#also I have actually been taking low dose T for a bit but it hasn't done much for me yet because my prescribing doctor is a moron lol

[exeggcute]

Why didn't you just go on T for fat redistribution?

fair question! a few reasons, among them that I know fat distribution is both one of the slowest changes to happen on T and one of the fastest to reverse itself if you ever stop, whereas getting fat cells sucked out of you with a straw is fast and fairly fucking permanent. and with my (former) waist-to-hip ratio I was doubtful anything short of a miracle would do much tbh. so given how impatient I was to tackle my biggest source of body dysphoria and how unlikely it seemed gradual measures would help I was super down to nuke that shit from orbit

[joyful-soul-collector]

HEY THIS HAPPENED TO ME AND IT WAS A FUCKIN TIME

I'm gonna preface this by saying the thing that happened to me is probably fairly rare as I've only heard a couple people talk about it (when I specifically looked up what the FUCK was happening to me on reddit) so don't be worried or scared by reading it, it's not horrible or irreversible or anything like that

So basically after being a month on a low dose of T, there was about a week where I broke out into hives all over my body and my hands, feet, and face seemed to swell up. I'm not sure if my torso also swelled up but it's possible, it may have just been hard to tell.

And when I mean swelled up, I mean it was hard to walk or stand because my feet hurt when I put my weight on them. I had to take off my rings (with much difficulty) because they were starting to hurt. I would hold ice in my hands and on my feet because it seemed to help a bit with the swelling, and because I was hot as hell and it distracted from itching at the hives

The hives were also everywhere, and that's what made me think I had an allergic reaction to something somehow, but I couldn't think what it was. I didn't come in contact with or eat anything new or different than I had before, it didn't stop even after I took a shower and dressed in clothes straight from the dryer. Hell it was during QUARANTINE, the whole point was to NOT come in contact with anyone or anything new, so it was next to impossible for me to have suddenly come in contact with a new allergen I'd never known about. I'd literally never had hives before until this day, I thought my cat had fleas until my mom pointed out they weren't flea bites.

The only thing that made it stop for awhile was taking benadryl, which sounds again like I had an allergic reaction, but it CAME BACK throughout the course of a week or so! So I just had to take a benadryl every time I could feel the hives or swelling coming back!

Obviously I looked up what the fuck was happening, specifically looking on the ftm subreddit because I'd been having a lot of other T related stuff happening to me at the time, and sure enough there were a couple people there talking about it too, and later I found out my sisters friend, another trans man, had had it happen to him too. They didn't all have hives AND swelling, it was usually one or the other, so it seems I got the short end of the stick there but still.

I didn't actually end up giving blood to get rid of it, it sort of seemed to go away on its own after a week, but I imagine if I'd given blood after the first time it happened I would've been able to avoid it happening like 3 or 4 more times the rest of that week haha. It hasn't happened again since then, but at least I know what to do now. I talked to my doctor about it and she told me taking benadryl or any sort of antihistamine was a good thing to do, and if it ever happened again to come in and have some blood drawn so hopefully it goes away faster than before.

So yeah, a warning for anyone out there, this might happen, it's pretty annoying and weird, but just take an antihistamine and go to your doctor and most likely everything will be fine :D

one thing about HRT i think is underdiscussed is the fact that if you're on testosterone, you can (sometimes) just produce Too Much Blood, and the way to fix having Too Much Blood is to Do Bloodletting. There are modern day people doing bloodletting as part of their transitions. why does no one talk about this

[nonegenderleftpain]

Contents: genitals mention, menstruation mention, transition details

I cannot get the readmore to function on mobile, apologies.

Bxy Journal Day Who Even Knows - Three month check-in

Woo! It's been a little over three months on low-dose T, and I thought I'd catalog my changes. This journal has definitely turned into a not every day kind of thing because chronic illness sucks, but I'm going to update when I can.

Dosage: 2mg/day Androderm testosterone patch

Changes so far:

Increased facial hair growth. It's not much more than was already present due to PCOS, but it's enough that I have to shave to feel comfortable and not pick at it. I don't tolerate anything on my face, so this was the side-effect I'm least excited about - I'll be getting laser hair removal in the future so I don't scar my face. That said, to anyone else the growth would be almost unnoticeable - it's not visible (granted, I'm white) and not thick in the least. My handful of thick hairs have just expanded to a larger handful.

Voice changes! While my speaking voice hasn't much changed (I haven't been doing any vocal exercises to change it, I'm going to let that happen naturally), my singing voice has dropped several notes. Regular singing in the car, shower, and at my desk has helped maintain my upper register thus far, but those low notes are SUPER satisfying. My laugh has also deepened just a smidge. This is the most important part, for me. Pre-T, my laugh was identical to my abusive mother and I've given myself panic attacks by laughing in the past. It's starting to sound like me instead of her and I'm delighted. (Full disclosure, first time I noticed it, I cried.)

Libido. My sex drive has definitely increased a significant amount. I'm already a hypersexual person, so it came out the gate swinging. So far it hasn't posed a problem, but Partner One has an incredibly low libido so there's a solid chance it might moving forward - we'll see.

Body odor. I smell different. I'd heard this mentioned before and kind of side-eyed it, but by the gods I really do smell different. My general body odor is stronger, and my groin smells... well, it smells like dick. Seriously. It's almost identical to how Partner One's groin smells, which is WILD. I in no way expected that to happen, especially not so soon, and I didn't expect it to be so satisfying. It's taking some getting used to, but there it is.

Clitoral growth. This one I can't quite tell yet. It feels like maybe my dick has gotten bigger, but if so it's a very small amount. Unsurprising, considering the low dose and short time span. I'm chomping at the bit for more changes in this department.

Acne. This is something I was already dealing with because of the aforementioned PCOS, but it's gotten worse. If you're not prone to acne, this might be a drastic change for you. Be prepared for it. It's been especially annoying on my chest and under my breasts - no amount of acne body wash and careful cleanliness has kept it from happening. Quite annoying, but nothing new.

Menstruation. If you were expecting T to stop your periods, you need a higher dose than this. I am actually going to be talking to my doctor about getting back on progesterone because my periods are so excruciating that they flare all of my chronic pain issues and leave me bedridden for several days. Not too much more to say on that except god I did not miss periods and I'll go back on pills to stop them immediately cuz fuck. that.

Emotions. I haven't seen any of the stunted emotional range that some people talk about with T. Not sure if this is because it's bullshit man-hating rhetoric, if it's because I'm bipolar and have hyper emotions, or because of my dosage. We'll see.

Well, three month check-in complete. Go testosterone and go me!