I made a video, finally! A little bit later than usual, as I had been uploading these once a year on January, the month in which I started testosterone. It’s very short (like me!), only 4 minutes, so please ask me questions if anything isn’t clear.
Below is a little summary of what I talk about.
Intro
- It’s May 2015, and I’m Micah. (For those who are curious, I’m wearing a gray shirt with little headphones on it, size L for kids, which doesn’t help my image of looking like an almost-30 adult.)
- For 2.5 years I’ve been on a constant low dose of testosterone.
- For 1 year before that, I was taking testosterone on and off, at different and slightly higher doses, for a total of 3.5 years on T. My last update was in January 2014: in that video / post I explain my previous experiences in depth, and provide links to past videos and posts.
- My dose is 0.25cc of 200mg/mL (I said this wrong in the video… oops, it is always very confusing). The “standard” dose is 1cc of 200mg/mL, so I’m on about 1/4 of that. If you’re curious about dosages, read the Intro to Low Dose Testosterone.
Changes
- I make it a point to do a video, because a lower voice was perhaps the most important change in my decision to start testosterone.
- I think my voice has changed perhaps slightly, if at all, since last year, though it is much lower than before I started T. It’s still not as low as it would be were I to go on a full/higher dose.
- Some more facial hair has grown in. Most of my friends now notice it. I have to shave every 2-3 days. I would most definitely not call it a beard yet.
- Body hair hasn’t increased from when it initially came in during the first year. This is a relief, as I’m still quite averse to the idea.
- Muscle mass and fat re-distribution are minimal, I think. In other words, I’m not ripped yet. Though I should probably exercise more for that to happen…
Overall
- Most of the changes have remained pretty stable.
- That is, I don’t think being on a low dose has had any noticeable effects beyond what I had already experienced in years prior. (I say noticeable because I believe there have been changes, but develop too slowly to notice, much like aging.)
- My hysterectomy was 2.5 years ago – I started T again shortly after, and haven’t been off since.
- I kept my ovaries, so I still produce estrogen as normal. This means my hormonal makeup is the same as it was before my hysto. (I get lots of questions about this, so I’m preparing another post. In the meantime, read about hysterectomy and hormones.)
- I’m also hypothyroid. When it was badly regulated I experienced periods of significant hormonal imbalance, so I know what it feels like to feel “out of whack” in that department. And this condition shouldn’t prevent you from taking hormones.
- Overall I’ve never felt better! I think I’ve hit a sweet spot where I’m very happy with how I feel internally and how I look externally.
Tagged: genderqueer, lgbtq, non binary, testosterone, transition
