Hellllooooooo- I am Alan. I'm new to the FtM community and I am curious about some effects of T~ Here's some background information on me: I'm young. I came out to my friends that I was questioning, and then that I was FtM. I started binding and I told my mom so she got me a gender therapist who I have been seeing weekly for almost three months. I am just curious as to whether or not T will effect my bone growth. These things in particular: Growing taller, having bigger hands and feet, my hips not getting any wider.

If you're a transguy/otherwise identifying person on testosterone, share you're experiences! If you have knowledge about the effects of testosterone on guys/otherwise identifying people of my age group, share them! And all my fellow knowledge seekers come hither.

Hi Alan 

Welcome to Susan's    Glad to have you here

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Haha, thank you.

Hi, Spazzyalan25 and welcome

Regarding your question, it depends on your age.  We're not allowed to ask your age, but from what I know - the reports of bone growth on T for younger guys is pretty much anecdotal as there are few (if any) studies on the issue.

My personal opinion is that whether or not you would see any growth or related changes would depend on how near or far away biological puberty is for you.  I think that it would also depend on other factors such as your genetics, sensitivity to T and whether or not you are on Oestrogen blockers.

From what I have heard, it's actually Estrogen that stops growth, not T that encourages it. Not sure how accurate that is though.

OK, I am also "young" and am on testosterone. I was/am (I won't be getting any more doses but the last one is still in my system) on puberty blockers however, unfortunately, I did not get them soon enough to prevent or minimize things like breast growth and wide hips. This is actually pretty hard to explain without knowing your age, but I'm sure I'll manage.

If you are 16 or 17 your growth plates are most likely fused (or, close to it). If they are not (if you are still noticing vertical growth when measured, don't rely on relatives/friend saying you are taller for this because they will say that regardless of whether you have grown quite a lot of the time) the best thing to do would be to continue as I will explain for a 14 or 15 year old. The only way to know for sure is medical tests which will be quite expensive if you are in the USA. Basically, in this age group you can just start testosterone as normal and should not expect any bone growth (or very minimal bone growth).

If you are 14 or 15 then there is good news and bad news. The good news is your growth plates are most likely not fused and you can take steps to make sure remaining bone growth is masculine. What you need to do is get on puberty blockers as soon as possible. The downside is these puberty blockers are very expensive. Like, staggeringly expensive. The great news is on the blockers and nothing else you will continue to get taller the same way as a pre-pubescent child would. Most doctors will start your testosterone therapy at 16, but this is for consent reasons not medical reasons. When you start testosterone from the blockers you should start on a very low dose and over the course of 2 years (longer if you are younger than 16 and are allowed to start T) or so work your way up to an adult dose. This will very closely replicate male puberty and cause the maximum amount of male bone growth for your body.

If you are 13 or younger you shouldn't even be thinking about T. If you can get on puberty blockers at this stage you can prevent much of the damage female puberty will do to you. Discussions about testosterone will happen later for you but it is safe to say you will develop in pretty much the same way as any other boy going through puberty (although some things may happen a bit later if you have to wait until you are 16 for T).

Good luck man, it can be tough trying to transition under 18 but it looks like you are off to a good start. Keep your head up, the things you want will happen in time.

I was 18 when I started T, and I grew 2-3 inches. My doctor said it shouldn't have happened, but it did. I'm also pretty sure I got a broader, more masculine chest/torso on T. I think it depends when your growth plates have closed. I'm still not that tall, for the record: I'm about 5'7".

There's a video that was part of something about trans kids. In the video, Dr Spake (who is pretty well-known in treating trans kids in Boston) was talking to this very trans boy and family and he said something about T stopping his growth. I didn't get this as when cis kids get to be in their teens they get a big growth spurt, or maybe it's before. But this was quite a young kid, maybe under 15. I don't know that anyone is putting kids on cross hormone that young, but I might be wrong.

Skylarkeleven, on youtube started at around 16-17, and is the youngest person I know. There is a guy here who was on blockers, haven't seen his posts for awhile.

--Jay

Quote from: aleon515 on January 22, 2014, 11:42:26 AM

Skylarkeleven, on youtube started at around 16-17, and is the youngest person I know. There is a guy here who was on blockers, haven't seen his posts for awhile.

--Jay

I just watched one of his [skye's] videos, he started a few months before he turned 18.
The guy who was on blockers has a youtube as well if you want to check him out, but he hasn't updated in a while- http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWdl_9Z06rSZddOA-IKix4g

Sorry perhaps confused him with someone else. I know Skylarkeleven saw/sees Dr Spake (I think he'd be over age). Dr Spake is pretty well known in treating trans minors. But not sure what video has the info on the T and bone growth. And he might not be right either. I understand he is a little controversial. Not sure why.

--Jay

Quote from: aleon515 on January 22, 2014, 11:42:26 AM
Skylarkeleven, on youtube started at around 16-17, and is the youngest person I know. There is a guy here who was on blockers, haven't seen his posts for awhile.

That awkward moment when my post (two above yours) states in the first line that I was on blockers (I am aware you are talking about a different person though).

Quote from: ghostwhisperer on January 21, 2014, 10:38:26 PM
I was 18 when I started T, and I grew 2-3 inches. My doctor said it shouldn't have happened, but it did. I'm also pretty sure I got a broader, more masculine chest/torso on T. I think it depends when your growth plates have closed. I'm still not that tall, for the record: I'm about 5'7".

2-3 inches is very unusual, but it is still possible your growth plates hadn't fused at 18 (as someone else has pointed out everyone goes through puberty in their own way). I have heard guys growing a couple of cms even starting T at 30 or so. I am guessing this is things like cartilage changes (and even just standing up taller). I know bone can get thicker and denser also, just not "longer," my wrists have grown and I know guys who have gone up a shoe size as well.

It is really a shame there is no real research into this, because I know a lot of trans guys and experiences on T vary so dramatically it is really interesting.

Actually, I think it was more like 4-5ish inches. I was barely 5'3" when I started T at 18 (went back and looked). I measured myself and I'm actually 5'7" 1/2, so it's possible to grow after T, but yeah, highly unlikely. My doctor was shocked.

As far as I could tell a few months ago, I had grown about 7/8 of an inch on T, and I started transition in my forties. I started to notice that some people I knew well just didn't seem to be as tall as I knew they were, so I measured myself at home and had myself measured the next time I went to the doctor. I was taller than I'd ever been in my life.

I didn't trust the numbers because it had been a long time since I'd been measured. After all, how often are full adults measured for height? The only really definitive test, for me, was to compare myself against my ex. I have always been noticeably shorter than he--you could tell that he was an inch or so taller. I finally stood next to him while his sister watched. Now I'm a smidge shorter than he is, maybe a quarter of an inch, but we are almost exactly the same height. So the official measurements appear to be accurate: I have really grown.

I do keep reading that if you put a young FTM on T, he will be triggered to stop growing, but some growth does seem to occur before the height is totally arrested. The blockers idea seems the most sensible to me, but an endocrinologist could probably tell you more.

Quote from: Arch on January 22, 2014, 11:31:56 PM
I do keep reading that if you put a young FTM on T, he will be triggered to stop growing, but some growth does seem to occur before the height is totally arrested. The blockers idea seems the most sensible to me, but an endocrinologist could probably tell you more.

If you want to know exactly what the "effects" sheet for people going from blockers onto T says, it is "rapid increase in height followed by cessation of growth" or something pretty similar to that. I think that is why if you are a kid you go have to go on a very low dose for quite some time. Adult dose testosterone will cause you to stop growing fairly quickly.