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 🙂
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!