TransLife.net Transgender 101 - Hormones

Good Things:	Bad Things:

Mental and Emotional Contentment	Increased Risk of Breast Cancer
Breast Development	Increased Risk of Blood Clotting
Change in body hair growth patterns	(particularly in the legs)
(Slowing, thinning, may stop in some areas)	Infertility after six months
Redistribution of body fat to feminine areas	Risk of dehydration and Anemia
Softening of the skin	Hard on the Liver and Kidneys
Lowered libido or sex drive (good or bad)	Lowered libido or sex drive
Softening or Rounding of the facial features	Potential decrease in metabolism
Slowing or stopping of male pattern baldness
Decrease in upper body strength	Long Term Risks:
atrophy of genitalia
	Risk of Osteoporosis
Female Hormones will NOT:	With combination HRT*:
	Risk of Dementia
Change voice pitch	Risk of Alzheimers
Affect facial, head, or pubic hair	Heart Attack
Change bone structure	Stroke

Typically, the effects of hormones are more pronounced the closer the person is to puberty. Breast Growth doesn't have a "formula" for growth expectation. The average growth is one to two cups smaller than a close female relative. However, they affect each person differently. The italicized points are permanent. Also, the longer the Hormone replacement continues, the more permanent the effects are going to be.

Hormones typically take two years to take full effects. Patience is pretty much a requirement. Changes will not happen overnight. Many MTFs report dissapointment in breast growth. There are several methods for taking female hormones. The most common and cheapest is the pill form. Others include injections and transdermal patches. No form will yeild better or superior results. However, injectibles sometimes have slightly faster results. The transdermal method, though a little more expensive, is the safest method. If you have kidney or liver problems, definitely consider that.

Along with estrogen, an anti-androgen is usually prescribed as well. Spironolactone, Proscar, and Androcur are some examples. Spironolactone is the most common and is the cheapest. Sometimes progestins are also prescribed if development is slow. However, the prescibing of progestins has decreased in the past years. Studies have shown that often they do more harm than good. Progestins are the "PMS" hormone and often cause emotional problems.

One very important point is hormones affect the body. The person inside does not change. Some report sexual orientation changing, but not all. The emotional and mental contentment listed only refers to peace of mind, kind of a relief that the testosterone is no longer doing "damage". Personality, interests, and such are not affected. So, if your friends are worried, definitely reassure them. You will still be you.

*combination HRT is estrogen combined with a progestin