[–]sammi_860
Hormone cycle,
you get the mood swings but none of the women solidarity, it kinda sucks.
so does that include cramps or just mood swings?
In my case, I do get both. The cramps are more like intestines and not super intense. I also get some other things cis women experience on periods, like fluctuating sex drive, just not the bleeding.
I didn’t believe in trans women getting cramps until I had to go from my normal patches to some other patches. At weeks end I was cramping a ton and super moody. Low E can still cause cramping in the bowels and women with hysterectomies still get them too,
it’s not necessarily just the uterus 
I have been having periods for more than 25 years and didn’t know that they caused actual bowel cramps as well until right now. But that would explain the period poops phenomenon.
Sex Ed is so bad at sex Ed, what the heck.
There are a bunch of prostaglandins and a bunch of prostaglandin synthesizing enzymes that are present not just in the uterus (they're in fact key players in inflammatory processes throughout the body) that have the effect of triggering smooth muscle contractions.
Those contractions that affect the uterine musculature trigger a shedding of the lining, while those that affect intestinal smooth muscles , particularly the small intestine, produce period shits.
The receptor for prostaglandin E2 , (prostaglandin E2 is actually used in the clinic to induce contractions for labour) is actually expressed just as much in the omentum (which several visceral organs are attached to) and the small intestine as it is in the uterus in samples present in databases like GTEx (which contains samples from large numbers of donors, from different tissues and cell types within those tissues).
People like to implicate prostaglandin F2 as the driver of period like symptoms because it is more restricted to the uterus (you can't specifically knock them out to show causality, which is a major challenge to understanding causality) , but endometriotic tissue is also cycle-responsive and that tissue shows a reduction in prostaglandin F receptors and an increase in E receptors.
In my case i get both, but for me it is like super intense like for a week straight it feels like i am getting punced in the pelvis area and same for the other cis women experiences, also i found out i might be intersex keyword might because i have had cramps since 14 just not that intense it increased after hrt started.
I had a friend who transitioned and later found out that she was intersex after she went off of hrt for a surgical procedure and then her hormone levels stayed more or less the same. Turned out she was born with ovaries that were just stuck up in there and she had been getting a regular period for her whole life. She is stoked having found this out and I believe will be going for bottom surgery soon. On the topic of hrt induced periods though, I don’t think I can relate to this, but I have definitely heard some gals talk about feeling a cycle related to their hormone regimen.
I cracked the secret to the not bleeding part....
Chronic kidney stones! Like I pass 'em every two to three weeks and need 4/5 intervention surgeries a year. I'm gonna real, not super worth it. But it does give me a lil gender euphoria when docs or nurses say "it's as bad as childbirth".
It depends on what kind you're referring to. Intestinal contractions can occur for some. It's also important to remember that hormonal cycle symptoms are widely varied in cis women and Trans men as well. Some cis women don't believe other women actually experience pain during menstruation and that they fake it as an excuse.
I get cramps in the abdomen, where I can’t walk without painkillers. Night sweats, and achy boobs. Stomach issues. Lots of stuff common with what is directed by hormonal PMS but no bleeding obviously
Edit: My girlfriend who is trans doesn’t get cramps as bad as me, and my afab spouse’s cramps aren’t as bad either so mileage varies
I'm confused by this response. I'm on monotherapy and inject once a week, so my E level does go through a weekly cycle where it applies at mid week and then trappers down but that's not a monthly cycle. Trans women that take a daily pill would have virtually no measurable cycles in their E levels.
Once you are estrogen dominant other hormones in the body that actually cause all the problems go into a monthly cycle, since we don't get the bleeding aspect usually only those with more severe symptoms figure out whats going on
Edit: Ah I almost forgot about the torrent of downvotes that come with being honest about this topic
Go suck a lemon losers
Yeah idk why people constantly downvote when people say trans women have a monthly period. It literally happens. Ive known tons of trans women in my life and they ALL know that its a thing and experience it. I think it comes from TERFs mass brigading this particular topic a lot.
Well terfs and trans people who have internalised terf nonsense
Always interesting when its another trans woman who jumps in to go "actually I didn't experience that with medical transition so you must be LIEING! ADMIT YOU LIED!"
The all caps lieing part was an actual dm I got at one point
Like girls, please, stop drinking the terf brain rot, not everyone has everything happen exactly the same
Oh but yeah brigading is unfortunately also a common thing too
[–]Nildnas2
the people you're talking to don't understand basic biology 1) cramps happen largely in the smooth muscle of the pelvis, everyone has these muscles 2) hormone fluctuations are what cause PMS, PMDD, period cravings, etc. trans women have female endocrine systems with hormone fluctuations that are on different time lengths than cis women. but many trans women experience these symptoms on a similar monthly basis, there is literally zero research into why this happens. writing something off as impossible just because we don't yet understand the biological mechanism is ignorant at best, transphobic at worse 3)
we are just discovering that hrt changes our epigenome, there are likely extensive biological interactions that occur because of that. none of which we understand yet
I see, thank you for explaining!!! I'm still in high school and my school did the absolute bare minimum in terms of health classes so yeah there isn't much anyone can do
My wife is a masters degree educated sex educator specifically because schools are such trash.
Keep asking questions, keep checking good verified resources.
We should call it something different - without a uterus, it cannot be a period.
No, that's not how it works, just because it hasn't been researched is a very lame excuse to gatekeep trans women from this concept.
This is exactly the type of gatekeeping stuff as the misogynistic dismissing doctors have conducted with fatal consequences too often.
If you are a trans woman or trans feminine person, you do not menstruate. We do not have ovaries or uteruses. It’s not the same experience.
Your internal transphobia is showing off, please look for someone who can help you.
Why resort to that kind of talk? We’re debating the use of a word. This isn’t transphobia, it’s biology. We don’t have that anatomy. We do not menstruate. We can call it something else.
Again, this idea you have is very transphobic, this is not factual biology either as you can't have such hard conclusions when research has yet to be done. This is very terfy and maybe it's time for you to stop following Robert Galbraith.
I don’t know who Robert Galbraith is. You’re making a lot of assumptions. Also, how can a trans person be a TERF?
Edit: also, in science we use what is known. We don’t decide to set aside accepted physiological function and anatomical features until we wait for new information. We rely on the knowledge we have until such a time that there is supportive evidence to the contrary. We do not menstruate, we have no uterine lining to shed, it simply is not a period as it is colloquially and culturally understood. We can call it something else. I have never had a period in all eight years of taking HRT.
That is exactly very terfy, the whole concept of "we can't do this until we prove it" is the reason why trans teens are murdered by withholding them HRT.
I will not accept being called a TERF by another trans person. That accusation is excessive and misplaced.
This discussion concerns a narrow point about language, not a broader set of ideological positions. The issue is being expanded into multiple overlapping debates when the topic is actually a single, specific term describing a physiological process that requires certain reproductive organs. Menstruation is a biological process that requires a uterus and ovaries. Trans women do not menstruate.
Menstruation and hormone replacement therapy are separate issues. The use of HRT is not dependent on the ability to menstruate. Cis women who have undergone oophorectomy or hysterectomy may take hormone therapy to maintain hormonal balance, and intersex individuals may also use hormone therapy consistent with their gender identity. However, individuals without the organs required for menstruation, whether cis, trans, or intersex do not menstruate.
Only menstruation requires a uterus, the rest of a period doesn't. Sure the ultimate goal of a period is menstruation, but the hypothalamus and pituitary gland don't care about whether there is a uterus present, and can cause a period to happen, regardless of whether it's possible to menstruate or not.
Cis women who have had a hysterectomy can still experience a period, would you deny them the word too, even though they don't have uteruses?
Words have meanings in society and in the United States, at least, a period is inextricably linked to menses. I am happy to call it a monthly but I am not excited about co-opting a word that is associated with so much pain and discomfort from people with uteruses. We do not have ovaries or uteruses, thus, no period. We have something else.
So should the cis women who have had oophorectomy and a hysterectomy, and are on HRT, but still experience a cycle that causes period symptoms have to find a new word too?
No, they do not. We have never experienced it and never will.
So one group of women without uteruses and ovaries get to call it a period, but another group of women without uteruses and ovaries don't? Sounds like you're dealing with internalised transphobia to me. Don't inflict your own hangups and issues on others.
I am not dealing with anything - I’m doing well. No need to resort to that kind of talk. I’m simply advocating for new language around something that belongs to us. What we have, we do not share with cis women and vice versa.
What about women (intersex or otherwise) who were born without a uterus and ovaries, who can experience period symptoms after starting HRT? Would you be okay with all of them calling it a period despite the fact that they never have and never will menstruate? How is that different for trans women experiencing the exact same thing? At that point, the only difference is that one was assigned female at birth, while the other was not.
Tell you what - I will concede. I will go on saying I do not get periods and you and anyone else who wants to, can. Obviously, everyone’s experience is different but I’m coming up on eight years on HRT and haven’t experienced symptoms of menses. All things being equal, just because I have my singular experience, doesn’t mean everyone else has an experience like mine. Truce?
[–]PicklesTickle91
No, they do not menstruate. As is stated, no uterine lining to shed, and no bleeding.
HOWEVER, their hormone cycles will regulate and they can experience basically everything else- mood swings, cravings, acne flares, temporary weight gain, and yes, even cramps.
It is very important that you still support her as you would a cis woman going through her cycle.
Its a very big milestone for her, but few cis women will be willing to celebrate.
[–]Lily_Thief
What I haven't seen mentioned while skimming through here is the period poops.
I get them, alongside the mood swings. It can be extreme constipation or a "everything must go" situation. On a bad month, my intestines will try to do both (everything must go, but is not allowed to actually move)
[–]funkii_fox
Periods are started by hormones, not necessarily whether or not you have a functioning female reproductive system. My mom had a hysterectomy and still gets periods, for example. She knows she’s on her period because she always gets night sweats from them. Trans women on hrt will get the symptoms that aren’t specifically related to reproductive organs like mood swings and such.
[–]ArielBubble
Trans women get periods, women get menstrual periods. They are similar but not the same with lots of women cramping from egg release once a month too so every fortnight. Periods are unique to each woman.
[–]Repulsive-Junket8596
Cramps? No. No uterus to curse us with shedding its lining and discomfort.
Moodiness that fluctuates sometimes week to week? Yes. Hormones.. frequency of administration.. life stress..
pure rage can account for some of this.
Period cramps are not localized to the uterus. They are usually from pelvic muscles, which everyone has. The cramps are a response the hormone cycle.
They are usually from pelvic muscles, which everyone has
The uterus has a layer of muscle called ‘myometrium’. This is what cramps. The cause of the cramps are chemicals called prostaglandins which are synthesised in the uterine lining. The reason other smooth muscle can cramp is because the uterine lining sometimes produces too many prostaglandins
Edit: typo
So, both of us are right. I was wrong about it being mostly/usually pelvic muscles but cramping is still experienced in pelvic floor muscles as well even without uterus or ovaries to release prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are also found in AMAB individuals, in the testicles and semen. There’s not enough research to be sure but because of estrogens effect on the endocrine system I wouldn’t be shocked if the fluctuating hormones caused the same cramping effect in the pelvic area.
Either way, considering a large amount of anecdotes of trans women on HRT regularly report PMS symptoms (including cramps), it seems a little weird and borderline transphobic to discount that experience just because “well you’re cramping in the wrong spot” when cis women also experience menstrual cramping even post hysterectomy. Not saying you’re doing that, but I’ve heard others try that before.
[–]DominaCaecilia
Yes we do: the menstrual cycle, is fundamentally formed from infradian rhythms in the brain which everyone has. Estrogen attaches to this cycle and modulates it to account for female reproductive health, function and behaviours.
Estrogen causes this rhythm to regulate muscle contraction signaling on the T10-L1 and S2-S4 which are uterine pathways, this is the mechanism that causes cramps and ultimately menstrual bleeding. However, smooth muscle along the pelvic floor and abdomen also use this pathway resulting in the same cramping.
One quirk of this is how where a uterus is present when this system initiates, the body adapts to the uterus taking most of the signaling which the body doesn't reassess after the uterus has been removed, which is why people who have had a hysterectomy don't feel the cramps as intensely. However, where this system is initiated and no uterus is present, the smooth muscle takes the entirety of the signal resulting in cramps of similar intensity to those with a uterus.
Estrogen also modulates neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and GABA as well as hormones such as oxytocin and cortisol which account for mood changes energy levels and libido which are consistent with the pattern of the full cycle in cis women.
Finally, progesterone also interacts with the system increasing GABA and prostaglandin receptor sensitivity thus increasing pain sensitivity and signaling respectively as well as reducing serotonin and dopamine sensitivity intensifying the shift in mood.
[–]BuzySurferBee
No.
The cramping feeling comes from the cervix opening and making room for the lining of the uterus to come out. It’s from the physical pain from the dilation. Without a cervix, there’s nothing to cause that cramping. It’s the same pain/cramping from giving birth, labor pains. It’s from the cervix opening that causes this. Usually thats what makes people grumpy also is being physically uncomfortable due to that.
No cervix, no cramps.
Why answer if you dont know? The smooth muscle all around the abdomen cramps. Hormone levels are the reason for the moodiness. Trans women experience hormonal periods with everything but the bleeding.