The Beginning of the Road:A Journey Through Transition and HRT

Written By Renea Aberdeen

Written By: Renea Aberdeen

© 2026 Renea Aberdeen™. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Published by Renea Aberdeen Media Group™ for Aberdeen Proud, LGBTQIA+™.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Notice & Medical Disclaimer

I am in no way a medical professional, and nothing in this article should be interpreted as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Hormone‑replacement therapy and related health decisions should always be made in consultation with a qualified healthcare provider.

Narrative descriptions of health changes are based on my personal experience and should not be taken as evidence of guaranteed or universal outcomes.

It’s amazing how relieving it was, transitioning even before hormones. After having de‑transitioned for 15 years to keep myself safe, I was beginning to think I would never look in the mirror and see myself again—just that stranger looking back at me. And then, to finally look in the mirror and again see that woman who is actually myself looking back?

Life‑affirming moments like that don’t come around very often, but when they do, it is truly an amazing feeling. A little bit of my energy began coming back, along with a bit of motivation. That is what truly set everything in motion.

The transition was planned; the timing, not so much. That wasn’t supposed to happen for about another four months.

Having bipolar PTSD, I am on several medications, and my sodium levels crashed. You see, one of the things holding me back was that I really was worried about having to go through the process of adjusting my medication when I started estrogen, due to the psychological element.

Finding myself in a situation where I already had nearly everything I needed for the transition and was planning to transition soon(‑ish), I just freaking did it. Was it smart? Not sure. But it was definitely a good thing. Good from bad—if only bad always led to good.

My previous transition was a very successful social transition, and I was about six months into hormones. Times were different then, and extreme gatekeeping was pretty much exclusive. You don’t even want to know the questions they asked me, which led to me telling the doctor something very rude and storming out. Not, by the way, a method that led to access to hormones.

Given the problems of that time, I—like a lot of trans women—elected to DIY my hormones. Given the risks involved, I will not be telling anyone how to do it and am explicitly recommending against this method. Although, given the realities of even current trans healthcare and its availability—not to mention individual circumstances—there is no ground to judge or blame those who do elect this method. Please at least educate yourself on the risks and involve your primary‑care provider if you have one.

I fortunately have access to a clinic that prescribes hormones on the informed‑consent model and insurance that covers my pills. Pills just fit my existing daily routine and work best given my health. These are all things you should openly discuss with the care provider you use. Safety first, please.

And what a day—going to get those little pills! A 120‑mile drive to Chicago, rush‑hour traffic, getting lost twice, managing to get myself a parking ticket (oops), and then, finally, at long last, making it to my appointment. The visit was simple and quick: health history, risks, and realistic expectations for HRT were really all we covered. In and out, and then off to the pharmacy.

I took my first dose right outside in the car and immediately felt such relief and excitement—I was finally moving forward! But realistically, was there even time for the hormones to have reached my bloodstream, let alone started working?

Absolutely not. Remember puberty? Yup, that again—and approximately that timeframe. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t things happening fairly quickly, and when I started planning this, I thought that at ten days there aren’t that many changes; this will be a short and quick article. However…

This will only be the first article, covering the health benefits of HRT outside of only gender affirmation. Later articles will probably overlap for the sake of allowing all articles to stand alone, but so very much is already changing, with some fairly interesting reasons behind those early changes. The health benefits from starting HRT where appropriate are much more complex and much greater than anticipated—or, anticipated by me, anyway.

I didn’t really notice any changes until day 3, when I dropped a box full of thumbtacks and I was barefoot. Yikes! My typical response would have been mild cursing and quite a bit of grouchiness. Instead, I just sighed and began the careful process of picking them up without stabbing my toes—which got me thinking. This was a different response; were any of my other responses changing?

In short, yes—and that was because my emotions were changing, becoming more stable, broader, and deeper, even. But this early? Surely not—or so I thought.

As it turns out, a lot of hormones change, not just testosterone and estrogen. Lowering cortisol, a stress hormone, and changing dopamine responses are examples. My brain is literally changing to match my new hormonal balance and doing it much more easily than it had been with a male hormonal balance. Let’s look at this in greater detail.

Health Benefits Beyond Gender Affirmation

The brain’s limbic system plays a major role here, and with estradiol and spironolactone, changes can begin rapidly. Estradiol binds with receptors in the limbic system and influences neurotransmitter activity, while spironolactone reduces testosterone and its interference in mood signaling and regulation. This process supports the modulation of serotonin and oxytocin activity.

Oxytocin—the “cuddle hormone”—and serotonin, a key mood stabilizer, make the results fairly clear. Emotions become more stable as testosterone stops overstimulating emotional intensity—especially anger. At the same time, serotonin levels and receptor sensitivity rise, helping to regulate mood and emotional tone.

Oxytocin acts as a neuropeptide that promotes trust, empathy, romantic attachment, and parent–infant bonding through its effects on the limbic system. It also helps reduce stress and anxiety. Together, these changes support a deeper and broader emotional range and greater emotional stability and regulation.

Appetite Surge and Physical Recovery

One thing I was prepared for was appetite changes. I just didn’t really expect it to increase—at least not as much as it did. It’s an interesting thing: I was already feeling better emotionally, and then my appetite started going up. That seems perfectly logical, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.

It’s actually a bit like menopause. With the body trying to rapidly adjust to changing hormones and a shifting metabolism, things can become a little unbalanced. While estrogen promotes leptin, a hunger‑regulating hormone, your body’s free testosterone is falling. As it adjusts away from a low‑estrogen baseline, it needs more energy and begins producing ghrelin, another hunger hormone, thereby increasing appetite.

This balance allows the body to respond to hormonal shifts and signal when it needs more energy sources—in other words, food—to make those adjustments. Interestingly, for patients using spironolactone, there’s another factor. Spiro is a diuretic and reduces electrolyte levels in the body. This triggers cravings for foods containing electrolytes—salt being one of them—and salt is found in abundance in pickles. Which also explains why I want a pizza right now, since those are high in sodium. It can also lead to general hunger, since your body needs to replace the lost electrolytes.

And writing about food has made me hungry, so let’s move on.

Mental Health and Emotional Regulation

I’ve also noted that, having bipolar PTSD, there has been a clear effect on my mental health in relation to these changes. This may only be my personal experience and may differ from others, but it’s worth noting that I’ve had fewer PTSD episodes. The more stable emotions have helped regulate my moods and most likely helped prevent some of the episodes that did not occur. All of this has been observed in only the ten days since starting HRT.

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A Closing word


The beginning of the road for HRT is so much more complex than I had considered, and so much more beautiful. I'd mentioned earlier in the article that I have transitioned before, however the phytoestrogens I was using at the time were not as effective, and missed by a wide margin. On top of that, the resources to readily learn these things simply were not available to the general public. This was some time ago, after all, and honestly it was before some of the tools i use now, or even tools like them existed. The additional health benefits to HRT for transpatients are undenialble, and beyond just jender affirming care. Oh, and the nipple tenderness at the beginning of HRT? Yeah, that part kinda sucks.

“© 2026 Renea Aberdeen™. All rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0).”

Disclaimers



The views and experiences expressed in this article are solely my own and do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. I am in no way a medical professional, and this article is for informational and personal‑narrative purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare professional.



Hormone‑replacement therapy can have significant medical and psychological effects, and its safety and appropriateness must be assessed by a licensed clinician familiar with your individual health history. Decisions about hormone therapy, medication changes, self‑care practices, or other health‑related actions should always be made in partnership with your care provider.



No representations or warranties, express or implied, are made regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the information contained in this article. Any actions you take based on this content are at your own risk, and I expressly disclaim all liability relating to such actions.



This article is published under a CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0 license. You may share it with proper attribution, but you may not use it for commercial purposes or alter it in any way without written permission.



Resources and Support

If you or someone you know is trans or gender‑diverse and needs support, the following organizations and informational resources are excellent places to start:



Renea Aberdeen