Quote from: x1x1 on February 03, 2011, 02:40:59 PM
yeah, i figured there would be more downsides than benefits, but i figured it couldn't hurt to tell you guys about it anyhow.
I've been experimenting with more "natural" ways to alter the body for a long time. One thing I noticed is that these types of methods have a few practical problems:
1) Their effects are often overstated, and side effects are often understated.
2) Herbs/substances/devices are often overpriced relative to the actual effects that they produce.
3) Effects (particularly big ones such as alteration to breast size) take a long time before anything really significant happens.
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When you combine problems 1) 2) and 3) you can easily see why nonstandard methods are extremely risky. Not only are you using yourself as a lab animal, but you don't even know going into the experiment whether those methods even work to begin with. When you look at it financially, it is a high risk long benefit scenario. If it works, it can save you a lot of other problems, such as surgery. If it doesn't work, you have used money and resources that could have been used for hormones/surgery.
Even though it took me almost nine years of research to find methods of altering the body which I find efficient enough to base a transition on, I consider that time well spent. I didn't want to be dependent on hormones for the rest of my life, and I really really really really really don't like the idea of surgery. But since most of these sorts of methods are poorly researched, you have to do your own research and often your own experiments with them. You can't take anything at face value. Then again, at least here in the USA, you can't take any sort of advertising at face value anyway. It is just hype to get you to buy a product.