#hrt progress

[Begin image description: comic with 4 panels. Panel 1- Title: “Progress Report.” A transfeminine person named Riri undressing in a dressing rooms looks in the mirror in surprise, saying “I have boobs now!”

Caption: coming up on 6 months on HRT, I’ve already noticed some big changes.

Panel 2: 2 people are shown wearing backpacks. The first is a male presenting person looking worried, Riri pre-transition. Dark tentacles spill out of their small backpack, representing anxiety and depression. The second figure is Riri post-transition, femme- presenting and looking calm. They have a bigger backpack with the dark tentacles contained.

Caption: I cry a lot more, but I can handle my emotions so much better, instead of letting them crush me.

Panel 3: post-transition Riri, teary eyed, is in a pose implying they just stopped clutching the sides of their head. Stormclouds roll away in the background. Behind Riri is a line of test tubes, with a new sparkling pink chemical just added to the lineup. Riri says “Oh” in relief.

Caption: It feels like I finally got that one missing chemical my brain chemistry has always needed… my noisy, restless brain can finally calm down.

Panel 4: Riri smiles and hugs themself in blissful euphoria. A bandaid is on their tummy.

transition over 5 years

2021 (he/him)

2022 (he/they -> they/them)

2023 (she/her to a small group) beginning estrogen pills

2024 (she/her) one year hrt

2025 (it/her) two years hrt, one year of valerate injections + prog (boofed)

sometimes i struggls to see a huge difference between new and old photos, i feel like not much changed, while at the same time, everything changed.