i a male trying to go from male to female without getting rid of my penis will woman hormones take away my sex drive or not? (!)
It varies from person to person and there's no way of knowing without taking the hormones. I'd assume it'd decrease it, but who knows?
No idea. Don't know who you're insured with, where you are or any possible conditions you may have that could affect whether you'd be able to start HRT. Also, bare in mind, it will take a while before you'd be allowed to start HRT.
OP, I'd recommend seeing the "estrogen" thread from a while back as I posted the Standards of Care for HRT information. Sex drive is typically decreased by some amount. And you are not allowed to start HRT until a counselor signs off on it; this is for your physical and emotional well-being to make sure that transition is healthy and appropriate for you.
Normally, you'd be assessed by your doctor, referred to a therapist (takes a few months), see your therapist, await confirmation to start HRT (takes ~6 months).
This actually depends on where you are located. There are some places that now work under the informed consent model. This is a very recent thing though, so there are not many places that do this yet.