Questions about T

[Aar0n]

I hardly know alot about T except you can get facial hair.I have a few questions for you guys (if you don't mind)


Can T make you taller?

How long do you have to take T into you start seeing results?
For example:facial hair

If someone stops taking T does that mean you won't get anymore result?For example:the facial hair will stop growing

Can you take T after you get surgery or is it best to take it before surgery?


What are the side effects of T?   

Thanks in Advance

-Aaron
 

[tinkerbell]

Hello Aaron;

Testosterone is indeed a very powerful hormone, and normally you will be required to have a gender therapist authorization letter before any physician can prescribe it for you.

Testosterone causes dramatic changes in the FTM patient; however changes in bone structure (i.e., height, size of hands or feet, hips)  are very unlikely.  Please take a second to read the following article in our wiki for further information.  Thank you

tinkerbell

[Dennis]

I hardly know alot about T except you can get facial hair.I have a few questions for you guys (if you don't mind)


Can T make you taller?

If you have not yet stopped growing, it can make you taller than you otherwise would be. Otherwise, you're stuck at whatever height you reached. Although I now register as an inch taller than I did. I suspect it's because I stand up straighter after I got rid of the ghastly things growing on my chest.

How long do you have to take T into you start seeing results?
For example:facial hair

Voice starts changing for most guys within a few weeks. Facial hair varies greatly and is dependent on your genetics. A friend of mine had a goatee within 6 weeks. I'm 1.5 years into it and have very little. Muscle development also starts pretty quickly, as does fat redistribution to a male pattern.

If someone stops taking T does that mean you won't get anymore result?For example:the facial hair will stop growing

Facial hair wouldn't stop growing, but it would become finer. It's not a wise idea to stop testosterone if you've been on it for a while or had a hysterectomy. If you don't have either male or female hormones going through your body, you're at a high risk for osteoporosis. Also, your voice would remain low. You would lose the muscle development and your fat would begin depositing in a female pattern.

Can you take T after you get surgery or is it best to take it before surgery?

Doesn't matter. Everyone transitions on their own schedule and at their own pace. It should always be monitored by the appropriate professionals.

What are the side effects of T?   

Depends on what you consider a side effect. A person born female who wanted to remain female would consider the effects that FtM's want to be side effects. Risk-wise, you develop a male risk of cardiovascular disease and there is a possibility of polycythemia (over-production of red blood cells) that can lead to blood clots and all kinds of nasties. Again, it should be monitored by appropriate professionals.

Dennis

[Andrew]

I thought it was a myth, but as for getting taller, my physician, who currently has over 500 transgendered patients, says that she's recorded significant height change in patients who would have otherwise have stopped growing (i.e. fully grown biological females). It probably won't make you much taller (if at all), but height isn't everything.

Dennis has said pretty much everything else, so I'm going to end here. Hope your transition goes smoothly, Aaron.
Posted on: October 16, 2006, 10:29:56 PMOh, and as for side effects, male pattern baldness is a major one.

[Dennis]

Oh, good point Andrew. I forgot about that one. Zits too. Even if you didn't get them the first puberty, you could get them this time. I've been lucky on both counts (of course the baldness could still hit at some point).

Dennis

[Aar0n]

Wow  sounds risky.I guess I have to think loooong and hard about this one.So Dennis on question three are you saying like once you take T you can't stop?the reason I ask is because I don't want to take it forever or is that required once you start?

Thank You all for the answers.Tinkerbell I will check out that artical.

[Dennis]

No, if you take it long enough that your ovaries atrophy or if you've had a hysterectomy it wouldn't be wise to stop is all. You need either estrogen or testosterone in your system to protect against osteoporosis.

You'd have to be on it for a number of years to shut down your ovaries. But the effects, like voice change and facial hair usually happen before that and those would be permanent. As would the baldness if you got that. It's still a decision that you should make sure of before you start.

As far as the cardiovascular risk, you acquire the risk of a biological male, which is slightly higher than female. Polycythemia is a possibility, I don't know how common it is, but it's easily dealt with. I don't have any signs of it, but I donate blood regularly to ensure that I don't get it.

Dennis

[Mario]

That is a good idea Dennis. I hadn't thought of that Donating blood. But you have covered everything here so I will just say good luck to Aaron.

                                 Marco

[Aar0n]

Thanks alot Dennis I really appreciate the answers

[Dennis]

That is a good idea Dennis. I hadn't thought of that Donating blood. But you have covered everything here so I will just say good luck to Aaron.

                                 Marco

It's a good way to do both a community service and help yourself out. However, watch out for the questions now that you'd be donating as a guy: ie: have you had sex with another male since 1978? It's a BS question and if you know that you're not at risk, then I don't see a problem with shading the truth a bit (ie: you haven't had sex with a male as a male, so the answer would be no). It's a ridiculous question even so, because they don't ask women if they've had unprotected sex with men, and they don't care if a male has been in a monogamous relationship with a male or always used a condom; they still exclude them.

Dennis

[ConfusedMichelle]

Blegh, I hope T does make you taller. I am only 5'3" and I hate it...I have looked into elevator shoes, they can make some to make you appear to look up to 4 inches taller. So I expect to get on T around age 18 or 19. I don't think you stop growing until like 22 (am I right? please correct me if I am wrong) so hopefully I will gain a few inches. Plus the shoes will help. Let me know how it works for you k? I wish all the best for ya dude.

[Dennis]

At that age, you probably will wind up a bit taller than you would have without T. Elevator shoes aren't great for your back if they're worn too much. And if you don't wear them all the time, you'll be changing height to a noticeable extent. Best to embrace the shortness, there're lots of short bio guys.

Dennis

[Nero]

Yeah, I really don't get the elevator shoe bit, but I know some guys wear them.
You'd look taller, but what's the point if it's not natural?
Best to present as the height you really are.
But then again, like Dennis, I'm a short guy and proud of it!

[Luc]

Okay, I wear lift shoes. I don't wear them because I think they make me pass any better; rather, I like being taller. I am 5'6" naturally, and almost 5'10" with the shoes. I'm 24, so once I get on T (hopefully soon!), I don't have much hope of getting any taller. Yeah, my back might hurt a little after a day of wearing them, but it's worth it, and they look good.

Short, tall, or average, though, a guy has to have the attitude to pull it off.

Rafe

[Nero]

Short, tall, or average, though, a guy has to have the attitude to pull it off.

Yes, of course. And would not a man's attitude include being accepting of his height and owning the fact that he is short, tall, or average?
Unlike other unwanted parts, height cannot be altered.
Just one man's opinion.

[Luc]

Apparently, it can. I'm quite all right with my lift shoes. But my attitude is not dependent upon them.

Rafe