In general breast development may be noticeable within a couple of weeks. This will mostly involve a little puffiness on the chest and your nipples being hard much of the time. These changes are MOSTLY reversible up to 6 months but some changes will be permanent by the time you reach the 6 month mark.
There is actually a system (Tanner scale I-V) for categorizing breast development invented by doctors. Which I will reference here.
- Tanner I
no glandular tissue: areola follows the skin contours of the chest (prepubertal) (typically age 10 and younger) - Tanner II
breast bud forms, with small area of surrounding glandular tissue; areola begins to widen (10–11.5) - Tanner III
breast begins to become more elevated, and extends beyond the borders of the areola, which continues to widen but remains in contour with surrounding breast (11.5–13) - Tanner IV
increased breast size and elevation; areola and papilla form a secondary mound projecting from the contour of the surrounding breast (13–15) - Tanner V
breast reaches final adult size; areola returns to contour of the surrounding breast, with a projecting central papilla. (15+)
As you can see above it takes roughly 4-5 years for a Cis Female to reach a fully mature adult breast, Tanner V. First of all, most transwomen will not reach stage V. Those that do generally have had orchiectomy and are under 22-3 years old. The reason is the human growth hormones your body relies on during puberty to speed growth peaks at 16-18 and drops off dramatically after 22-24 years of age.
Most transwomen will not have fully developed breasts. Understand that this is normal. Most will be Tanner III or Tanner IV.
From the experiences of many others it seems that most breast development will be within the first 18 months and then slow almost to a stop. If you have had an orchiectomy then breast growth may continue out to 3 years. Even small amounts of testosterone slow down and stop the growth process and even on antiandrogens you will have some testosterone.
Some other miscellaneous facts and factors.
- Proper breast growth seems to require progesterone as well as estradiol and many endocrinologists still do not prescribe progesterone for some reason. Progesterone will help you develop a fuller breast and mammary glands. There are both synthetic and natural progesterones. One may work better than the other for different people. Progesterone is also involved specifically in nipple growth.
One reason it is not prescribed is becuase it is going out of favor in postmenopausal women to supplement with progesterone. The medical risks for progesterone use are only really relevant for older persons and mostly not a factor if you are 20-40 years of age. Ask about adding progesterone. - Intramuscular Injectable Estradiol tends to give better results than pills or transdermal patches. It is also safer as the estrogen only has to pass the liver once which may reduce the risk of blood clots. It can make you more moody though as the estradiol levels taper off between shots.
- A Good diet is essential. Make sure you are taking a multivitamin and eating healthy but that your Zinc levels are not too high. Zinc interferes with estrogen absorption. I would also suggest Omega 3 / Fish oil tablets and a Calcium +D pill. Being on HRT makes you more susceptible to Osteoporosis and the Calcium helps fight that.
- When your breasts grow it will hurt. First it will start with little prickling sensations which the Extra Details mention. This will get worse before it gets better and it is totally normal.
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