Health risks regarding T

[Parkhockey27]

I was just browsing the interwebs and i found a post on T that really interested me. Some guys were complaining about unspoken health risks of taking testosterone and that you become very unhealthy after starting. This kind of scares me since I will be starting my treatments soon and was wondering what any of you have heard about or had experience with, dealing with unexpected health problems such as blood clots, heart problems, etc.? Or is it just a myth?

[makipu]

I think the risks depend on the person's body but they are accurate. My doctor also mentioned the heart problems before prescribing it to me.

[Emerson]

Also keep in mind all the studies of testosterone are done either in low doses for women, or higher doses for men. No long term studies have been done on transmen (that I am aware of, but I have looked).

Men on high doses of t have higher risks of heart diseases. That doesn't mean transmen will. It also doesn't mean it's not 10 times worse.  We are still pioneers.

[Kreuzfidel]

Something else to remember is that cismales have a higher chance of cardiac issues - it's not just people who take T for medical reasons, but it's just the nature of the hormone and it's effects on the body. 

I certainly would not say that you become "unhealthy" after starting T - that's just not true.  Yes, you need to be proactive about your health and make sure that you eat a healthy diet, get plenty of exercise and understand the risks if you already have cardiac issues, high blood pressure or high cholesterol - but T isn't going to suddenly cause a decline in the health of most normal (and healthy) people.

[Cindy]

There was a report on several hundred transmen and transwomen presented at WPATH in February by Louis Grossen, an eminent endocrinologist. His conclusion on the biggest survey of trans*people so far suggested minimal effects of T on the health of transmen. It was not as favourable for transwomen on oral E particularly in the the over 40 overweight group of women.

So I wouldn't worry, live a healthy life, don't smoke, eat healthy, don't be overweight and exercise. You should be fine as far as the effect of T is concerned.

[aleon515]

I suggest eating healthy and exercise. I co-moderate a group for trans men over 40 on FB (if anybody is interested PM me, and it is NOT a secret group, it's closed). Anyway, we have a lot of guys starting out after 40 and a lot of them are healthier now than they were before.

--Jay

[Arch]

I was just browsing the interwebs and i found a post on T that really interested me. Some guys were complaining about unspoken health risks of taking testosterone and that you become very unhealthy after starting. This kind of scares me since I will be starting my treatments soon and was wondering what any of you have heard about or had experience with, dealing with unexpected health problems such as blood clots, heart problems, etc.? Or is it just a myth?

Frankly, these guys sound like they are not too bright if they are as you represent them. Unspoken health risks? Really? What are they doing, buying their stuff in back alleys? Do they not read their literature and listen to their doctors? Yes, HRT comes with reported risks although the exact risks for trans men are not well studied. If these guys didn't know about the stated risks, then it seems to me that they must have gone out of their way to ignore them. And they seem to know about the risks now; they can always stop taking T.

Every action has consequences. If a guy doesn't like the potential consequences, he can always make a different choice. From my perspective, the risks I've been warned about (a big laundry list of possible symptoms, I might add) are better than suicide, which was my other option when I was deciding what to do about HRT. (Of course, this perspective doesn't help much if a guy never got to that stage.)

[Ryan55]

Everything you put in your body has risks even a simple motrin for a headache has ton of side effects on the bottle. Long as you follow a doctors orders and keep up with bloodwork, you will be ok. My mom is more so worried about the effects of T, so I found these youtube vids by ryan sallans that might help explain it better.