Quote from: Miniar on April 08, 2010, 04:00:43 PM
Pssh, people on the internet can't really "hurt" me.

Considering some of your latest physical trials, I would say that anything I could say would pale in comparison. But still.

Anyway, back on track. I think it's pretty well documented that the changes don't happen faster if you inject a "half dose" every week. But some guys find it easier to remember a weekly shot, some find that their moods are generally more consistent, and some feel that a smaller, more frequent dose might be less likely to aggravate existing health conditions. YMMV.

I take mine every two weeks.

I have a question for the guys that said "biweekly."  I'm assuming you meant every 2 weeks and not twice a week, correct?  I just haven't heard of anyone taking T twice in one week and wondered if that was supposed to help with the leveling out.  Or if it was just a misunderstanding.

It sounds like you're on the same dosage and frequency as me and my changes have been really fast.
Body hair, facial hair, voice deepening, downstairs growth and my facial structure is changing, all in 6 weeks!

Quote from: Adio on April 08, 2010, 05:45:09 PM
I take mine every two weeks.

I have a question for the guys that said "biweekly."  I'm assuming you meant every 2 weeks and not twice a week, correct?  I just haven't heard of anyone taking T twice in one week and wondered if that was supposed to help with the leveling out.  Or if it was just a misunderstanding.

Yeah, biweekly is every two weeks. I've heard people use it to mean twice a week, but that is incorrect.

I've never heard of anyone injecting more often than once a week, either.

Quote from: Arch on April 08, 2010, 08:16:59 PM
Yeah, biweekly is every two weeks. I've heard people use it to mean twice a week, but that is incorrect.

I've never heard of anyone injecting more often than once a week, either.

I'm REALLY glad to hear that : )

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Post Merge: April 08, 2010, 08:25:27 PM

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Quote from: Gizzy on April 08, 2010, 08:15:19 PM
It sounds like you're on the same dosage and frequency as me and my changes have been really fast.
Body hair, facial hair, voice deepening, downstairs growth and my facial structure is changing, all in 6 weeks!

I'm REALLY glad to hear THAT... lol I guess I'm glad to hear about the other quote too...?

hhahah

Yeah, it's all down to your body really. Don't worry about "low" dosages, because your body will convert excess testosterone to estrogen.

Quote from: Arch on April 08, 2010, 08:16:59 PM
Yeah, biweekly is every two weeks. I've heard people use it to mean twice a week, but that is incorrect.

I've never heard of anyone injecting more often than once a week, either.

Gotcha.  I didn't know if that was a new thing that docs were doing to help with the peaks and troughs or if I just didn't understand it right.  Thanks, Arch. 

Quote from: Adio on April 08, 2010, 08:36:51 PM
Thanks, Arch. 

I'm always glad to befuddle, confuse, and obfuscate.

Right now I do every two weeks. Thinking about asking about the weekly. My mood feels horrible the two days before my next injection. And I can feel my body being off those two days also.

Mine feels like it runs short the last 2 or 3 days but I don'[t want to feel that way every week instead of every 2 weeks. I am going to try to stay with what I have for now. That and only sleeping one full day after a shot is good, doing that every week would be more of a nuisance.

I've yet to experience the "running short" feeling since I've only been on T for a week and I'll have to wait one more week for my next shot.

Is that feeling inevitable? What's it like? How can you tell the T is running short?

Quote from: LordKAT on April 12, 2010, 04:10:05 PM
Mine feels like it runs short the last 2 or 3 days but I don'[t want to feel that way every week instead of every 2 weeks. I am going to try to stay with what I have for now. That and only sleeping one full day after a shot is good, doing that every week would be more of a nuisance.

I cant say what running short on your T is like. But I can tell you what it looks like. (my wife is on a high T dose) Looks like Sevan has no energy. Being easily agravated seems to be a symptom also.
Anyways...
We switched Sevan too once a week and it looks like it is working. Hir shot is tommorow and s/he still is full of energy.

(note: Sevan is an Androgyne. That is why I use s/he. Sevan has specificaly choosen this pronoun. I am not being disrespectful to the FTM's)

Quote from: LordKAT on April 12, 2010, 04:10:05 PM
Mine feels like it runs short the last 2 or 3 days but I don'[t want to feel that way every week instead of every 2 weeks.

So far, I've never heard of a guy whose moods trough when he goes from biweekly to weekly. In fact, I know of a few of us who went to weekly specifically to help out with mood and that low feeling, and not one of us has had a recurrence.

With me, I would start feeling the low mood the day before or a couple of days before, and it took me a day or two to feel back up to speed. So I regularly felt "off" for about three days out of every fourteen. My brain seems to be fairly sensitive to hormonal shifts, and when I get depressed, I tend to stay that way. So I had nothing to lose by injecting less frequently.

I get mine done every 3weeks and the changes have been pretty good...so it just depends on the amount and sometimes the type of T used.

Quote from: Arch on April 12, 2010, 08:27:43 PM
So far, I've never heard of a guy whose moods trough when he goes from biweekly to weekly. In fact, I know of a few of us who went to weekly specifically to help out with mood and that low feeling, and not one of us has had a recurrence.

With me, I would start feeling the low mood the day before or a couple of days before, and it took me a day or two to feel back up to speed. So I regularly felt "off" for about three days out of every fourteen. My brain seems to be fairly sensitive to hormonal shifts, and when I get depressed, I tend to stay that way. So I had nothing to lose by injecting less frequently.

Thanks Arch.

I think I will bring it up at my next endo appointment. She had said to wait for several weeks to see what happens as levels even out due to my recent hysto. Perhaps the low days will not happen anymore ( I hope) but if they do I will definitely check out the weekly idea.

Quote from: LordKAT on April 12, 2010, 10:08:01 PM
I think I will bring it up at my next endo appointment. She had said to wait for several weeks to see what happens as levels even out due to my recent hysto. Perhaps the low days will not happen anymore ( I hope) but if they do I will definitely check out the weekly idea.

I can only speak from my experience and what my friends say they have experienced, but I urge you to at least explore the possibility. One of my buddies has bipolar disorder, and he's doing great with his bipolar meds and weekly T. Of course, he's one of the ones who started out injecting once a week, but I'm impressed with how stable he is.

My main problem now is winter depression. If I could get that under control, then I would be set. I had so many changes in my life this past winter that I can't tell what caused my SAD to get so out of control. I can't tell whether the T helped, hurt, or had no effect. It could be that once my life becomes more stable, the SAD will be easier to manage. I guess I'll get that psych eval that my therapist was recommending. I don't want to, but I should. I'm leery of psychiatrists, but my therapist says this guy is all right.

Anyway, I'm considerably more stable and functional shooting up once a week.

Quote from: Arch on April 13, 2010, 12:41:55 AM


Anyway, I'm considerably more stable and functional shooting up once a week.

i know what the subject is about and i totally understand but at a brief look that sentence just sounds so wrong! 

Quote from: Arch on April 13, 2010, 12:41:55 AM
I can only speak from my experience and what my friends say they have experienced, but I urge you to at least explore the possibility. One of my buddies has bipolar disorder, and he's doing great with his bipolar meds and weekly T. Of course, he's one of the ones who started out injecting once a week, but I'm impressed with how stable he is.

I should really look into taking my shot once a week.  About 2-3 days before my next shot, I start to get a little more..unmanageable, if that makes sense.  My meds work pretty well, but my hormones have always been a problem for me.  When I told my endo, she said that every 2 weeks wouldn't be a problem, but that if I wanted to, I could do once a week.

I'm just getting tired of snapping at my family, and I'm sure they are too.  Even if it could be every 10 days, that would be so much better for me.  I'm mainly just happy to hear your friend does better with once a week.  My endo made it sound like there wouldn't be much difference.

Quote from: al james on April 13, 2010, 04:40:47 AM
i know what the subject is about and i totally understand but at a brief look that sentence just sounds so wrong! 

I just love phrasing it that way...I suppose it's because I've had a lifelong reputation as a goody two shoes.

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Post Merge: April 13, 2010, 02:52:25 PM

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Quote from: Adio on April 13, 2010, 07:34:11 AM
I'm just getting tired of snapping at my family, and I'm sure they are too.  Even if it could be every 10 days, that would be so much better for me.  I'm mainly just happy to hear your friend does better with once a week.  My endo made it sound like there wouldn't be much difference.

Just to clarify, this particular friend never injected twice a week. He discussed his bipolar with the doc who prescribed his T, and they both agreed that once a week would be best. The doctor he sees is very experienced with trans people, and he works at the informed consent clinic, which is practically free and serves a lot of trans folks living on the fringes of society. So I'm thinking that MAYBE this physician sees a higher-than-usual percentage of clients with mental health issues? Anyway, he really seems to know what he is doing.

My own endo did not discourage me from injecting once a week; he told me that he has had other male clients who did the same and saw an improvement. I discussed it with him in advance, and he agreed that if I was having mood problems, I should try once a week. It works great.

I know another guy with some serious mental health issues, and he uses the gel so he can get a consistent dose. I guess he didn't want to risk even once-a-week injections. He seems to be doing great. I don't think he's been hospitalized since he started transition. Don't quote me on that, though!