Have you ever worried about the possible long-term effects of being on Testosterone?
Well, you can relax because science has your back.
Italian researchers concluded in 2014 that “Testosterone administration in FtM subjects has a good safety profile” after finding “no significant serious adverse effects and no clinically relevant changes” in 45 FTM patients treated for at least 10 years with T.
Also notable: “Liver and kidney function tests did not show any significant changes.”
The aim of the study was to assess the effects and safety of Testosterone administration on body weight, lipid profile, hematological and bone parameters in trans men.
Source: Safety of More Than Ten Years Testosterone Administration in FTM Subjects. Cristina Meriggiola, MD, PhD, Antonietta Costantino, PhD, Carla Pelusi, MD, Martina Lambertini, MD, Alberto Bazzocchi, MD. Book of Abstracts, WPATH 2014 Biennial International Symposium.
I guess this is a difficult question to answer; personally I can attest to the change in senation of anger itself. It is far more easy to access nowdays comparatively speaking, but that’s not to say I can’t control it because I most certainly can.
I think how we experience emotions changes when starting HRT, but how you respond to your emotions doesn’t have to.
I currently inject 4ml of Reandron 1000 into my butt every 10 weeks. This is a slow release form of Testosterone, meaning that I don’t have to recieve an injection anywhere near as often as I used to while on Sustanon 250 – which was 1ml every 2 weeks.
I have thought about pellets, however right now Reandron is working fairly well for me. It was only the other day I was talking to my Wife about how I might like to see my current GP regarding other routes of administration, more specifically the pellets, because it’s something I do think about occasionally.
I have never used creams or gels, though. They’re not something I was ever really interested in trying.
Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond, it’s not that I had any reservations with answering these questions – I just wanted to give them the attention they deserved.
Is life treating me well? Yes. Very much so. In the past 12 months I have really felt like things are finally going how I’d like them to. I graduated, got a great job in my field, moved to the country and have for now at least “finished transitioning”.
Am I really happy where I am? Yes. Very much so. That’s not to say I don’t battle with depression, anxiety and dysphoria – the former two not particularly related to transition, and have been long-standing conditions I’ve had to deal with since very early in life. Transition is a battle, and by no means easy – but I always reflect on the choice I made initially. That is, it was not a question of “if” I should begin HRT, but if I should continue to live. It really was that black and white, and I felt I had nothing to lose by going on Testosterone.
I never thought I could be this happy, really. I have an absolutely amazing little family – again something I never thought I’d have. A Wife, a Son. We’re working towards buying our first home and although it may take a while – we actually have money in a designated savings account. I wake up each day knowing I am absolutely blessed, and cannot believe my gorgeous family would choose little ol’ me.
So I had my shot yesterday. I always put it off, but I’m getting better. Sort of.
It got me thinking about the process of taking testosterone and how that tends to play out for me emotionally speaking, as the years progress.
Sometime this year, I can’t remember exactly – June or so I believe, I will have injected testosterone into my body for 10 years. A decade. That’s a pretty intense thing to reflect upon, let alone live.
During the first few years, maybe the first 4 or 5, I did my own shots in my thigh. I was taught how to do it initially by my GP, and did the same thing, alternating sides every fortnight when my shot was due. As time went on, I began to resent the medicalisation of my life, the fact that I needed artificial testosterone as I was unable to produce my own. After five years of Testosterone shots in my thighs, I had scar tissue built up around the injection sites. I let my shots fall later and later, to the point where my Wife (fiancée at the time) asked if I would prefer she do it. I knew having regular shots was integral to my mental wellbeing and physical health, but I was my own barrier. I was thankful for her help.
I am now on a kind of testosterone called Reandron. This is a large dose of testosterone of the slow release variety, meaning I now get shots once every ten weeks. This has severely reduced my resentment toward the shots themselves, and although it’s large volume-wise (4ml as compared to 1ml injection) the benefits outweigh the slight tenderness of an injection site for a few hours. If it wasn’t for Reandron, I’d be late with my shots consistently, and that’s something I don’t want – it fucks with my hormones and my head.
To be brutally honest I don’t remember all the nuances and important details of starting HRT, but I’d hope very much that if you’re undergoing that process your treating Doctor would have informed you exactly of what to expect, and a brief timeline of such events.
Basically: dick growth, sensitivity, hair growth, voice breaking, pimples, sweat, hungry, horny. You’re going to go through puberty, man. And all that comes along with it.
Happens at different stages for different folks, as hormones react individually with your body as opposed to someone else’s.
It never seems to amaze me the changes a hormone can produce. I have loved being part of the journey; the voice changing, the hair growing and departing, the fat redistribution, changes to his physique and his cock…. It is so important that he gets the right dose of his man juice when needed.
In short, yes. But I’m concerned about my trans status being common knowledge wherever I am.
Here, I have some family. They’re very prominent members of this community and well respected due to business relations and town social standings. This is useful in the fact that if shit ever does hit the fan; they’ll be on my side fighting for me.
I almost feel as though things are so simple here, people are so straight forward that at times it feels less likely for anyone to ever out me due to the fact that trans people are invisible here. There is no knowledge about trans issues. I’m not even sure if people here would know it’s possible to transition from female to male.
Perhaps I’m not giving the town folk enough credit, but here I am seen as a short, odd little “alternative” man with a Wife and Son. Nothing more. The only reason people give me and my family a second look in this town is because we haven’t altered our dress sense to fit in – we appear more “city” than “country”.
Despite me feeling sad almost all of the time due to missing my family, there is an abundance of amazing things happening in my life right now.
I’m living with three awesome guys as housemates.
My Wife and Son are visiting this weekend.
I am averaging 83% in my class marks thus far.
I have completed 6 (or 7?) assessments, and have 11 (or 10) remaining.
My Wife has begun her new job, and is doing well.
I am exercising more each day now that I don’t have a car as transport.
My Wife and I have been verbally offered a loan for a house through a family member.
So, despite my whinging and general negativity; things would be exceptional if it weren’t for the lack of K and my Wife. We’ve now not seen each other in a little over a month – it’s getting very difficult for everyone involved. We’ve endeavored to not leave visits more than 3 weeks in between, from now on.
transmandad 