The Start of Transition

Being transgender is an experience that can make life extremely complicated. To begin with the process of starting transition is complicated at best. You are required to gain approval from medical professionals in order to begin. While some people are at the whim of their endocrinoligist others find ways to use their primary care physician to begin the process. For myself I chose to go through Planned Parenthood. It was as easy as going into their office and speaking with one of the doctors in order to make sure that you are aware of how things change and that you have been properly informed of what might happen once you begin the process.

There were several questions about what I expected to get out of transition. Which I answered truthfully. I expected to not only socially transition, but to medically transition as well. Being a transgender male meant that I would gain body hair, muscle changes, redistribution of my fat among many other changes. From there they did a simple pinprick to my fingertip to check my blood and then wrote my perscription the same day. Testosterone is a controled substence which means you have to take a physical perscription to a pharmacy and pay for it. For those that are on poor insurance it is easiest to use GoodRx to achieve a lower price for your perscription.

I now have better insurance which means I am able to pay a lower price for my perscription, but previously it was not possible. It is about $45-55 for a 10ml vial through GoodRx depending on where you go. I chose to do intermuscular injections. Which means getting syringes and needles and going through a careful process of injecting the hormones.

Needless to say my first month warrented very little change, but by the second month my voice was beginning to change and a short while later I was visably able to see my body hair darkening. A lot of transmen choose to do recordings of their voice to hear the changes as they go through this process and it can take a couple years to finish dropping.

Transition medically for transgender males is an interesting experience to say the least and no one transitions the same. Everyone goes through the process differently and there is no shame that the results are different. I did not get the same ammount of facial hair as some guys, but I have become okay with that. Every body is different.