HRT Year 2 | A Transition Update

A little over a year ago I published this blog post, detailing my experiences after a year of taking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) as part of my transition. It’s been now over 2 years, so I felt it was time for an update on how this has been going! My last update detailed the major changes that happened that first year, including noticeable changes to my skin, hormonal acne, and multiple facial piercings getting irritated and grumpy from all of this, including my three surface anchors all rejecting. I also discussed the rapid bottom growth that I had, leading me to temporarily retire my VCH out of concerns for migration.

My second year on T has been drastically different. My changes have started to ‘quiet down’ a bit, not necessarily slow down but the changes I had started to become different. In year one I noticed a lot of changes that felt sudden or stark, like the big changes to my skin and acne, the increase in oil and sweat, hair growth, bottom growth, and vocal changes. In this second year, I’ve noticed more body recomposition changes, changes to my face, and just changes that feel more subtle.

One of the biggest things has been getting my acne under control. I’ll be honest, it got so bad that I actually took a 4-month break from taking T. I was getting major cysts all along my jawline onto my neck, and even in my armpits and groin area that were extremely painful, tender, and frustrating. I have always been insecure about acne and the breakouts on my face and body were becoming unbearable, and I just felt so so insecure in my skin. I loved every other change T was giving me, but the acne was deeply affecting my self-confidence and self-worth. After relocating to Seattle, I started working with a new physician, who prescribed me topical tretinoin for my skin, and it is no exaggeration to say this has been a life-changing medication. I’ve heard all the hype for tret in skincare spaces online, but I never knew just how effective it would be. After starting to use it topically and surviving the ‘tret peel’ (dry, flaky skin that forms as your body adjusts to the medication) it has successfully helped me get my acne under control and allowed me to return to taking testosterone weekly again and getting back on track with my transition. I can’t say enough good things about the product, and how much it has improved my confidence and self-worth with my skin.

I will say when I took my T break it was interesting to see what changes remained, and what didn’t. The acne obviously went away a ton on my break, and the body hair thinned out and grew slower. I also found myself more easily fatigued in the gym and with less overall energy, and my mood felt less stable day to day. Bottom growth did shrink down a bit while not taking it, and I felt like I saw some subtle changes on my face. Overall the mood and energy changes were the most noticeable, and I almost immediately felt better and more myself once I resumed it.

Some of the biggest changes this year have been overall facial changes and body recomposition. During the first year, I felt like I saw some changes to my face, but they felt subtle. This year I occasionally catch myself in the mirror or in photos and find my face looking much more masculine or androgynous, and I’m honestly super into it. Muscle has packed on a lot more in year two, and I’ve also been working out with an amazing trans trainer who is targeting workouts to help masculinize my body further to great effect. I definitely notice a huge difference in how my muscles feel at the gym and when I work out and also how they look and form thanks to the T.

My piercings haven’t felt as affected this year, although my cheeks still flare up from time to time thanks to acne in the area. And when I restarted my T…..oof. My cheeks were pissed. It’s gotten to the point where if I’m not on time with my shots, my cheek piercings will remind me of it. It’s been super interesting to monitor my own hormonal levels while also monitoring my piercings and to realize just how much they affect each other. I can often predict about where my T levels will test at for my blood work based on how my piercings have been feeling. And it might just be in my head but after over 2 years of this, it really feels like there is some correlation.

I continue to be very happy with the changes I’ve been having on T and plan to continue taking it for the foreseeable future. I hope that by sharing my experiences and my journey I can help others plan for their potential transition plans!