Jocelyn Claire Reed has warned of the changes her body went through as she transitioned (Picture: Jocelyn Claire Reed/ SWNS)
A trans woman says she suffered ‘morning sickness’ after starting oestrogen but said ‘it was worth it’ for her incredible transformation.
Jocelyn Claire Reed, 23, was born male but began doing make-up and dressing up in women’s clothes aged 18 to ‘express herself’.
After two years, Jocelyn made the decision to transition from male to female – and began hormone replacement therapy in October last year.
But Jocelyn – known up to that point as Joseph – said an unexpected impact of the hormones was nausea in the mornings.
Doctors explained the reason she was sick multiple times every day was a combination of the testosterone blockers and oestrogen – tricking her body into thinking she was pregnant.
Jocelyn, from Crosby, Liverpool, said: ‘It was during lockdown when I decided to start my transition – I realised there was no point in waiting.
‘My family were fully supportive and so was my partner at the time, I was very lucky – even though I was nervous.
‘When I started hormones there were a lot of challenges – I definitely had a rough time adjusting because I kept being sick.
Jocelyn said she suffered ‘morning sickness’ after starting the hormone treatment (Picture: Ian Reed/ SWNS)
Jocelyn Claire Reed (left) before her trans-formation (Picture: Ian Reed/ SWNS)
Every morning Jocelyn would wake up with migraines (Picture: Ian Reed/ SWNS)
‘I really panicked at first because I thought something was going wrong with my treatment to be reacting like that.’
In October last year she had her first testosterone blocker injection began administering an oestrogen spray three times a day.
But after a few days Jocelyn found herself being constantly sick – and feared the treatment wasn’t working.
She was ‘constantly nauseous’ – and made a panicked phone call to her gender specialist about it.
Jocelyn said: ‘They told me the combination of hormones effectively tricked my body into thinking it was pregnant.
‘So, what I was experiencing was basically morning sickness.
‘It went away after a couple of weeks, but it was really strange.
‘There are changes you expect with hormones – like weight gain, your skin changing, your body hair thinning, heightened emotions – but other things they don’t really tell you about.’
The acne was brought on by the hormone injections (Picture: Jocelyn Claire Reed/ SWNS)
She was left with heavy acne due to the hormones (Picture: Jocelyn Claire Reed/ SWNS)
She also went through laser hair removal treatment (Picture: Jocelyn Claire Reed/ SWNS)
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Luckily the sickness went away after a few weeks, and she began to notice some of those other physical changes starting to occur.
Jocelyn said her family were very understanding and supported her.
She said: ‘My parents said they weren’t surprised at all.
‘They told me an early memory of me aged two, in an airport, having a tantrum because they wouldn’t buy me a Barbie doll.’
Jocelyn now plans to have a breast augmentation and sex reassignment surgery in the years to come.
While she said that’ll be the final step for her, she said she has accepted who she is – and is ‘confident and happy’ with where she is at.
Jocelyn has integrated herself into an online community of other trans women who support each other’s journeys.
She has even developed a huge social media following – more than 350,000 followers on TikTok – to share her journey with.
Jocelyn said: ‘When I first accepted that I was transgender, I was quite shocked.
‘But looking back, I think I always subconsciously knew it.
‘I’m not yet where I want to be, but I’m happy with where I am now.’
‘My only regret is not doing it sooner.’
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Migraines and heavy acne were also some of the side effects of the hormone replacement therapy.
