Some men and women experience immediate side effects of testosterone treatment, such as acne, breathing disorders while sleeping, breast swelling, or tenderness. Some men and women experience immediate side effects from testosterone treatment, such as acne, breathing disorders while sleeping, breast swelling or tenderness, or ankle swelling. Doctors also monitor high red blood cell counts, which may increase the risk of blood clots. The following information is required reading before you can begin hormone therapy.
Take notes and make a list of questions to bring to your next visit. You should also re-read this within 24 hours of your visit so that the information is fresh in your mind when we meet. Reading and understanding this material is an important component of the informed consent process for receiving a hormone prescription. Testosterone will cause a thickening of the vocal cords, resulting in a more masculine voice.
However, not all trans men will experience a total deepening of the tone of their voice with testosterone. Some may find that practicing various vocal techniques or working with a speech therapist can help them develop a voice that is more comfortable and appropriate for them. Changes in the voice may begin within a few weeks of starting to take testosterone, first with an itchy feeling in the throat or with a sense of hoarseness. Then, your voice may break down a bit as it regains its new tone and quality.
If you're wondering if testosterone therapy might be right for you, talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits. In a larger group of men with severe depression (n = 2 × 50), effects of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) gel versus placebo were seen within 6 weeks. While cisgender men have higher rates of cholesterol-related disorders and heart disease than cisgender women, available research on transgender men taking testosterone has generally not found these differences. Hypogonadism hinders the ability to produce normal amounts of testosterone because of a problem in the testicles or in the pituitary gland that controls the testicles.
Whether this is a true form of hypogonadism or a decrease in serum testosterone associated with the progressive accumulation of health problems with aging (95, 9) is still hotly debated, but rather regardless of the aging process itself. For men with low levels of testosterone in their blood and whose symptoms are likely caused by low testosterone, the benefits of hormone replacement therapy often outweigh the potential risks. A possible solution to this problem would be to replace the “universal threshold” with the “percentage increase” in circulating testosterone achieved through replacement therapy. When it comes to testosterone therapy and the heart, recent studies show conflicting results and are ongoing.
This review attempts to determine, based on published studies, the temporal evolution of the effects induced by testosterone replacement therapy from its first manifestation until maximum effects are reached. It has been suggested that the masculinization of testosterone therapy increases the risk of suffering from other conditions, such as diabetes or being overweight; however, the actual research supporting these claims is limited. Transgender men can become pregnant while taking testosterone, so if you have sex with someone who is capable of producing sperm, you should always use birth control to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Part of this may be due to the difficulty in defining normal testosterone levels and normal behavior. Your doctor will likely measure your testosterone levels at least twice before recommending testosterone therapy.
In the brain, the hypothalamus tells the pituitary how much testosterone is needed, and the pituitary transmits that information to the testicles. If you want to become pregnant, you'll have to stop taking testosterone and wait until your healthcare provider says you can start trying to conceive. In the studies reviewed, a medium range of changes was observed in some measurable outcomes of administering testosterone to hypogonadal men.
