Any transguys not planning on doing T?

[Mister]

Oh and Mister I'm curious, how'd you get on T right after you bled? (am I reading that wrong?)

Uh, by asking for it?  I guess i'm not sure what you're asking.
Post Merge: July 31, 2009, 12:06:30 AM

I don't have a high voice, so I can sound pretty male if I talk with my lower vocal range. I can easily pass as a high school kid, and older if I wear a nice iron shirt and slacks.

out of curiosity, what do you plan on doing when you're, say, 35?

[Arch]

Yes. I really didn't think I wanted all the extra stuff T does. I just wanted the voice change and increased muscle mass. The other stuff sounds like a lot and it sounds undesirable. I was really ambivalent about T when I first came out. Then I knew I had to have it and waited impatiently to be able to do it. And all the stuff I didn't think I wanted - hair, shaving, smell, clitoromegaly, etc - I'm ecstatic about.

One reason I didn't want certain characteristics is that I wasn't being honest with myself. I didn't want any of the features that I thought my partner wouldn't like--facial hair, body hair, body scent, growth downstairs. Then I got to a certain point where I let my guard down a little and blurted out to my friends that I wanted hair. I was about six weeks on T and was looking forward to the changes that I'd been dreading before. That's when I realized that I needed the whole shebang.

Not to mention the mental wellness that comes with it. My therapist says I needed the right juice and he was right. My brain and body, my whole being is functioning as it was meant to for the first time. It's really hard to explain until you're there. Little things like feeling stubble on my face and smelling like a man change my outlook and improve my functioning. Everything feels right. The male brain was made to run on testosterone.
Only now do I see what estrogen was doing to me.

This has been a big deal to me. For most of my adult life, I have been convinced that female hormones were causing my depression or at least making it much worse. Back in the eighties, I told a couple of gynos about my theory and was not taken seriously. They were very condescending.

Emotionally, I feel so much better on T. I'm going through a lot of life crap right now, and I am not depressed, although I do have my off days. A year from now, I'll know whether that's just transitional euphoria or the real thing. But I do feel that my brain wants testosterone. For me, this has been the right choice.

[Lachlann]

Yes. I really didn't think I wanted all the extra stuff T does. I just wanted the voice change and increased muscle mass. The other stuff sounds like a lot and it sounds undesirable. I was really ambivalent about T when I first came out. Then I knew I had to have it and waited impatiently to be able to do it. And all the stuff I didn't think I wanted - hair, shaving, smell, clitoromegaly, etc - I'm ecstatic about.

Not to mention the mental wellness that comes with it. My therapist says I needed the right juice and he was right. My brain and body, my whole being is functioning as it was meant to for the first time. It's really hard to explain until you're there. Little things like feeling stubble on my face and smelling like a man change my outlook and improve my functioning. Everything feels right. The male brain was made to run on testosterone.
Only now do I see what estrogen was doing to me.

Going to have to say the same thing. Though I'm not on T or anything, I didn't want to smell or be overly hairy and the clitoral growth weirded me out, but as time has gone on I want it now. Well, maybe not hair loss, but most of these effects are dependant on your genetics anyway... and that includes voice.

You may or may not lose your hair(I hear there's less of a risk), you may or may not turn into a hairy ape, you may or may not have an exceptionally deep voice, you may or may not have much clitoral growth, etc... and most of these things you can just guess based on the men in your family.

During my high school years I was fine with waiting, but now that I've been out for two years I'm beginning to think in order to keep my mental sanity I need to get on T. It's amazing how much dysphoria can change over a short period of time.

But that's just how I am.

[Miniar]

I wasn't sure if I wanted T 'til I researched it... and one of the things I keep seeing, over and over and over, is the internal effects.
References to the way it affects the mind.
Greater emotional control. Feeling like the brain's finally running on the right fuel. Feeling like your head's suddenly clearer. Etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,....
Adding to that the release of tension when you realize you're actually doing something about the body being just plain wrong.. and I was sold.

I know the potential risks. I've read "EVERYTHING" I can get my hands on. And while I too have no desire to turn into a hairy bear, I still think it's worth it, for me.
That doesn't mean it's worth it, to you.
That doesn't mean it won't be worth it to you later either.
Whatever you choose to do, it's got to be right, for you.

[Lachlann]

I wasn't sure if I wanted T 'til I researched it... and one of the things I keep seeing, over and over and over, is the internal effects.
References to the way it affects the mind.
Greater emotional control. Feeling like the brain's finally running on the right fuel. Feeling like your head's suddenly clearer. Etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,....
Adding to that the release of tension when you realize you're actually doing something about the body being just plain wrong.. and I was sold.

I know the potential risks. I've read "EVERYTHING" I can get my hands on. And while I too have no desire to turn into a hairy bear, I still think it's worth it, for me.
That doesn't mean it's worth it, to you.
That doesn't mean it won't be worth it to you later either.
Whatever you choose to do, it's got to be right, for you.

Absolutely this.

As long as you feel you've made the right choice, then no one can say otherwise.

[Arch]

By the way, Cris, don't ever let people tell you that a "real" transman would want T or that you have to do things a certain way. You seem to have figured this out on your own, and people on this thread are telling  you to find your own path, but I just wanted to make it explicit. You have to do what's right for you.

When I first started looking into transition, everything I read at the time about the medical and psychological establishment was very daunting; if you didn't fit into their neat little boxes, then you were not allowed to transition through official channels--unless you successfully lied. Things are much more fluid these days. You can practically write your own ticket.

[Nygeel]

Has anybody thought of "natural transition"? It doesn't seem safer than injections or anything but it's pretty much like body building. You go on a strict diet that eliminates everything that can increase estrogen levels, take supplements that increase your T levels/decrease E levels, and work out.

[Lachlann]

Has anybody thought of "natural transition"? It doesn't seem safer than injections or anything but it's pretty much like body building. You go on a strict diet that eliminates everything that can increase estrogen levels, take supplements that increase your T levels/decrease E levels, and work out.

I've heard of it and pondered it, but I felt that the changes would happen much slower.

[Nygeel]

I've heard of it and pondered it, but I felt that the changes would happen much slower.

Yes, it would be slower but if you're thinking T isn't right for you, or that you want to present as more male without the issues with injecting or anything. Or if you want to gain muscle mass...

It's just a different alternative to injections/creams.

[Autumn]

The negative effects can be maintained to a degree. I'm not sure how they feel about giving propecia to FTM, but you can use rogaine to help with some hair loss if you experience it, and if you get really bad body hair you can always laser, electro, or wax it. It's for guys too! 

Be sure to keep cleaning and exfoliating since boys are oily.

[Mister]

Yes, it would be slower but if you're thinking T isn't right for you, or that you want to present as more male without the issues with injecting or anything. Or if you want to gain muscle mass...

It's just a different alternative to injections/creams.

if you're talkign about the guy who pushes that BS on youtube, just look at him.  does he sound like a man? does he look like a man?  no.

[Lachlann]

Yes, it would be slower but if you're thinking T isn't right for you, or that you want to present as more male without the issues with injecting or anything. Or if you want to gain muscle mass...

It's just a different alternative to injections/creams.

I know there's one guy, I don't think it's the same one, that actually does sound like a dude and appears to have the physique, however I'm skeptical.

If you didn't want T or were unsure, then I'm not sure why someone would want to transition naturally to increase T levels. I just saw a video from another guy and he was showing how he naturally transitioned for a year and he didn't look or sound any different at all. So you're obviously not going to have your T levels raised enough to know if T is right for you or not and there probably isn't any real practical way of knowing.

Most effects of T are reversible early on too, but I can understand not wanting to flip flop when you do get on it. If anything, the best option you might have is to work through the reasons why you're unsure of it, because in the end I don't natural transitioning will give you an idea of what it's like if you're not on injection.

[Nero]

yeah, if 'natural' transition worked, nobody would bother with therapists and prescriptions. it's like breast enhancing creams for women - snake oil.
natural regimens may or may not enhance the T of cisguys, but I doubt it would on us. and with a lot of these supplements, you have to take dangerous amounts to get it to do anything.

[Teknoir]

I agree with you guys - that "Natural Transition" looks like a load of steaming BS, and I bet all those suppliments cost more than actual T. I feel sorry for the young guys who fall for that, waste a buttload of money, and possibly damage their livers in the process.

Ah, "natural" - the marketing tool of the "wellness" industry (they can't call it "health", as that would imply some medical science behind it). Yeah, like eating suppliments like candy is natural. I'm sure our ancestors planted great crops of suppliment trees.

To touch back on the original topic - I'm pre-T, but I want T, and all that comes with it (my own body weight in suppliments isn't going to give me an awesome goatee ). I'm just waiting for a few other general "life" things I've put into play to line up (early / mid next year).

[Radar]

Be sure to keep cleaning and exfoliating since boys are oily.

You got that right. Having the T suspended in oil probably doesn't help either. Thank goodness for Stridex.

Cristopher, if you're against injections there's always gel. I chose IM because the T's covered by my insurance, it works faster (so I've heard) and I have to do it once a week instead of twice a day. I had a horrible fear of syringes, but I knew I had to man up and get over it. I also wanted to do it myself so I wouldn't have to go to an office every week and pay for it. I prefer being independent with that.

If I can get over my syringe issues anyone can. What helped me alot was watching videos of guy's injecting themselves. It helped mentally prepare me for my first injection.

[icontact]

I'll be getting on T asap, I'm a minor atm so it's not possible. Why? Because even though I pass without it, I'm too scared of my face somehow developing so I don't pass anymore. Also I'm stealth, so in a few years, I can't really explain my lack of stubble to slow puberty anymore.

But I am also a transguy in the bay area. Good to know there's more around.

[miniangel]

For me, I am not male without testosterone.  Female hormones would still be pumping through my system... I would still have hips, and even with top surgery my fat distribution would not change.  And then with a hysterectomy, I would feel terrible.  Apparently, postmenopausal women feel horrid.  Very low estrogen, very low testosterone... There's nothing there for you.  And then your bones get thin, and so on and so forth.  Going down hill at my age is not really an option.

Just for the record, there's nothing intrinsically horrid about being postmenopausal. Some of us think it's a pretty good way to be. So a transman who chose a hysterectomy (and, of course, oophorectomy)  but not T would not automatically be condemning himself to feeling horrid.

I've been interested to read in this thread about the mental effects of T. I read a while back that giving transpeople the right hormones has a calming effect - it feels right. So, a theoretical question: if T didn't produce physical changes, would it still be worth it just for the mental effects?  Is there actually a mental effect which can be separated out from the feelings associated with potential physical changes? I think a couple of you are saying there is.

[Vancha]

Just for the record, there's nothing intrinsically horrid about being postmenopausal. Some of us think it's a pretty good way to be. So a transman who chose a hysterectomy (and, of course, oophorectomy)  but not T would not automatically be condemning himself to feeling horrid.

I've been interested to read in this thread about the mental effects of T. I read a while back that giving transpeople the right hormones has a calming effect - it feels right. So, a theoretical question: if T didn't produce physical changes, would it still be worth it just for the mental effects?  Is there actually a mental effect which can be separated out from the feelings associated with potential physical changes? I think a couple of you are saying there is.

Well, I draw my conclusions about postmenopausal women because my mother is menopausal.  She felt absolutely horrible until she began to take estrogen, which her body was not producing because she had to have a full hysterectomy.  So, every day she rubs estrogen cream on her arms and that is that.  She tells me she didn't feel human at all without it.

So I just feel that if the body is not naturally producing a sex hormone (male or female), it must be in pretty shabby shape.  I've heard it speeds up aging.

Of course, I think testosterone would be worth it just for the mental effects, if there are, truly, effects separate from simply the relief of beginning physical transition.  I would think there are.  If the brain is indeed female rather than male, you would think female hormones would work best with the female brain.  And when the body finally felt female, it would also be calming... Settling.  Even if no aesthetic changes occurred, the body's wiring depends upon hormones so things would inevitably change.

[Walter]

I don't plan on going on T. Because of personal beliefs that if I stated here it would probably not set right with some. I want the benefits of T but for the reason of my beliefs I'm not going on it

[Vancha]

I don't plan on going on T. Because of personal beliefs that if I stated here it would probably not set right with some. I want the benefits of T but for the reason of my beliefs I'm not going on it

That must be a difficult conflict for you.  I personally can't understand it, but hopefully you will come to some conclusion that allows you to be at peace.  To be honest, beliefs aside, I think the most important thing in life is self-actualization, no better stated than as Maslow did:

"...Even if all these needs are satisfied, we may still often (if not always) expect that a new discontent and restlessness will soon develop, unless the individual is doing what he or she, individually, is fitted for. Musicians must make music, artists must paint, poets must write if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves. What humans can be, they must be. They must be true to their own nature. This need we may call self-actualization."

If being true to your own nature means being the gender you feel you must be, then that is simply a part of your individual development as a human being.