Trans folks are asking: What are the weirdest side effects of HRT?

For trans folks who medically transition, taking estrogen or testosterone is a big part of changing your appearance. But beyond the obvious ways those hormones can change the way you look, what other changes do hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, bring to trans folks’ lives?

That’s the question trans folks sounded off on in a Reddit post titled, “What are the unexpected effects of HRT?” Some people taking estrogen said they were seeing the world more clearly now — quite literally. 

“I woke up one day and realized colors were brighter,” wrote one person. “I accused my partner of turning the lights brighter. A little research found a couple studies showing that hormones can affect your receptors in your eyes and it makes yellow and green more vibrant.”

Sight wasn’t the only scent to get superpowered by estrogen. Several folks also said their sense of smell became much sharper, particularly in regard to men’s B.O.

“Men started smelling really bad. Especially at the gym,” wrote one commenter.

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“My entire sense of smell became more acute for both good and bad,” agreed another. “The perfume I bought before I started I thought barely had a smell, after a month I smelled it strong. Flowers are wonderful, but public bathrooms are intolerable.” They also threw in a tip for any cis men who haven’t gotten their sense of smell upgraded: “Men tend to wear far too much cologne btw.”

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Then there are the physical changes people don’t tend to warn you about. For example, lots of folks agreed that since going on estrogen, they were running much colder than before.

“Estrogen HRT makes you more susceptible to cold and especially if you were already prone to being cold before like me, then you gotta have gloves and big comfy socks on permanent standby during the colder seasons,” one person wrote.

This is good news for any trans women living in hotter climates, as another person pointed out: “This has actually been a benefit for me living in a relatively hot area. The past two weeks have been 90+ degrees outside every day,” she wrote. “This kinda heat used to kill me, but now I’m waltzing around feeling like it’s only 70 lol.”

But others warned that going on testosterone does the exact opposite, making you more susceptible to heat: “T does the opposite and as someone who already hated the heat pre-T it’s so annoying,” one person shared.

Others reported physical changes like their armpit hair stopping growth, their skin tone getting lighter, and their heights and shoe sizes shrinking. Every person’s experience with HRT is different, but one message is clear: expect the unexpected.