3 months on T — The changes so far

Okay so I was meant to do this like a week ago. But once again, I’m a idiot who can’t keep to deadlines I set for myself XD.

On Monday, I hit three months on testosterone, a time that has gone by ridiculously fast. A lot of people wonder about what exactly testosterone does to an AFAB person while they’re transitioning and surprisingly little is widely known (other than the obvious voice drop). As a warning now: some of this is NSFW information! I will put a warning before and a notice after the appropriate paragraph/s so if you don’t want to know, you can skip it without missing any of the other info. Also, to any of my family reading this, please for the love of all things good in this universe DO NOT be reading that bit! While I am happy to provide the information for other people who want to know what happens, there’s some things that I just do not want my family to know, please respect that and skip over the appropriate part. Please. I’m begging you.

Anyways here we go! Let’s start with the most obvious.

1. The Voice Changes
   So obviously, since testosterone basically causes accelerated male puberty, the pitch of your voice drops over time. The change in the first three months, for most people, is the most obvious. My voice has significantly dropped (not quite to the point I want it to, but it will continue dropping up until about nine months/one year I think) so now I generally sound like a pubescent guy, complete with squeaky voice breaks that greatly entertain everyone around me. What I didn’t know is how badly it messes with singing. Obviously I expected my range to get lower, which it has (last time I checked — which is about a month ago — my lowest note was about C2 ish and my highest was about D3, but it’s probably dropped more since then) but I wasn’t expecting to completely lose ‘head voice’. I’ve gone from being able to hit a range of alto and low soprano notes to not even being able to hit low alto notes. So while I can finally sing Stars from Les Mis, my singing is otherwise limited to Frank Sinatra and Rufus Wainwright’s Hallelujah. Which I suppose isn’t awful, but I miss singing Queen. I have been reliably informed that my ‘head voice’ should return at around one year, but until then I can try to keep and extend the higher end of my range with gentle vocal training.
2. HAIR HAIR EVERYWHERE
   I’m joking. Some guys do get that, but apparently not me. I spotted my first tiny amount of facial hair at about 3 weeks/1 month and I’ve had nothing since then. My arm and leg hair has FINALLY started to darken in the past two weeks or so, my stomach has gotten a little hairier but aside from that I’ve had NOTHING. So I’m (not-so)patiently waiting for my beard to start coming in, which will hopefully be in the next three months, but who knows?
3. Body Shape Change? TW mention of eating disorder symptoms and bad habits associated with them
   So fat redistribution is a thing that happens on T, but as far as I’m aware that’s not really supposed to happen until about six months or so. However, one of the habits I’ve kept up and made more healthy from my on-and-off struggle with eating disorder symptoms is getting weighed and measured semi-regularly, purely to keep up with any changes (I would like to clarify that by ‘semi-regularly’ I mean I get weighed about twice a week on average, and I measure myself about every two weeks). Probably doesn’t sound very healthy, but believe me it’s healthier than it was. Anyways, this is what I’ve noticed:
   - My shoulders have gotten a little wider
   - My chest seems to have gotten smaller, but I’m not sure if that’s from weight loss or testosterone
   - My waist:hip ratio has increased. This means that my waist and my hips are closer to being the same circumference as each other, which gives me a more masculine silhouette
   - I’m gaining muscle faster than I used to, even with irregularly working out.
   -Also my face has changed shape (apparently). It’s not something I’ve noticed myself, but other people have told me my face seems longer. But that could just be because I style my hair differently now.
   I’m sure more changes will be noticable after longer on testosterone and with my workout routine getting more regular etc etc, but it was interesting to see those changes come through already.
4. Aggression
   This is one that people don’t tend to talk about because it’s one of the very few negative changes on T. I am getting annoyed and angry A LOT quicker than I used to. To the point that I’m considering finding a self help course for it because I think the anger issues I had when I was younger are starting to crop up again. It takes a lot less to get me annoyed, and while I’m fairly good at managing it and hiding it, I get the urge to punch something a lot more than I did before testosterone. I’m sure that finances going down the drain and the stress of flat and job hunting is probably contributing, but it’s still something to keep an eye out for on testosterone.
5. Smell(s)
   YOU WILL STINK! Honestly, invest in good quality, long lasting antipersperant, try your best to stay cool and get strong deodorant/body spray and body washes. Body odor changes is fairly recent for me, but by the gods is it noticable. Especially since I ran out of deodorant yesterday *shudder*. Sometimes I now shower twice a day, just to get rid of the stink. But body odor isn’t the only thing that changes. Weirdly, the smell of your pee will also change. Not entirely sure why, and it isn’t always a noticable thing, but there’s definitely a difference. It’s like when someone slightly changes their hairstyle and you know that there’s a difference but you can’t quite put your finger on what the difference is. It’s there, but you can’t find it.

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!!!!!!OKAY NSFW BIT NOW TURN AWAY FAMILY!!!!!!

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!!!!!! I MEAN IT !!!!!!

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!!!!!!TURN AWAY NOW!!!!!!

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Also Trigger Warning for discussion of anatomy

1. ‘Growth’
   Okay this has screwed up the numbering system but oh well. Before starting T, your endocronologist will (should) tell you to expect ‘clitoral growth’. This is literally what it says on the tin — the clitoris will grow. Sometimes, there’s growing pains, which SUCK beyond belief. It’s like tiny stabbing pains but also stretching pains at the same time. Some people get growth within the first week, some people take a little while. But eventually, the clitoris enlarges to the point where it looks a bit like an uncircumsized penis. When aroused, it’ll get hard (like a dick) and also sometimes ‘morning wood’ is a thing. Honestly, if you haven’t switched to wearing men’s underwear before starting T, I would recommend doing so after starting, just to try and reduce friction in the area. Once growth has started, you need to make sure you clean it properly. The ‘clitoral hood’ can trap dirt and other ‘stuff’ so make sure you pull it back and clean it properly in the bath/shower.
2. TW — sex drives
   Sex Drive
   This is one that a lot of people online will warn you about. Sex drive goes through the roof, and there is fuck all you can do about it except live with it or… ‘deal with it’. This isn’t helped by the growth, which means that friction becomes a thing, particularly when already aroused. Even ace people who start T have said that their sex drive increased, which can be uncomfortable. It’s also uncomfortable if (like me) your sex drive is high pre-T. The first week or so was almost unbearable, pretty much 24/7. It has settled down now (in fact it settled down within a month), though it’s definitely still higher than pre-T. So, be warned. And if you have a partner you’re ‘active’ with, you might want to warn them too lmao.
3. TW — anatomy
   Fluid changes
   So I mentioned earlier that your pee changes. Well that’s not the only fluid in the downstairs area that changes. The fluid produced as lubrication changes and also the… ‘end product’ changes in both consistency and smell. I noticed it after about a month and a half, but I’ve also been told that eventually the lubey fluid will almost entirely stop being produced, so be careful if you still use that part for fun times.

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OKAY

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OKAY WE GOOD

So that’s everything I’ve noticed so far. Not much else has happened except my confidence has grown a lot, but I think that’s less to do with the testosterone itself and more to do with me feeling happier and more comfortable in myself.

I am planning to do another post about the protest I went to on the 22nd at some point, but I’m not sure when I’ll get round to it because the next week is pretty busy for me (as was the past week). I hope this was informative for you all! :)

Lucas