Some things from me:
- Early on, darkening of the perineal raphe was quite a surprise (aka the “sack stripe”). It’s not something I’ve seen mentioned in most HRT guides.
- How incredibly unreliable my own perception of how feminine I look is. People were treating me as a woman well before I could see even hints of it in my face.
- It’s nice that women will sit next to me on the train now. As the carriage fills up I quite often find myself in the center of a cluster of women, which is very affirming.
- Makeup areas in bathrooms. I had no idea this was a thing, and they’re great!
The true severity of my fatigue and health problems, with testosterone mostly out of the picture. I was expecting a dip in my stamina, loss of grip strength, a bit more of a struggle moving heavy objects. I wasn’t expecting a POTS diagnosis, and spending whole days in bed if I pushed myself too hard the day before. I’ve experienced orthostatic intolerance and post–exertional malaise since my teens, and for decades dismissed it as “just one of those things”. As it turns out, testosterone was giving me the strength to push through something debilitating, and now I need to take it seriously.
My positive takeaway is the reassurance that transitioning was the right thing to do. Things really suck right now, but I have never once considered detransitioning as a solution.
How are your t levels? It’s quite possible to end up with levels so surpressed they’re lower than the cis female range. Some trans women will take supplemental low dose T for just this reason.
I’m going to give more of an answer than you probably wanted, so the TLDR is that there is a correlation with T, but my T was never below the safe female range.
I was going to quote my labs from 2 months ago, but then I remembered I just had new ones done a few days ago.
In December my T was at 0.6 nmol/L (17.31 ng/dL).
In February, my T is at 16.97 nmol/L (489.45 ng/dL).
My estradiol has plummeted from 1200 to 270, with no change in regimen, but it’s not below the ideal range so I won’t consider it relevant here.
The change between these tests is that I was taken off CPA and put on 100mg Progesterone with the assurance that T suppression would be similar, but that I may require an increase to 200mg to stay in female range. I was directed to take it orally, but I’m well aware of the popularity of rectal administration and its benefits. I gave that a try when it became clear that progesterone’s metabolites don’t agree with me. I struggled with this method and returned to oral. My doctor said it should be fine, after all.
Regarding my POTS/CFS/dysautonomia or whatever is the right term for the new hell in which I live, I did notice that my days were getting physically easier in recent weeks. Hardly back to peak physical performance, but better. Mentally, it’s the worst I’ve felt since starting HRT at the beginning of 2025. I had actually been saying for a while that this feels like a testosterone–flavoured depression. Looks like I may have been right.
The moral of the story is that mental health is more important to me than physical health. I’m going back to the less awful regimen, and will trust my endocrinologist slightly less now.
This has been a big concern of mine. My mom has chronic health issues that gives her similar issues, and I already take after her in more ways than I’d like. I worry I’ll inherit these problems if I go on HRT.
👆
Moms side of the family has some hereditary weirdness with regards to similar issues, chronic pain, and rare blood pressure issues that don’t normally get tested for because “haha hysterical woman”. I can get an earlier bead on things than she did (50…) but it doesn’t mean it won’t suck.
Does the misogynistic healthcare bias persist with female doctors, in your experience? My GP/PCP is also a woman in her thirties. I feel so seen when I talk to her, and she’s taking my woes very seriously, referring me for all sorts of tests and working through different drugs to find what works best. Seeing her always gives me a boost of optimism because it feels like I have someone powerful on my side.
I don’t know, sorry 🫤 I’m still very much closeted until i can get some distance between me and Ohio, and possibly a new government, out of my own paranoia.
That and i haven’t seen a doctor in close to a decade 😅
My moms case is a lot of military docs (tricare) so YMMV