NOTE: because this is discussing periods/hormone type stuff it is possible that some of the things talked about could be triggering for some people. Also note that this is largely based off of my personal observations, I am not an endocrinologist. -- The topic of periods for people on MTF HRT can be challenging. People say that "that's impossible" and it's true that we don't menstruate with no uterus. Well, except for people who are intersex who didn't realize it, if you get intense pain in some location of your body approximately once a month and get bruises or nose bleeds about once a month it's possible you are intersex and have endometriosis. Anyways, except for those situations there are a wide range of secondary symptoms associated with an estrogen hormone cycle. Some of my cis women friends I've talked to aren't even familiar with them because they only pay attention to the primary symptom, if that. Many were taught that the topic of periods was shameful and no one wanted to hear about it, so they just never learned these things. I figured most of this out by paying attention to my body (pattern recognition is my thing) and then corroborating what I thought I was noticing with the friends who were willing to talk about it. As I understand it, once your estrogen levels get high enough the pituitary gland starts producing the FSH and LH hormones related to a menstrual cycle which are the hormones that tend to cause the cramps and other symptoms. I should note that the wikipedia page is pretty useful for understanding how this works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle -- The best way to identify a cycle is to write down how you feel and the date. It doesn't have to be complicated just date and short feeling. Like "9/20: sad for no reason" "9/26: upset stomach" "9/27: constipated?". Keep this log for a few months and you will likely be able to start noticing some patterns. Periods can be from like 25-days to 35-days, although the longest and shortest are less common. (surprise periods can happen during times of stress as well). Mine used to be pretty solid at like 28 days but it seems that injections do mess with how noticeable things are or throw off my natural cycle a bit. With injections it seems like my period symptoms happen in chunks that are correlated with my natural cycle but the symptoms seem stronger around the peaks and valleys depending on what type of symptom I'm feeling. They're definitely not fun, but they are affirming. I get comfort knowing that things are working the way they're supposed to. The cycle is broken up approximately into 4 weeks, the way it feels for me is: 1. "Ovulation" week (yes that feels weird to write). The week where if I had a uterus my hormones would have triggered an egg to be spit out of an ovary. Generally I feel extra horny this week. Some of my AFAB friends have referred to this as "bunny week". 2. PMS week. A week of extra intense emotions where my ADHD symptoms are worse and my ADHD meds don't work. I often feel like I need to cry for no reason. 3. Period week. I feel cramps pretty strongly but they can be easy to ignore, or at least misattribute, unless you get them intensely. Quite probably if you have a uterus the cramp pain is more intense, I have no way of comparing what I feel to what a person with a uterus feels. 4. Normal/recovery week. I mostly feel normal except my digestive system is still messed up from my period week and I tend to feel bloated, and gassy, generally unsettled sometimes for the full week but usually just a few days. That's the general overview, I'll give a little more detail on the PMS and period weeks in the next sections. I do mention smell, not everyone seems to have a sensitivity to the hormone smells, and apparently some people get a little weirded out that I can sometimes smell where they are in their period. This probably won't help but it's not (usually) something I can tell just by being near someone, it's usually something I only notice when someone urinates. -- PMS details: * I can smell an extra hormonal smell I make, especially when I pee. It's almost a little sweet? idk the hormonal smells are difficult to describe. * extra emotional: needing to cry for no reason, or emotional things that do happen hit me much harder * I get extra clumsy/forgetful/distracted (extra ADHD). more than once I've accidentally stabbed a fork under a finger nail when unloading the dishwasher during my PMS week. * My ADHD meds aren't as effective. I have heard from AFAB people with hormone cycles that this is normal. -- Period details: * The hormone smell changes to be more acrid and strong at the same time. * Cramps can be almost anything. Your abdomen muscles and digestive system are spasming. Some people feel nauseous, I do occasionally feel that. Sometimes get cramps in my stomach that makes it feel like someone is squeezing the air from my lungs. Generally I get pains in my lower back. First time I actually noticed the cramps I thought I had terrible constipation for some reason, but I was definitely not constipated. * I generally can poop way easier during my period. Probably all those twitching digestive muscles. * I feel like I need to poop often but it ends up that I don't apparently this is also common. * I generally feel bloated or gassy near the end of my period week, like I have lots of air in my digestive system * When my period ends I generally get few days of constipation as my digestive system returns to normal. I also get the most awful smell. idk why but end of period shits smell awful. -- If you do experience cramps naproxen seems to work well, as well as a heating pad (advice from my AFAB friends). I usually travel with a heating pad now when I have to travel near my period week. And now you know!