I'm going to write a bit about my thoughts about the differences between Androgel, the topical testosterone gel, and testosterone intramuscular injections. I've used both so I have some experiences to share here. I did some research on both before using them and what I read said that there wasn't much a difference in transition speed. I was concerned about injections making my body have to deal with large amounts of "T" immediately after the shot and being on an emotional roller coaster ride while dealing with peaks and troughs of hormone levels. I was particularly wary of this because I am married to a wonderful woman who I didn't want to subject to a bunch of chaos. Anyway, I decided to go with the gel as it would provide my body with a steady, equal amount of hormone every day. I used the gel for about a year. However, physical changes were fairly slow and I was OK with that since I hadn't talked to my entire family about transitioning yet and I wanted to go about the process slowly for the reasons I already mentioned. My voice got a little deeper, (like I had a slight cold), I grew a lot of unwanted hair on my butt, and I checked my hairline for thinning (because I am vain about my hair). I grew a few hairs on my chest and chin.
After I talked to my family and got chest surgery, I got more impatient about looking more masculine. I switched to injections. At this point I have been using the intramuscular injections for 3 months. Within that period of time I've grown a lot more body hair. Before beginning transition I was virtually hairless besides some blonde arm/leg hair, and fine blonde facial hair that women normally have. I now have brown, coarser body hair in places that I never had like inner thighs, legs, and the backs of my shoulders. I also have more facial hair coming in brown on my sideburns, neck, jawline, and a "dirtstache". It's a lot of changes over a short period of time and I attribute that to the higher inputs of "T" even though it may be the same amounts averaged out over time, the shots give bursts that apparently have caused these changes to happen. Along with more body hair, my face has changed because fat goes to different places, it doesn't distribute evenly, it goes mainly to my stomach. Ugh.
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