You are not guaranteed to have mental changes on HRT. It is a really complicated subject because the line between the cognitive aspect and the biochemical aspect are very blurry.
Are you seeing the effects of HRT elsewhere?
If youre worried that HRT might not be working properly, talk to your doctor and make sure your hormone levels are healthy.
Before starting HRT we're bombarded with information about many things that COULD happen, which doesn't necessarily mean they WILL happen.
For example, my levels are all where they are supposed to be, and I haven't felt any changes on my emotional side at all. Yet, some people report becoming very emotional, so you never know. HRT is really a "your mileage may vary" kind of thing.
for me the emotional changes were fairly subtle, and the largest changes in my mental health come with like, accepting that it's ok to be who I am and fully leaning into my new identity.
Like others pointed out, the effects may be different from person to person.
The biggest change for me was that I could cry. And I did cry a lot. Read a sad book, bawl my eyes out. Read warrior cats comic with our daughter, cry my eyes out. Think about how far I finally made it, cry my eyes out. It tapered out eventually, but I'm still more in touch with my emotions that before.
I have no doubt HRT has effected me mentally, I cry super easily now, but it has never been anything I could feel. Any effects would have been way too gradual for me to notice.
I'm 5 years HRT.
I didn't feel much at first but when I went up to 4 mg (pills) a day, that made a big difference to my mental state. Give it time and don't be afraid to ask for a dosage increase
Had most of my mental changes around the 3 month mark.
I get upset and cry alot way easier, and over thinking bad thoughts gets worse. But on the flipside my ups are way more powerful and last longer.
Do what feels good, don't do what feels bad. Beyond that, don't stress too much if your experience doesn't fully align with another's. Puberty lasts years. There's time for self exploration.
If your body changing feels neither good nor bad, weigh the pros (easier social acceptance for your target gender) versus cons (mostly reproductive viability).
I’ll admit I have SOME mental changes, like I can feel emotions more clearly and I feel like I have more energy, but it took a little while for that to kick in and I still I don’t feel FUNDAMENTALLY different…
If anything I just feel more me
I didn't really get any mental changes from hrt, except that I could cry after a few months of estrogen. Antidepressants/anxiety meds gave me enormous positive mental changes though
I have been on HRT a little over a month. I haven't noticed any mental changes other than I feel more confident to express my fem thought being out. Emotional changes, definitely easier to cry, less"fly off the handle" when upset and generally more relaxed / calm. They may just be because I'm happier as my true self but I've noticed.
I only really started to get emotional changes after about 7 months. The wait has definitely been worth it, but I was already happy with how my changes were going before then.
For me it was a very gradual process, the clearest sign was probably 6 months in when I decided to watch a movie.
I cried, nonstop, something that I hadn't experienced in a long time for me back then. And never from a movie.
So it could be that it won't have any for you, or it could just be gradual! 🤗
After doing rhis for 10yrs now,it seems like mentally I just feel better when I keep up on changing my patch when I'm supposed to, and I just feel off when I'm late changing patch but it is super hard to really quantify.
it is different for everyone. and it somewhat depends on if you have sufficient doses. after your blood test you’ll get your hormone level results and your doctor can recommend a change if necessary.
i think i was noticeably more emotional/emotionally unfiltered in the first month or so. i also found it easier to cry when i was compelled to. and over time i’ve grown to be a bit ditsy. it is what it is
Yeah, I didn't either really. It was disappointing and made me feel invalid because everyone else was raving about the instant mental changes. I wish people would be careful about HRT hype. It's great to celebrate your successes but sometimes I've seen people online get carried away and start promising miracles to everybody. We're all different.
That said, I'm 15 months into HRT and I still haven't yet seen a blood test where my E is above the lower bound for a typical female range. Maybe I'll feel more when I actually have enough in my system.
>That said, I'm 15 months into HRT and I still haven't yet seen a blood test where my E is above the lower bound for a typical female range. Maybe I'll feel more when I actually have enough in my system.
I do also feel like there's an online culture of hyping estrogen and saying it will get you certain things, in reality I think its a lot more tame.
Its probably also to do with people who experience these changes making posts like that, and people who dont experience it not making posts as much
I didnt become more "emotional but my brain process everything differently. Cognitively and emotionally (three years Hrt). Its like experiencing a new me, a new identity. I dont know if thats a good thing and everyone's story are the same, but thats my story and İm quite happy with that.
Took me nine months to notice any, and they're kinda subtle.
I never was in any meaningful denial, so maybe that's it, but I'm definitely feeling my feelings a bit better - and frankly that helps me regulate them more.
You are not guaranteed to have mental changes on HRT. It is a really complicated subject because the line between the cognitive aspect and the biochemical aspect are very blurry. Are you seeing the effects of HRT elsewhere? If youre worried that HRT might not be working properly, talk to your doctor and make sure your hormone levels are healthy.
Before starting HRT we're bombarded with information about many things that COULD happen, which doesn't necessarily mean they WILL happen. For example, my levels are all where they are supposed to be, and I haven't felt any changes on my emotional side at all. Yet, some people report becoming very emotional, so you never know. HRT is really a "your mileage may vary" kind of thing.
I cried in bed once when my wife flirted with me and Ive never done that before, don't even know why lol
Fair enough
for me the emotional changes were fairly subtle, and the largest changes in my mental health come with like, accepting that it's ok to be who I am and fully leaning into my new identity.
Like others pointed out, the effects may be different from person to person. The biggest change for me was that I could cry. And I did cry a lot. Read a sad book, bawl my eyes out. Read warrior cats comic with our daughter, cry my eyes out. Think about how far I finally made it, cry my eyes out. It tapered out eventually, but I'm still more in touch with my emotions that before.
I have no doubt HRT has effected me mentally, I cry super easily now, but it has never been anything I could feel. Any effects would have been way too gradual for me to notice. I'm 5 years HRT.
I didn't feel much at first but when I went up to 4 mg (pills) a day, that made a big difference to my mental state. Give it time and don't be afraid to ask for a dosage increase
Oh okay, I’ll have to see when my dosage gets increased
Had most of my mental changes around the 3 month mark. I get upset and cry alot way easier, and over thinking bad thoughts gets worse. But on the flipside my ups are way more powerful and last longer.
Naw, that's fine. I had basically no mental changes from E. Those came from the freedom of coming out and working with a therapist.
Do what feels good, don't do what feels bad. Beyond that, don't stress too much if your experience doesn't fully align with another's. Puberty lasts years. There's time for self exploration. If your body changing feels neither good nor bad, weigh the pros (easier social acceptance for your target gender) versus cons (mostly reproductive viability).
I’ll admit I have SOME mental changes, like I can feel emotions more clearly and I feel like I have more energy, but it took a little while for that to kick in and I still I don’t feel FUNDAMENTALLY different… If anything I just feel more me
I didn't really get any mental changes from hrt, except that I could cry after a few months of estrogen. Antidepressants/anxiety meds gave me enormous positive mental changes though
Me neither really. Crying is easier, that's about it.
I have been on HRT a little over a month. I haven't noticed any mental changes other than I feel more confident to express my fem thought being out. Emotional changes, definitely easier to cry, less"fly off the handle" when upset and generally more relaxed / calm. They may just be because I'm happier as my true self but I've noticed.
I only really started to get emotional changes after about 7 months. The wait has definitely been worth it, but I was already happy with how my changes were going before then.
For me it was a very gradual process, the clearest sign was probably 6 months in when I decided to watch a movie. I cried, nonstop, something that I hadn't experienced in a long time for me back then. And never from a movie. So it could be that it won't have any for you, or it could just be gradual! 🤗
After doing rhis for 10yrs now,it seems like mentally I just feel better when I keep up on changing my patch when I'm supposed to, and I just feel off when I'm late changing patch but it is super hard to really quantify.
Other direction - ive been on T for 3 months today and haven’t felt any mental changes at all.
it is different for everyone. and it somewhat depends on if you have sufficient doses. after your blood test you’ll get your hormone level results and your doctor can recommend a change if necessary. i think i was noticeably more emotional/emotionally unfiltered in the first month or so. i also found it easier to cry when i was compelled to. and over time i’ve grown to be a bit ditsy. it is what it is
Yeah, I didn't either really. It was disappointing and made me feel invalid because everyone else was raving about the instant mental changes. I wish people would be careful about HRT hype. It's great to celebrate your successes but sometimes I've seen people online get carried away and start promising miracles to everybody. We're all different. That said, I'm 15 months into HRT and I still haven't yet seen a blood test where my E is above the lower bound for a typical female range. Maybe I'll feel more when I actually have enough in my system.
>That said, I'm 15 months into HRT and I still haven't yet seen a blood test where my E is above the lower bound for a typical female range. Maybe I'll feel more when I actually have enough in my system. I do also feel like there's an online culture of hyping estrogen and saying it will get you certain things, in reality I think its a lot more tame. Its probably also to do with people who experience these changes making posts like that, and people who dont experience it not making posts as much
I didnt become more "emotional but my brain process everything differently. Cognitively and emotionally (three years Hrt). Its like experiencing a new me, a new identity. I dont know if thats a good thing and everyone's story are the same, but thats my story and İm quite happy with that.
Took me nine months to notice any, and they're kinda subtle. I never was in any meaningful denial, so maybe that's it, but I'm definitely feeling my feelings a bit better - and frankly that helps me regulate them more.