I've been transitioning since 2017, on T from at least 2018. Best decision I've ever made.
Congrats on making it this far. Did you get all the effects you wanted?
Pretty positive thus far. I am transmasc/nonbinary. I started pretty low with ~10 mg gel about 6 months ago and switched to 20mg test cyp injection about 3 months ago. I just got blood tests that I'm still waiting on, so IDK if I'll need to change dose.
My mood is a lot better. Anxiety is much better. I have had much less joint pain (I'm hypermobile). It's easier to put on muscle. A little bit deeper voice. A little more body hair. My jawline looks more square.
PMDD improved temporarily but it's back. Libido was high for a while but it's leveled off. I gained a lot of water weight when I switched to injections, and it's still a problem. I lost some hair at my temples, which grew back with minoxidil and still doing alright switching to DIY rosemary oil serum. Bottom growth was really painful at first due to adhesion/phimosis. EDIT: I've also got some pin-sized cherry angiomas. My arms are finally almost healed after the gel wrecked my skin.
PMDD is hell, and I really want a hysterectomy with double oophorectomy. My gyno wanted to try Lupron for 6 months as a trial run before surgery, so hopefully that goes ok and I can remove these horrible organs from my body soon.
We seem to be in very similar situations. I've been on 25mg of gel for bout a month. What effects did you get in six months? There are little to no resources for a timeline on this dosage.
I'm a binary trans man, but have been worried about T wrecking my singing voice if I take too much too quickly, yet at the same time I am restless to get all the effects of it.
What did the gel do to your skin?
I also have PMDD. It suuuuuuucks.
Curious about the rosemary oil serum. I have heavy bald genes on every side of my family.
Most of what I listed happened in the first 3 months on 10 mg of gel. I do seem to be more sensitive to gel than the average person. The changes that occurred after the switch to injections are that my voice finally got a little lower, a jump in muscle definition, and my jawline is squaring out more.
The gel just really dried out and irritated my skin, even with moisturizing an hour after application and again after showering in the evening. My arms broke out into lots of tiny pimples and ingrown hairs. It wasn't bad at first but progressively got worse, especially as the weather got cooler/drier. I still have a few healing, and the skin still feels and looks a bit dry. I do have sensitive skin that can take a while to heal.
Have you had luck treating PMDD with antidepressants or birth control? I'm one of the unlucky few that has not responded. I finally found a doctor willing to consider surgery, though she's hesitant to remove both ovaries, and I hope she reconsiders.
There was a study that found rosemary oil as effective as minoxidil. My serum: 2 tbsp of aloe vera gel, like 12 drops of rosemary oil, and a few drops of lavender and tea tree oils, in an empty twist spout bottle. I'm still working on the recipe. I shake it up and apply to my whole scalp after showering, concentrating on my front hairline where I had loss. It's rather moisturizing, so I had to stop using conditioner. I have heard rosemary tea spray is also effective but I haven't tried it.
coming up on my 5 year anniversary soon! still no surgeries (between moving cities, changing careers, and the pandemic things got a bit off track) but my body is livable now. the effects stabilized after a couple years, i finished getting my documents changed around that same time, and now i'm just living my life. i always forget to include it in my lists of medication lol, it's just my normal now.
