This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, this account appears authentic. The user ("folkinghell") demonstrates:
- Personal, detailed medical and emotional experiences with HRT, detransition, and related health concerns (e.g., specific timelines, physical changes, ovulation signs, book recommendations).
- Consistent perspective focused on internalized misogyny, trauma, and the long-term health risks of medical transition, which is a common and passionate viewpoint among detransitioners.
- Interactive and nuanced engagement, including replying to others, expressing frustration with downvotes, and pondering community dynamics.
There are no serious red flags suggesting this is a bot or an inauthentic account. The comments reflect the voice of a genuine, passionate detransitioned woman.
About me
I was born female and started taking testosterone because I believed it was my only way out of deep distress, fueled by past trauma and a discomfort with womanhood. I lived as a man for several years before realizing my need to transition came from unaddressed mental health issues and a fixation I now manage as part of my OCD. I stopped nearly three years ago and have worked hard to heal through therapy, connecting with other detrans women, and learning to accept my female body. While I don't regret the journey because it brought me to self-awareness, I am deeply concerned about the serious, long-term health risks I wasn't fully warned about. I'm now at peace, living as a gender non-conforming woman who understands there's no wrong way to be female.
My detransition story
My journey with transition and detransition was long and complicated. I was born female, and for a long part of my life, I genuinely believed I was meant to be a man. I now see that my desire to transition came from a mix of deep-seated issues I hadn't dealt with.
A lot of it was rooted in trauma from my childhood and a strong feeling of internalized misogyny. I had a big disconnect from and a desire not to be like the prominent female figures in my family. I also realize now that I have obsessive thought patterns, which I manage as part of my OCD. These patterns definitely played a role in fixating on gender dysphoria. For me, there was also a real discomfort with puberty; I hated the development of my breasts and the unwanted sexual attention that comes with having a female body. I think a lot of women feel this way, but for me, it got tangled up with my identity.
I started taking testosterone and lived as a man for several years. At the time, I was in so much distress that I truly believed it was the only thing that could help me. I wish I had known all the possible health risks beforehand. I didn't fully understand that long-term testosterone use in females is linked to a higher risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, diabetes, and vaginal atrophy. I’ve also seen it connected to early osteoporosis, especially after a hysterectomy. Knowing what I know now, I would never have thought it was worth the risk, but I wasn't in a place to make that decision then.
After nearly three years on testosterone, I stopped. I’ve been off it for almost three years now. My body hair has reduced a little and lightened in some areas. I shave my face every other day, but I don't shave my body. It doesn't bother me too much; I know many women who have a lot of natural body hair. It doesn't make me any less female.
The process of detransitioning and understanding myself has taken a lot of work. I had to really dig into my trauma with books on PTSD and use OCD workbooks to combat my obsessive thoughts. I found a lot of support and comfort from online detrans communities and watching videos by other detrans women. Doing things that made me feel connected to my body, like yoga, was crucial. I also made a point to consume media with strong female characters and make more female friends who break stereotypes.
I don't regret my transition because it led me to where I am now, and I’ve learned so much about myself. But I do have serious concerns about the medical process and how little we know about the long-term effects. I think it's medically cruel to the body to inject opposite-sex hormones, and it feeds money into big pharma. I never got top or bottom surgery, and I'm very glad I didn't. I know one detrans woman who got top surgery after detransitioning and she deeply regrets it now.
My fertility did return. I had a child years before I ever transitioned. After I stopped testosterone, it took about two years for my menstrual cycle to fully normalize and for me to get regular, obvious signs of ovulation again. I use an app to track my cycle, which has been really helpful.
My thoughts on gender now are that there's no right or wrong way to be a woman. I'm still gender non-conforming and have a masculine presentation, and that's okay. Being female doesn't mean I have to fit into a specific box. I’ve made peace with my body. I love my body the way it is. It is female, and it is mine.
| Age | Year | Event |
|---|---|---|
| (Before transition) | (Years ago) | Gave birth to my child. |
| 26 | 2017 | Started taking testosterone. |
| 29 | 2020 | Stopped testosterone. Began detransition. |
| 32 | 2023 | Present day. Off T for nearly 3 years. Cycle normalized. |
Top Comments by /u/folkinghell:
Once you have a hysto you will be forever dependent on testosterone injections. A really powerful question I read once (that someone else asked) was if they really wanted to be a senior person and still be reliant on a weekly shot of T. I think most people don't imagine old age will be like that.
I wish I had known all the possible side effects of testosterone ahead of time (increased heart attack risk, diabetes, reproductive damage, atrophy, etc) and then been able to ask myself if it is really worth it, even if I suffered some of those side effects. My true answer would have been no but I don't think I could have made that decision at the time because I was in such distress and I genuinely believed transition was the only thing that could help me.
EDIT Downvotes with no comment? SMH if what I said is controversial you'll just have to spell that one out for me.
No one here owes you anything. If you really want to support detransioners then stop taking up space on this sub and instead poke around and read firsthand experiences of detransitioners and read the posts and comments detrans people have made on this sub detailing how you can support them and do what they ask.
Oh bummer! Her videos helped me a lot when I was first detransitioning. Perhaps she took em down herself. I imagine any detrans content is getting a lot of unwanted attention now since the existence of detrans people is starting to be acknowledged by the media and otherwise.
It makes me feel a little poked and prodded to honest, people asking whether or not we’re transphobic is like a catch 22.
Yes, I really relate to this.
I certainly agree it's not the mods fault, too. Just wondering if, particularly after the ban, there are changes that could be made to better this community for the detrans people here.
Detrans female here. Been off T for nearly 3 years and my body hair has reduced a little and, in some areas, lightened. I don't shave my body hair but do my face and am at the point where I can shave every other day. I know natal women with a lot of natural body hair, so it's never bothered me too much. Doesn't make you less female or any less attractive but might want to consider laser hair removal eventually if you really can't live with it. Best of luck to you.
- There is no right or wrong way to be detrans. I know tons of gender non-conforming detrans women ( myself included), i.e. have a masculine presentation. I will say, though, I only know one detrans woman who continued to change her body after detransition (top surgery) and she deeply regrets it now.
- Ethically wrong? I would say mostly no, although medical transition does continue to feed money into big pharma and that sucks. Medically wrong and cruel to your body? Yes. Injecting opposite sex hormones into your body does have a lasting impact on your health and has been widely understudied. However, I can tell you without a doubt long term use of testosterone in females has been linked to: higher rate of heart attack, high cholesterol, diabetes and can cause vaginal atrophy. Aside from that, IRL I've also seen it linked to early osteoporosis (with hysto) and PCOS diagnosis after HRT that was not present pre-HRT.
- I, personally, had the same experience growing up and for most of my life. It was through intensive work after detransition that I found the roots of these feelings - mainly it originated from internalised misogyny, childhood trauma and a big disconnect from/desire to not be like the prominent female people in my family.
- This takes time and a lot of effort on your part. It is work. If you truly want to get there then you will. Find your detrans community online (there are some excellent groups on facebook and you can check out the #detransition/#detrans and other relevant tags on instagram to find other detransitioned women to follow), if you suffered trauma then get some books on PTSD (like The Body Keeps The Score) and work on healing that part of yourself, if you have obsessive thought patterns about transition (like I do) then get an OCD workbook, watch youtube videos by other detrans women discussing their experiences, start doing things that make you feel "in your body" (like yoga, dry brushing, somatic experiences, etc), digest mostly if not only media with strong female characters and listen to more music by women, make more female friends that also break sex stereotypes and (most importantly of all) GIVE IT TIME. These are things that helped me a lot.
- Find your triggers and address them. If you have obsessive thought patterns around dysphoria like me, get some books or workbooks and work on combating obsessive thought patterns. Find some good distraction activities you can push yourself toward doing when obsessive thought patterns come up. If you're firmly rooted in detransition, you can also use affirmations like "I love my body the way it is" and "my body is female and mine", etc.
- Aside from that, most women do not want to be women. Even if you didn't experience trauma, the unwanted attention the female body gets from a young age is off-putting. The images of over-sexualized women we're force fed our entire lives, being a pubescent girl in public, getting unwanted attention from any direction... there's a million reasons a girl wouldn't want to be a girl. Internalised misogyny can be very subtle. I would never, ever had considered myself to have been holding onto internalised misogyny until about 3 years ago. That means 26 years of my life I was in denial to that.
- There is no right and wrong. There is no moral obligation. There is only treating yourself with the love and respect you deserve and making the decisions that are best for yourself with the information you have. Best of luck to you.
There's a detransitioner on Youtube who got pregnant after T. She's not made a ton of videos about it but here's her channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPtDWSJVi8BCFCzYGCJoZug
Now, here's my experience. I got pregnant and gave birth years before physical transition. I always had very obvious signs of ovulation every month. After detransition, it took awhile for my periods to normalize and I just started having very clear signs of ovulation on a monthlay basis around the 2 year mark. I had signs of ovulation before this but it didn't occur regularly until my cycle got back to normal and that just takes time. So, it is absolutely possible that you will still be able to conceive. Just gotta give it time and pay attention to the ques your body gives you. I recommend keeping track of your cycle and symptoms, as this helped me immensely with noticing changes. I use an app called Flo on my phone. Hope this is helpful!