This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, the account appears authentic. There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or a bad-faith actor.
The user's posts are consistent, detailed, and emotionally plausible. They describe a multi-year personal timeline of transition and detransition, including specific experiences (like a difficult shroom trip) and practical steps (changing ID, gym routines, hormone effects) that align with a genuine lived experience. The passion and criticism of transition practices are consistent with the stated context of someone who feels harmed by their experience.
About me
I'm a male who started estrogen at 19 after struggling to fit in as a teenager. My entire transition happened in isolation during COVID, and when I finally re-entered the world, I realized living as a woman was a mistake for me. A bad experience with psychedelics became a major turning point that made me question everything. I stopped hormones, focused on my health, and have worked to get my body back to its natural state. It's been about 10 months, and I'm finally feeling more comfortable just being myself.
My detransition story
My whole journey with this started when I was a teenager. I didn't really know what being trans was until then, but around the age of 12, I first thought I might be gay. Being a guy who didn't fit into the narrow ideas of what a man should be was really hard. People, even in "accepting" spaces, would often misgender me because I didn't look or act how they expected a man to. That was frustrating and confusing.
When I learned about being transgender, I thought that might be the answer for me. I moved out and went to college, and that's when I decided to start hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with estrogen. I was 19. The process to get it was surprisingly easy. I was only asked four or five questions by a doctor at a local gender clinic and didn't have to talk to a psychiatrist at all. I know I would have said anything to get that prescription, and nothing would have made me pause and think it through. I think that's the case for a lot of people.
Right after I started, COVID hit, and I was stuck inside, not interacting with anyone in real life. For four years, my entire transition happened in isolation. I wasn't living in the real world. When I finally got a job and started being around people again, I passed as female more or less, but I was never comfortable. Life is just insanely difficult when you're trans, and passing didn't fix how I felt inside.
I had a really bad experience with psychedelic drugs that became a huge turning point for me. I had a terrible trip on shrooms where I saw myself and my partner at the time, who was a trans man, as these liquid forms circling a drain and exchanging bodies. It's hard to describe, but it made me feel like I had to escape my own body. It was a terrifying feeling.
I spent a few weeks thinking about everything. I had been on HRT for four years at that point. I realized that I had made a mistake. I came to believe that someone becomes trans when they choose to transition; it's not something you're born with. You could maybe be born with gender dysphoria, but being trans itself requires all these conscious choices.
I told my partner I was detransitioning. I just stopped taking estrogen cold turkey. The first few months were rough—I felt really lethargic and depressed, which was from having low hormone levels. I dealt with it by focusing on exercise and a good diet, and I avoided going on testosterone replacement therapy because I wanted my body to start producing its own testosterone again naturally.
I cut my hair off, started binding my chest to make it flatter, and explained the situation to my boss, who actually had no idea I was trans in the first place. Eventually, I got my ID switched back to male. The clinic that originally prescribed me HRT is now helping me test my hormone levels to make sure everything is going back to normal, which I think is the professional thing for them to do.
It's been about 10 months since I detransitioned, and I'm so happy I did it. I've been going to the gym super hard this whole time, and that's been really helping me work through my body image issues. I think I had misinterpreted those feelings before. It took about a year to 18 months after stopping hormones for people to consistently gender me as male again, which I think is because facial fat distribution takes a long time to change.
Looking back, I wish there had been a way for me to have real-life experience (RLE) in a meaningful way before starting medical transition. Actually living as female in the world, which finally happened after COVID, is what made me realize it was a mistake for me. Even when I passed fully, I still felt the same underlying discomfort.
I don't believe I was born to be male or female; I think I was born a male who didn't fit the stereotype, and I confused that with being transgender. I do have some regrets about transitioning because of the time and energy I lost, and the health complications I now have to manage, like making sure my hormones balance out. But I don't regret detransitioning at all. I'm finally feeling more comfortable just being myself.
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 12 | First thought I might be gay. |
| 19 | Started estrogen (E) hormone therapy. |
| 23 | Had a bad psychedelic trip that led me to question my transition. |
| 23 | Stopped HRT cold turkey and began social detransition (cut hair, binding). |
| 23 | Got my ID legally changed back to male. |
| 24 | Consistently being gendered male again (approx. 18 months after stopping E). |
Top Comments by /u/sk3l3tonh4v3r:
I'd gender you female on a glance, but fwiw for me tbh it took a year or 18 months ish until i was consistently gendered male again after 4y on E- something to do with facial fat distribution i think which makes you look strongly masculine or feminine depending, and takes a long time to change.
someone becomes trans when they choose to transition. it can never be an innate thing because it requires the person to make conscious and continual choices in pursuit of their goal to transition. you could argue someone is born with gender dysphoria, which I disagree with, but you cannot argue people are born trans.
Being male is hard while being gnc, as there is a very narrow idea of what is acceptable for men. Couple that bias with "accepting" spaces and many allies who are trying to not misgender what they see as a trans person end up misgendering you because you didn't fit what they see as male. I haven't found a way to deal with it personally but I think that having a sense of humor in these interactions softens the blow and can make them less embarrassed to have misgendered you and less insistent on calling you something other than "him" yk?
Started E at 19. I was asked maybe four or five questions and did not have to talk to a psychiatrist. Nothing would have given me pause, and I would have said anything to get the RX. This is the case for many people, or so I gather. I wish there was a way for people to have RLE in a meaningful way prior to starting medical transition, as that's what finally made me realize I had made a mistake when I passed fully and still felt the same way.
Idk I never believed I was born to be male during my youth for a whole bunch of reasons- I didn't know what being trans was until I was a teenager and at that point I thought it could be me. I first thought I might be gay at like 12 or so tho. After I moved out and went to college I started hrt and then covid hit so I was basically inside not interacting with people ever. When I finally got a job and started interacting with people in real life again I passed more or less but I was never comfortable. Life is also insanely difficult in general when you're trans. I had a really bad trip on shrooms where I saw myself and my partner at the time (ftm) circling a drain in like a liquid form and exchanging bodies- idk hard to describe but I felt like I had to escape my own body. I thought about it a few weeks as I'd been on hrt for four years at that point but eventually told them I was detransing. I just cut my hair off, started binding, explained the situation to my boss (who had no idea I had been trans in the first place) and eventually got my ID switched back. It's been about 10 months now and I'm so happy I did it. I've been hitting the gym super hard for about that long too and that's been helping me with the body image issues I may have interpreted poorly.
I was on for 4 years and stopped cold turkey. I was fine, but the first few months I experienced lethargy and depression, symptoms of low overall hormone levels. Exercise and good diet help with these, and absolutely try to avoid going on trt as it can impact your ability to naturally produce t.
I just started going to the gym again so I don't have long term results for u but fat takes a long ass time to change especially subcutaneous fat which is what E gives you. Nobody cares what you look like at the gym; it's where you go to improve yourself!
Yes, I don't want to dox myself by naming the doctor but there's a local gender clinic here that prescribed me HRT for years, but is now helping me to test hormone levels going back to normal and is helping me w surgery too. I think it'd be wildly unprofessional for them not to.