Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Are there different type of Testosterone ? I know there are shots, gel and cream and i want to do the shots. But are there different Kinds they offer? and what is the best one to ask for by the doctor ?? Maybe this is a stupid question ...haha

-Landen Scott

yes theres diffrent kinds, and what is best depends person to person, some have good effect on something and others prefern something ells.
I think in general testrorone you take with injection is most effective compared to pills or cream.

There might be pros to creams and gel as well (I think the compounded cream is far better than Androgel, which as I have heard takes a lot to work and is way expensive).

Since you take it everyday you don't get the swings, which some guys have difficulty with. You also don't have needles. Yes there are people who do their entire transitions that way with very good results so it is possible.

Some people do not respond that much to gel or cream and I'm guessing they don't absorb it. Most people find the shots faster. They are also cheaper, even than compounded cream.

There's also a patch though I have never seen anyone who was prescribed this. There is a longer acting T which is not prescribed in the US AFAIK. But is common in the UK. One thing never prescribed is oral as it is damaging to the liver.

I am on the cream and afaik, I am about where everyone else is, but I am just 1 week on it. It's okay as I am not out at the job I am working on.


--Jay

Yeah i heard that the cream and gels work slower, that why i want to do the injections and also i have very sensitive skin so i dont know how or want my skin to break out or get an allergic reaction to the cream or gel.

The gel could cause issues for people with allergies or skin problems, I think as the carrier is alcohol. I think the cream is very mild. They can change the carrier as that's what compounding pharmacies are known for.

But no it is not considered as fast, though for the first week, I think I am about the same place other people are (and I know someone else on T cream). But it will be interesting to see what goes on in weeks to come. I can always change from cream to shots.

--Jay

I'm on compound cream and honestly for me I'm not much behind at all for being seven months in. It does really depend on your body and genetics I think.

Yeah I think the compounded cream works better than Androgel. If you think about the percentage of T in the cream it's a lot higher than Androgel which advertises as 1.28%. So you really need to be able to absorb substances into the skin if you are on the Androgel.
I know guys who have done their whole transitions on cream. (I don't know if I can speak about this in a general way so I won't, but dosage is kind of a verbatim topic.) I've heard the comment on Androgel that you have to apply really a LOT.

Changes one week(plus) on cream (for me): throat changes (thickening); lower growth; more oily skin and hair-- but no acne; improved upper body strength (can do complete push-ups, modified, but go up and down completely-- haven't been able to do this in 20 years). Ok, that's one week, but if it were so slow, wouldn't I have no change?

I think there are still people can't absorb it properly and get the changes.
The other thing is that I don't think compounding is covered by insurance. There may be exceptions here and there. My jar is supposed to last 3 months and was $85, no shipping as it was local. I think the same amt of T in injectable form is $35-45 or so.  Not sure if the needles are extra. Androgel is in the hundreds but I believe it is sometimes available by prescription.

If you live in the UK you might ask re: Nebido/Sustanon. I don't know much as it is not available in the US and is a form that lasts several months so that you only inject once every 1-3 months or so. It's not available in the US due to some adverse reactions (not too severe) in clinical trials. I also think it is usual injected by a health care professional as these are bigger injections. Probably only good after you are used to the T in your system.

BTW, I forgot to say that there are NO stupid questions. Well there are, but only if you teach middle school.


--Jay

Thanks everyone. I'm very cautious about putting anything on my skin so i'm probably just going to go with the injection shot. Are there stronger "t" injection formulas they can give you or if you choice to do the injection, its only one kind of "T" ?? That was what my original question was?

Thanks !

It can come in differing concentrations, so your dosage would be however many millilitres or fraction there of that will give you the amount prescribed.

Ethanate and Cyphonate (spellings are probably off) were the common varieties when I last bothered to look things up.  At some point the stuff I was getting became twice as concentrated, so I use half as much.  I couldn't tell you how many years ago this happened.

It's not advisable to play around with your dosage unless you have done research, and are making changes with a medical doctor over seeing those changes.  In my day there was bugger all available in terms of expertise in my area, so I got medical information from the community about dosages, took it to my GP, and we started.  I went in for regular tests to make sure things were OK.

Without over sight, you could seriously harm yourself, and may have to stop testosterone completely for the rest of your life if the organ damage is serious enough.  So don't get impatient and do something stupid.

Shortman

Quote from: aleon515 on March 11, 2013, 12:21:30 PM
If you live in the UK you might ask re: Nebido/Sustanon. I don't know much as it is not available in the US and is a form that lasts several months so that you only inject once every 1-3 months or so. It's not available in the US due to some adverse reactions (not too severe) in clinical trials. I also think it is usual injected by a health care professional as these are bigger injections. Probably only good after you are used to the T in your system.

Just thought I'd better point out that Sustanon and Nebido aren't the same thing.  Nebido is the long lasting injection, which people in the UK don't generally get prescribed straight away because there can be more fluctuation in T levels which some people's bodies don't particularly agree with (you have high T levels after your shot which taper off towards as your next dose is due).  Sustanon is like Ethanate and Cypionate in that you need regular injections every few weeks to keep your levels correct.  There have been some shortages of Sustanon in the past, apparently because of licensing issues or something, so some guys got put straight onto Nebido as they weren't willing to wait or stay on gel long term.

Testogel and Testim are the two brands of gel that are used here in the UK.

(As with all threads of this nature I could be wrong as I am not personally on T yet.)

Quote from: Landen Scott on March 11, 2013, 02:34:51 PM
Thanks everyone. I'm very cautious about putting anything on my skin so i'm probably just going to go with the injection shot. Are there stronger "t" injection formulas they can give you or if you choice to do the injection, its only one kind of "T" ?? That was what my original question was?

Thanks !

Well you want to go to someone who is experienced with dosing this, and I agree that you don't play around with the dose. If you are cautious about putting something ON your skin, you should be equally cautious putting something into your skin.

There are different kinds of T, I don't know if it matters too much though. You can look at this page for help.
ftmguide.org
Look under the T section there's all sorts of info.

Thanks for clarification on Sustacon. And yes, nobody prescribes Nebido right away (or shall I say "straight away") as you need to get stabilized on a dose first.


--Jay

Quote from: Shortman on March 11, 2013, 02:58:59 PM
It can come in differing concentrations, so your dosage would be however many millilitres or fraction there of that will give you the amount prescribed.

Ethanate and Cyphonate (spellings are probably off) were the common varieties when I last bothered to look things up.  At some point the stuff I was getting became twice as concentrated, so I use half as much.  I couldn't tell you how many years ago this happened.

It's not advisable to play around with your dosage unless you have done research, and are making changes with a medical doctor over seeing those changes.  In my day there was bugger all available in terms of expertise in my area, so I got medical information from the community about dosages, took it to my GP, and we started.  I went in for regular tests to make sure things were OK.

Without over sight, you could seriously harm yourself, and may have to stop testosterone completely for the rest of your life if the organ damage is serious enough.  So don't get impatient and do something stupid.

Shortman

I'm not getting impatient.I'm on a 6 week waiting list to go see callen-lorde in NYC for my first appointment. I was just curious if there were different types of T . What stupid stuff do you think i would do ??

>Are there stronger "t" injection formulas they can give you or if you choice to do the injection, its only one kind of "T"

I don't know about anybody else. I  was concerned about someone trying to get a higher dose or something. It probably isn't possible anyway though. The various types of T aren't really stronger than each other.
There are just different formulations. I think the Hudson article (ftmguide.org) is really good about explaining the differences. In the UK and the US there are different formulations but we all get to the same place. T is pretty much T.

I think the biggest difference is between gel/cream and injection. I'm not convinced that matters much either.
But the price is probably greater. I am guessing there are somewhat different formulations here too.

--Jay

Gels and creams are typically much more expensive than injections. I would never go gel/cream unless I had an insurance plan that covers it.

Quote from: Darrin Scott on March 11, 2013, 11:15:29 PM
Gels and creams are typically much more expensive than injections. I would never go gel/cream unless I had an insurance plan that covers it.

I can afford it. Depends on your situation.

--Jay

Quote from: Landen Scott on March 11, 2013, 10:27:07 PM
I'm not getting impatient.I'm on a 6 week waiting list to go see callen-lorde in NYC for my first appointment. I was just curious if there were different types of T . What stupid stuff do you think i would do ??

You were expressing curiosity in stronger T in a later post.

The stupid thing you could do is crank up your dosage without medical oversight.  If you are smart enough not to do that, great.  However there are people who will do that sort of thing.  The history and present of body building and sports are packed with individuals abusing testosterone to hasten results.

Think of it this way, I am not only giving out information to you, but also to the next curious person who uses the search function who might not realize they could do serious damage to their body.

Shortman

Quote from: aleon515 on March 12, 2013, 01:59:07 AM
I can afford it. Depends on your situation.

--Jay

Yeah, I'm sure some people can. I just think $400+ a month is expensive when injections are like $60-120 every few months. I know some people have more money than others. It's just something to take into consideration.

Quote from: Darrin Scott on March 12, 2013, 11:59:35 AM
Yeah, I'm sure some people can. I just think $400+ a month is expensive when injections are like $60-120 every few months. I know some people have more money than others. It's just something to take into consideration.

Holy gadzooie, man. I do NOT pay $400 per month! Yikes I could never afford that!! I pay $85 every 3 months for compounded cream. That works out to $28/mon. I think Androgel is that much, I've heard crazy amts for it, and most people on it do pay by insurance.

--Jay

Quote from: aleon515 on March 11, 2013, 05:50:15 PM
Thanks for clarification on Sustacon. And yes, nobody prescribes Nebido right away (or shall I say "straight away") as you need to get stabilized on a dose first.


--Jay

As long as Nebido is the only injectable form of T in Hungary, most doctors prescribes it. There are pills too, but they doesn't do anything to our body, maybe for a cis dude. Maybe there is Androgel too, and it's much cheaper than the shots. It's so different in every country.

o no i wasnt talking about dosage , i would go to a doctor for that. I hate using this as an example, but you know how there are 50 different brands of birth control...well i was wondering if there was different kinds/brands of T that they give for injection. It was a stupid question that just of everyone confused...never mind hahah

Quote from: aleon515 on March 12, 2013, 12:34:11 PM
Holy gadzooie, man. I do NOT pay $400 per month! Yikes I could never afford that!! I pay $85 every 3 months for compounded cream. That works out to $28/mon. I think Androgel is that much, I've heard crazy amts for it, and most people on it do pay by insurance.

--Jay

Yeah I was told $400/mo by my endo I was seeing. Which is why I opted for injections.

Quote from: Darrin Scott on March 12, 2013, 04:28:21 PM
Yeah I was told $400/mo by my endo I was seeing. Which is why I opted for injections.

This is within the range of cost for Androgel. I looked around and I think the cost was really natal males who are not using as much and they were talking about $100-300. We are obviously going to be taking more, so the $400 sounds right. Oh yeah, I couldn't afford that either.

--Jay