I am on female hormones and on anti-androgens .
I am on 4 mg of Estrofem and on 100 mg of Spironolactone .
Your questions :
Depression ?
Yes , I have been moody and cry easily on estrogen BUT I am happy with the physical changes , although small ones , that already occured so that keeps me going . I thought about going on Pueraria Mirifica but I am too negative about alternative approaches so I'm going to stay on regular hormones . I noticed that swallowing them makes my mood more stable than dissolving the estrogen which caused fluctuations . My body got familiar with the new hormones I guess .
Side effects ?
From estrogen : lactating ( some experience it , some don't ) . From Spironolactone : peeing a lot !
Noticeable to others ?
Not yet except for my skin that is very clear and smooth now and my mood that affects people around me when I'm in a bad mood .
Expectations ? I am building at a physical transition . No plan to socially transition for the first coming year . Physically my expectations are there : I want at least a very androgynous face in a little while , I expect my butt growing in a female direction , my hips gaining a lot of fat and I want my hair to gain a more feminin structure and of course : boobs ! At least a big A-cup . I'm not expecting DD's since my mother has only big B-cups .
My gender identity : genderqueer but significantly more towards feminin .
Urge to crossdress ?
I wouldn't call it crossdressing in my case . The urge to present myself as who I really am is more appropriate .
My sexual feelings / orientation ?
I became more pan sexual by going on hormones . I have however only strong thoughts about romance with guys . Alphamales . Thoughts that I want to mother their child , to be in a steady and long lasting relationship with them . Concerning the sexual part : for sexy time I really have to force myself to be able to cum . It should be noted that I have always been a " mental " person and not a " visual " person . My sexual thoughts are nastier now however . I fantasize about being dominated and being repressed by a typical 100% straight alphamale who abuses me just for his pleasure . I want to be his meaningless toy to say so . I guess I became even more submissive than I already was .
Body image and sensation :
I love the sensation that goes through my sore nipples . The little vibrations that spread themselves throughout the breast area . Delicious ! I am very happy with my lactation . It makes me feel truly feminin . The feeling that I can nurture a man with it . The thought that I am being programmed to receive a man in my body , a real alphamale hmmm ..
Personally and honestly I wouldn't like it if my guy would tell me he enjoys crossdressing and wants boobs . I couldn't feel his same pure masculinity anymore when he would be penetrating me . I don't know how your wife would feel about this however , since everyone is different .
I also notice that politically / socially I'm changing . Even though my sexual thoughts towards guys are of a submissive kind , I can react very misandristic and very feministic since I'm on hormones . Wat I also feel is that I'm growing Trutrans behavior .
I must say that I already was as feminin as one could be in thought patterns . I am a pro in reading people ,... Things guys just can't in most cases .
My genital dysphoria increased even more since starting hormone therapy . My view about my penis changed negatively . When a guy would tell me he wants to do this or that to my penis but claims to be straight I would see him as a closeted gay guy for wanting my penis . I would be grossed out by him usually and tell him that we can be friends but nothing more . I just can't do anything with a guy who is bi to the slightest degree or who would want to do something to me that is not heteronormative . I need to be a million percent sure that he sees me fully as female. I unfortunately have the image that guys , usually chasers , who want to touch my penis are gay . I cover it with a fake vagina when having intercourse. So , long story short : hormones triggered my desire to have GRS even stronger than it already was.
I am going from tablets to patches . That because there is less risk for my liver and blood cloths and the estrogen levels tend to fluctuate less when being on patches . I must note that it is very smart to add an anti-androgen like Spironolactone , Androcur or Finasteride to your hormone regimen , since estrogen alone will have a very hard time competing with your testosterone .
If you want Pueraria Mirifica , take Saw Palmetto with it and collagen , vitamin B and follic acide . I got the answer from a Thai herbalist that this assists the Pueraria significantly . However , I'm only going to use the spray since I'm staying on regular hormones . Buy Pueraria from Thai manufacturers themselves instead of Americans . At least then you will know you have the real deal .
Concerning estrogen : steer away from Ethinyl Estradiol and Premarin . Both are known for their increased dangers . I saw you wanted to use synthetic hormones . Don't . Go for bio-identical estrogen . If you can afford you can choose estrogen implants . Usually there is no need for an additional anti-androgen since estrogen levels are high enough to fight testosterone when using implants . Implants are expensive but have a high efficacy and you only have to have them replaced once every 4 or 6 months . Some even last 8 months and I've heard from someone that had implants that lasted up to 12 months . This way you could hide it easier for your wife . A lot of biological males have decreasing testosterone levels when they grow older . You could tell her that your natural estrogen took over from your low testosterone levels . Best is to tell her what your intentions are but not everyone can do so because of an unsupportive environment . It's your body so do what you want , not what your environment wants . My mother is not supportive either and she recently found out I'm on hormones . She knows that I will continue taking them . She thinks my Estrofem are birth control pills however . Result stays the same : she knows I'm on hormones and didn't try to stop me . My dad knows I'm very feminin but probably thinks I'm gay instead of trans . He will be surprised when he knows that his supposed son is his transsexual daughter . My mother told him once a few months ago that I wanted to be a girl but he never said something about it so guess he just ignored it and thinks that I'm gay instead of trans . My brother knows that I'm trans but to him a trans girl is just a gay dude with boobs . My family is transphobic and uneducated about transgenderism . They are very homophobic so they connect their homophobia to transgenderism . My mother knows I'm going to fully transition . I tell her every day over and over again and I'm overloading her with trans stuff . I saw a therapist one session and my mother paid for it , knowing very well what the therapist was specializing in ( gender matter ) , but we went there with different goals . I went there with the goal to guide me and my family throughout the transition . My mother however wanted the therapist to apply conversion therapy . My mother believes that every transgender is like Walt Heyer and that we all suffer from mental disorders while I'm completely sane and able to make serious decisions . Even my therapist told her I had a sane mind and that you cannot change one's gender . So she stopped paying for it because the therapist stood by me and not by her . So I ended up taking my own transition in my own hands . I couldn't be without the right hormones any longer . So I bought from Inhouse Pharmacy and see a local endocrinologist who is the father of a friend of mine . He couldn't provide me hormone prescriptions since my mother didn't know at that time that I was going to take hormones and in that way it would show up on our health insurance . So I see him to coach me a bit but I have to buy my own " candy " . The moral of the story is : try to find out if your wife is supportive in this . If she isn't you might want to make a choice between her and your body or choose to lie to her about it . It's your life , your body ! Cisgenders have their gender , same way we have the right to express ours being trans people ! Don't choose for someone else , choose for yourself ! If she really and truly loves you she SHOULD accept you as you are . Don't go for less than that . I will probably move out here ASAP . Meanwhile I can medically transition at my own pace and when my breasts grow too big I can always buy a binder . Facial changes are slow and minor , subtle so I would get away with telling my environment I use special creams for my skin .
Good luck on your journey ! See a therapist if you can and want to .
This is a very lovely journey for girls like us and the benefits outweigh the losses !
I must honestly say that I'm glad changes are gradual since having a new body and face can be a bit scary at first . I put a picture from myself with it full en femme . It's a picture from two days ago since all the other were old outdated ones from two years ago . If you compare you can see the difference in my skin . The hair is a wig .
Hugs ,
Elissa