Effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy for a Transgender Individual

Mathilda Hogberg is a transgender YouTuber who has been on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for 8 years. Mathilda provides an update on her experience with HRT and the changes she has seen over time as a trans woman.

So, let's take a closer look at the Effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy for a Transgender Individual.

 

Starting Hormone Therapy

At the beginning of hormone therapy, most transgender women take testosterone blockers and estrogen pills or gels. This stops the production of testosterone and introduces estrogen into the body to induce feminine changes.

After gender reassignment surgery, testosterone blockers are often no longer needed since the testes are removed.

Mathilda started on pills but now uses estrogen gels called DiviGel. She stopped taking testosterone blockers after having gender reassignment surgery.

 

Timeline of Changes on HRT

The 3-4 month mark of HRT is often an important milestone. This is when fat redistribution starts to kick in more noticeably, resulting in a rounder, softer face, breast growth, and wider hips/smaller waist.

Mathilda really started to see differences in her face, breasts, hips, and waist around the 3-4 month mark as her body went through a female puberty process.

Overall, the full effects of HRT take 3-4 years to be completed. Some of the changes that occur during this time include smoother skin, mood changes, breast development, fat redistribution to the hips/thighs/butt, and facial feminization.

 

Other HRT Effects

  • Breasts can take up to 3 years to fully develop on HRT. Mathilda had breast augmentation surgery after 1.5 years.
  • The voice does not get higher on HRT alone - voice training or voice feminization surgery is needed for pitch change.
  • Stretch marks may develop due to breast growth and fat redistribution to hips.
  • Hormones need to be taken lifelong to maintain feminization effects. Stopping HRT for transgender women leads to menopause-like effects.

 

Conclusion

As a transgender YouTuber, Mathilda emphasizes that being transgender is not a choice - it is who she is. Transitioning with HRT and surgery allowed her to align her physical body with her gender identity and live authentically. She says the last 8 years since starting her transition have been the best years of her life.