So I am hypothetically, allegedly, possibly, asking for a friend about info regarding to DIY hrt. What are common pitfalls to avoid, people's favorite sources and ways to stay safe wile doing DIY. firstly, is coffee.hrt a good aggregator for pharmaceutical sites? Secondly, on average, how long can the results of estrogen be hidden before it become obvious? Thirdly, where can I find good dosage charts. Lastly, if I can't access or afford blood testing, how do I keep dosage safe and effective?
I recommend giving transfemscience intro a read (and some other articles on the site when you have time). It's long (and very science-y) but it will answer a lot of questions you might have and gives a LOT of useful information.
I've been on DIY for roughly 9 months and it's not super difficult to hide. I started out obese, so I still just look like an amorphous blob. I wear oversized, baggy t-shirts to hide the fact that my hips have flared out and that I have a noticeable hourglass shape going on, and I'm at the point where I can't wear men's jeans anymore because they sit too low and won't snap around my hips/butt unless I get an absurdly huge waist size. I swiped a pair of my wife's old MILF jeans and lo and behold, they're a perfect fit. This became an issue at around the 5-6 month mark. Breast growth hasn't kicked into overdrive yet, so I'm not at the point of needing binders to hide that -- just baggy shirts or jackets. Regardless, it's different for everyone, so take this with a grain of salt. I also have no clue what my levels look like because I haven't been able to get blood tests done yet.
hrt dot coffee has been helpful, but you do have to be vigilant about who you order from on there. If
you'reyour friend is in the US, RX Aisle (Turkish seller listed on that site) will ship anti-androgens and patches/tablets out of the EU, but customs processing takes a LONG time. Patches are the safest starting dose ifyou'reyour friend is over about 30-35, but they can cause some nasty skin irritation and fall off if you look at them too hard. Nexcare Tegaderm dressings can help keep them in place and protect them while showering/swimming/etc., but they can also exacerbate irritation from sweat buildup. In my case, I wound up switching to gel after about 3 months because the irritation from the patches was too much and they kept falling off after 5 days anyway when they're supposed to be a weekly dose. The gel that I got is from Otokonoko, another seller on hrt dot coffee. Note that the site recently moved to a new top-level domain, and some of the listings on hrt dot coffee aren't updated yet. Anyway, Otokonoko is a homebrewer, and their gel uses a different formula from white-label Oestrogel -- namely that it comes in a really inaccurate pump, and that it dries in about 2-3 minutes instead of 10-15. I blew through a tube of that in about 4 months because of the pump not measuring out even doses, but I'm definitely seeing results.As for dosing recommendations, Transfem Science is a good source, and so is the DIY HRT Directory: https://diyhrt.wiki/transfem#what_methods
ok so i don't do diy so i can't speak to the rest, but you'll for sure be able to hide it (assuming you hide the hrt itself) for probably 6 months at least. past then it depends on how your body develops and how much you can get away with hiding it. i'm 3 years on hrt and could probably still boymode around people who knew me if i stuck entirely to baggy clothes but it'd be hard. my gf could absolutely not. it all depends
Hiding effects is relatively easy for about two years, then it gets harder. Hrt is a slow process. And ymmv, some people get giant tits almost immediately if it's in their genetics
Do we know if those genes come from the mothers side or the fathers side (or just mix n match), genetically? Cause my mamas side has a bunch of fairly small breasted women, and my fathers side is the opposite. Really hoping its like male pattern baldness where it affects men and people producing DHT, but comes from the mothers side. Come on dad, do something actually helpful for once and give me giant titties
praying but i've been on hrt for years and i think i simply do not have the genes
also i have digestive problems that keep me unhealthily skinny which might be more relevant
If it means anything, I'm one of the lucky few and my genetics are roughly the same as yours. Except my mother's side is more of an average than a small.
1- Yes, it is a good aggregator.(I assume you mean hrt dot coffee)
2- Hiding effects really depends on the people around you and how much they know about hormones. Only person I know who got figured out due to changes was from an accepting family which had multiple trans friends. They were boymoding because they themselves were a chud and their family was woke, which is a rare situation. As long as you hide the hormones themselves you should be fine for one or two years.
3- As others said Transfemscience is a great source.
4- If you follow the guidelines and get effects your dose is probably fine. Of course hormone tests are the only reliable way to know but getting the effects at the normal times is the second best way to know things are going well. Also you probably know this but do not try at home testosterone tests, they are unreliable for trans women.
hrtcafe.net is another aggregator. If you did uni, you can see if their clinic offers subsidized blood tests, mine were cheap as fuck when I started out in transphobia-land.
Also, how do people pay? Most places want crypto which requires a ridiculous amount of ID or a cashiers check which is a massive pain to send.
