Tucking Worries

[Amaranth]

I've noticed a few changes after tucking regularly, without hormones or anything that should affect that area.

When I first started, getting each testicle "up there" was a bit of a challenge; I had to lie down to do it, and they would sort of "pop" into place and leave very slight bulges.  Now, they seem smaller and slide easily in and out, sometimes on their own, leaving my front completely flat either way.  Also, the skin around them used to be tough and coarse, but is now smooth and elastic.

Are any of these effects normal?  I hadn't thought tucking 24/7 was unhealthy, and if shrinkage is all that's happening I don't mind it at all, but I don't want to cause myself harm or sabotage anything for any future surgeries...

[LivingInGrey]

I think it has a little more to do with evolutionary instincts then anything else. Your body changes to adapt to it's environment. Sort of like when your out in the sun your skin gets darker. It's the body's way of "protecting" it from burning as easily.

Something else I've noticed is (might rank as TMI) along with everything getting a bit smaller on a regular basis is when I'm tucked it's very difficult for me to become erect.

My theory is...

The testicles become smaller over time due to the psychological effects the brain has on Testosterone production. When your tucking regularly your brain is telling your body that functioning as a male is unacceptable (though there isn't much that can be done about it) and that for the time being stop acting in a normal way. Also, because of the penises "defense" mechanism it wont become randomly erect (which requires Testosterone) because there isn't enough room for it to fully become erect with out causing damage. That's the same with getting rid of an erect penis. If you press a finger nail into the penis, causing enough pain to be uncomfortable but not enough to draw blood the penis will start to go flaccid as part of it's defense mechanism (which is one of the tricks people use for the 'if you have an erection for longer then 4 hours seek medical attention').

Something that I've seen on the internet often is men asking about why their penis (the flaccid length) and balls are shrinking (like the reduction of their manhood is really that important for some reason) and most of the answers are the same. They shrink and grow for various reasons. Reduction in testosterone production, reductions in use as a sexual tool (either from solo entertainment or as a 'group function') and of course when they get cold.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. The only real issue that can come up from tucking regularly that I can think of is if you accidentally cut off blood flow to the area for an extended amount of time you could possibly cause permanent tissue damage, including to the flesh of the scrotum which is somewhat important because most Doctor's that do GRS for MtF's use the scrotum to create the labia and such.     

[Cadence Jean]

Yeah, now that my boys have shrunk so much, they pop up into my abdominal cavity on my own.  They still cause a bit of bulge around my pubis, but it's not noticeable in jeans.  None of it hurts anymore like tucking before estrogen!

[Tammy Hope]

 I'm a bit miffed that the evil twins seems as big and spry as always. Of course, that's HRT - i don't even bother to try tucking anymore because i never got it right.