
Thank you for this direct link. YouTube pretty much refused to open this until I forced it. Took me 10 minutes of struggle.
Also, I know the guy from this video. Source: Me. I lived in Eugene.
Thanks!
I’ve read that excess testosterone can be converted into estrogen, but I can’t imagine that imbalance would have the same effect as hrt
I don’t know if this is a welcome contribution but I’m afab, and was on t briefly. I had to stop because it made me very sick, and I never experienced euphoria from it. That sucked, and it still sucks. My point is, even after not having a good experience with that hormone, I still desire the changes it can give me. My body not tolerating the hormone doesn’t mean I’m cis, it’s more likely that it means I need a different formulation.
Thanks, and definitely welcome and gratefully received!
And 100% that hormones don’t define gender!
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