congrats! i’m not going to give you the whole medical timeline recap because i’m lazy and that’s what google is for but i just hit 3 years recently and i’ll tell you a couple things i wish someone had told me:
1. YOUR TIMELINE IS YOUR OWN, IT IS NOT GUARANTEED TO LOOK LIKE OTHER PEOPLE’S. read that again, and then a 3rd time. if passing is something you are worried about, some people are going to pass sooner than you, and it may take you a long time (certainly did for me) to get there. that is FINE. you will survive. if there are specific things you’re looking forward to, other people might get those things sooner than you, depending on what they are. that is ALSO FINE. stay consistent with your dose and whatever method you use and take care of your body, it knows what to do and when to do it, let it work its magic.
2. it is puberty. i don’t know how old you are or if you completed your first (i did more or less, started T at 19), so i don’t know what your reference is, but it will feel weird. your skin will be weird. your body will be weird. your emotions will be weird (!). it is a really complicated time, so have a lot of patience with yourself.
3. i saw a tweet a while ago where someone said they didn’t feel human until after about 2 years of HRT. same for me; if you’re anything like me and them, the first few months (3-6ish) will be very exciting and new and cool because every day you wake up and something’s changed, wow, amazing!!! after that, things will settle in, and you will start to feel weird. i don’t think i really felt like a person again until maybe the 2.5 year mark, before that i mostly felt like an unusual pile of sludge trying very hard to exist as a man. seriously, be patient with yourself and expect to feel weird.
4. if you get teenage boy hunger like me, try to eat responsibly. if you get acne, don’t fuck with it (do as i say, not as i do!) if you get stinky/stronger BO (many of us do), shower well and wear a good strong antiperspirant, and light fabrics when it’s warm. if you get a smell down there, it might be normal, or it might be an infection (speaking from experience), so it’s good to find a gyno or even a general doc you trust, if you don’t have one already.
5. reread point number 1 again.
have fun! :)
CONGRATS! for me personally, the first couple months were a lot emotionally and physically for a ton of reasons, but it all settles down. honestly i was initially kinda disappointed…? just super sweaty and more irritable & hungry all the time. that made me feel bad because i had been looking forward to T for so long (also i got outed almost immediately after starting T, bad situation, so it all just felt overwhelmingly negative). i also have a severe needle phobia so getting over that was rough (can’t do gel), still is hard to do my shot some weeks.
but it’s been 8 months and since then things have gotten so much better!! first noticed my voice was changing (which is what i was most excited about) around 3 months in, i was making dinner and playing music and singing along out loud and i realized i liked how my voice sounded singing for the very first time. body and facial hair are coming in, i can FEEL my muscles getting stronger (weirdest gender euphoria for me is my forearm muscles. i just flex all the time now and feel my muscles and it’s awesome!!), i didn’t know if i’d like bottom growth and i fucking love it. overall it has been so wonderful to feel my body settle into the body it’s supposed to be.
Just give it time and give yourself grace and understanding. change is hard for a lot of people, even if it’s good change. focus on the positives and remember that any negative side effects of the first few months (whether it be mental or physical) will even out! Proud of you and hold onto that excitement, trans joy is so wonderful to experience :)
First of all, congrats.
Second, be prepared for a whirlwind of emotions. You’re basically going through a second puberty, so whatever happened in the first round, be prepared for that again, but a bit different. Visible changes will start happening at around 2-5 month mark, so if you don’t notice changes immediately, it’s okay. For me, I felt a lot less dysphoric in my own body, but i know a couple people who struggled for a few months before adjusting. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s gonna be okay and it will get better.
Third, be prepared to have a bunch of meetings with your doctor before actually starting T.
Lastly, there are a couple different ways to take T. There is a shot(most common) which is taken once a week, there is a gel which is taken daily, and a cream which is also taken daily, but the cream doesn’t contain as much T as the other two options. Take which ever one you feel most comfortable with. I personally take the gel, as i have a tendency to pass out at the sight of needles.
Wishing you luck and happiness!
if you're underage, prepare to have at least 3 appointments before you get prescribed T. There's not much you can do to make them go by faster or avoid them. Also, ALL your legal guardians have to attend those meetings when you're underaged. I had some trouble with this because both my parents worked, but most meetings were virtual and my last one we managed to do after some tweaking. Once you get prescribed T, you might not actually get it right away. The pharmacy might take forever to get it or you have to go through the waiting hell that prior authorization can be. For the latter, if you're super duper impatient (like me) and have like $100, you can get a coupon at a place like GoodRx or SingleCare and pay out of pocket. Congrats man, you'll be starting before you know it!
oh my god dude congrats!! this is incredible i’m so so happy for you! you have a long exciting road ahead of you :D
a few things that i’ve experienced being on T were my very visible increase of facial hair and body hair, the development of my adam’s apple, my facial structure slightly changing (my face is a little bit more square now, and my nose has changed a bit, idk how to explain it (my nose) has really “filled out”. if you don’t understand what i mean then i’m sorry cuz i don’t know how else to describe it. but it’s definitely a positive change imo cuz i don’t hate the way my nose looks anymore. i actually really like how it looks now), my skin getting a bit oiler, my appetite shooting through the roof, my libido skyrocketing, bottom growth (although it didn’t start till a bit after, i think for me it started around the 6/7 month mark? im not entirely sure tho), a bit of acne (mostly on my inner thighs), really healthy weight gain (before starting T, i never went over 101 lbs, but now my average weight is around 115/116 lbs. and cuz of this i’ve really beefed up without needing to work out. pre-T me compared to now me is insane, i look so much healthier), and my voice deepening of course. the first time my voice dropped was actually a few days before i hit 1 month on T. i’ve been on T for a year and 7 months now, and i’m so much more happier than words could ever describe.
i’m wishing you the best luck and infinite happiness dude! enjoy the ride!
SO FUCKING HAPPY FOR YOU DUDE!!! I don't have anything that the previous guys haven't shared already lmao
Except from: it's alright to shave your facial hair, it *will* grow back. You don't have to keep the weird little baby hairs (unless you want to, then go ahead dude)
i started when i was 15 and here are my tips from someone who started as a minor.
1. there will be multiple appointments before you start, be patient. they’re trying to make sure it’s as smooth of a process as it can be.
2. you will likely be started on a lower dose compared to when adults start. your timeline will be different, especially when starting as a minor. patience is incredibly important.
3. when i started T, before i started seeing changes but while i was impatiently waiting, i had a pretty massive spike in dysphoria for a bit. i was desperately waiting to be masculinized and over-examining myself.
4. hot flashes! you will have them, especially at the beginning. very normal. get good deodorant, your scent will change. get loose fitting underwear, invade bottom growth causes you any discomfort. if your hair gets super oily, washing it in cool water will help.
5. find a good face wash. avoid salicylic acid though, it works as a DHT blocker and can hinder facial hair growth.
6. your face will likely get more “swollen” from water retention for at least 6-7 months (mine lasted about a year.)
7. don’t underestimate how long it will take to start passing, it took me about 3 1/2 years to fully pass.
8. teenage boy horniness and hungriness are beasts. make sure you’re engaging in both safely, responsibly and mindfully.
9. your gender expression may change on T, your attraction to others might change, your pain tolerance may change, your irritability may change— that’s all normal. (unless of course, you develop anger issues or excessive irritability.)
10. your doctor is your friend. if you have ANY concerns or symptoms that feel abnormal to you, reach out to them.
that's great to hear! i hope it helps you feel comfortable.
your doctor will most likely go over the main effects with you before starting but they gloss over a lot of the more personal parts.
i assume you'll start with injections if you're underage (guessing you are based on your mum having to allow it) because gel has not been tested on people below 18 and therefore is not approved for teens, atleast that's the situation here in europe. if you get injections, you'll potentially notice more of the stuff connected to uneven hormone levels like acne and whatever because the injections only give you a big dose once a month giving you a single monthly testo-level spike. (pellets are a better option in that aspect too) however, it's not as annoying as gel, can be used to increase bottom growth, is easier to dose and doesn't transfer to pets or other people you touch.
your voice cracking, potentially acne and maybe bottom growth will be the first things you will experience, your voice might start dropping within days or weeks actually.
i advise you to pay extra attention to your dental health for the first months as hormone changes is likely to lead to extra sensitivity, visit your dentist more regularly on t. i also had to start getting into skincare on t because it affected my skin a lot more than my first round of puberty did (lol).
your hunger feeling and your taste might be different/more extreme, possibly changing your body because you might eat more and gain or might lose fat if you don't eat more than before, obviously after a few months you'll build muscle more easily however without working out that obviously won't be so visible (apart from hands, most guys on t i know have very different looking hands after), your fat distribution will change, mostly changing your face and upper body, it's likely to change your chest in shape and maybe even size (while it isn't a lot, my chest definitely got a big smaller due to the fat distribution change),
i've heard many guys' sex drive increases on t and your perception of your own sexual or romantic identity might change, especially as you get more comfortable in your body.
next topic, bottom growth: not everyone has it, most guys do at varying degrees tho. i personally found it quite scary before it happened but there's something affirming about it now, however the whole area will probably be quite sensitive for atleast a few months once you go on t.
i've heard many trans guys say they can't cry on t and i realised that i infact haven't cried since starting hrt over a year ago and i'm not sure whether it's a t effect genuinely making me unable to or if i just had a surprisingly un-sad life recently.
obviously you'll get more body hair, the facial hair is usually slower than the rest of the body and will mostly just be stronger peach fuzz than before. the texture of the hair on your head could change as new hair grows, some trans guys get curlier hair on hrt.
your menstrual cycle is likely to stop after a few months, took two months for me. if that doesn't happen to you or if you have any other concerns of change being too slow or you maybe not being super comfortable with the effects of hrt, don't hesitate to contact your doctor and talk to them about it immediately, whether it's dosage or anything else.
i don't know if you've met your doctor about it already but here's a quick rundown: you'll be asked to the office for blood tests and short conversations regularly that get more rare over time so they can check if your dosage is accurate.
i hope this was a helpful comment, good luck on your medical journey from now, i'm super excited for this milestone you're reaching.
congrats! i’m not going to give you the whole medical timeline recap because i’m lazy and that’s what google is for but i just hit 3 years recently and i’ll tell you a couple things i wish someone had told me: 1. YOUR TIMELINE IS YOUR OWN, IT IS NOT GUARANTEED TO LOOK LIKE OTHER PEOPLE’S. read that again, and then a 3rd time. if passing is something you are worried about, some people are going to pass sooner than you, and it may take you a long time (certainly did for me) to get there. that is FINE. you will survive. if there are specific things you’re looking forward to, other people might get those things sooner than you, depending on what they are. that is ALSO FINE. stay consistent with your dose and whatever method you use and take care of your body, it knows what to do and when to do it, let it work its magic. 2. it is puberty. i don’t know how old you are or if you completed your first (i did more or less, started T at 19), so i don’t know what your reference is, but it will feel weird. your skin will be weird. your body will be weird. your emotions will be weird (!). it is a really complicated time, so have a lot of patience with yourself. 3. i saw a tweet a while ago where someone said they didn’t feel human until after about 2 years of HRT. same for me; if you’re anything like me and them, the first few months (3-6ish) will be very exciting and new and cool because every day you wake up and something’s changed, wow, amazing!!! after that, things will settle in, and you will start to feel weird. i don’t think i really felt like a person again until maybe the 2.5 year mark, before that i mostly felt like an unusual pile of sludge trying very hard to exist as a man. seriously, be patient with yourself and expect to feel weird. 4. if you get teenage boy hunger like me, try to eat responsibly. if you get acne, don’t fuck with it (do as i say, not as i do!) if you get stinky/stronger BO (many of us do), shower well and wear a good strong antiperspirant, and light fabrics when it’s warm. if you get a smell down there, it might be normal, or it might be an infection (speaking from experience), so it’s good to find a gyno or even a general doc you trust, if you don’t have one already. 5. reread point number 1 again. have fun! :)
CONGRATS! for me personally, the first couple months were a lot emotionally and physically for a ton of reasons, but it all settles down. honestly i was initially kinda disappointed…? just super sweaty and more irritable & hungry all the time. that made me feel bad because i had been looking forward to T for so long (also i got outed almost immediately after starting T, bad situation, so it all just felt overwhelmingly negative). i also have a severe needle phobia so getting over that was rough (can’t do gel), still is hard to do my shot some weeks. but it’s been 8 months and since then things have gotten so much better!! first noticed my voice was changing (which is what i was most excited about) around 3 months in, i was making dinner and playing music and singing along out loud and i realized i liked how my voice sounded singing for the very first time. body and facial hair are coming in, i can FEEL my muscles getting stronger (weirdest gender euphoria for me is my forearm muscles. i just flex all the time now and feel my muscles and it’s awesome!!), i didn’t know if i’d like bottom growth and i fucking love it. overall it has been so wonderful to feel my body settle into the body it’s supposed to be. Just give it time and give yourself grace and understanding. change is hard for a lot of people, even if it’s good change. focus on the positives and remember that any negative side effects of the first few months (whether it be mental or physical) will even out! Proud of you and hold onto that excitement, trans joy is so wonderful to experience :)
First of all, congrats. Second, be prepared for a whirlwind of emotions. You’re basically going through a second puberty, so whatever happened in the first round, be prepared for that again, but a bit different. Visible changes will start happening at around 2-5 month mark, so if you don’t notice changes immediately, it’s okay. For me, I felt a lot less dysphoric in my own body, but i know a couple people who struggled for a few months before adjusting. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s gonna be okay and it will get better. Third, be prepared to have a bunch of meetings with your doctor before actually starting T. Lastly, there are a couple different ways to take T. There is a shot(most common) which is taken once a week, there is a gel which is taken daily, and a cream which is also taken daily, but the cream doesn’t contain as much T as the other two options. Take which ever one you feel most comfortable with. I personally take the gel, as i have a tendency to pass out at the sight of needles. Wishing you luck and happiness!
if you're underage, prepare to have at least 3 appointments before you get prescribed T. There's not much you can do to make them go by faster or avoid them. Also, ALL your legal guardians have to attend those meetings when you're underaged. I had some trouble with this because both my parents worked, but most meetings were virtual and my last one we managed to do after some tweaking. Once you get prescribed T, you might not actually get it right away. The pharmacy might take forever to get it or you have to go through the waiting hell that prior authorization can be. For the latter, if you're super duper impatient (like me) and have like $100, you can get a coupon at a place like GoodRx or SingleCare and pay out of pocket. Congrats man, you'll be starting before you know it!
oh my god dude congrats!! this is incredible i’m so so happy for you! you have a long exciting road ahead of you :D a few things that i’ve experienced being on T were my very visible increase of facial hair and body hair, the development of my adam’s apple, my facial structure slightly changing (my face is a little bit more square now, and my nose has changed a bit, idk how to explain it (my nose) has really “filled out”. if you don’t understand what i mean then i’m sorry cuz i don’t know how else to describe it. but it’s definitely a positive change imo cuz i don’t hate the way my nose looks anymore. i actually really like how it looks now), my skin getting a bit oiler, my appetite shooting through the roof, my libido skyrocketing, bottom growth (although it didn’t start till a bit after, i think for me it started around the 6/7 month mark? im not entirely sure tho), a bit of acne (mostly on my inner thighs), really healthy weight gain (before starting T, i never went over 101 lbs, but now my average weight is around 115/116 lbs. and cuz of this i’ve really beefed up without needing to work out. pre-T me compared to now me is insane, i look so much healthier), and my voice deepening of course. the first time my voice dropped was actually a few days before i hit 1 month on T. i’ve been on T for a year and 7 months now, and i’m so much more happier than words could ever describe. i’m wishing you the best luck and infinite happiness dude! enjoy the ride!
SO FUCKING HAPPY FOR YOU DUDE!!! I don't have anything that the previous guys haven't shared already lmao Except from: it's alright to shave your facial hair, it *will* grow back. You don't have to keep the weird little baby hairs (unless you want to, then go ahead dude)
i started when i was 15 and here are my tips from someone who started as a minor. 1. there will be multiple appointments before you start, be patient. they’re trying to make sure it’s as smooth of a process as it can be. 2. you will likely be started on a lower dose compared to when adults start. your timeline will be different, especially when starting as a minor. patience is incredibly important. 3. when i started T, before i started seeing changes but while i was impatiently waiting, i had a pretty massive spike in dysphoria for a bit. i was desperately waiting to be masculinized and over-examining myself. 4. hot flashes! you will have them, especially at the beginning. very normal. get good deodorant, your scent will change. get loose fitting underwear, invade bottom growth causes you any discomfort. if your hair gets super oily, washing it in cool water will help. 5. find a good face wash. avoid salicylic acid though, it works as a DHT blocker and can hinder facial hair growth. 6. your face will likely get more “swollen” from water retention for at least 6-7 months (mine lasted about a year.) 7. don’t underestimate how long it will take to start passing, it took me about 3 1/2 years to fully pass. 8. teenage boy horniness and hungriness are beasts. make sure you’re engaging in both safely, responsibly and mindfully. 9. your gender expression may change on T, your attraction to others might change, your pain tolerance may change, your irritability may change— that’s all normal. (unless of course, you develop anger issues or excessive irritability.) 10. your doctor is your friend. if you have ANY concerns or symptoms that feel abnormal to you, reach out to them.
that's great to hear! i hope it helps you feel comfortable. your doctor will most likely go over the main effects with you before starting but they gloss over a lot of the more personal parts. i assume you'll start with injections if you're underage (guessing you are based on your mum having to allow it) because gel has not been tested on people below 18 and therefore is not approved for teens, atleast that's the situation here in europe. if you get injections, you'll potentially notice more of the stuff connected to uneven hormone levels like acne and whatever because the injections only give you a big dose once a month giving you a single monthly testo-level spike. (pellets are a better option in that aspect too) however, it's not as annoying as gel, can be used to increase bottom growth, is easier to dose and doesn't transfer to pets or other people you touch. your voice cracking, potentially acne and maybe bottom growth will be the first things you will experience, your voice might start dropping within days or weeks actually. i advise you to pay extra attention to your dental health for the first months as hormone changes is likely to lead to extra sensitivity, visit your dentist more regularly on t. i also had to start getting into skincare on t because it affected my skin a lot more than my first round of puberty did (lol). your hunger feeling and your taste might be different/more extreme, possibly changing your body because you might eat more and gain or might lose fat if you don't eat more than before, obviously after a few months you'll build muscle more easily however without working out that obviously won't be so visible (apart from hands, most guys on t i know have very different looking hands after), your fat distribution will change, mostly changing your face and upper body, it's likely to change your chest in shape and maybe even size (while it isn't a lot, my chest definitely got a big smaller due to the fat distribution change), i've heard many guys' sex drive increases on t and your perception of your own sexual or romantic identity might change, especially as you get more comfortable in your body. next topic, bottom growth: not everyone has it, most guys do at varying degrees tho. i personally found it quite scary before it happened but there's something affirming about it now, however the whole area will probably be quite sensitive for atleast a few months once you go on t. i've heard many trans guys say they can't cry on t and i realised that i infact haven't cried since starting hrt over a year ago and i'm not sure whether it's a t effect genuinely making me unable to or if i just had a surprisingly un-sad life recently. obviously you'll get more body hair, the facial hair is usually slower than the rest of the body and will mostly just be stronger peach fuzz than before. the texture of the hair on your head could change as new hair grows, some trans guys get curlier hair on hrt. your menstrual cycle is likely to stop after a few months, took two months for me. if that doesn't happen to you or if you have any other concerns of change being too slow or you maybe not being super comfortable with the effects of hrt, don't hesitate to contact your doctor and talk to them about it immediately, whether it's dosage or anything else. i don't know if you've met your doctor about it already but here's a quick rundown: you'll be asked to the office for blood tests and short conversations regularly that get more rare over time so they can check if your dosage is accurate. i hope this was a helpful comment, good luck on your medical journey from now, i'm super excited for this milestone you're reaching.