My brother already knew I was trans and supported me fully and said he sees me as his brother, but today I told him Im gonna start taking T and he had a very different tone about it. He says that he is immensely worried for me, as he knows multiple trans people whos health was ruined by hormones and attempted suicide. he said he had friends taking hormones that would sometimes faint and be unable to wake up for quite a while.
Im feeling scared now, I was so excited to be taking T, I thought I knew all the risks. I didnt know fainting was something that happens. And i thought the suicidal thoughts/regret was just something that happens to only some trans people, but my brother says every one of them hes met have had those issues. S-should I start taking testosterone after all?

Under the proper supervision from a licensed physician I can't see the worry.
MOST (if not ALL) of the severe problems encountered by HRT come from self prescribing and obtaining horomones without a medical professionals watchful eye.

Again, to my limited understanding.

The health risks of taking T under medical supervision are negligible and that has been published in several large medical studies.

If the psychological aspects are taken into account as in decreased self harm, profound decrease in parasuicideal activity and increased mental health well being. Taking T by transmen is highly beneficial to their health as is HRT to transwomen.

I can't say I've ever heard of fainting from HRT. If others he knew had a bad emotional reaction then maybe it wasn't the right course for them at that time. With correct medical supervision you should be fine,  and you can always pause things if you have any concerns. X

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Thank you ladies, I think youre right. With my doctor by my side I should be fine...I love him to bits but my brother is worrying too much, and besides who knows how accurate the stuff he was telling me was, I dont know whether or not the people he described were helped by professionals or not.

I have actually fainted from T. I call it shot shock. It wasn't the T itself it was the shot. I've had the same reaction with other injectable medication, it is a rare occurrence. I believe it was because I was standing up and hadn't had any water that morning yet. Now I just sit on the toilet when I give myself a shot. I wasn't unconscious for that long; it was probably less than a minute but no more than five.

Your health will be monitored by doctors more often than your brothers, so he is more likely to have health issues than you are. The suicidal thoughts will stem from having an unsupportive family so if you are suicidal and he acting like this it is partially his fault.

Quote from: Alexthecat on November 11, 2017, 09:59:38 PM
I have actually fainted from T. I call it shot shock. It wasn't the T itself it was the shot. I've had the same reaction with other injectable medication, it is a rare occurrence. I believe it was because I was standing up and hadn't had any water that morning yet. Now I just sit on the toilet when I give myself a shot. I wasn't unconscious for that long; it was probably less than a minute but no more than five.

Even for my Humira which is just subcutaneous so nowhere near as bad as doing a testosterone shot (it goes in muscle right?), I was told to sit on a couch or comfortable chair just in case.

Quote from: Roll on November 11, 2017, 10:08:53 PM
Even for my Humira which is just subcutaneous so nowhere near as bad as doing a testosterone shot (it goes in muscle right?), I was told to sit on a couch or comfortable chair just in case.

Some people do IM and others do subq.

Either way, I don't really recommend a couch, or anything upholstered, because the chair is going to get covered in blood when you inevitably get unlucky and nick a vein. But it is a good idea to be sitting, if only because your muscles are less tense and you have one less thing to focus on.

Quote from: Roll on November 11, 2017, 10:08:53 PM
Even for my Humira which is just subcutaneous so nowhere near as bad as doing a testosterone shot (it goes in muscle right?), I was told to sit on a couch or comfortable chair just in case.

I have had it happen with IM and subq shots. One of each actually.

Quote from: Sawney1000000 on November 11, 2017, 02:28:00 PM
My brother already knew I was trans and supported me fully and said he sees me as his brother, but today I told him Im gonna start taking T and he had a very different tone about it. He says that he is immensely worried for me, as he knows multiple trans people whos health was ruined by hormones and attempted suicide. he said he had friends taking hormones that would sometimes faint and be unable to wake up for quite a while.
Im feeling scared now, I was so excited to be taking T, I thought I knew all the risks. I didnt know fainting was something that happens. And i thought the suicidal thoughts/regret was just something that happens to only some trans people, but my brother says every one of them hes met have had those issues. S-should I start taking testosterone after all?

It's easy to be supportive up to a point, and then be like "whoa, this is actually happening, wtf". One thing to hear someone say "i'm trans, i want to transition" and another thing for that person to go ahead and actually take medical steps to do so. Especially when it's family. Keep that in mind! It may be harder for him than he lets on, especially now if it's going to actually happen (and it's less of a chance that this is a "phase" with you.)

As for his "friends" and these "multiple trans people" that he knows.... how sure are you that he isn't just talking hot air because he's genuinely worried, or freaked out, and is just trying to get you to change your mind? Have you met any of them? Talked to them? My dad pulled something similar - tried to pull the "i've read about people who regretted it, i think you will too, then you can't change anything once you start T", etc etc card. It didn't work like he'd hoped. I'm on T three months at the end of November.

If someone "becomes suicidal after transitioning", it's not because they transitioned or are on T - likely there where feelings of that beforehand that weren't dealt with. Same with depression. And when the T doesn't make things "better" it just gets worse. You don't just magically become depressed because you started T or transitioned. Period. End of. There are some individuals who genuinely have problems after they transition, even some people who regret it or try to de-transition, people who made the wrong choice, but in all honesty if you TALK to these people you will find that they had concerns from the start and/or had mental health problems aside from gender related issues.... and many of them NEVER spoke to someone about it. IE: they went the consent method, didn't talk to a therapist, and just winged it.

Then boom, those mental health problems are NOT cured and become WORSE over time and then you have individuals who haven't actually gotten the help they needed and other people "blame" it on them being trans (when it may not even be related at all.) I've spoken of this at length with my therapist.

As for the fainting... i've never heard of T causing someone to faint. Possible? I guess. Not something i was warned about, so IMO not something common enough TO warn people about. I've heard of people being SENSITIVE to the SHOTS (IE they hate needles and freak themselves out over the shot). I myself was highly anxious my first shot, to the point where i felt like crap. Hasn't happened since the first one. But the T itself is generally very safe to take, especially under the supervision of a medical professional. The worst i've been told to watch out for is allergy to the oil that the T is suspended in. Of course there are "possible side effects", but that's the same as with ANY medication. My endocrinologist wasn't at all concerned about them. A doctor wouldn't prescribe it if they didn't think it would HELP you in the long run.

Have you been to see a therapist at all? How do you plan on getting T? The best person to speak to about your concerns IS a therapist, an endocrinologist, etc etc. But to me, it sounds like your brother is freaking out over the potential of this actually happening (IE changes) and is trying to scare you. If you really want this, really think this is the right path for you, then don't let him. Talk to a therapist. Talk to a GP. Talk to an endocrinologist (you'll need a reference letter from a therapist to get in to talk to an endo for HRT). Get the facts, not some second hand BS from someone who is likely freaking out over everything.