Testosterone

[Ryan55]

Hey guys,

Does anyone know anything I can use to educate someone about taking testosterone? I came out to my mom recently, and she kind of gets it, she told me she still loves me, and shes cool with me dressing like a guy and stuff, but she is against me getting hormones. I don't know how to show her that it is not as dangerous as she thinks it is. She kind of goes back and forth, one minute supporting me and the next saying i'm crazy, but I know its a lot to take in. So I was wondering if anyone knows any good articles or videos, I can get her to watch and maybe open her mind about it. I am over 18, so I can start taking hormones without her consent, just would be easier if she supported me in it.

[invisiblemonsters]

these give the general explanation of hormones:

http://www.ftmguide.org/ttherapybasics.html
http://www.camh.ca/en/hospital/care_program_and_services/hospital_services/Documents/hormones-FTM.pdf

i used the second when considering going on hormones as it was given to me by my therapist. it was helpful and went into more detail about more social/personal issues that t won't fix (like having everyone accept you just because you're taking t).

there's also plenty of videos on youtube! you could definitely search it up and have your pick of some of the ones you think will be helpful or apply to your situation. my mom was nervous about me starting because of it but ultimately realized if i have the proper care (having a doctor monitoring me properly) i should be fine and can be taken off it if anything serious becomes an issue.

[Calder Smith]

Here's a good video that shows changes of the female body on T:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvAClyCwZvU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

And here's a good article as well:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003707.htm

Hope all goes well!

[Ryan55]

thanks guys, this helps a lot, hopefully I can get my mom to understand

[Declan.]

You'll get regular blood work to make sure everything's going well. If you started having health problems, you would know.

[AJarrah]

Hey guys,

Does anyone know anything I can use to educate someone about taking testosterone? I came out to my mom recently, and she kind of gets it, she told me she still loves me, and shes cool with me dressing like a guy and stuff, but she is against me getting hormones. I don't know how to show her that it is not as dangerous as she thinks it is. She kind of goes back and forth, one minute supporting me and the next saying i'm crazy, but I know its a lot to take in. So I was wondering if anyone knows any good articles or videos, I can get her to watch and maybe open her mind about it. I am over 18, so I can start taking hormones without her consent, just would be easier if she supported me in it.

I guess here's a little breakdown for her the best I can say in my experience personally.

Yes, it can cause issues with your body as far as organs and their functions go. However, you'll have routine bloodwork so that if anything does go haywire, your doctor can find it and get you right off of the hormones without damaging yourself.
Yes, you'll most likely be "sterile" after starting T. However, if you really wanted to shell out the money and effort, you could put some eggs in a cryobank to "save for later".
Your voice will change, you'll grow hair all up in everywhere, your junk enlarges, you may get some acne and feel like it's a second puberty, but all of that is cosmetic stuff that most of us are going for. Those things aren't going to hinder your body's health and if anything does start to function abnormally, that's what the bloodwork is for.
And you're not going to go into a roid-raging frenzy because you're taking testosterone. We're not body builders.
It's a mom's job to be worried or concerned, can't blame her for that. But the fact of the matter is there's thousands upon thousands of us doing it, and most of us are a lot better off now that we're on it. It makes day to day life start in a whole different world. I can say personally, all of my labwork results always show my organ function to be great and normal, cholesterol is perfectly normal, testosterone level is normal for a male, and I'm getting all of the results I'd hoped for. Being on testosterone is going to be worrisome for a parent, but the reality of it is that it's safe and if by some weird off chance something did go wrong, which it most often doesn't, it'll be monitored closely by your doctor and they can pull you off of it.

That's the best I can explain what I assume most parents worry about :/ hope that helped something.

[Ryan55]

I guess here's a little breakdown for her the best I can say in my experience personally.

Yes, it can cause issues with your body as far as organs and their functions go. However, you'll have routine bloodwork so that if anything does go haywire, your doctor can find it and get you right off of the hormones without damaging yourself.
Yes, you'll most likely be "sterile" after starting T. However, if you really wanted to shell out the money and effort, you could put some eggs in a cryobank to "save for later".
Your voice will change, you'll grow hair all up in everywhere, your junk enlarges, you may get some acne and feel like it's a second puberty, but all of that is cosmetic stuff that most of us are going for. Those things aren't going to hinder your body's health and if anything does start to function abnormally, that's what the bloodwork is for.
And you're not going to go into a roid-raging frenzy because you're taking testosterone. We're not body builders.
It's a mom's job to be worried or concerned, can't blame her for that. But the fact of the matter is there's thousands upon thousands of us doing it, and most of us are a lot better off now that we're on it. It makes day to day life start in a whole different world. I can say personally, all of my labwork results always show my organ function to be great and normal, cholesterol is perfectly normal, testosterone level is normal for a male, and I'm getting all of the results I'd hoped for. Being on testosterone is going to be worrisome for a parent, but the reality of it is that it's safe and if by some weird off chance something did go wrong, which it most often doesn't, it'll be monitored closely by your doctor and they can pull you off of it.

That's the best I can explain what I assume most parents worry about :/ hope that helped something.

Thanks bro, this really helped me