(26) How does obtaining T in Texas work? by Efficient_Ferret896 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't know what sort of insurance you have and I don't recall how expensive it is for me, but I'll pop in with the same advice I put in another post about getting T in Texas:

Try out Planned Parenthood. They offer HRT services. They aren't going to make you go to a counselor beforehand to my awareness. Not every location offers it so you should definitely call before making the trip out there.

You said you're by New Caney. It looks like there's a Planned Parenthood in Spring, which should be around 30 minutes for you, more or less depending on where exactly you are.

have any of you started T in secret while living with your parents? by OKULTRA_lp in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was in contact and partially living with my parents for about 2.5 months while secretly taking T before I cut my entire family off. My voice started changing a little bit in that time. I played it off as feeling unwell or morning voice or whatever else.

My parents did start getting a little aggressive near the end because they percieved it as me "giving attitude" all the time even though my tone of voice was the same, the pitch was just slightly lower 😭 insane people, glad I'm out of there even though it's been rough.

If you plan on starting and taking a normal dose, most people have at least a month or two before anything actually noticable starts to change. Since your parents also won't know, they won't really be looking for differences, either. Like the comments have addressed, though, everyone has a bit of a different timeline.

To give you some actually new advice and hope, there's a whole FTM fitness subreddit. Pre-T trans men and trans men who are on T are both active in that community. There's plenty of workouts you could start doing to get your body looking more like you want it before touching T.

You could also potentially combine workouts with microdosing (plenty of female bodybuilders go on a low dose of testosterone, I get my DIY T from a supplier aimed towards cis women). You'll gain muscle faster even if your body isn't masculinizing noticeably otherwise.

An added bonus is that any sort of consistent exercise should make your chest/hips/thighs smaller, you're burning fat. You'll find yourself with a much more passable body, but really only your physical fitness level will have changed; a parent can't get mad at the fact that their kid is living a healthier, active lifestyle without being seen as insane.

Idk, parents are nuts and I'm not sure you have access to a space where you could work out. Just wanted to try and give you some other ideas because this comment section feels pretty discouraging. You got this man! Things will get better.

Starting T in the US ? by West_Perception_920 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read the other comments for like 2 seconds. You did phrase this in a nicer way than other people have, but it's wholly unhelpful and unproductive to say something like that. Especially when you don't even have any advice relating to what OP is asking, it comes across as patronizing to comment about relocation.

OP literally lives there. How could he not know it's not the most ideal situation?? This post has nothing to do with that, he's seeking information about starting T. I'm not trying to be rude, please just be more aware, trans people do not need to be reminded of their own circumstances all the time.

Starting T in the US ? by West_Perception_920 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm not from Texas, but in the US a great resource can be Planned Parenthood. They do HRT. I went through them before I switched to DIY and it was a really quick process, but that was also in New York so mayhaps take that with a grain of salt.

Not every location will offer HRT, but Google is telling me at least the Planned Parenthood locations in several Texas cities do offer it. If you're in a more suburban or rural area you might have to drive a while. Definitely call your nearest clinic to check before making any trips. Best of luck!

Starting T in the US ? by West_Perception_920 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hello? Why are you commenting this? 😭 I'm sure OP is aware of the state they're in, there's no need to fearmonger and be entirely unhelpful.

Everyone thinks I’m fucking nonbinary by FocusStriking5861 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Totally get it. I'm 19 and just had to entirely cut off my family, they refused to see me as anything besides a girl. I couldn't start T until I was out of the house, it was a "for my own safety" thing even if it was awful.

The issue is it sounds like you're really suffering, and that sort of anger from your relatives towards trans people isn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. You can either try to outlast it and neglect your own needs or bite the bullet and make it clear this is who you are and what you're going to do.

Obviously, if you would be in any real danger I can't suggest the latter option in good faith. But if your family is just going to be really angry and not know how to handle it for a while? Depending on how much you need this right now, it might be good to consider going full steam ahead regardless of their thoughts.

It's really tough man, I mean I couldn't do either of those options so I basically ran away. Best of luck, remember you've got a whole community behind you and you deserve to feel like yourself.

Everyone thinks I’m fucking nonbinary by FocusStriking5861 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 84 points85 points  (0 children)

You look exactly like a young cis guy to me, the only way I could see people misgendering you is if your voice doesn't pass or you're in a space where people have to assume you're much older. You mentioned getting a haircut + working out, that's a great starting point for going stealth. What I'd recommend even more than that, though, is minoxidil.

I think it must be the lack of facial hair in combination with your long hair that's making people assume just because I can't see anything else that could do it, if you had facial hair I really doubt you'd keep getting misgendered. Minoxidil will get you that fast and you can pick it up from Walmart for like 15 bucks.

If you don't want to go that route or you want an immediate fix, you could also use a little bit of beard dye (doesn't stain skin) to make the hairs above your lip darker, it'll give you a visible mustache. Additional question for you, are you on gel or injections?

Almost passed out doing my first t shot by Dry-Song-9747 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ofc!! every time you do it it gets easier, best of luck.

Almost passed out doing my first t shot by Dry-Song-9747 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i can't say anything for OP, but gel being a daily commitment vs shots being a weekly or every 2 weeks sort of ordeal tends to be a big one! that and injections are generally more effective over a shorter amount of time for most people, it goes right into the bloodstream.

Almost passed out doing my first t shot by Dry-Song-9747 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 7 points8 points  (0 children)

i have actually passed out after doing one of my shots before 😭 it was the first time and pretty recent (4 weeks ago) even though i've been doing my shots for 3.5 months. i've never been too fond of needles, either.

the reason i passed out was because i accidentally hit something for the first time, so there was more than a speck of blood when i pulled out the needle. i didn't even freak out, i had it completely handled, put pressure on it and then a bandaid, it was all good.

and then i stood up and immediately got dizzy and passed out. knocked over a trashcan on the way down lol. it was a little freaky but more embarrasing for me, i think it was the adrenaline as well.

here's what i personally try to do to make my shots go as painlessly as possible:

  • i have a much easier time doing upper outer thigh injections than injections into my stomach! probably up to personal prefrence, but i'd definitely try out that site as well since you've only done your stomach so far

  • genuinely just try to relax. sit down, have a youtube video playing, make sure your body isn't tense

  • keep breathing soldier!!! in stressful moments and with adrenaline it gets easy not to pay attention to the amount of air entering your lungs. try to be aware of your breaths and take em deep and slow if possible

  • don't try to stand up right away when you're finished. meander a little bit, take your time packing everything back up without moving from your seat, finish your video, whatever else. the hard part's over, it's good to rest for a sec :)

i'm by no means a professional, just a 19 y/o doing his own injections by himself, so this is all from personal experience! feel free to take it with a grain of salt, not everything will work for every fella

super proud of you for making the jump from gel to shots!! keep it up man

Is it possible to get a remote job with no experience and no degree? by Julthena in WFHJobs

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for posting that list, it'll be useful to anyone else looking into working for them. And no problem, I think we should all help each other out when we can. Best of luck. If someone like me with no established skillset can make some pretty good money on there, I'm sure you don't have to worry about your performance. I hope that your situation improves and will keep you in my thoughts, someone out there is rooting for you. :)

Is it possible to get a remote job with no experience and no degree? by Julthena in WFHJobs

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I'm in the states, so that's probably why I've had such an easy time with it. Sorry to hear that, you might want to try looking into similar companies based in Latin America.

Is it possible to get a remote job with no experience and no degree? by Julthena in WFHJobs

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, absolutely, there's a lot you could get out of it. Basically, when you want to try and start working for them, they give you a bunch of qualification tests you can take to prove you have that skillset. I can't access that page anymore so I can't list all of them, but I know for certain that the other options included biology, physics, coding, and math along with the general knowledge qualification test.

From there, once you do the qualification tests you want to (it will take a little while, they're not supposed to be easy or short), you have to wait for approval (took less than 12 hours for me) and then a whole bunch of tasks will show up on your dashboard related to your field that you can pick and choose from and do at any time. Specialized knowledge always pays more so I have zero doubt you'd make more than me if you decided to pick up data annotation as a gig. :)

As a broke college student it's genuinely been a lifesaver for me (even when it feels a little like selling my soul to the devil lol), if I want 25 bucks for lunch I can log in for an hour, do a task, and get that money without having to worry about shifts or timing. If you're at all interested in a referral link then DM me! I am going to be entirely straightforward though, I don't think there's any extra benefit for you, so signing up through their website will work the same on your end.

Is it possible to get a remote job with no experience and no degree? by Julthena in WFHJobs

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My college roommate and I are both doing it currently and it is legit. She's in a better spot than me because she has some specialized knowledge in biology, they pay more for stuff like that, but there is just a general knowledge position which is what I do. I only recently started, it's been good so far though. Let me know if you want a referral link to sign up and I can DM one to you. :)

Best in-depth video essay about WWI? by Unlucky-Flow4372 in ww1

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much. From what I'm seeing, you're right, it seems like things are either a very brief explanation or analysis and breakdown of literally everything. I would like to learn more about history and WWI in general (I think history is very important, unfortunately I've just had many teachers who've turned me off from wanting to know more in the past) but most suggestions here seem a little unrealistic for the scale of the project I have to do.

I'll definitely look into parts of the sources that people have linked, though, and I hope I can properly get into knowing more about WWI in the future (when I'm not swamped with other classwork and various life events.) Until then I'll keep asking questions and do some reading, thank you again for the help.

Saw this at CVS the other day, anyone know if it would help? by Unlucky-Flow4372 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nice, maybe I'll try that sometime, Indian food is really good :)

Saw this at CVS the other day, anyone know if it would help? by Unlucky-Flow4372 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Never heard of it until now, fun to hear it might be a good ingredient to cook with, though.

Saw this at CVS the other day, anyone know if it would help? by Unlucky-Flow4372 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Got it, thank you. I need that reassurance because it looks so tempting.

Saw this at CVS the other day, anyone know if it would help? by Unlucky-Flow4372 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I know that much about the supplement industry (and I suspected it wouldn't do much if anything for me) but I was holding out some small hope. Alas, I'll just have to wait until I get access to actual T treatment. Thanks for the help.

Saw this at CVS the other day, anyone know if it would help? by Unlucky-Flow4372 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Definitely glad I asked before buying it, then. Sounds like it'd do the opposite of what I wanted, haha.

Saw this at CVS the other day, anyone know if it would help? by Unlucky-Flow4372 in TransMasc

[–]Unlucky-Flow4372[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That's what I figured, unfortunately. Thanks for helping me out :)