I'm asking for advice from both trans and cis women.
First off let me explain some for those who don't know much about HRT, trans women don't exactly get 'periods' but still get the monthly hormone cycle. We don't physically have any pain (some uncomfortable stomach cramps but nothing compared to cis periods), but it's pretty much what a cis woman with a removed uterus would go though.
I think I had my first cycle about a month ago and think I'm currently on my 2nd, but I'm not entirely sure. Since I'm also on antidepressants and have ADHD when I miss a couple days of meds (I usually take about 5 of 7 a week on average) my mood fluctuates a lot. I just got really emotional but not exactly sad?
Like yesterday on my drive home I was really attached to the shoes that people hang on electrical wires for some reason and started crying about it. It's just like something that people do and it's really sweet and idk I can't really put it into words.
Last night my emotions were so bad I literally took 2 benadryl and 5 melatonin gummies since I couldn't be left alone with my thoughts but can't sleep with a show on. I also am like really wanting human connection but am too scared to talk to people because of anxiety, I just am alone and struggling. I have really low labido due to my antidepressants and HRT but this doesn't really feel like being horny, I am just like wanting someone to connect with.
rn my emotions are just really crazy and idk what to do about it.
idk does this sound like the emotions ppl normally have on a hormone spike or am I just going crazy?? should I bright it up to my psychiatrist or is it normal? Should I track them to really see if it's on the 30 day cycle or if it's just stress related randomness? Is it always this intense or will I get used to it?
I would really appreciate any sort of guidance or recommendations anybody has
First: Welcome to the sister/siblinghood.
Navigating bullshittery around women's health is a great intro to this side of the gender divide.
Disclaimer: I'm a cis woman. I acknowledge trans women's health info is lacking. You know your body best.
There have been significant studies over the last hundred years or so that go against colloquial theories about women and hormones, especially around menstruation. As far as we know, women don't experience significant mood changes associated with their menstrual cycle outside of disorders or the psychological impact of outside factors. Some even found that symptoms vary drastically from one culture to the next, based on prevalent ideas about menstruation. The truth is everyone's hormones are changing all the time and women don't experience more fluctuations than men. Sleep, food exercise, weight gain, sex and drugs all affect hormones much more than the menstrual cycle.
Going through second puberty is probably an emotional beast in itself, you should for sure be writing a mood journal to figure out when/what makes you trip up, journaling is good for mental health in itself. Then, if you notice a significant pattern, that could indicate a disorder and be something to point to when you talk to your doc.
Some links for fun:
Obligatory shout out to my favorite women's health resource for ALL kinds of women: https://ourbodiesourselves.org/
Some info on PMDD: https://ourbodiesourselves.org/health-info/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-pmdd
An article on trans people's lived experience around periods and menstrual cycles: https://periodaisle.com/blogs/all/6-transgender-women-talk-menstruation