So I've just been thinking lately about the well-known fact that if FTMs want to keep the majority of secondary sex characteristics that testosterone will give them, they must essentially stay on testosterone their entire life (and on the opposite side of the spectrum, MTFs). Because, you know, your body doesn't just suddenly start producing it on it's own (though wouldn't that be nice?). And I know you can get off of it and only certain things will really drastically change like fat redistribution, but if you also have your female-hormone-producing organs removed then you'd essentially really be dependent on hormones. Since it's kind of recommended that you do get that down-there area taken care of eventually if you plan on staying on T, and probably most of us do (I don't mean to speak for everyone, lol)...

I guess I was just wondering how you guys feel about it. Being "dependent" on T. Not like you're addicted to it or anything, but just the feeling like you're kind of "reliant" upon it. What if, in the event that you had your female organs removed and you couldn't produce either hormone, you for some reason couldn't get yourself any T. Does insurance cover T for you if you've had those organs removed, since it's a serious health risk to not have those hormones keeping you stable?

So there's kind of a few questions and speculations mixed in there, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. It's just one of those "what ifs" that kind of worries me every now and then. Not that it's something that would make me hesitate at all to go on T, it's just that I was curious to hear if anyone has similar concerns. And... I'll stop rambling now before I make no sense at all, haha.

Well my guess is, is that after uv got the stuff takn out u could switch ur gender legally to male, including ur health insurance.....................there a men that get testicular cancer and have the gonads removed so arent they dependent on T...........i mean most insurance policies cover low T for men.

I don't mind so much.  We all have something we can't live without be it some medications, smokes, alochol, fav. food, etc.  I guess it is just one of those things that you want to always have, but you won't really die without it.

I figure when I am an little old man, I won't care if I am taking it as long as I can still have fun and be annoying, cute, funny and flirt all at the same time.  Those are the old folks I love to be around because I am always laughing.  They are my role models for when I retire for good.

I don't feel dependent upon it. I look at it as I would any other medication, some things we have to take for our entire lives in order to live a normal healthy life. To me T is just like that. It's a necessity not a dependence.

As for the insurance question, that really just depends on your insurance. If you can change your gender to male they may cover it, but on the same note then there are things they may not cover that are exclusive to women. Right now, still being without surgery, i could have gone as male with my insurance carrier because my employer marked me down as male. They may have covered some of my hormones or treatments involving that, but they would not have covered my yearly exams for things like the uterus and breasts. So it's a toss up. And most insurance carriers will want to know the reason you are on T, because they could consider it a pre-existing condition depending upon the reason. Often as soon as they find out it was for HRT you will not be covered.

On the same note regarding that insurance would not have covered my yearly exams. They also would not have covered any kind of severe medical condition exclusive to females. What if I found out I had uterus cancer or breast cancer? They would not cover my treatment. If I went through the process of having my employer change my gender status to female so they would cover it I could then be in trouble with the insurance company for falsely presenting myself as male in order to have other treatments covered like the T and blood tests. In turn i could end up having to reimburse the insurance company for previous treatments covered when they assumed I was male or even being denied insurance coverage for providing false information.

Quote from: Cowboi on July 19, 2011, 10:30:14 PM
I don't feel dependent upon it. I look at it as I would any other medication, some things we have to take for our entire lives in order to live a normal healthy life. To me T is just like that. It's a necessity not a dependence.

I think of my shots exactly the same way, just a medication that I need to keep my body stable and healthy and preforming the way it should

Quote from: Elijah on July 19, 2011, 10:35:02 PM
I think of my shots exactly the same way, just a medication that I need to keep my body stable and healthy and preforming the way it should

Yeah, and maybe it's easier for some of us to do. Like for me personally my mother and my grandmother are both on medicines they have to take daily and have been my whole life. I was also diagnosed as bipolar and put on daily meds I would have had to take forever, except they found out my diagnosis was incorrect. But I was on meds for like 7 years before they figured that out. Having to take medicine to be healthy and live a regular life is just normal to me, I've been surrounded by it my whole life and been through it with things besides T so it just seems... common I guess.

Dependence isn't something I think of with being on T. For me I feel that it is a necessary medication to stay healthy. Kind of like getting one's daily vitamins.

I do worry at times though of running out, not able to get more, that kind of anxiety. Does that kind of thinking make me dependent though?

I know somebody who was on T for 2 or 3 years, got the changes he wanted and stopped (during this time he also got top and bottom surgery). He still has the internal bits and has been off of T for some time. As far as I know he's happy/content/satisfied with the decision.

So...you're not going to always be dependent on , and there are other options.

Hey Nygeel sorry for the question but is your friend on birth control or something then? You said he still has his internal stuff but is off T and had bottom surgery? I just hadn't thought that would be possible to get bottom surgery without a hysterectomy. Sorry if I misunderstood I'm a little sleep deprived.

Personally I look at it like cowboi and Elijah. It's just another med to me.

Have not given it a lot of thought. Have been dependent on multiple daily asthma meds for years.

QuoteI just hadn't thought that would be possible to get bottom surgery without a hysterectomy.

Doesn't it depend on which bottom surgery he got? Seems like I read a simple release does not require hysto.

No birth control, no hysterectomy. He went with phalloplasty. Also his...front hole is still there. No bottom surgery requires a hysto, but if you want one, then get one.

I suppose I am dependent on T in a way.  But it's in the same way I'm "dependent" on my bipolar, anti-anxiety, and allergy medications.  I agree with some of the other guys; it's just another med to me.

I think there's a stigma to taking medication and being "dependent" on it. Whether it's T or something else. I know people that refuse to take medication even though it'll improve their lives greatly just because they don't want to take it for the rest of their lives. Here's the way I look at it, even if you have to take it "forever", it's better than the alternative.

Interesting. I've thought this myself but never really brought it up. I'm not on it btw. Personally I've very much anti-pharmaceutical industry and anti-medication, with a few exceptions of course. That's just me though.

I realize it's different if in the case of people transitioning.

And if you're having a full hysterectomy I think it's that your body can't actually make any estrogen anymore. Even men have estrogen levels (especially as they get older) and not being able to produce that hormone may possibly be an issue. Of course anyone going down that path should consult heavily with their doctor.

It doesnt really bother me much. Its jus another part of life, like if you have to take antidepressants or other medicines.

well im pretty young and at first I where like.. aw how unfair..

but generally starting on T where kinda cool so I where looking forward to it every night the first week.
I do think it kinda annoying once in a while, specially the thing about getting medicin, and since right now im taking it on everyday basic, so I cant just sleep outside for 3 night without thinking about it.

but my mom got alot of medicin for all kind of things, so I feel it just part of life..

Is it true that synthetic T depends on petroleum product for its synthesis?

If so, that worries me. Petroleum products are going to get outrageously expensive, coveted, and competed for, after we peak/decline on oil, probably well within most of our lifetimes.

I haven't admitted my concern to my bf - I don't want to worry him. But I do wonder about it.

I also worry about what could happen in a medical or an elderly-care situation, later in life, if someone cannot or does not want to give him his T.

- Elizabeth

Quote from: Elizabeth A. on July 20, 2011, 07:09:32 PM
I also worry about what could happen in a medical or an elderly-care situation, later in life, if someone cannot or does not want to give him his T.

I don't have the answer to your first question, but this is a huge worry of mine.  What if insurance never covers my T prescription?  What if I have a hysto and later in life can't take care of myself?  Will my caregivers give me T?  Or will they decide to give me estrogen/progesterone HRT?  I honestly don't know.

I agree with most of you where on a basic level it's just another one of those medications we need to live a healthy life. Before I reached this view though I had been really against the thought of ever having to rely on any sort of medication to maintain a healthy existence, because to me it clashed with this basic concept I had of needing to be self-sufficient (this concept I created developed after my brother had gotten a chronic disease which he needs to take medication for the rest of his life. I was young at that point and this was just something that really threw me for a loop). However in thinking about it I came to accept that my being self-sufficient is essentially impossible, because I am indeed reliant on many things outside of myself, thinks that I usually don't consider being without (family, food, healthy environment). So I was able to accept that testosterone would be just another one of those things.

I think that if for some reason I had to stop taking testosterone (say after a few years of being on it) I'd be able to handle it. It wouldn't be something that I'd want, but I think I would be able to accept it. Most of my worries as far as stopping it are that I'll have to do it because I will be barred from being allowed to get it, instead of making that decision for myself.