[ti]question[/ti]HRT questions

[~k×tten]

Ive been reading more about hrt and debating if I should go for it or not. Been seeing a lot of mixed views and results on it, so thought Id ask what you all think ^.^

Mostly Ive just been wondering...

Is there such a thing as too young for HRT? Im 19, but kinda late bloomer so I mostly still look like a kid lol. Concerned if starting HRT will get in the way of anything physical or mental. People say it does stuff to your mood, I suppose this is where your mileage may vary, but just curious in general.

Whats the procedure like? Ive gathered that where I am, E is available orally and T is available in injection form. Now I hate injections (and I heard talk about blood tests too >.<) but I guess thats something to overcome lol. Is it always weekly or twice a week? And what happens do you just get the shot and be done with it? Sorry if this is dumb question but Ive hardly been to the hospital except for the psychiatric ward, so Idk what it's mostly like when it comes to these things

Is it possible to be on long-term HRT without being out XD I mean obviously family would have to know (and I plan on telling them) but is it something Id need to declare on a job/uni/etc application? Medical history or something? Or can I just not say anything about it?

I might have more questions later lol Thanks for answers if any ^.^

[Ativan Prescribed]

Sept 27, 2018 23:14:19 GMT 8 ~k×tten said:

Ive been reading more about hrt and debating if I should go for it or not. Been seeing a lot of mixed views and results on it, so thought Id ask what you all think ^.^

Mostly Ive just been wondering...

Is there such a thing as too young for HRT? Im 19, but kinda late bloomer so I mostly still look like a kid lol. Concerned if starting HRT will get in the way of anything physical or mental. People say it does stuff to your mood, I suppose this is where your mileage may vary, but just curious in general.

Whats the procedure like? Ive gathered that where I am, E is available orally and T is available in injection form. Now I hate injections (and I heard talk about blood tests too >.<) but I guess thats something to overcome lol. Is it always weekly or twice a week? And what happens do you just get the shot and be done with it? Sorry if this is dumb question but Ive hardly been to the hospital except for the psychiatric ward, so Idk what it's mostly like when it comes to these things

Is it possible to be on long-term HRT without being out XD I mean obviously family would have to know (and I plan on telling them) but is it something Id need to declare on a job/uni/etc application? Medical history or something? Or can I just not say anything about it?

I might have more questions later lol Thanks for answers if any ^.^

These are some of the common questions people have, and not finding the answers that are true and real can prevent some of them from ever getting out of the hell that society puts them in for not being just like them, or the real truth, not being the same as their closeted views.
I don't know about there, but here it's your business only once you become 18 yrs old.
There are lots of people younger than you who have started already, but the real time to start has no answer to that, it's going to be different for each person, physical and psychological concerns leave even an estimated time not very reliable.
One of the things they have done with younger people is to use meds to hold off their puberty so that once they are near that age, they can then start, the reasoning is that HRT is an unknown in terms of the effects it can have, there isn't enough documentation to have an educated guess as to when HRT is safe to start.
But it's a given that once a person has more or less gone through the initial stages of puberty, it's as safe as it is for anyone else.
But there is the thought that once allowing a person to go through puberty is also forcing them to physically have the body they never wanted, and a later start with HRT is an unsuccessful attempt to then turn back the clock, it can take a lot longer for them to adjust and it also takes away that initial opportunity to allow a person to have the puberty that is correct for them.
As far as mental concerns, and mood altering, you have to consider that for most people who do use HRT have gone through considerable negative mental concerns and moods from that, the one big thing that HRT is doing is allowing people to feel like they should instead of the way they are forced to feel, it is the first and most important reason to use HRT, the negative effects of having the overload of the wrong hormone is at best a life that people shouldn't have to live, just because of the demands of people who have little to no understanding of what HRT can do in a positive manner for these people, and that in turn making them the people who are more likely to contribute to society in a 100% manner denied because of an imbalance in hormones, if the people who don't need them were forced to take HRT that changes their ratio of hormones, they would know and do know the repercussions it would have on them, yet those are the very people who would deny that to the people it helps.
Long term there are concerns, but they are not out of the range that people can find themselves in anyways, there is no direct thing that using HRT can be identified as being the sole cause of anything negative.
The alternative is the debilitating effects that not getting HRT has on those people who live a life that is never as good as it could be, the mental disabilities that result from having to live a life with the wrong hormone balance in them.
Again, if it was for any other reason other than what society has a hard time understanding, if an HRT change is a life saving or even remotely life changing, they don't hesitate, hormones used in HRT are not ones that have been made available solely or even originally for any trans need, the ones used are commonly used by people all the time for the medical reasons they need them, the form that E is used is commonly used as birth control, if these kinds of hormones were not used for other things, they wouldn't even been available, the use of them by trans people is very limited and certainly not important enough for the manufacturer's to make them available, if cis people didn't use them for the things they do, they wouldn't exist in the ways they are, and some of them could be refined further for use by trans people if they thought it important enough, but there is no money in it for them, so they just go with the most use forms to get the most profits they can get.
Understanding HRT is a very necessary thing to know before using them, to blindly take them without know all of the plus and minuses is risky, you wouldn't just blindly take a med from a Dr when you can easily look them up online and find the information that is important to you, HRT is the very same thing.

[Trinity]

Sept 27, 2018 23:14:19 GMT 8 ~k×tten said:

Ive been reading more about hrt and debating if I should go for it or not. Been seeing a lot of mixed views and results on it, so thought Id ask what you all think ^.^

Mostly Ive just been wondering...

Is there such a thing as too young for HRT? Im 19, but kinda late bloomer so I mostly still look like a kid lol. Concerned if starting HRT will get in the way of anything physical or mental. People say it does stuff to your mood, I suppose this is where your mileage may vary, but just curious in general.

Whats the procedure like? Ive gathered that where I am, E is available orally and T is available in injection form. Now I hate injections (and I heard talk about blood tests too >.<) but I guess thats something to overcome lol. Is it always weekly or twice a week? And what happens do you just get the shot and be done with it? Sorry if this is dumb question but Ive hardly been to the hospital except for the psychiatric ward, so Idk what it's mostly like when it comes to these things

Is it possible to be on long-term HRT without being out XD I mean obviously family would have to know (and I plan on telling them) but is it something Id need to declare on a job/uni/etc application? Medical history or something? Or can I just not say anything about it?

I might have more questions later lol Thanks for answers if any ^.^

We don't have a whole lot of us on T, I hope you get your answers.  

Shots vary, for E, and its cut with the same stuff as T is, so the half life has you injecting weekly, biweekly, or sometimes more frequently.  And folk are different.

T produces strong results in high dose, it will be noticeable.

You don't have to declare anything on a job, I have done so in the past and it got super weird on me, but the disclosrue also put my employer in a very difficult position when they fired me.  So I got my unemployment.

One thing that can help is blockers, so that it delays further growth in a direction you don't want.

When you are young there are questions, things to be very sure of, its not something to start and stop, you have to know its what you want.  And that usually needs a darned good gender therapist to work through.

[~k×tten]

Unfortunately blockers arent available here and even if they were an option they're super expensive to get here from what Ive heard.

Ativan Prescribed yea that makes sense, I think the age for own consent here is 21. It seemed like more of a legal thing than anything but just wanted to make sure ^.^ Ive been considering the pros and cons and effects wise, it sounds great, I was a bit concerned about any other implications that might factor in.

Trinity Ok gotcha ^.^ Yea I am pretty sure if I decide to go down this road I wont be turning back. So Ive been looking at options and giving some thought to it (have been for few years really), it didnt seem like anything more than just a thought few years back but now that its more likely to happen, Ive been giving more serious consideration.

[EchelonHunt]

You will have to tell your family before you go on HRT because the voice changes will happen very quickly on the first few weeks and months of testosterone. Even over the years, the voice continues to change and deepen, it's interesting how it changes.

Injections really aren't that bad. I hated injections because I had bad experiences with blood tests in the past but it was a necessary compromise to use T.

For me, it started off with tri-weekly doses of injections, so it would be something like 2.5mL of Primoteston testosterone injected into the thigh every three weeks. Once the T levels were high enough to be in the male range and my endo was happy with the levels, he offered Reandron 4mL, which is a three-monthly injection.

T can also be delivered in gels (testogel), underarm solution (axiron), implantable pellets (testopel) and oral tablets - but tablets are mostly discouraged because it passes through your liver and can damage it - whereas the other methods of application bypass the liver.

Think about why you want to be on T. And I mean, REALLY think about it. I dove in headfirst because I blindly believed I was a transman, I obviously needed T to get surgery I needed. T was just an obstacle I needed to overcome, to "tick the box", to gain access to top surgery and bottom surgery.

Had I realized I was non-binary before going on T, I would've just stayed on low-dose until I was happy with the changes instead of diving right in. But in hindsight, being treated as female, then male... made me realize I was non-binary.

It's super common for people to go on T because they think it will solve all of their problems - it won't. I thought it would get rid of my depression and anxiety but it didn't, it just got rid of most of my crippling dysphoria that was making me want to kill myself. It may even make you realise issues that you didn't notice you had before because T clearing up the dysphoria to reveal underlying issues, I take Lexapro for my depression and anxiety, was diagnosed with BED (binge-eating disorder) got therapy for that and now, I am going to be seeing a psychiatrist for ADHD diagnosis.

Now, I'm on low-dose T and on low-dose estrogen patches. The estrogen patches help me with hot flashes since I had a hysterectomy and help me have a more balanced mood - more empathy, whereas just having T made me feel more unfeeling and distant.

Ah, yeah. That's another thing. T makes you unable to cry and it's really easy to feel detached from everything. That can be dangerous for some people. For others, T just mellows them out and they're super easy-going and happier to be around, YMMV.

[~k×tten]

Yea I will be telling people I live with for sure. I think its only available in injections where I am, and even then, other forms seem expensive.

I will think about it and discuss with the relevant people, Im also considering finding a therapist in the meantime to talk stuff through. If I do go for hrt it wont be till next year I think, probably better to finish my final year and then transition before meeting a whole lot of new people.

Ahh okay I will consider the mood thing ^.^