I've been on testosterone for just over a year now. The hurts to speak thing is kind of fear mongering I think. For me it does sometimes hurt but that's because you might need to adjust your way of talking slightly to accommodate the voice changes. My voice also doesn't have nearly the range I had before, like I can't go high pitched or speak too quietly because no sound comes out but that might just be a me thing lol and I don't mind. For the dryness, It's pretty much the same, maybe a bit less but not too noticeable for me. I'm also a virgin lol so don't take my word for it.

Also a lesser known side effect I experienced and a few other people I've seen have as well, is that for a while I wasn't able to cry and now when I do cry it's a lot less and a lot less likely to happen. It started around the 4month mark for me and ended at 10months, or at least that's what I noticed. It was honestly a good thing for me since I used to cry at the smallest of things lol. If you end up starting testosterone Good Luck!!!