[Elissa-FinallyAChick]

Hello everyone.
Elissa here.
Been a while since I last posted.
Some update. Made some important decisions.

I continued my transition without synthetic HRT. I just didn’t like the side-effects and the longterm health risks. I am continueing my transition with herbal HRT.

Here is what I take :

1000 mg of Pueraria Mirifica from the Biovea brand daily 

500 mg of Black Cohosh of the Puritan’s Pride brand daily 

2 capsules of Menohop, Metagenics, a pharmaceutical grade herbal brand of standardized hops extract and standardized soy extract in one. It’s very concentrated and very potent. The bio-active molecules have been extracted from the hops and soy plants and been brought together for maximum estrogenic activity.

I have been very sceptical about herbal HRT in the past but I made the switch and feel a lot better on my new regimen than on the old one.

Pharma HRT had too many side-effects for me. 
I feel better on herbal HRT and I have been seeing great results since I started the switch.

I was on pharma HRT for almost 3 years and have been on phyto HRT for almost 3 months now.

I am not detransitioning, just to clarify, I’m still crazily happy to live as a female. I am female, always been and the source of my HRT doesn’t make me more or less of a woman.

I am very happy with the decisions that I took.

I have ultimately decided against SRS. I’m staying non-op. 
I consider myself a non-op trans woman. I have had in depth discussions with various SRS surgeons and where SRS is now is not what I want. The surgical techniques are not advanced enough for my liking.

I am going to get FFS surgery in the near future. This in combination with my herbal regimen should guarantee me that I keep my passability as a woman.

In my social life everything is going well as well as in my professional life.
I’m at a point where I wanted to be.
I feel elated, relaxed. 

The FFS procedures that I’m having done are : rhinoplasty and brow ridge correction. 
For the rest everything is perfectly within female range. Even my nose and brow ridge are not bad but they bother me.

For a long time I felt forced to undergo SRS. Now I realise it doesn’t make me less of a woman for not having it. 
Gigi Gorgeous also recently came out for her decision to be a non-op trans woman.

In general, there is too much unhappiness in post-operative trans women and in those who use synthetic hormones.

People who have socially transitioned and use herbal hormones are generally more likely to experience less side-effects and more happiness.

None of the choices synthetic - herbal is more valid than the other. This is just my finding.

Herbal HRT at a relatively high dose is keeping my gender dysphoria under control together with social transition and electrolysis.

I feel balanced, finally.

I will keep you all updated.

I think it is important to share my non-standard journey of transition with others so that more than one option is lighted.

As a binary transsexual woman I felt shameful for not wanting SRS for a long time. Now I don’t feel that shame anymore. Transition is about happiness within your own body. 
Getting to live as my true self ( a woman ) every day and only chosing the procedures that I want is what makes me happy.
Transition should be customized, not defaulted.

I will update regularly.
Love to all.

Hugs,
Elissa