So here's yet another question that I didn't think to ask my doctor. I'm on Depo-T. About how long does it take to reach peak concentration in my system?

Yeah, I know, I'm obsessing. But I know a guy in my area that T doesn't seem to have done anything for. He's been on it for months, and he looks and sounds exactly like a girl with short hair. So I worry that the same thing will happen to me. I know that it isn't likely, but it's certainly possible.

After all I've gone through, I couldn't stand that. So I obsess.

I don't really know what you mean by the question... peak concentration? I would assume its somewhere soon after the shot and then it stays in the system for a period of time... and slowly depletes and then you get another shot *shrugs*

Like its been said before, it all depends on your genes how quickly your body takes to T.

y'mean, how long before you're at a consistent male level?

it's different in every person, but my i'm-not-that-kind-of-doctor guess would be a couple of weeks after your ovaries shut down.

I read on some ftm site that it takes roughly 5 hours for T to reach its peak potential in your system, after injection, and I know from my dr. that T (at least what I use, testosterone cypionate) has a half-life of 7 days. Assumedly, however, it builds up in your system, because even after going off T, it stays in your system for a month or two before all the artificial T is depleted.

That guy in your area... he probably just has weird genetics. I've seen youtube vids of guys who have been on T for years, and there's hardly a voice change or facial hair or anything. Some of us become deep-voiced, hairy monsters, like myself, in no time flat... some guys stay fairly effeminate. Best I can tell you, though, is that if you do end up being the type of the latter, it's highly likely that's because that's how you would have been had you been born into the right body.

It's pretty easy to gauge by looking at your family members, too; if I had taken after my dad, I'd have virtually no body hair, little facial hair, and a tenor voice. However, I was lucky enough to be just like my little brother... he's got tons of body hair, tons of facial hair (that started growing in thick when he was only 12), and a voice that's likely bass... mine has yet to reach that, but I assume when I get back on T, it'll keep dropping. Don't worry, though, that you're not going to masculinize. T is pretty damn powerful.

SD

In time I'll obviously know more about how much my body is going to masculinize; I do worry about that because of the one guy I know.

But I was actually expecting to feel different. It's hard to explain. I've had so many guys tell me that they definitely felt different soon after the first shot--you know, they could tell that they were now on T and not so much on E. I didn't have that experience at all. I feel exactly the way I've always felt. So I started to wonder whether that effect was purely psychological.

I also don't know how long other, that is, physical, effects take--like an increase in appetite, energy, or libido. The first and the third I can do without, but the second one I can sure use.

By my original question, I meant to ask how long after the first injection it takes for your body to process/metabolize the T and how long after the first shot it takes before you get typically male levels of T in your bloodstream. That's all.

Oh, and Mister, I'm postmenopausal. I don't think my ovaries are doing much of anything these days. I do have all of my equipment still. So I obviously have female hormones in my system, but at depleted concentrations.

Arch, y'know, I was just gonna do a similar post.  But I'll just reply here.  I too am rather afraid that T just won't 'work' for me, and months (or even years) into it, I'll still look and sound like a "girl with short hair."  That would be hard to take.  It's a kind of anxiety, I guess... I'm 3 weeks on T and still trying to sort out which changes are real and which are purely psychological.  It's kind of nerve-wracking going into this and not really knowing how you will end up.  I keep searching for some definite, tangible sign that the T is really working, but it's really hard to tell at this point; I notice things about my physical body that *seem* different, but not different enough that I can't just write it off as wishful thinking (did I always have this much leg hair? did my voice always sound like this?).  My libido hasn't markedly changed; I literally did nothing but eat (and study) yesterday and was still constantly hungry, but that's not unusual for me, either; my energy seemed up at first, but now my sleeping schedule is outta whack and I'm exhausted all of the time.  I dunno, but it's a waiting game for sure.

Eryk, I feel for you but am glad I'm not alone!! I can't tell you how anxious I was in the six weeks before T. The last couple of weeks were murder. And I truly thought that the waiting game would end with the first shot. I mean, I knew that I would start a new type of waiting, but I was fully reconciled to just taking every day as it comes and patiently appreciating small, gradual changes over a long period of time.

Well, I was wrong. I'm not patient. I'm still wracked with anxiety and worry. I'm not as messed up as I was before the shot, so I'm thankful for that. But now all I think about is whether the T is working and whether I'll be one of those unfortunate guys who don't get much of anything out of it.

I guess if I could get through the last six weeks, I can get through the next six weeks. But GAH! This isn't what I had in mind at all.

It takes time and does depend on genetics. My voice went to bass really fast. My facial hair, not so fast. You can help it along by weightlifting and building muscle. That gives you a male frame. For me, it's still slower than I want, but I remember seeing a friend on T for a few years and he hadn't masculinized much at all. Now, 9 years into it, you wouldn't guess. Not even another FtM would guess. So it does happen, for some slower than for others.

Dennis

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Sebastien and Dennis, you are both good at assuaging my worst fears that for the rest of my life I'll be consistently read as some kind of weird little butch-ish lesbian who likes to hang out with gay guys. At my age, and after all the crap I've been through, I really couldn't take that.

P.S. My throat is starting to tickle. Other guys have mentioned this, so I hope it's a good sign.

Like Dennis said it does depend on genetics.. we all develop differently. If you look back and try to remember the guys you went to school with they all developed at different times. I had an appointment with my Gender Doctor today who looked through my blood results and my T level was through the roof.. and he has told me to cut down my intake. He said that you could take as much T as you wanted and still get the same results as taking the prescribed amount.