14th July 2016 – 1 year on Testosterone

I know I am way behind for my one year on Testosterone update. I have just been really busy. I got wrapped up in daily life and hadn’t realized how fast it had gone by. Lots have been happening over the last few months, not only my transition but also daily life too. I am really enjoying my new job and it’s great having a boss that isn’t bothered about my transition as long as I do the job he’s asking me to do.

The changes have been quite steady, it really is all about hair growth.

Below is a breakdown of the changes that have been happening so far:
What Type of Testosterone am I Using

I am using Tostran 2% gel every morning, which I apply to my thighs. Even after all these months I am still finding it difficult to remember to apply it every day. That’s mostly down to the job I am doing, I can be called out at any time of the day or night and if I have been out for a number of hours and don’t arrive back till 4 or 5 in the morning the last thing I am thinking about is getting up to apply my gel.

Facial Hair

My facial hair is coming on really well, the sides of my mustache was the first to come in and rather than being the peach fuzz it came in dark and long. As the months carried on I am starting to get dark hairs under my nose and everything is joining up. The fuzz is getting longer and I now have loads of dark hairs growing on my chin. I shave only when it starts to look messy.

Body Hair

I don’t think I have a place that doesn’t have hair on it now. My arm hair is now changed from the silver fine hair to darker more noticeable hairs. I still have new hair growth but everything is starting to join up. My eyebrows have also thickened and I did have a gap in one but it has now filled in. My hair has thinned out slightly and is starting to recede on one side, my hair line is also changing. My leg hair is growing nicely but somehow I don’t have any growth on the outside of my legs – not really sure why that’s happening.

Body Changes

My whole body feels a lot heavier, my sides feel a lot more solid. I also have a lot more energy and feel a lot stronger than I did pre-T. My bum has also changed shape too, its lifted. I did put a stone on in the first couple of months, which I am slowly losing.

Voice Changes

My voice started to feel rough and scratchy just a few day’s into starting on the gel. It’s really quite strange how up and down my voice can be, and still is. Sometimes I do shock myself as to how deep it sounds.

Acne

I feel I have been quite fortunate that I only had a few spots which has been on my hair line. My skin went really greasy when I first started T but after a couple of months it stopped.

Downstairs Growth

Is still growing, and I feel really comfortable with the changes that have been happening.

Sex Drive

This has definitely increased, in the first few months it was all I could think about. It has calmed down a lot.

Mentally

Thinking back to when I first started taking testosterone I had worked myself up being able to have it and then fetching the script from the GP and waiting patiently till the following morning to apply it for the very first time and then it was like ‘okay, what now?‘ almost like I was twiddling my thumbs waiting for something big to happen, I wasn’t expecting fireworks or anything, honestly I don’t know what I was expecting to happen. Now don’t get me wrong I am truly gratefully that you can even transition, (my experience hasn’t been the easiest) I went along with life for so long thinking that nothing could ever be done.

In the first couple of months I did find that my temper rose quickly, which thankfully has now stopped. I was also getting quite emotional and over the silliest things too, I was watching an episode from Star Trek and all they were doing was saying goodbye and I had tears in my eyes.

I don’t feel I have changed any towards friends and family but after asking Sarah if I had, I was told ‘I am grumpy‘ and a ‘snappy pants‘ but it doesn’t last for very long. I don’t talk any different and I can still multi-task.

I do feel so much better in myself, more relaxed than ever before. People accept me for who I am.