this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2026
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Transfem
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also probably depends on route of administration and dose - injecting sufficient doses of EV had me feeling amazing around day 3 when the estrogen seemed to turn off testosterone production for me.
Some girls take months to see lowered testosterone and are kept on low doses of oral estrogen, which just isn't going to have the same impact mentally.
For me the libido basically dropped off after a few days (initial sudden T spike which caused libido to rise due to the sudden influx of E, then it calmed down).
Then mentally I started feeling clearer in the first month or so, a bit like I no longer laughed halfassedly when I did, and more 3/4assedly genuine, rising upward with time.
Skin started feeling softer a month after start.
Buds came in the second month.
Hairline started getting back to normal five months in, I think?
Boobs around six months and growing. And now it's currently just continuing fat redistribution.
Body hair thinning by eight months. :3
I found estrogen actually increased my horniness, but it was a very different kind of horniness than testosterone libido (which felt "wrong" to me, and which I hated so much I wondered if I was asexual or meant to be asexual).
I sort of wish it had reduced my libido, but alas. At least now my sexuality feels more right, and it's probably good that I didn't completely lose libido - my partner would probably not be happy about that.
Yeah, softer skin and breast buds started early for me. My hairline is still cursed IMO, but it's not that bad - I just don't like the way it looks and I wonder if it will ever be better.
I would say yeah, around 6 - 8 months my boobs were noticeable and probably were helping me pass around that point.
The effects vary depending on genetics, dose, route, etc. such that we do notice lots of similar patterns but with lots of variance.
I feel bad for the girls who take oral estrogen, though - I feel like it just does not feminize as well as other routes (particularly compared to injections).
Like instead of a "turn neck around for hottie and want to fuck" horniness, it being more of a "want to relax, cuddle and attach" horninesss, right? At least, that's my experience.
I take spray in combination with antiboyotic injections, so idk how that is. But for me it's helped, currently on size 85C.
I do oral E and the changes came on hard and fast for me. Libido tanked amost instantly, and when I finally experienced girl horny, it was so foreign, I didn't eve realize I was horny ๐. I'm about 5 months in, and I'm starting to go out without my breast forms because my boobs are getting big enough to make my bras too tight with them. I've upped my dose twice from 2mg to 4 and then to 6 about a couple weeks ago and each increase has come with a massive emotional spike that lasted a few days. The only other change I've noticed that I'm definitley not imagining is muscle atrophy. Every week or two my thighs or shoulders will start screaming like I ran a 10k with no prep, but I'm just sitting around reading ๐ญ
that's so great - it's entirely possible my bias against oral E is misguided; it's the most common route of administration, and while most girls I see on oral E don't have great feminization, there was one girl I knew who only took oral and she was passing and had decent breast-growth (I just tended to see her as the exception to the rule).
I wish I had muscle atrophy - I'm sure it's happened to some extent in the past two years, but my forearms, calves, shoulders, neck, etc. all still look way too muscular to me. My partner says my arms aren't muscular at all, but she admits my calves do look fit still (they've lost some muscle, but not nearly as much as I would prefer).
Anyway, so glad to hear oral E is working for you and having good effects!
I think the main reason I'm getting so much pain from it is because of the rate I'm losing muscle. I wasn't ripped as a guy, but I lift appliances regularly at work, so my thighs and glutes were toned as hell if not bulky.
Only reason I went with oral over injections is because I can't get it local, so it would still be covered by public heathcare, but I'd have to pay shipping, and I don't with pills. Always comes down to money with people doesn't it ๐
I definitely wasn't ripped, but I might also just be really sensitive to any perceived muscle tone ๐
I think I'm definitely weaker, I can't lift as much as before (I never measured how much I could lift before, I just notice my capacity seems reduced), and my endurance is worse (I can't hold a heavy object for as long as before). I also notice sometimes my biceps feel really shredded after I try to carry too many groceries at once (though mostly I've just learned to take more trips rather than overload my arms).
But I would imagine if I had a job with manual labor I would have a much greater sense of my body's weakening ... that's really interesting.
This study of US Air Force service members who started HRT found that trans women lost their pre-HRT advantages over cis women in push-ups and sit-ups within 2 years of HRT, and I've passed my 2-year mark, so I would like to think I too should be weaker overall, but I mostly just feel disappointed with my muscle loss - I would like to see more, lol.
And yeah, rough re being forced to take oral because they would force you to pay shipping ... since you're mentioning public healthcare I assume you're in Europe and not the US - here in the US injections are more common and more accessible ... it's really sad to hear how behind Europe is in terms of healthcare practices. Gatekeeping is more common there (compared to the adoption of informed consent in the US), and injections are not really supported by the public healthcare (which for most people just means it's not an option at all).
At least you do have oral through public healthcare, though.
I've heard sublingual absorption is better and you can somewhat reduce the burden on your liver that way - but it might also make your metabolism of the drug more spikey (though oral is super spikey no matter what as I understand).
I wish the better alternatives were more common. Trans healthcare really needs improvement across the board, but esp. in places like Europe where best practices have already moved on and they're stuck in older ways.