For some reason, this is the physical change I'm most apprehensive about. I absolutely want a deeper voice, don't get me wrong. But the actual feeling of the vocal cords thickening scares me a bit because I often get (and hate getting) sore throats, and I had a problem in the past with panic disorder that physically manifested in me feeling like there was a constant lump in my throat.

Does it feel like that at all? Is it hard to swallow? What does it feel like?

The vocal cords will thicken and the larynx will enlarge so their will be sufficient room for the more massive structure. My male voice was Bass which is as low as they come and I underwent surgery to move it more in the feminine direction. The post where I put the pictures from my surgery can be found here. As you can see, mother nature allows plenty of room for everything including a breathing tube and surgical instruments. 

honestly, to me it didn't feel any different. all that happened was my voice just...deepened. it didn't feel like anything was stuck, changed, nothing. maybe it is different for others but i didn't even have a sore throat. my voice dropped within 3 months.

Any "symptoms" were very mild for me, too. Soon after I started T, I got all excited when I had a slight sore throat, but it turned out to be the first sign of a cold.    The next thing wasn't until some months later, when my voice started cracking. Other than the embarrassment (it's sort of weird if you're in your 60s), it wasn't painful at all.

Same; wasn't painful and didn't feel it changing at all. The first 3 months I had a very slight sore throat but that's it. Now my voice simply subtlety deepens with no feeling in my throat whatsoever.

I experienced no symptoms of a sore throat or difficulty swallowing when my voice began deepening, and still haven't experienced anything akin to that nine months down the track. I did however, get instances where my voice cracked mid sentence (or word), much to the amusement of those around me. That being said, each person is different and while I experienced a smooth road to a deeper voice, others might experience difficulty or discomfort.

Unlike others here I did have mild sore throat symptoms. I've also lost volume in my voice. It does NOT feel like a lump in your throat or anything like that.

Okay, thanks, guys! Your responses are comforting. I can handle the mild sore throat, but I would hate if my throat permanently felt like there was a lump in it or something, especially because of my past experience with that anxiety symptom.

This was something I was worried about too, I kept imagining my vocal chords would feel strained or something. When your voice is first thickening it may SOUND like you have a sore throat it it won't actually feel like that at all. You'll just notice the pitch and sound

I felt a slight sore throat, like I had coughed a lot. That's it. After a day I didn't notice it much, except when my voice cracked.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

To me, it was like the feeling BEFORE you get a sore throat. It was a scratchy, dry feeling and i kind of lost my voice. When it drops, mine only does this for one or two days and it has never hurt. Everyone's different, though.

It was a very slight sore throat each of the times it's dropped for me. Not particularly painful. I think I may have bought some lozenges, but never needed much. Water alone made it manageable. Never felt anything like a lump. I've had 3 noticeable drops since I started T about 19 months ago, and they were all the same feeling.

I'm 2 no. on T...voice has sorta deepened...no I have not felt anything...not even a sore throat. I know it's deepened because I record myself everyday and my friends who I haven't talked to in ages have noticed. But to answer your ?, nothing out of the ordinary for me.