Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Is it a gradual thing, just a build up over time, or does it increase immediately after injecting it, since that's when your T levels spike, and then taper off proportionately with the T?  I'm just curious because it was one of the concerns my doctor had, coming from a family where high blood pressure has always been an issue.  Thanks! :)

t makes you more prone to hbp just like any other male in the world, also high cholesteral hence the reason docs prescribe spiranolactone a t blocker to help reduce it. t increases your risk of these but dosnt cause it that is the realm of diet and exercise / the lack of it / so as long as you maintain a healthy diet and exercise it should be of minimal concern
jessica

Thanks for your reply, it was very helpful!  I was more interested in the pattern of blood pressure increase once T is started, though.  Would I get a shot, and then have my blood pressure spike, or would it be more like a genetic male who has even levels of testosterone, and increase over time?

your blood pressure shouldnt increase at all the normal range for m/f is 120/80 gm the problem is that in the way food is metabolized in the body and the way cholestral is converted to good ldl and bad hdl (high Density lipoproteins) t  plays a role in in the amount of bad cholesteral produced wich increases blood pressure do to constriction of arteries spranolactone prevents this interaction in gm one can go an entire lifetime w/o highblood pressure providing that one is careful about their diet and gets enough exercise the only spike i can see happening is maybe if you have low blood pressure and the t somehow bringing your blood pressure into the normal range i dont see how this can happen though w/o the involvement of something else. i would suggest asking your dr directly if you take t shot will your blood pressure go up and if he says yes ask him to explain why i would be interested in the answer i was a medic in the service and i cant see this occuring so it would be a surprise to me.

Thanks so much, that was really helpful!  My doctor wanted me to wait to take testosterone (I already have it), and I offhandedly asked, out of curiosity, what would happen if I took it anyway, and he said I could end up in the hospital with hypertension.  I'm just not sure if maybe he misunderstood me and thought I was hinting at taking T anyway, and wanted to use scare tactics to discourage me, or if it actually increased that rapidly.  That's why I came to Susan's to ask, just because I am curious!  Thanks again for your reply!

I've heard something about more recent studies showing that it's less about genetics and more about diet, exercise and stress.
That there are indications that the main reason men are more prone to high cholesterol and high blood pressure is because of the work environment difference between men and women.

Mind you, I do believe this was spoken on TV, so I don't have any reference links.
Either way, if you watch your diet, get plenty of exercise, and actively relax, T shouldn't pose a significant risk at all.

Get a BP monitor or a good old fashioned BP cuff and learn to take your own, or use that thing in the pharmacy and monitor it if you are so worried. No test won't make your BP spike, yes it's a good thing to keep track of - I get mine checked when I see my doc, plus being an EMT student my BP gets checked a lot, haha we're not good at it yet so at times I've gotten some amazing readings, and a sore arm!