How common are menstrual cycles? Do you experience them--and how is it?
I'm just over 90 days into feminising hormone therapy! I'm wondering how great the chance of a cycle is, is all. I kind of want to experience a period, but it seems I'm in a minority here.
I've been on HRT for 14 year. Been on pills and injections. With and without T blockers. Pre and post op. I have never had period symptoms.
IMO, it's not completely impossible that someone might experience this. It's conceptually possible having an estrogen-dominated systems triggers some secondary hormone cycles in the brain, and these trigger some cramping and PMS-like symptoms in trans women even though we lack uterii. And cis women post-hysterectomy have reported similar symptoms. But still, I would classify trans female periods as "highly unlikely, but not completely impossible."
I'm pretty skeptical of it. The symptoms are all things that can be caused by other factors. For example, digestive troubles and stomach pain and cramping are often cited. But these are classic symptoms of stress. Maybe people get stressed out over the rent being due at the end of the month, or have some other monthly stressor, and that causes the monthly digestive symptoms they interpret as a pseudo-menstrual cycle. And this is just one example. We live our lives according to the calendar. The symptoms of these purported periods are generic enough that they could be caused by any number of things that also vary on a monthly cycle.
I don't think people are lying or trying to deceive anyone. But ultimately it seems likely to be psychosomatic. It's even possible for such an externally-triggered stress response to only start after starting HRT. HRT is widely known to affect emotions. It's reasonable that stress responses would change after starting HRT. So maybe the monthly stress of having rent due doesn't trigger digestive issues before HRT, but it does after HRT. This is one example of how starting HRT could produce the "period symptoms" people report. The reported symptoms are vague enough that they could be caused by any external factor that can affect digestion and varies monthly. You could have a monthly burrito night with friends, and that might be enough to trigger this.
I get that people want to be experiencing some sort of period symptoms. I've certainly found affirmation in bizarre places. But the fact that many of us would find such a thing affirming is exactly why we should be skeptical of such claims. I'm not willing to rule out the possibility completely, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I'm a trans gal, but I'm also a scientist. And I think caution and skepticism are highly warranted here.
I'm not on a full dose of E anymore due to changes in how I relate to gender stuff, but in 10 years of hrt I don't think I ever experienced anything like menstrual cycle, I didn't know that was even a possibility...?
I was never on progesterone, should that be relevant
Many posts on Reddit detail this, but it's Reddit. So far, it doesn't seem like anyone here has. It could be influenced by method of ingestion.
Huh. I've managed to have double orgasms, I guess that's kind of anomalous. I'd not heard of folks having menstrual cycles though
I started with an implant for blockers and estrogen patches, but moved to taking both orally later on
I'm 7 months in (sublingual e and Spiro) and I haven't experienced any.
Well, in terms of relative commonness, it's on the rarish side as a percentage. Under 10% of hrt recipients reported something akin to a period.
Since there's people that home brew their regimen and therefore don't necessarily get tracked, the number can't be really precise.
Thing is, it tends to show up more similar to premenstrual issues than those that arise during menstruation. But exclusively so, but that's where the symptoms tend to point. The difference between those two phases aren't exactly massive though.
It's fairly difficult to find good studies that aren't paywalled and/or can be snagged in other ways, and those that I've seen didn't really do a good job of things imo.
That being said, breast tenderness and intestinal/digestive issues seem to be the most common body perceived issues, as in things you feel physically. Mood instability is the biggest mental presentation. However, three are trans women that report an increase in dysphoria during their cycle, so be aware of it as a possibility.
There are people that report symptom that shouldn't be present as they're directly related to the presence of a uterus, predominantly cramping that isn't intestinal in the subjective perception or effects. There's no full consensus if there's an anatomical reason for it, or if it's psychogenic, but it does happen.
Having just freshly scanned for any updated info, I'd say that it's within the realm of possibility for you to have effects occur, particularly within the first year or so. There's enough data out there that it can't be dismissed as some infinitesimal occurrence, but it also isn't anywhere close to a majority having perceptible effects.