#testopel

[agiftcomes]

just realized that since so few people know about our method of hrt that the phrase “getting our testosterone inserted” with no context sounds insane

[grimandghoulish]

.

[blubushie]

how long did it take you to grow a beard on t? ive been on it 8 months and zero sign of facial hair yet :(

(Checks calendar) Uh... Four years.

I'm gonna assume you're FtM here for general ease, correct me if I'm wrong.

Please bear in mind that my being intersex HEAVILY skews things. I was kept at a VERY low dose of testosterone for those four years (14-18)—basically only enough to ensure I wouldn't get osteoporosis because of my missing ovary (which was removed at 14). I never got a bolus dose so my voice never deepened. My body remained more or less androgynous. At 17 I went to my own doctor in Georgia, took advantage of their intersexism and desire to "fix" me, and was placed on a low adult dose of androgel. I was on that for about 3 months to stabilise before being put on injected pellets for another 10 months, during which my beard grew in. I started getting peach fuzz by 3 months in which still on Androgel, by 6 months in I was growing a really shitty moustache. But it still wasn't a bolus dose, and while my voice deepened somewhat depending on how I position my tongue and whether or not I'm speaking with my chest, it did not drop.

I had my last testopel appt in February of 2019. Five months later my testosterone ran out and I haven't been on testosterone for 5 years since up until April of this year, when I went back on Androgel. I have a testopel appt in July.

I'm telling you this so you understand that my experiences heavily skew my history and success with testosterone. My body had been slowly masculinising for three years until I got put on a higher dose, which basically jump-started the facial hair cycle, and since then my beard has had five years to figure out its schtick (though it's starting to fill out more now that I'm at a high adult dose again).

Really, you need to look elsewhere. Are you noticing a difference on T? Any bottom growth? More body hair? Is it affecting your voice? Is your body fat redistributing to a masculine pattern? How's your libido? Are you getting new acne anywhere?

If these things haven't changed in 8 months, then your T levels are too low. If they have, then don't worry. Think of how long it took your body to feminise during puberty. Couple years, right? It's probably gonna take about that long for T. Cuz all things considered, you are going through puberty again.

Also, genes have got a LOT to do with it. If a lot of your ancestral history is Native American, East Asian (especially Chinese), or Mexican, you probably won't grow much of a beard or chest hair. Bonus points to that though—if you're any of these, you probably won't experience much male pattern baldness either.

With time—and the right dose—it all comes down to genes. My dad can grow a full beard, I can grow a full beard, my dad has a full head of hair at 75, I have a full head of hair. No clue about my mum's side because she's adopted and we don't know who her birth parents are, so the jury's still out on whether or not my hair stays as I get older.

Just be patient, mate. It'll come to you in time. And if it doesn't, bring it up to your doctor if testosterone isn't doing anything to your body, cuz it means you either need a higher dose, or your body is converting your testosterone to oestrogen. Best way to check that? Get a blood test for testosterone.

Chookas! Here if you need me.

Also, protip: if/when you grow a beard, if you choose to grow it out long like Kratos or some shit, it WILL be patchy. There's no helping it. Massage your jaw because applying pressure to your follicles stimulates growth (males grow facial hair to protect against impact during fights since jawbones break easily—massaging the places where you want growth stimulates your follicles to grow more hair to protect against impact). And also just... Don't cut it. Beards are naturally kinda patchy, but at a certain length they fill out. So don't shave! That thing you hear about shaving promoting hair growth? That's bullshit! Just massage! (This works for anywhere you grow hair btw! Yeah even your scalp! But it will not reverse male pattern baldness.)

[missing-texture]

About Me

Hi, I'm Adrian. I’m a friendly, nerdy, music-loving proudly bisexual trans guy from NY. Mid-20s. He/him. 👋☺️

Here’s a pic of me 3 years post-op top surgery, aka my excuse to post a shirtless selfie lol.

I have a bunch of side blogs dedicated to my various niche interests but this is my main blog. I mostly post about music, tech, art, video games, fashion, and queer stuff. Anyone is welcome to follow, though you will get blocked if you give off bad vibes (no bigots or assholes.)

I’m trying to find more blogs to follow so if I randomly followed you, it’s likely because I got recommended to your blog and/or I just think you’re a cutie. ☺️

If you're an ally of trans people and you have the means, check out this post and consider donating to one of the groups mentioned. Thank you!

Read more about my interests and stuff below:

Interests

-Tech 👨‍💻: I'm an aspiring software engineer, currently working a job where I help folks with tech issues while I continue my search for a software engineer job. I recently got my bachelor's degree in computer science, planning to go for my master's. I like all sorts of nerd stuff like web development, retro tech, tech history, and more. I’m skeptical of tech bro-y trends (many AI/web3 projects) and the tech industry in general. Ethics and privacy are important!

-Queer stuff 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈: I came out as bi and trans in 2015, been on testosterone since 2017 (I do a neat form of T called “testopel”), got top surgery and medical tattooing on my nipples, had my name and gender changed. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I like learning about LGBTQ+ history and feel very connected to the community. Pro-kink, anti-exclusion, pro-solidarity.

-Music 🎵: I’m a metalhead/emo/pophead multiclasser. My fave genres are metal, emo, post-hardcore, pop punk, pop, europop, hyperpop, EDM, digital hardcore, dark wave, classical stuff. I love going to concerts and I've been playing the piano since I was a kid.

-Art: I collect pins, patches, stickers, and art. I follow a ton of artists online and enjoy going to conventions for art. I especially love bara. 💪🐻

-Video games: Metal Gear Solid, Red Dead Redemption, Baldur’s Gate 3, The Sims, Super Monkey Ball, Call of Duty, Hitman, Half-Life, Rimworld, Civilization V, Dangan Ronpa, and more. I like hot video game men.

-Movies: Hackers, American Psycho, Ocean’s Eight, Jennifer’s Body, Charlie’s Angels, Elvira, The Devil Wears Prada, Legally Blonde, Die Hard, Sky High, Twilight, the 2002 live action Scooby Doo lol. Anything campy, fun, and spooky/sci-fi/action/girlboss.

-Cowboys 🤠

-Vampires 🧛

-Cats (especially Garfield)

-Bears (the animal and the men)

-Drag

[refeminizeme]

just to clarify, i will still be on t till mid-late june bc last time i went in i tried testopel (pellets) and those last 4 months..... so until those are out of my system im still on T but after that im not planning on doing it again ♡

[aeternitimperi]

i get testopel for my boyjuice prescription so my Normal™️ is bookended by two subtypes of The Crazy™️

subtype 1 at the end of my boypellet cycle and immediately following insertion (low T, estrogen fighting for dominance) includes Mean, Reactive, Rage, Despair, The World Is My Enemy, Ennui, Overwhelmed (Negative)

followed by subtype 2 when the juice kicks in (high T, estrogen withering away) which includes Weeping, Feral, Love, We’re Gonna Make It, This World Is My Best Friend, Deeply Touched By Even The Smallest of Gestures, Overwhelmed (Positive), and, of course, Horny

this basically makes for two to three weeks in which i am insufferable BUT! no there’s no but, my apologies to those who know me

[straightgirlscreams]

i’m on testopel which is a testosterone implant that lasts like 3 months but i just found out my T levels are way too high but my current does still lasts like another month and a half so i started taking spiro so now i am on ✨double hrt✨

[jemhowling]

there are so many substances in my body (covid booster, flu shot, nicotine, gardasil, dr pepper, testopel) and they are all taking turns beating the shit out of me with a bat

[leylin3]

I started using testopel for hormones and it's been great, but I'm due for my next set today. And I have been so depressed this past week and I want to blame it on low T? It feels like it could cause that.

And a nurse mychart-texted me last Fri saying there was some insurance issues she didn't explain, and my Dr replied this morning saying she would inquire ,

and I swear if this has to get rescheduled I'm gonna turn into a crying mess

And of course today is when leadership is on site touring my lab and scoring our lab organization so I can't even leave earlier than the appt would have been to go cry at home. I hope the Dr is able to re-prescribe me some normal injections if we have to reschedule :(

[agiftcomes]

we have to be so vague when discussing our hrt because we dont wanna explain testopel to every single person we speak to. however it can best be summarized as

[theunsafesoup]

So trying out testopell for my hormones since ive been struggling with doing my own shots for a while.

No problem with shots in general, no fear of needles, just not steady enough with them anymore so exploring my options.

Got the pellets put in yesterday and as long as they do good with keeping my hormone levels correct I'll probably stick to this method.

[brainspikemethod]

instead of doing my testosterone shot weekly i just have a squadron of 5 beautiful women foxhunt me with airsoft loaded with testopel every 6 months

[blubushie]

UCSF IS GOING FORWARD WITH GETTING ME ON TESTOPEL LET'S FUCKEN GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Now it's a question of if my insurance will cover it (it should)

Telehealth appt scheduled next month and hopefully testopel a month after that! In the meantime for the next two months, Androgel :]

[nobutseriouslywhat]

I understand ovipositioning now (just got my first testopel placement)

[starsgosquawking]

ahhhhhhh

so far the journey of going off T SUCKS

initially when they switched me from testopel to aveed I didn't notice much of a difference.

but with testopel, I barely noticed the hormone drop before my next appointment. but aveed????

Jesus Christ just let me die.

I knew this process would be hard but it's so much worse already.

I'm so sensitive to everything and my already unstable self esteem and attachment security is TANKING.

I have to constantly remind myself that everything I'm thinking that's giving me anxiety attacks isn't true and it's just the hormone dip.

I'm not actually a burden. my partner loves me and wants to be around me. his love for me is not a competition that I'm losing. I'm not a disgusting ugly monster. I'm not a waste of space. I don't actually want to die.

but the tightness in my chest and near tears every second is very convincing.

I can do this. it's going to be okay.

I just have to get through my work days so I can go home and cry.

[aeternitimperi]

i need more testosterone but because nobody wants to work anymore* i am briefly insane and crying at everything**

*the NP who does my testopel insertions abruptly left, probably because she was overworked and underpaid, but nobody told me so i had to find this out already late for my appointment when there is a month and a half wait for another provider

**dropout’s total forgiveness, the image of a much beloved garfield plush, labor organizers singing union songs, etc