next stage of the journey...

[joanne-f (imported)]

How are things progressing? What is your body type? Are you very muscular, so the chages will take longer, or are you already more rounded and feminine?

Things are progressing well. I'm quite startled by how quickly things have been changing - noticeable growth in my breasts and around my hips. I wasn't very muscular to begin with and I have an average body type, so maybe I guess the changes have been quite quick to notice because of that. Luckily I'm not tall (only about 5'9) so that may help in transitioning.

So things are fine at the moment. I may have to start wearing a real bra very soon rather than the crop tops I wear.

[joanne-f (imported)]

Well it's been a while since I posted anything in this thread - so I thought I would tell you all how I'm doing.

It's been nearly four weeks now so it's still early days but I'm very happy with the progress I'm making. I'm starting to wear more feminine clothes in public. My breasts, hips and butt are changing shape and I'm slowly getting rid of all the body hair I have. The real problem is my facial hair so i'm thinking about some short term ways to get rid of it for now.

I've got to have a trachea shave at some point as my adams apple is way too prominent...

[Danya (imported)]

Good to hear from you, Joanne, and I'm glad to hear you are happy with your progress. My first outings in feminine clothes in public were very liberating. Please continue to keep us updated as to how you're doing!

[joanne-f (imported)]

One thing I've noticed is that I'm always hungry, though I've been eating lots of fruit and high fibre/low fat foods and stopped eating junk food like chocolate and potato chips. I'm also going for long walks every day. I'm about 75kg at the moment (I don't know what that it is in pounds sorry) and I wouldn't mind getting down to 65-70kg. I've been told that when you take estrogen you can start gaining a lot of weight, so I'm keeping an eye on that.

[joanne-f (imported)]

It's been a while since I posted in this thread. Three days ago I saw my doctor. I walked into town wearing woman's clothing - I got a few odd looks, but it wasn't too bad. I felt really good. My doctor said in three weeks the amount of spironolactone I'm taking will be doubled to 200 mg and I will also be given extra estrogen. With the rate my body is changing I sort of wonder if I need it. My sex drive is now pretty dead as well.

I also told him I wanted to stop smoking, so I was given two weeks worth of nicotine patches and some nicotine gum as well (to take when I really craved a cigarette). Since the government here is actively trying to stop people smoking they subsidise this so it all only cost me $5. As I still had a pack of tobacco I have decided to start using the patches once I have finished the tobacco, which should be in a couple of days now. Wish me luck!

The last couple of days I've just been feeling angry/pissed off for no particular reason. I wonder if this is the hormones doing this. A transwoman I used to know said that every four weeks she got pre-menstral tension. Is this starting to affect me too?

[mrt (imported)]

In my experience we don't give enough credit for how strongly our hormones wire our moods, sexuality etc. Knowing this has saved me from being a total jack ass on more then one occasion. For example I forgot to use my Androgel (When I was still using that) and was being really rude to a very nice lady at work. I KNEW this was dumb and uncalled for. I sat down and thought "Why" and then it dawned on me that I had rushed to the car forgetting the gel.

Anyway, good news that everything is going well. The sex drive thing can be a problem. When you go for labs find out where your Testosterone is and ask the doctor if you can keep it in the upper end of the female range. I think a lot of Transexual women think the goal is to shut off ALL (or at least too much) testosterone and I think this is wrong if you want to have your sexuality (female) intact. Plus I think it does help with mood and other things.

All things in balance!

[EricaAnn (imported)]

Hi joanne-f,

How long have you been on estrogen and what is your current dosage?

Depending on when you started, you may be experiencing the adjustment period that we all go through while your body adjusts from testosterone to estrogen.

I know that adjustment period lasted about 3-4 months for me. You may experience heightened emotions, i.e.; crying easily, depression, etc. and mood swings during this period of time.

Don't be concerned, it's perfectly normal. After this period passes you will settle into a more stable state, though different from the way you felt before about things. Less aggression and more sensitive.

[joanne-f (imported)]

It's almost three months now since I started taking hormones. Basically my doctor has prescribed me Estelle-35ED (which is The Pill). I'm not sure what the levels of hormones are - but it seems to be working well. In a couple of weeks I will be getting more estrogen, but I think this will be something additional to what I'm currently taking.

I know what you mean by having heightened emotions - I read a short story last week and started crying near the end - and it wasn't all that sad. I don't mind that though - it's just the sudden mood swings (like the one I had today) that are annoying.

It's day four now since I gave up smoking, so that's something else that will be affecting me. I feel really sorry for my flatmate... I'm on patches so I'm not craving nicotine, but I still crave sitting down with a cigarette, if that makes any sense.

Mrt - I'll find out from my doctor what my levels of testosterone are - I'll see him again in a couple of weeks and try to follow your suggestion. I had a blood test last week so the current levels of hormones should be fairly accurate to the test.

[joanne-f (imported)]

According to the Estelle packet, I'm taking Cyproterone acetate (2 mg) and Ethinylestradiol (35 micrograms which is either 0.35 or 0.035 mg - someone else can clear that up).

I'm not a chemist so I'm not really sure what they are. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. mrt? do you know?

[Danya (imported)]

According to the Estelle packet, I'm taking Cyproterone acetate (2 mg) and Ethinylestradiol (35 micrograms which is either 0.35 or 0.035 mg - someone else can clear that up).

I'm not a chemist so I'm not really sure what they are. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. mrt? do you know?

Hi joanne-f,

A brand name for Cyproterone acetate is Androcur, an anti-androgen used to block the action of testosterone while simultaneously lowering its production. It is not commercially available in the US but is in much of the rest of the world.

For transsexuals, as I think you know, lowering testosterone means that less estrogen is needed to get the desired feminization. Using less estrogen reduces the risk of side effects, which are less likely anyway in someone your age than for some like me at 56.

I am sure MrT, among others, can talk about ethinylestradiol (a form of estrogen). He has done lots of research on this.

-Danya