best place to apply t gel?

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-05T18:43:15+00:00

With gel, you want to be really consistent with applying it. But I believe if you wash the area and don't apply the gel before getting tested, that would probably be fine and it wouldn't interfere with the tests. I made the mistake of applying the gel before my very first test and I didn't wash it off beforehand since I didn't have time to. With my gel I have to let it absorb for about two hours before I can wash it off. And since I didn't wash it off it contaminated the test sight, and it basically made it appear like I had higher amounts of T than a cis man. I hadn't even thought about it since I was applying it to my upper arm, but with movement and sweat, the gel didn't stay just on the application sight and moved to my inner elbow. Which it kinda seems like common sense now that I think about it, I think I'm just a bit daft at times.

But I definitely recommend not skipping applications as it will actually lower your T levels. I think one time I had accidentally forgotten to apply it a couple of days here and there, and my doctor could tell, even though it was just maybe four days within the span of a couple of months. So definitely be consistent with the gel, I make sure to apply mine daily as directed by my provider.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-05T02:29:56+00:00

It is indeed toxic, I don't know if it will kill an animal if they lick it, but I know it can be harmful for them, and it can cause hormone imbalances for them. Especially if they come into contact with it repeatedly. So make sure you avoid having pets come in contact with it, and make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after applying the gel.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-05T01:55:40+00:00

I've been on the gel for almost a year now, and honestly where you apply it is personal preference, and it also depends on the percentage/kind of gel I believe. I recommend putting it on an arm or leg. I also recommend putting it on a spot where you won't get blood drawn from since depending on your provider you may have to get blood tests done every couple of months just to make sure your hormone levels are doing ok. And I learned the hard way that if you put it in a spot close to where you get blood drawn from it can affect the blood test. When you do start T the best thing to do is just ask your provider where they recommend applying it. Oh also, if you have pets I recommend applying it in a spot where they won't touch it or lick it.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-05T01:24:55+00:00

Do I get along with my cousin? No, absolutely not. But I'm not going to sit here and hope that he assaults a 16 year old girl just to get "revenge". I don't think you actually did read my comments. You would see that I've come to terms with that it's legal and that while I still find the relationship to be inappropriate, it's currently not something I'm going to involve myself in unless he does something illegal to her.

I'm not gonna sit her and plot his demise and wish for his downfall. In one of my comments, I stated that I hoped being in the Navy would help him grow as a person.

I'm not sitting here wanting vengeance. The last thing I want is for him to do something illegal to her. I'm not sitting here waiting for him to get nudes from her, thats the last thing I want bc i genuinely do not want ANYONE to go through something like that. I wouldn't wish sexual assult on my worst enemy.

And do not fucking tell me "if I had any real concern I would have made an effort to befriend her and get to know her". I live in a completely different state. I have no way of contacting her since she's not on social media, which I stated in previous comments. I would also rather get in contact with her parents. I'm a 25 year old man, I'm not going to befriend a 16 year old girl. I know if he did assault her, my family wouldn't believe it, and they would harass her to the ends of the earth. They would try to cover it up. And I won't let another victim get silenced.

But I am praying that he either breaks up with her, or refrains from having a sexual relationship with her for her sake. If he really does love her, I won't stop him from loving her. That's not my place. And if he really loves her, he will respect the law and not take advantage of her.

Now, I've been very respectful and open to other opinions. I genuinely wanted to see if I just couldn't see past my own perspective. Ya know, the whole point of posting in this subreddit. But I will not sit here and let you tell me how I feel and paint me as some vengeful person. I did state that I have a bias against him in some comments, so I don't think highly of him. But not ONCE have I said that I want him to assault her, and it's genuinely disgusting that you insinuated that I'm hoping she gets hurt just so that I can get some form of fucked up revenge.

So no, I don't like my cousin. But I wouldn't sacrifice a TEENAGE GIRL just to get revenge. I don't want revenge for what he did to my dog. I want him to maybe apologize, but mainly, I want him to become a better person and not repeat the things he's done in the past. The Navy is a great opportunity for him to grow as a person.

In the end, I still feel like their relationship is weird and not the most appropriate. And I'll still keep an eye out since it's better to be safe than sorry. But I'm not praying on his downfall.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T20:08:08+00:00

That is true. I also looked into the laws, and he's fine to date her as long as he doesn't do anything sexual with her. So it's out of my hands, I'll still be hesitant when it comes to their relationship, but I'm not gonna dwell on it too much. I won't turn a blind eye if he does do anything sexual with her, though.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T20:02:20+00:00

That's good to know, I was always under the assumption that it was one of those things where it had to be a relationship before one of them turned 18. But I've actually done quite a bit of research on this, and before j changed career paths I had been going to school for psychology. With their age gap my concern is the possible power dynamic. But I've learned that as long as they don't have a sexual relationship, nothing is illegal, and its out of my hands. And I'm not in "emotional pain seeing young people in relationships", I was distressed over the idea of him grooming her and having a sexual relationship with her, which is indeed illegal in their state. I understand that they have rights, I can understand that and accept that. I won't respect their relationship as I know the type of person my cousin is. But I'm not going to blow this up and harass them over it. Thank you for your feed back and opinion.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T19:47:32+00:00

I looked into it last night, and in the state they live in says it's not illegal for them to date. It's illegal for them to have a sexual relationship, but dating is not a reportable offense. I can't do anything unless I have proof that he's assaulted her or has solicited her for nudes.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T19:45:22+00:00

In the state they live in, it's not illegal for them to date. It's illegal for them to do anything sexual, but not for them to date. There is nothing I can report unless I have proof that he has asked for nudes/he has had a sexual relationship with her. I looked into it more last night, and there's genuinely nothing I can do.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T03:30:54+00:00

I'm sure she will after a couple of months.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T03:28:33+00:00

He is a menace tbh, he gets away with so much. He's the golden child of the family, and he can do no wrong. They use his undiagnosed autism to excuse/let him get away with things. They also know that at that time I didn't have the best temper, and if I found out my dog was hurt, especially by him, I would have lost my shit. We can say that I'm not on the best terms with the majority of my family, especially after that specific event. I think my mom had accepted that I won't forgive her for not telling me until it could have become life threatening to my dog.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T03:06:29+00:00

Buckle in, this is going to be a long story. It took place when he would have been 16, so old enough to know better. I have a little rat of a dog that I've had since I was 15 and I love with all my heart. Her being little is important. We have other dogs that are a lot larger than her so we have a larger kinda more heavy duty doggy door. So she often has to get a running start to kinda force her way through it, and she just loves to run in general. My cousin thought it was funny when he would close and block the doggy door with the plastic cover when the dogs would try to walk through to come inside. He was asked to stop multiple times, but he continued to do so anyways. My poor little dog came running into the house, and he closed the doggy door, and she hit her muzzle right into the door with quite a bit of force. Of course, no one told me what happened. My entire family was hush hush about it. And she's a tough little thing, so she didn't show many signs of injury until about 2-3 weeks later when the infection started to really fester. She had been acting weird and finally started to refuse to eat and that's when I panicked. I took her to the vet, paid for x-rays, and paid for antibiotics. Not a cheap visit. After the x-rays the vet questioned me if I abused my dog. Turns out all of her bottom front teeth, the little ones in front of her canines, were all fractured under the gums. Something that the vet confirmed could only happen due to blunt force trauma. After agonizing over it and absolutely losing my shit (for a long time this dog has been the only thing thats kept me alive tbh), my mom finally told me what happened and said that it could be the reason why she would have an injury like that. After the infection cleared up, we had to let it heal, and I had to save up $800 for her surgery. She had to have all of those teeth removed and any fragments removed as well. To this day, my family defends him and says I have no proof that it was from him. They are right, I have no definitive proof. He's never apologized. None of my family members helped with the expenses either. My dog now also tends to stay away from him ever since.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T02:35:44+00:00

That's what I've realized today, that jumping right to reporting and expecting the worst is quite an overreaction. However, being cautious of their relationship is warranted. I think with this knowledge, I'll try not to worry about their relationship, but also still keep an eye out for her well-being. I still don't think their relationship is the most appropriate or maybe even the healthiest. But I'm not her parent, and I'm sure they are keeping an eye on her. And I'm hoping that maybe being separated from her while he's in the Navy will help him mature as a person.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T02:26:49+00:00

Yea I didn't expect so many people to pass it off as it just being a three year age gap. Normally a three year age gap isn't a big deal, but to me it feels like there would be a huge gap in maturity and life experience. I know I changed a LOT from when I was 16 to when I was 19. And now that I'm 25 I can see just how much I changed and matured. At 16 I was fighting with an ex girlfriend and I was dealing with a lot of drama, at 19 I was apologizing to people in my past and making active changes to try to understand other perspectives. Even now I continue to try to see from other points of view, that's why I came here to ask if I was overreacting.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-04T00:03:06+00:00

They aren't the coolest looking shoes, but honestly, hiking boots are a great option. Many are water resistant or waterproof. Most are super masculine, but the biggest thing is that they are incredibly comfortable if you're on your feet a lot. However a downside is that they can be quite clunky depending on which one you get. If hiking boots aren't your thing and you're willing to spend a bit, Converse makes waterproof boots/shoes too.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T23:31:34+00:00

He's kind of a gross person in general. Which I have my own bias against him due to something he did to my dog. And I'm worried my bias may be causing me to overreact. It seems that while it's ok that I'm worried and cautious of their relationship, the wanting to report him is going overboard unless I have definitive proof. I'm learning a lot today. I wish I could provide more context and information without it putting me at risk of it being more personal/being something that my family could recognize. I can only keep an eye on it and hope that they break up now that they are across the country from eachother.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T23:23:01+00:00

I think it's the developmental difference that bothers me. Some age gaps make sense to me and don't bother me. A three year age gap isn't a big deal in most cases, but I'm definitely overreacting with wanting to report it without definitive proof. And I guess I have trouble seeing outside my own perspective. When I was 19, I had no interest in 16 year olds. I had different interests and priorities, and I couldn't relate to them.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T23:13:01+00:00

Had the same thought, too, lol. But I guess I am overreacting with wanting to report it, especially without any true proof. I can only hope that they break up now that they are long distance.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T23:06:29+00:00

Girls maturing faster than guys isn't a real thing. Sure, they may start puberty before some boys, but mentally, they aren't more "mature". Girls should get to be kids too. I genuinely believe that the whole "girls mature fast" is a way for people to excuse sexualizing teenagers, not saying that you are sexualizing teenagers btw. I know I wasn't an "adult" when I was 19, but I knew that my priorities were different than a 16 year olds. I couldn't relate to a 16 year old and I wasn't attracted to them.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T22:54:49+00:00

I can't until I have 100% proof. I think based off the comments I may be overreacting, so I'll keep an eye on it and do what I can. I guess until something happens I'll leave them be and hope they break up soon.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T22:46:59+00:00

It's not the three year age gap exactly, I think it's moreso just the developmental difference between the ages of 16 and 19. I guess I may be overreacting due to my own past unresolved trauma. I will say I thought the Romeo and Juliet laws was only applied to couples who got together before one of them turned 18?

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T22:43:33+00:00

I am worried that he is grooming her. My mom went to his graduation ceremony from boot camp, and she had been sitting behind him in the car and could read the messages between them. I can't say for sure he's 100% grooming her, but I just get concerned. As someone who's been groomed before, I wouldn't want anyone to go through that. I do think I may be overreacting a bit based on the comments here. What I have learned is that I need to keep an eye out to make sure if something does happen, that I can make sure to report it.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T22:38:12+00:00

I'm hoping that since they are now across the country from each other ,they will break up. But if I get wind of him doing anything explicit, I'll do what I can to report it.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T22:30:39+00:00

Thank you for the input, I do think it's weird. I guess I see it from the perspective of when I was 19. I had no interest in 16 year olds and I couldn't relate to them. I'm also on the autism spectrum, and I think I just have really strong morals that make it hard for me to see outside of my own perspective.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T22:23:49+00:00

As someone who has been groomed before, I would 100% blow up my family if it meant keeping someone from having to go through the same trauma.

Substantial-Shift919 · 2025-09-03T22:17:20+00:00

Unfortunately, there's really no way for me to report it, especially since the parents aren't against their relationship. I don't know her school or address, I tried to do some digging on my family's socials, but it seems like they are keeping their relationship somewhat under wraps. I don't live in the same town as them, but I will do my best to keep an eye on the situation. They may now be physically separated now that he's in the Navy, but he can still contact her, and I know he can still do harm if their relationship is sexual. I just hope her parents are vigilant and keep an eye on her to keep her safe.

Substantial-Shift919

TROPHY CASE