How long do you take T?

[KarlMars]

How many years does it take to turn you as male as you're going to get?  Do you have to do it the rest of your life? Thanks, Ansel.

[Ayden]

People vary with how long they are on hormones.  Some stay on T for the rest of their lives, some go off for various reasons. If you have a complete hysto and have your ovaries removed, it is something that you will need to discuss with your doctor, as the lack of sex hormones can cause health problems. If you have no surgery and go off hormones then it is likely that your cycles will start again.

All that being said, I was on T for three years, off for one and just restarted 3 months ago, as I unfortunately lost my access to a doctor since I was overseas.  I personally don't have much facial hair yet, but now that I have a new doctor I've noticed a lot of new hair growth.  The changes happen for different guys at different times, just like puberty. My husband hit puberty and had facial hair by 12 whereas my brother couldn't grow anything until he 17. A decent measuring stick would be to look at the men in your family to get an idea. It should be noted that if you go off T some of the effects will reverse such as body fat redistribution, monthly cycles may return and I experienced a decrease in the growth of my facial hair and body hair. Now that I'm back on its starting to pick back up. 

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[KarlMars]

People vary with how long they are on hormones.  Some stay on T for the rest of their lives, some go off for various reasons. If you have a complete hysto and have your ovaries removed, it is something that you will need to discuss with your doctor, as the lack of sex hormones can cause health problems. If you have no surgery and go off hormones then it is likely that your cycles will start again.

All that being said, I was on T for three years, off for one and just restarted 3 months ago, as I unfortunately lost my access to a doctor since I was overseas.  I personally don't have much facial hair yet, but now that I have a new doctor I've noticed a lot of new hair growth.  The changes happen for different guys at different times, just like puberty. My husband hit puberty and had facial hair by 12 whereas my brother couldn't grow anything until he 17. A decent measuring stick would be to look at the men in your family to get an idea. It should be noted that if you go off T some of the effects will reverse such as body fat redistribution, monthly cycles may return and I experienced a decrease in the growth of my facial hair and body hair. Now that I'm back on its starting to pick back up. 

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So stay a male I'd have to remain on it the rest of my life?

[Kylo]

For life if you want the continued effects of facial hair, easier muscle growth and maintenance, psychological effects, no periods etc.

Even if you take enough long enough to make your voice drop I've heard of some FTM going off T and their voice begins to rise in pitch again. Lots of reports of the body basically re-feminizing if they stop T and the ovaries take charge again, periods will probably return, and so on.

Much of the physical state of being a mature male or female is a result of the continuous presence of the correct hormone in high enough concentrations.

[Elis]

It takes about 5 years for a trans male to get all the changes; same as a cis male going through puberty. If you have taken T after female puberty; then when you stop your face will start to look feminine again because you don't have a male facial structure. If you start during female puberty you should still look quite male after stopping T. Periods will come back as well as your body going back to how it looked before and your voice will continue being deep. You'll basically have to take it for life in order to continue looking as masculine as possible.

[Ayden]

So stay a male I'd have to remain on it the rest of my life?

To prevent certain things like fat patterns from reverting,  you would need to take hormones for the rest of your life, from my understanding. I know some guys, when they get older, reduce the amount of testosterone they take. But I don't know of anyone who went off who didn't have reversed effects. 

If you stay on T for the rest of your life is ultimately a personal decision and one you would need to talk to a doctor about.

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[FTMax]

The general number thrown out there is 5 years to masculinize as much as you're going to. There are some longer term YouTubers out there that you could look into. I think both Chase Ross and Aydian Dowling are well past the 5 year mark, so you could look back at their updates and see if you spot anything different.

The issue is that some changes on T are reversible if you were to stop. Your voice will stay at the pitch level it reached when you quit T, it will not continue to drop. Any facial or body hair that has already filled in will continue to grow, but you will likely not see new growth. Downstairs growth will remain. Fat will redistribute into a more female pattern. If you've experienced hair loss, it will likely not fill back in. If you still have working internal plumbing, shark week will come back. Acne may go away with time. Sex drive may decrease. RBC and cholesterol will return to pre-T levels.

Another concern is hormone production. If you still have your ovaries, you're fine. If you don't and you want to stop taking T, you put yourself at a risk for bone density issues. You would need to take some kind of hormone to alleviate this.

So for your original question - roughly 5 years is what is estimated to reach your "full potential". But there are a lot of considerations to make if you're going to consider stopping.

[KarlMars]

The general number thrown out there is 5 years to masculinize as much as you're going to. There are some longer term YouTubers out there that you could look into. I think both Chase Ross and Aydian Dowling are well past the 5 year mark, so you could look back at their updates and see if you spot anything different.

The issue is that some changes on T are reversible if you were to stop. Your voice will stay at the pitch level it reached when you quit T, it will not continue to drop. Any facial or body hair that has already filled in will continue to grow, but you will likely not see new growth. Downstairs growth will remain. Fat will redistribute into a more female pattern. If you've experienced hair loss, it will likely not fill back in. If you still have working internal plumbing, shark week will come back. Acne may go away with time. Sex drive may decrease. RBC and cholesterol will return to pre-T levels.

Another concern is hormone production. If you still have your ovaries, you're fine. If you don't and you want to stop taking T, you put yourself at a risk for bone density issues. You would need to take some kind of hormone to alleviate this.

So for your original question - roughly 5 years is what is estimated to reach your "full potential". But there are a lot of considerations to make if you're going to consider stopping.

So it's smart to continue throughout your whole life?

[FTMax]

The general number thrown out there is 5 years to masculinize as much as you're going to. There are some longer term YouTubers out there that you could look into. I think both Chase Ross and Aydian Dowling are well past the 5 year mark, so you could look back at their updates and see if you spot anything different.

The issue is that some changes on T are reversible if you were to stop. Your voice will stay at the pitch level it reached when you quit T, it will not continue to drop. Any facial or body hair that has already filled in will continue to grow, but you will likely not see new growth. Downstairs growth will remain. Fat will redistribute into a more female pattern. If you've experienced hair loss, it will likely not fill back in. If you still have working internal plumbing, shark week will come back. Acne may go away with time. Sex drive may decrease. RBC and cholesterol will return to pre-T levels.

Another concern is hormone production. If you still have your ovaries, you're fine. If you don't and you want to stop taking T, you put yourself at a risk for bone density issues. You would need to take some kind of hormone to alleviate this.

So for your original question - roughly 5 years is what is estimated to reach your "full potential". But there are a lot of considerations to make if you're going to consider stopping.

So it's smart to continue throughout your whole life?

It really depends on your circumstances and what your plans are. For me, I am planning to take it for the rest of my life because I have had my ovaries removed. If you decided to have a hysterectomy, you could leave your ovaries in and potentially go off T at a later point with few consequences other than reversible changes happening.

[KarlMars]

So it's smart to continue throughout your whole life?


It really depends on your circumstances and what your plans are. For me, I am planning to take it for the rest of my life because I have had my ovaries removed. If you decided to have a hysterectomy, you could leave your ovaries in and potentially go off T at a later point with few consequences other than reversible changes happening.

What would happen if I had my ovaries taken out? Would I stay more masculine?

Also if I stayed on T all my life would I go bald faster?