Monday, May 29, 2023

Aging as a transguy, where's my hair?!

 Hi! It's been a while since I posted, and my body is still changing. I'm still in Portugal. The testosterone I was injecting here is a little stronger than the US "equivalent", and my hair loss started accelerating. When I first decided to transition, I felt that I was OK with going bald, but it's different when it seems like either a long ways off or a low probability of actually happening. Well, the probability isn't low anymore and I can see it happening. 

I check my testosterone levels a couple times a year and I was aware that they were high, between 1000 and  1,200 ng/dL. High testosterone will likely damage your hair follicles. I talked to my doctor about it and switched back to using a topical gel and it's a lot easier to control my levels that way, although I do get hot flashes if I'm even a couple hours late with application. I've been using the gel for a couple months and some of my hair is returning, but if the follicles are dead, they're dead and nothing will bring them back. 

Elsewhere on my body, like my back, I have some 3" long hair. I joke about braiding it, but I'm not limber enough to do that lol.

Other changes: 

Belly fat

I mentioned that I live in Portugal. Portuguese pastries and breads are amazing. They are also my nemesis. To stay trim, I just can't eat sugar or carbs! At the moment I'm planning on going low carb AGAIN. 

USA Insanity

I go to the US for business reasons for a few months every year. It's just getting worse. I was prescient about what COULD happen, so I got me and my wife out of there, but it's still really hard seeing how crazy folks can get when they are in a group. Never thought that I'd quote Black Sabbath, but, "If you listen to fools, The mob rules." 

I have safe haven in Portugal and would be happy to provide info to anyone interested in emigration.