Hormones: patches, gel, and pills
Something weird happened on the way to the forum, my hormones dropped and I turned into a mardy mare. Ask anyone who has been on HRT for a while what being on oestrogen is actually like and you will get a wide array of answers, mostly along the lines of how it made them feel much better. What is often overlooked is how each method of hormone delivery impacts on the body, in particular the daily/weekly cycle that comes with each form of HRT. Indeed, even amongst cis women this is not something that is recognised, especially because most GPs recommend one for or another. Having been on patches, gel, and pills I want to give insights into these three methods, and point out there are other methods such as injections and implants if these three do not work out.
My first experience with HRT was in the form of Premarin, yellow pills that introduced me to the world of oestrogen fuelled emotions. That they were also produced using mare urine says much about the ethics of HRT 24 years ago. My central issue with pills is that they produced a rollercoaster of emotions across the day as they metabolized across the day. I was on Premarin for around seven years, and due to not having finished puberty when I started I ended up with wider hips and female pattern fat distribution. However, as newer forms of HRT became more common, I switched delivery methods as soon as they became available.
