It’s perfectly valid to not wanna tell anyone, and it’s also good to be proud of who you are and where you’ve gotten. I don’t really know that there’s a right answer here, it’s probably one of those things that you need to feel out, kinda like him with your cervix.

And my partner is awesome and did the actual shot for me

Aww, that’s sweet! Congratulations!

Viktig å ha rette prioriteter <3

Hello!

This entire site is well written (but by a transfem), but this particular page is about transmasc puberty: https://genderdysphoria.fyi/en/second-puberty-masc

The c/ftm community had this in the sidebar, which I think is mostly US sources for binders and the like: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/115zI3opsYcJAiygoiH0d0MIghMRz3WMcivXeDQ9wbkQ/htmlview?pli=1

I have a link to a transmasc DIY HRT guide but it sounds like that isn’t something you need!

I can’t get this site to work in my browser but it has gender affirming stuff if you’re in europe: https://untag.com/

There was a transmasc who talked to me about a transmasc sharkey or mastodon instance at some point. That might be of interest, but I do know there are some guys here as well.

I absolutely recommend you read the guidelines we follow as they are based on what doctors are supposed to do. Many prescribe low E or high amounts of blockers unnecessarily or other things like that, so knowing what you’re supposed to be prescribed is very good and you will know more about what alternatives exist and the drawbacks.

I recommend reading this: https://diyhrt.info/

I’m sorry :( that one year wait thing is an old transphobic thing that some doctors and clinics in many parts of the world still do, or in some cases are required to do. I don’t think it’s actually required in germany so he just sucks.

I can say that DIY has been great for me and many others. There’s also imago if you want a somewhat expensive but viable private option on the internet. I know there are doctors in germany that prescribe much quicker than a year also, but you’ll need to find other german trans people to suggest them for you.

If you go DIY there’s a DIY community here with a stickied post filled with resources and guidelines, and the blåhaj matrix has an active DIY chat. Your GP or a private lab can do blood tests for you so you can do it safely.

Again, I’m sorry you had to go through all this. It’s unfortunately very common. I wish we had informed consent in europe.

Woah, what is the name of the cat! :O
eepy lil baby

Injections don’t have a liver risk? It is exactly as safe as gel/patches!
Gel then does sound like what you want, or a stronger spray perhaps (I think gels are just gonna be better in general than any spray)

So the levels are from 2 spritzes a day? With how short the half life is I suppose it’s possible 3 spritzes will make a difference but I’m not sure it will be enough.

You’re getting a lot of different answers here.

There’s no guidelines or good research on this. Doctors recommend waiting anything from 6 months to a year and a half. Sometimes it’s to wait until a later tanner stage.

Ignore everything else you hear. There is no more useful information. The recent study showing prog might help with breast size started after 6 months. Everything else is guesswork or anecdotal, and our anecdotal data is very much lacking too.

Okay so referring back to other conversations in other posts, it’s clear transfemscience is right about lenzetto, and you need something different like injections, gel, or even pills. If they give you something else please come ask us about it or check transfemscience or other resources and make sure the dosages are adequate. If they are not please go somewhere else or go DIY.

T should be reduced a bit further to like 20ish or less to be within the normal range for cis women. Your estradiol levels are very low. Generally we aim for like 400 pmol/L when on blockers, or 800 without, so you’re being massively underdosed. If they refuse to meaningfully up your dose please go somewhere else or do DIY.

I would say the issue is mainly that your estradiol dosage is low. If a higher dose of E can’t help with bringing your T down then your dosage of blocker needs to be a bit higher as well, or you need to make sure it’s always every two months rather than three, or something like that. I assume you’re getting some kind of gnrh agonist injected.

I don’t want your damn lemons, what the hell am I supposed to do with these? I wanna see your manager! Do you know who I am? I’m the girl who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!

No

Yes this is good advice too. It could be that you are simply better at detecting your own body hair. Could also be that the other women in your family shave or do other forms of hair removal

Hmm. How are your blood levels?
And what do you take and at which dosages?

I dunno if it’s maybe possible for those hairs to have already set in earlier, or if this is a case of your androgen levels being high still.

I looooooooove black dresses <3

I think that preparing to transition and starting HRT might help me reach greater certainty about whether I want to continue.

Very reasonable. I started HRT specifically to see if it was right for me. It very much was!

Do you think a doctor in an informed consent context would have concerns with starting me on HRT if I said that?

Some will have a problem with this and some will understand perfectly. It’s always best to lie to your doctor, which sounds like a terrible thing to say but this is the truth when you’re trans. Always lie unless you for sure know they are fully supportive of the trans experience. Don’t lie about everything ofc :P lie away uncertainty and the like. Some doctors in some places don’t recognize non-binary people so it’s unfortunately best to present as binary, unless you know they accept enbies. In some cases hamming things up is also necessary. If you only care about HRT you can also fully bypass doctors and do HRT on your own. I do this. I only go to doctors to get regular blood tests.

Also, is it fair to say that I can probably look androgynous or plausibly cisgender (especially with effort - if I had a need to) for a year or two after starting HRT?

Maybe. I started around 30 and I think I could pass with great effort now after two years on HRT. A big part of it is actually hair removal as well. You should also start looking into voice training if your goal is to pass. It requires a lot of effort and takes a lot of time, so start looking at it now. Maybe find a voice therapist.

Edit: Results vary a lot. It depends mostly on genetics, and then there’s stuff like make-up and clothes and all that. Exercise can help you as well.

In that case, is there any sort of detox/withdrawal, pain, or significant health-related complications associated with stopping HRT?

• Your testicles will atrophy somewhat on estrogen, but tmk they always start up testosterone production again when not suppressed.
• You will suffer from some very temporary menopause like symptoms when you stop taking HRT.
• A lot of people experience dysphoria from being on the wrong hormone, and once they go back to testosterone they start feeling that dysphoria again.
• If you don’t have enough sex hormones over a long time there can be negative effects such as osteoporosis. You won’t suffer this if you still have your testicles.
• The effects of testosterone will return once you’re back on testosterone. This means masculine fat distribution, more body hair, masculine smell and sweat, etc etc
• Estrogens and androgens have different risk profiles, which means while on female sex hormones you will be more predisposed to the things cis women tend to be predisposed to and visa versa. Not really a complication, but something to be aware of.

Reversibility

You have a lot of questions about HRT. I very much suggest you read this: https://genderdysphoria.fyi/en
It’s a great guide and explanation for a lot of stuff, including what hormones do to you.

As for the penis. Testosterone maintains the penis via random erections which you will no longer have, or at least, way less random erections. This means if you wish to stop atrophy you must induce them yourself. You can also use topical testosterone gel or cream, but be aware that this will likely increase your blood testosterone levels in general. But it’s an option.

I hope this answers some of your questions! <3

unfortunately not true. or well, it’s probably not so easy to compare actually. technically any doctor can prescribe hrt, and any doctor can give you a diagnosis and sign off on surgery. an issue we face in scandinavia is that few doctors actually do this and you’re forced to go to certain transmedicalist hospitals that do all they can to do as little as possible for as few as possible. Unless you find an alternative ofc