#testosterone problems

[rauchendesgnu]

Today's my first day on testosterone, and to celebrate that, I present these:

as you can see, this is Jon with a huge Blåhaj—I started working on the mechs drawings, but they're fully rendered pieces in a style that is quite different from mine, and I was aching for something quick that didn't have to be finished and polished

Also: yay, Melanie debut!

[fallout-lou-begas]

middle aged trans butch rose of sharon cassidy save me. save me middle aged trans butch rose of sharon cassidy

[arthurroseart]

"Lion's Problem"

So last year the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs commissioned me to make an animation about birth control, so I did one about a trans lion taking birth control, though they underpaid me and never told me if they actually aired it so here it is

[antiquery]

beginning to think the right wingers have a point about keeping drag away from kids— not because it's too sexual (it's generally not) or because kids shouldn't know that people can be trans (they aggressively should), but because eighth graders armed with drag slang are nuclear levels of annoying

[peerieweirdo]

'i dont care if that boxer has a vagina, her testosterone levels make her a man!!!'

so you agree? sex is more complicated than just genitals at birth and is a complex system of reproductive organs, hormones, chromosomes and secondary sex characteristics?

[soaked-ghost]

i should've made ink and dream into women. what the hell am I doing. say hello to guygirl ink and transfem dream.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

"...my one year anniversary being on testosterone!!! I had a vision of capturing my total gender euphoria [...] My trans and nonbinary body is divine I honor my body as it is now, and as it will be as I continue to become more and more myself..."

[shamelesslyimpurrfect]

Been on testosterone for almost 5 years and just did my shot by myself for the first time!! I was really nervous but it didn’t even hurt and lasted maybe 20 seconds. Go me!!! I’m proud of myself :D

[sevens-evan]

diy hrt is obviously a net positive for the world and i think it's fine to promote information about it but it is crazy how a) a lot of the people who do promote it have an insane superiority complex about how much better and braver they are than people who go through a medical institution and b) how many of them actually know nothing about it. saw a diy person on here the other day talking abt how finasteride "is well known to literally only affect hair loss and not do anything else" and it's like. it's true that finasteride use in trans men is not studied and anecdotal reports vary wildly but if you know Literally Anything, Even A Single Thing about what finasteride actually does in the body and what dht does as a hormone you would know that's a stupid thing to say. which leaves one to conclude that that person Thought they knew what they were talking about without doing even a single second of googling. not good!

[evildeerboy]

yaaay boys greatest dream coming true (getting estrogen)

[idlemidas]

Finding out I probably need more money than I’d mentally prepared myself for for top surgery when I was already planning on spending most my savings, love that for me

[sleepy-shutin]

i don't care to get into most LGBT discourse but i keep seeing this and frankly, i'm so sick of you people as a ~genderweird dykefag~ lmao.

if you've never read stone butch blues, butch is a noun, the persistent desire, looked at lesbian herstory archives, spoken to transgender and genderfucked lesbians, or read any kind of important historical work about lesbianism, then you don't get an opinion on lesboys, multigender lesbians, transmasc or trans man lesbians, butch lesbians, lesbians on T, NONE of it, because you don't know what the hell you're talking about, and i'm so sick of you people acting like you do because you saw a tiktok or a twitter thread or you read a carrd.

lesboys have existed for longer than most of you have been alive. multigender, transmasc/trans man lesbians and other lesbians playing "5D chess with gender" have existed for longer than you've been alive.

everyone's fine with gay and bisexual men being genderweird and being "a man who's a woman who's a man" and every other kind of genderfucked, but the second a woman or a lesbian/dyke does it, they're viciously attacked by fucking everybody for "bringing men into lesbianism" - as if that's something that transgender women haven't been hearing for decades - and 90% of these people aren't women, lesbians, or even attracted to women.

no wonder you people are so inhospitable to trans women. you hold women and lesbians/dykes to such high standards of femaleness/femininity that when we aren't the kind of woman or dyke you think we should be, you throw a tantrum over it. maybe get out of the online LGBT discourse and into the real world of queer and genderfucked people and broaden your perspectives please.

[sasukeuchihaisreallycool]

Testosterone Things No One Told Me About

Disclaimer: these are not universal experiences. Everyone has different bodily changes that happen at different paces and different amounts. These are just the things I've experienced so far

Hi I'm an FTM trans man I've been doing HTR for about 5 years now so I thought I'd impart some fun facts about it I've learned.

1. Male patterned balding. I am 24 and my hair is thinning at quite a rapid pace. It was very thick when I first started and at this point I'm probably gonna be bald on the top of my head by the time I'm 30. I have a great beard though so that's cool.

2. HORNY. Testosterone increases your sex drive, you will most likely be uncomfortably horny all the time for the first half a year if not more. 24 hours after I do my shot I also feel an increased sex drive as well and I'm asexual so that was shocking to me in the beginning.

3. Puberty #2 Electric Boogaloo. You will basically be going through a second puberty when you start and your body gets used to the changes. I'm talking acne, oily skin, greasy hair, sweating, body odor, the whole nine yards. I felt like shit about myself and wondered if I made a mistake for a long time while I was going through this first stretch, it'll be okay just relax it'll pass in time. I feel great now.

4. Weight Gain. Your body is redistributing fat to different areas, I gained about 20-30 pounds. I eat fairly healthy and I exercise regularly and it still happened so don't worry that's normal.

5. Voice Change. You will sound like a 14 year old boy and your voice will crack a lot. I am a singer so this was a very difficult thing for me to deal with. This also made me feel like shit and depressed because I sang horribly during that time period, it'll pass and you can learn to sing in a lower key don't give up you can retrain yourself!

6. Anger. I started getting a lot angrier and irritated more easily, I still do at times. Again 24 hours after my shot it's not uncommon for me to be more easily frustrated and get pissed off at stupid things. This does not make you a bad person or an "evil violent man" You can deal with these new feelings in constructive healthy non violent ways. I've never been a particularly angry person so this was frightening to me at first and I felt guilty for having those feelings.

7. Shots. I do the injection into my tummy fat method, I started doing it in the thigh and then switched. I do self inject, I used to be TERRIFIED of shots, I still get some anxiety over it at times. It took me a long time and many visits to Planned Parenthood to be able to do it myself. It can be done with persistence and bravery! If it helps here's my plan of action I did to overcome my fear:

Step 1. Watch YouTube videos of people injecting themselves so start desensitizing yourself to it.

Step 2. Go to the doctor, have them do it, but watch when they do.

Step 3. Have the doctor do it, but put your hand on theirs while they are.

Step 4. Have the doctor do it but put your hand on theirs and push the plunger in yourself.

Step 5. Hold the needle yourself this time and have the doctor put their hand over yours to help you push the needle into your skin. This step is the hardest step.

Step 6. Go to the doctor and have them stand by to assist you while you attempt to do it on your own. So in case you can't get yourself to do it they're there to help/do it for you.

This is what worked for me, there's non-injection methods as well people do so don't fret if you're not up for that. Take as much time as you need on these steps before moving on to the next one. There's no rush you'll get it when you get it.

8. Male Privilege. If you pass very well as I do strangers will start thinking you're a cis male which is great, but you will also start being treated differently in public. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. I've ended up becoming the one my female friends would ask to walk them home at night because they wanted a man with them to deter predators from approaching them. And vice versa I've also become aware that I now can make women uncomfortable when I'm walking behind them at night as well. Once again this does not make you an "Evil Man" just be aware of the people around you. Use your newfound privilege to your advantage and stick up for your female/nonbinary/non passing friends :)

9. Body Hair. You get a lot more body hair. I was always a hairy person, I had no idea how much more I'd get but it was a lot. Your butt, back, and chest are gonna get hairy. It's very annoying especially if you're someone who enjoys being shaved.

10. Personal Smell. This is a weird one, but your smell changes. It's not a bad smell you just... Smell like a man now. I thought I stank or something cause like I said puberty 2 was rough but no matter how many showers you take the man smell does not go away. You get used to it I don't even notice now, no one ever did notice except for me to begin with.

I hope this was helpful, I'll add more if I think of anything. Enjoy your transition it's got it's pros and cons, but it's worth it and you're not making a mistake I promise.

[red-bat-arse]

Injection Tips for Needle Nervous

From someone who had to deal with a fear of needles while learning how to do testosterone shots. To be clear, I'm 28 years old and have been doing weekly IM injections in my thighs for 18 months.

PREP -Listen to the information given for the possible injection sites; you may prefer or find it easier to deal with IM vs SubQ based on the options your doctor gives you. If you're able, schedule at least 6-8 injection days of clinic visits so a nurse can teach you how to inject properly, and you can take your time absorbing. If you're still nervous, try purchasing a 'shot blocker' since they can help with not feeling the needle. If it's the possible pain that bothers you, I used to pinch hard at the area with my nails to sort of say 'that's what you're expecting, see, it's not that bad!' This technique has also helped me with getting my blood drawn, which to go on T you'll have to deal with as well.

ROUTINE -Once I left the supervision of the clinic nurses and started injecting at home, I made sure to establish a routine. You'll need to find your own, and here's mine for reference; with a little wiggle room (like doing it in the morning if I know I'll be busy in the evening) I stick to the same rhythm every week. Set up my station, use the toilet (you don't want to be antsy handling a needle), press play on a song and wash hands, then my draw system [sanitize stopper, draw, switch needle size, get rid of air bubbles, adjust to relax, sanitize thigh, breathe, inject, pressure with a tissue until the song ends], then I clean up and put the needles immediately in my sharps box. It really helps to know exactly what you're getting into so unexpected changes (like injecting while a little drunk, I don't recommend this but it might happen) are easier to handle.

DISCIPLINE -I put on a 5 minute song and do my whole routine in that time, it works for me. Too short and you'll feel rushed, too long and you might procrastinate, so get into the habit. I give myself a four hour window and as soon as I feel like I could do it, I go for it.

CHILL -As mentioned, I put on a song, for me stoner metal or blues works the best since it soothes and zones me in. I do my shot in the evening so if I freak out a bit I can just go to bed. I put on my comfiest layers and have a treat after, too.

EXPERIMENT -While there are aspects of it all you must do a certain way, you won't always know the best way to do things for yourself of available options even once you've been taught, so let yourself feel it out. I was shown the quick jab method at first to get over my hesitation, but now I find I feel it less if I insert the needle slowly. I switched from 25G to 22G needles when the smaller size proved more difficult to inject due to the consistency of testosterone, and I also found a shorter needle length got rid of some residual anxiety over the actual insertion part. I used to do everything in the morning and now I solely do it in the evening. You can change some parts of the process to make yourself feel better! 

FRIEND -I've got an assistant who sits on my other leg while I go through my routine, his name is Snippers;

And I've found I'm less jittery with him there and my heart races less in the preamble to actually piercing skin. I keep him with me afterwards especially if I had a harder time than usual, which can happen even after doing this a long time.

And lastly;

BELAY THAT -Give yourself an out. Besides a situation like if I run out before my prescription can get refilled, I told myself I could skip one (1) injection per year, if I was having a super bad time and just couldn't. So far I haven't had to use it -at the most I've just waited until the next evening. My doctor has said that's fine and I don't have to inform her if I skip once, but that might not be the same for everyone. Either way I think giving yourself breathing room is essential to take the pressure off -self-injecting might be affirming, but it isn't always fun or easy!

I also think it should go without saying that these tips are things that have helped based on my own personal experience from the past year and a half. It's fine if they don't work for you or you don't think they're helpful at all -the trans* experience is wide and varied. I'm also not giving anyone medical advice -always learn how to properly administer your medication from a professional. Here is an article about general HRT self injection that may be some help.

But, if you do have difficulty with needles, hopefully this gave you some tips and tricks that could make the process feel more manageable.

[authorityissues]

*howling in pain* trying to get back on T and I know with words that it always takes longer than you think it's going to take but the longer than I thought it was going to take officially hit agony

[kaleidoscopic-quiddity]

full offence i have no sympathy for ppl who whine about how scared they are of going on T. like??? simply do not go on it then?? medically transitioning isnt for everyone and thats perfectly fine, despite what transmeds and conservatives say, being on HRT doesnt make you any more or less of a man. like im sorry that testosterone actually does its job and makes you look like what you wouldve if youd been born AMAB rather than turning you into a skinny androgynous anime twink but if youre just sooooo scared of going bald or think bottom growth is weird and gross, simply do not take testosterone then. and whilst youre at it, shut the fuck up about the changes and bodies of people who are on it, the fact that you think bottom growth is weird, or dont wanna sweat more, or are scared of looking more like your male relatives is a YOU problem. T is literally life saving and so is every single change it causes for people who want to medically transition, if thats not you then thats completely fine but dont start dragging other trans people down with your fearmongering pity party