Hey all, just wondering if any other guys have experienced this. Background: I'm four days on T and I've had a noticeable drop in my voice.

I work in a museum, and I've noticed that since I started T, when I'm giving tours or speaking at volume or for a long period of time, my throat gets "tired" and sore. This is new for me--absolutely did not happen before T.

Anyone else just get a "tired out" throat when speaking in the early days of T? I'm hoping this throat fatigue will work itself out.

The first couple weeks on T my throat felt exactly like that, even without talking. It went away I think after about 3-4weeks.

At first my throat was like that for a few weeks. Now it just happens right before/during a big drop.

I had that problem early on. It still happens occasionally, actually. It'd alternate between being sore and just being thick maybe? I can't think of a good word but more commonly than soreness it just felt like after awhile I had to push really hard to be able to speak and I could feel the pressure in my throat when I did.

I'm about to hit a month on T and I've been having some serious squeaks in my voice. It comes and goes, of course, as it isn't gonna drop a big amount in a month. The past couple weeks I've been finding myself clearing my throat a lot and my voice sounds as though I've been taking all day and it gets very raspy/vibratey.

I'm sure you're probably experiencing the same thing I am, in which case it comes on unexpectedly and then levels itself off again. Just keep your throat hydrated in case it starts to get a bit sore or hoarsed.

Thanks for the replies guys. Things have leveled off a bit today but I'm sure, from what you've said, the cycle will start again before another change.

Clever, so you presenting as a guy at your job, then your voice will match you much better.  Congratulations on another step forward.

My throat was definitely sore and tired after I started T. After the first month, the soreness would come and go. Sometimes I felt like I had a lump in my throat.

I think the weirdest part of my voice changing was how different I would sound from day-to-day. I never knew when my voice would crack. I felt like I lost ownership of my voice for a while. But the cracking seemed to stop after a year or two and my voice stabilized for the most part.

Every voice has an ideal pitch where you can get the most output with the least amount of effort. You can find this point by humming different notes until you find a pitch thats comfortable and projects well. There are three limit on a voice. To high, low or to loud. If you exceed these limits you will have a sore, tired voice. Do this for an extended period of time and it can damage your voice.

Because your voice is changing from day to day, you should check the ideal pitch often and make adjustments to your speaking voice as needed. I suspect a good deal of the problem is that you are slow breaking your old speaking habits and adjusting to what your new voice requires.

For the lowest speaking voice you need to relax the area above the larynx when speaking as that drops you from the mouth voice to the chest voice that men normally use. Don't attempt to force a lower voice, just use a relaxed throat area when speaking.

Dena, thank you for the helpful tips. I definitely regulate my voice based on the person I'm speaking to--still not out at work, and still not out to my family--so I push the high register when I have to.

The years I spent learning how to speak in a higher voice are turning out useful for people going the other way. I still know how to undo the changes even though I am now locked into the higher ranges.
If you are on T, you may not have much time before you need to come out unless you want to explain that a medication you are required to take has some side effects.
You aren't interested in learning how to talk in a falsetto, are you???

Yeah, the T is forcing my hand out of necessity for sure, but wow, it sure is terrifying to think of coming out to my parents. It would almost be easier just to disappear! But that's not realistic, of course. Rats.

I'll let you know about that falsetto 

Quote from: Clever on June 17, 2015, 10:11:04 AM
Yeah, the T is forcing my hand out of necessity for sure, but wow, it sure is terrifying to think of coming out to my parents. It would almost be easier just to disappear! But that's not realistic, of course. Rats.

I had more fear then than I ever had before or after but after having recached the point of suicide a week before I didn't have much choice in the matter. I find it amazing how much all of us respect our parents and don't wish to harm them even at the expense of our own happiness. My parent took it far better than I expected and I didn't end up homeless. They weren't in my corner but they had plenty of time to adjust because it was 4 years before I started hormones and at the lower dose it took a couple of years to really notice anything on my slim frame.
I hope your parents are accepting and if you need any information to prepare for that meeting, I am working on a letter that's not the best for the initial telling but contains the information needed for a medical argument. Feel free to ask any questions of me and if I know the answer, I will be happy to help you.