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3·4 months agoAge related hearing loss can actually make you more sensitive to certain sounds. I have difficulty understanding speech but increased sensitivity to sounds including electrical buzzing.
3·5 months ago“Disproportionate increases in serum DHT are reported after administration of all transdermal testosterone products with the higher DHT/T ratio attributable to the strong expression of 5-alpha reductase in skin structures which foster the conversion of testosterone to DHT during transdermal passage.” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/andr.12357
“transdermal TRT elevated serum DHT (5.46-fold, 95% CI: 4.51 to 6.60) to a greater magnitude than intramuscular TRT” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4245724/
How much have you experimented with injections? You may want to try alternative esters (e.g. cypionate, enanthate). Some people find subcutaneous better than intramuscular or vice versa. It can also help to increase frequency, like splitting a weekly dose into 2 or 3 times a week. Injecting weekly was giving me issues (e.g. headaches, bad skin) that have resolved since switching to 2x/week.
For facial/body hair growth, I would suggest minoxidil if you haven’t tried already. A lot trans guys/mascs have had success with it. Muscle growth might just be unlucky genetics, but many people underestimate the power of a bigger calorie surplus, more protein, and/or a more targeted fitness plan.
Transition can be really frustrating for sure, and for some more than others. I would also recommend a trans affirming therapist or support group if you don’t have one already. My therapist has helped me a lot with managing expectations/frustrations/patience.
6·5 months agoI remember being in school 20 years ago and being taught about scale inaccuracies and the importance of frequent calibration. The thing about weight loss is that you will lose weight if you’re in a deficit. Your daily calorie needs are going to fluctuate a little bit, regardless. Most people don’t keep activity the exact same, sleep the exact same, take exactly the same steps everyday, plus hormones fluctuate, etc. Your measurements don’t have to be precise, just close enough. People have also lost weight with sloppy volumetric measurements, counting out chips, or even eyeballing the amount of space taken up on their plate. MyPlate.gov was rolled out after consumer research found that it works.
Honestly, I think it’s kind of a myth that gel is slower acting. I know some people don’t absorb it well, but I’ve seen great results on dudes that do. Some of my changes happened really fast, like within a week, bottom growth started, and my hand veins started popping out, before I even started working out.
You’re on a pretty normal starting dose and could definitely stay on that dose and still transition if you wanted to keep it slow. Most men increase for more rapid changes, but nonbinary dudes will often stay around that dose or even drop it a bit. Reddit is a good source for trans timelines, and I hope we start seeing more here.
The main difference between topical and injections is that topical converts to more DHT, which acts more on bottom growth and facial/body hair growth, but also male patterned baldness. So in some ways, you might transition faster on gel. Wikipedia has a chart comparing DHT to testosterone.
Best of luck, man. Glad to help.
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.
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.
12·5 months agoIf you’re using an app, you may need to adjust image quality in the settings. I thought the same thing until I tapped the HD button in Boost.
Some people do every 3.5 days but I didn’t like the evening injection so now I just do them both in the morning. Same 2 days every week.
I do twice a week. I just split my weekly dose in half.
Just go to the instance website and there will be a link to the modlog usually at the bottom of the page.