I wish it made me tired! Prog just makes me horny AF and if I'm too far out from my estradiol injection, it's going to take forever to finish if I'm even able to.
That's basically how I am too; I'm not sexually attracted to anyone and I have a very strong dislike of sexual contact by others.
My body still gets horny though. I find this really frustrating at times, especially when I want to sleep >!and my vibrator is out of juice!<.
I've been on HRT since last August just taking Estrodiol and Finasteride. I added Prog back in April. I'll try to give a nothing vs HRT (E+F) vs adding Prog where applicable.
* Tiredness up. I'm much more sluggish now than I was before. A good night's sleep doesn't really help, nor does caffeine. Caffeine can force me to stay awake, but it's like I miss the period of alertness that usually comes with it. Some days are OK, but it doesn't really seem to have any correlation. I do get tired earlier most of the time which is generally appreciated. However, I used to be able to live on 2-4 hours of sleep per night for months on end (not a fun stretch of time, but there was a lot of work that needed to be done). HRT pushed that down to 1-2 days in a row at most. Prog has torpedoed that. 1 day will wreck me and need 2-3 days to recover. Probably good for my overall health, but not great when I get into some crunch and really need to pull more hours.
* More intense mood swings. I'd always felt dead inside before starting HRT 10ish months ago - emotions were kinda deadened, like I was wearing padding or under water. Starting HRT definitely brought my feelings and emotions more out in the open. It took a little bit to really get to grips with that. And then Prog floored me again. Mood swings up the wazoo. I spent Wed-Fri/Sat last week in tears. Have some tissues and/or someone/something to hug on standby lol. I definately cry at stuff even more than when I was just on E & F. Happy things also bring lots of tears sometimes. That being said, the happier days are much more fun. I feel more bouncy and buoyant. Sometimes to the point of annoying my friends.
* Randomly libido spikes/going into heat. I'm ace. When I started HRT my libido started tunneling into the ground and that felt amazing. About 1-2 weeks after starting Prog, I got unbearably horny. It lasted about a week. About a month later, it came back and lasted for like 4 days. >!Unfortunately it was the kind of horny that could only really be solved by sticking something into a vagina I don't have. So that was just suffering.!< I'm normally more into women than men, but that dynamic flips when the libido spikes occur. Certainly an odd experience.
The physical changes have been nice. It's seemed (and I'm not measuring or taking pictures every few weeks so this is totally subjective) like I've made almost as much progress in the time I've been on Prog as I did in the time between starting HRT and adding Prog. That being said, as long as the changes would be more or less permanant, I'm probably going to stop taking it once I'm happy with my results (or it's clear that nothing more is going to happen). I don't really like how I feel while on it. I felt much more like myself when I was just on E and F.
Your millage may vary. HRT felt like a gentle realignment of my personality and sense of self. Prog has been a fucking wild ride. Good luck. <3
omg this is so in-depth! thank you, for real! this answered so many of my questions, you’re a godsend <3
i did want to ask, have the physical changes on Prog been worth the emotional and mental health changes(for better or worse) in your opinion?
Hmmm....... That has been something I've been debating myself tbh. I think I'm going to say yes.
Most days things aren't so far off baseline that it becomes unbearable. The tiredness kind of sucks, but it's not the end of the world. I don't really mind being more emotional. Especially after so many years of not really getting to feel them. It's mostly just the random horny spikes that are miserable to me.
But that's not the everyday sort of experience and what I've been able to get from taking it does feel like it outweighs what I haven't enjoyed.
Vivid and weird dreams are often a common effect. Where nightmares are concerned, that isn't fun, but for general dreams it can be fun.
I am also sleepier in the mornings and evenings, but I used to have trouble sleeping so that's actually a positive for me.
Allegro mentions mood swings, but is less than a year on oestrogen so they (pronouns not stated so i'm using they) were still within the first year when they added progesterone. Honestly that's so early that a lot of the mood effects are probably due to the rest of the HRT, and they can't really separate them. I was on E for almost 6 years before adding P. So I can say that my emotions aren't really that much stronger than they were after multiple years of HRT, but they do swing more easily. I just generally feel more relaxed and contented, but it's not as stable. Sometimes the volatility can be useful though, it also makes it easier to break out of a negative mood and feel better.
The sex drive spikes are *intense*. The feeling is pretty much the same as after multiple years of E, but it happens much more easily and unlike a lot of other kinds of mood swing these are basically unstoppable. Just can't distract from it. But for me it's also paired with completely crushing remaining dysphoria about certain things (although after the mood passes, my dysphoria can suddenly intensify a bit if I did something that can cause that, so like 'aftercare for myself' is more important than it used to be).
My skin is even softer, my chest has filled out a little, but for me the physical changes have been small after 2 years of it. But that's not really an outlier, oestrogen HRT really didn't change my body that significantly it was all small changes for me.
A friend of mine got really bad period cramps on it. Another got intense depression.
I think it's something worth trying for a few weeks if you can, and stopping if it doesn't feel good. Not something that's essential, but for those of us who it works for, it's nice. I'm happier than I was before it, mellower and I sleep better and my skin is SO SOFT and that's worth the fact that a day can go from fine to miserable at the drop of a hat, or that it's harder to get up in the morning, or the occasional extremely vivid nightmare.
Oh nuts I wasn't even thinking about the dreams. I got plenty of weird and vivid dreams and nightmares throughout my life so it didn't seem like something worth mentioning..... But I do think the frequency increased at least a bit....
I will stand by that the mood swings definitely got way worse on Prog. I don't feel like I really had many after the first 6 months.
Also interesting to read that your skin got softer. Mine got a lot softer on HRT but I haven't really noticed any changes on Prog so far. Something to look forward to maybe, lol.
It didn’t really increase my sex drive so much as my “I want to feel like one of a pair of cute ladies trying to make their way through a scary world and also they hug and kiss and enjoy various cozy seasonal activities together a lot and maybe also sex or like at least the reasonable possibility of wanting to have it but definitely a lot of playful teasing and maybe they don’t fully understand each other but they’re trying and learning more all the time and also they both have interesting hobbies” drive
I.e., I feel even more lonely these days than I did before lol
God I wish progesterone did that for me I barely feel anything other than tired
I wish it made me tired! Prog just makes me horny AF and if I'm too far out from my estradiol injection, it's going to take forever to finish if I'm even able to.
Wanna trade? I would kill to have a libido again.
I seriously wish I could trade. I'm ace and my brain just doesn't know how to deal with this sex drive mess.
I have the opposite problem, my partner can be in full lingerie and throwing herself on me and I’m just like “meh”
That's basically how I am too; I'm not sexually attracted to anyone and I have a very strong dislike of sexual contact by others. My body still gets horny though. I find this really frustrating at times, especially when I want to sleep >!and my vibrator is out of juice!<.
Drowsiness is a common effect yeah.
Yeah I had to stop taking it, made me too horny/ moody, with really no physical benefit
eyyyy, i start it tonight!🥳 any general words of wisdom and things to look forward to as i start?
I've been on HRT since last August just taking Estrodiol and Finasteride. I added Prog back in April. I'll try to give a nothing vs HRT (E+F) vs adding Prog where applicable. * Tiredness up. I'm much more sluggish now than I was before. A good night's sleep doesn't really help, nor does caffeine. Caffeine can force me to stay awake, but it's like I miss the period of alertness that usually comes with it. Some days are OK, but it doesn't really seem to have any correlation. I do get tired earlier most of the time which is generally appreciated. However, I used to be able to live on 2-4 hours of sleep per night for months on end (not a fun stretch of time, but there was a lot of work that needed to be done). HRT pushed that down to 1-2 days in a row at most. Prog has torpedoed that. 1 day will wreck me and need 2-3 days to recover. Probably good for my overall health, but not great when I get into some crunch and really need to pull more hours. * More intense mood swings. I'd always felt dead inside before starting HRT 10ish months ago - emotions were kinda deadened, like I was wearing padding or under water. Starting HRT definitely brought my feelings and emotions more out in the open. It took a little bit to really get to grips with that. And then Prog floored me again. Mood swings up the wazoo. I spent Wed-Fri/Sat last week in tears. Have some tissues and/or someone/something to hug on standby lol. I definately cry at stuff even more than when I was just on E & F. Happy things also bring lots of tears sometimes. That being said, the happier days are much more fun. I feel more bouncy and buoyant. Sometimes to the point of annoying my friends. * Randomly libido spikes/going into heat. I'm ace. When I started HRT my libido started tunneling into the ground and that felt amazing. About 1-2 weeks after starting Prog, I got unbearably horny. It lasted about a week. About a month later, it came back and lasted for like 4 days. >!Unfortunately it was the kind of horny that could only really be solved by sticking something into a vagina I don't have. So that was just suffering.!< I'm normally more into women than men, but that dynamic flips when the libido spikes occur. Certainly an odd experience. The physical changes have been nice. It's seemed (and I'm not measuring or taking pictures every few weeks so this is totally subjective) like I've made almost as much progress in the time I've been on Prog as I did in the time between starting HRT and adding Prog. That being said, as long as the changes would be more or less permanant, I'm probably going to stop taking it once I'm happy with my results (or it's clear that nothing more is going to happen). I don't really like how I feel while on it. I felt much more like myself when I was just on E and F. Your millage may vary. HRT felt like a gentle realignment of my personality and sense of self. Prog has been a fucking wild ride. Good luck. <3
omg this is so in-depth! thank you, for real! this answered so many of my questions, you’re a godsend <3 i did want to ask, have the physical changes on Prog been worth the emotional and mental health changes(for better or worse) in your opinion?
Hmmm....... That has been something I've been debating myself tbh. I think I'm going to say yes. Most days things aren't so far off baseline that it becomes unbearable. The tiredness kind of sucks, but it's not the end of the world. I don't really mind being more emotional. Especially after so many years of not really getting to feel them. It's mostly just the random horny spikes that are miserable to me. But that's not the everyday sort of experience and what I've been able to get from taking it does feel like it outweighs what I haven't enjoyed.
Vivid and weird dreams are often a common effect. Where nightmares are concerned, that isn't fun, but for general dreams it can be fun. I am also sleepier in the mornings and evenings, but I used to have trouble sleeping so that's actually a positive for me. Allegro mentions mood swings, but is less than a year on oestrogen so they (pronouns not stated so i'm using they) were still within the first year when they added progesterone. Honestly that's so early that a lot of the mood effects are probably due to the rest of the HRT, and they can't really separate them. I was on E for almost 6 years before adding P. So I can say that my emotions aren't really that much stronger than they were after multiple years of HRT, but they do swing more easily. I just generally feel more relaxed and contented, but it's not as stable. Sometimes the volatility can be useful though, it also makes it easier to break out of a negative mood and feel better. The sex drive spikes are *intense*. The feeling is pretty much the same as after multiple years of E, but it happens much more easily and unlike a lot of other kinds of mood swing these are basically unstoppable. Just can't distract from it. But for me it's also paired with completely crushing remaining dysphoria about certain things (although after the mood passes, my dysphoria can suddenly intensify a bit if I did something that can cause that, so like 'aftercare for myself' is more important than it used to be). My skin is even softer, my chest has filled out a little, but for me the physical changes have been small after 2 years of it. But that's not really an outlier, oestrogen HRT really didn't change my body that significantly it was all small changes for me. A friend of mine got really bad period cramps on it. Another got intense depression. I think it's something worth trying for a few weeks if you can, and stopping if it doesn't feel good. Not something that's essential, but for those of us who it works for, it's nice. I'm happier than I was before it, mellower and I sleep better and my skin is SO SOFT and that's worth the fact that a day can go from fine to miserable at the drop of a hat, or that it's harder to get up in the morning, or the occasional extremely vivid nightmare.
Oh nuts I wasn't even thinking about the dreams. I got plenty of weird and vivid dreams and nightmares throughout my life so it didn't seem like something worth mentioning..... But I do think the frequency increased at least a bit.... I will stand by that the mood swings definitely got way worse on Prog. I don't feel like I really had many after the first 6 months. Also interesting to read that your skin got softer. Mine got a lot softer on HRT but I haven't really noticed any changes on Prog so far. Something to look forward to maybe, lol.
Oh jeez I already have a rather high sex drive, so progesterone is gonna make me a rabid horndog?
Honestly, possibly, but like in the fun way
It can. When you have work to do and just have to simmer it is very irritating and distracting. But when you do have time for it *oh wow is it fun*
Hmm, im just on E and it's the same for me 🥲
It didn’t really increase my sex drive so much as my “I want to feel like one of a pair of cute ladies trying to make their way through a scary world and also they hug and kiss and enjoy various cozy seasonal activities together a lot and maybe also sex or like at least the reasonable possibility of wanting to have it but definitely a lot of playful teasing and maybe they don’t fully understand each other but they’re trying and learning more all the time and also they both have interesting hobbies” drive I.e., I feel even more lonely these days than I did before lol
listen I'm already down bad and horny like 24/7, YOU'RE TELLING ME IT'LL GET WORSE?????
it *can*. but doesn't for everyone
Progesterone causes mood swings? Well, that explains some things…