Another transman, here. <br /> <br /> But yeah. Family tends to become more accepting over time, especially once you begin to transition, I've noticed. Hopefully I can get on T and get top surgery soon. I've been waiting a long, long time.

I recently came out as transgendered to my family, friends, internet, etc.<br /> Although due to the lack of funds, not much has changed.<br /> Nor does my doctor support transgender people, so I've been pretty trapped and in a downward spiral of depression due to it all.<br /> <br /> I've had a lot of family members doubt me, yesterday a family member told me that it was a silly thing to do because god made me the gender I was suppose to be.<br /> But they don't seem to realize that not being who I feel like I really should be is really, really painful and depressing. I've lived twenty-ones years of my life as a gender I never felt comfortable in and it took twenty years to realize this for myself.<br /> <br /> I hope that some of my family members realize that god doesn't make mistakes, none of this is silly, and the reason I feel I need to be the other gender is because that's the way it was meant to be. Whether I act on it or not isn't up to their opinions on my body and gender, maybe they'll learn some tolerance for once...<br /> <br /> Either way, I've been on alacrity for a while, my user use to be Inno. I thought I'd drop in and say hi to the rest of you on here, because there have been some questioning on who I was and/or why I changed my username.

It's not rude at all Cat! In fact I really appreciate it, as do most other trans people. <br /> <br /> I can't speak for all transgender people but for me the different surgeries and passages are like the rites of manhood that different boys in tribes go through, or kind of like how certain people have celebrations like bar mitzvah and other things as they come of age or pass certain trials.

:O I am not trans, but congrats on your progression, BrutalMutt! :) I apologize if that is "rude" or "insensitive" or whatever.. because surgeries are serious things, but I figure that these things are worth celebration? I don't know, I feel like a fool lol<br /> Anyways, I hope you are happy with yourself post-op :)

So I am healing up really well. Top surgery was last month and I am very pleased with the results so far. Still a little bit of adjustment as I massage away little bits of scar tissue type material that develops under the skin so that I can get a nicer 'finish'.<br /> <br /> Also, had a complete removal of the reproductive organs (cervix-->ovaries) about two weeks ago, and yesterday I had my doctor's visit. They said everything's looking good! I am so pleased with all the progress that I have made in the past year, and the distance I have come is SO far. Sometimes I feel impatient but I also recognize that I am fortunate to have gotten so much done (starting T, top surgery, first phase of bottom surgery).<br /> <br /> <br /> Any other post-op trans people here, or other people undergoing transition?<br /> <br />

Just wanted to note about the testosterone pills, the main reason that doctors in America do not approve of them is because they are extremely, extremely, extremely hard on your liver. Not only that, but they are also hardly effective at all, many say less so than the patches and creams.<br /> <br /> By the way, I know of many guys who have been on creams and found that they weren't really getting effects of any kind, and not only that but the amount of hormones entering their body were so low that they didn't stop their original gonads from functioning, thus meaning they didn't lose the feminine traits and didn't gain the masculine ones. That is very common.<br /> <br /> Unless you are deathly, terribly, unbearably afraid of needles you should stick with intramuscular T, regardless of how low a dose you're going for. This is because instead of being primarily absorbed into a localized area of skin, it will actually go into your system more evenly and, unlike the pill, is going to affect your body externally more than your liver (pills are the reverse).<br /> <br /> There is a lot of information about this online, and speaking with a doctor who has experience with transgender patients would help a lot, especially a clinic which accepts transgender patients.

I wish you a speedy and problem-free recovery from your surgery! <br /> <br /> Thanks for your take on the vocal aspect of T; hearing that directly from another guy is really comforting and I feel that I can take your input at face value much more easily than I can a single online article. xD<br /> <br /> I'll shoot you a PM; I'd love to have someone to chat with about this sort of thing. None of my FtM friends are on T yet. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />

Well I hadn't planned on outing myself on Alacrity but yeah, I am a transman. I just consider myself a regular guy but when there's anyone else FtM I do enjoy having people to talk with who can understand some of the more difficult aspects of my life. <br /> <br /> I have been on testosterone since May and no, it won't stop you from being able to sing. My voice never 'cracked' although it is lower. If you're concerned about being able to hit *high* notes however, then yes that may become harder, though likely not impossible. Most transmen don't end up with very deep voices, they just stop being high and it becomes easier to speak deeply, but much of the difference between male and female speech is actually the speed at which you talk and how much your pitch changes in the middle of speaking.<br /> <br /> I just had top surgery last week which is why I have been glued to the computer: off work for a bit to recover and rest :)<br /> <br /> <br /> p.s. I use male pronouns only and aside from surgery and hormones, wouldn't say there's anything different about me than other dudes.

Yeah, there isn't a lot of info beyond start low and slow because it's easier for you to adjust.<br /> <br /> When it started changing it wasn't super drastic. Before my voice did the annoying cracking thing it likes to do in puberty, I could get my voice to sounding like it did pre-t. Not sure if I'll be able to do that once my voice has dropped down lower again. Again, YMVM. I was started on a pretty high dose and I'm on it until my next prescription, which will likely change. <br /> <br /> FYI: Intramuscular (IM) testosterone is cheapest but requires you doing a shot in the thigh (or butt) ever two weeks. There's also patches and cream, but it's kinda pricey and make sure to wash your hands before touching someone else or pets because you can accidentally cause people to virilize. You apply it twice daily, and it's also much better for people on low doses. I know there are pills, but I'm in the US and it's much harder to get T in a pill form for various reasons.<br /> <br /> I prefer "they" pronouns.

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That article is helpful, though it really seems to be the only one out there. I've read it a few times before. <br /> <br /> I guess I'll probably end up doing the consistently low dose like they talk about in that article to avoid any super sudden changes to my voice; hopefully that'll make the learning curve a little less extreme. <br /> <br /> Thanks for sharing your experience with me! <br /> <br /> P.s.; what's your preferred pronoun? c:

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