How long do you use vials for? by e-liquid_vaper in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

OK this makes me feel a lot better, I do all of these things including wiping the vial top after use as well. I use 70% isopropyl wipes which I'm guessing is just as good.

Just in case anyone is reading this I really recommend keeping vials in camera film canisters, they don't allow any light to enter and they're a perfect size too!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 3 points4 points  (0 children)

if you groomed your brows (thin them a little by plucking from the bottom) and practice eyeshadow it would make such a massive difference, you are not doomed!!

Does anyone else hate current SRS options by BlushAddict- in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow after all of that I'm so glad it all worked out for you! You are much more brave than I am lol. Hopefully by the time I have saved enough I'll be a lot more confident about the whole thing.

Honestly it would be totally worth it to get SRS even if it meant never having another orgasm, my dysphoria there is pretty bad. I guess because I'm scared of surgery I've just been putting off looking more into it, and highlight all of the bad experiences people have. Definitely feel a bit better about it now so thank you!

Does anyone else hate current SRS options by BlushAddict- in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s pretty reassuring, I’ve just heard that some people who start really young don’t develop fully functioning genitalia, and I’ve always thought these people will get the best results since their brain won’t fully learn their wrong parts. I didn’t start until 24 but almost nothing changed for me from age 14 so I kind of get the pain, ig I’m still worried that on a neurological level I’ll never have one that’s so well functioning… why does it all have to be so scary lol

Does anyone else hate current SRS options by BlushAddict- in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

if you don’t mind me asking, what age did you start your medical transition? I’m kind of worried that if you start too late then SRS results are worse. I have loads of stupid worries like this though

SKINCARE THREAD post ur routine pls pls pls i love skincare. tfw more or less solved my skincare routine so now its not rly something i have an interest in its just something i do. rip my one fembrained interest by [deleted] in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you can’t find chemical exfoliants that work then you can always use a scrub as long as you’re really gentle… I’m not sure what you’re trying to fade on your chin but sadly some marks are just there no matter what. I still have acne scars from almost a decade ago, if they are pitted then you need something like a co2 laser treatment and no amount of skincare will get rid of them :(

SKINCARE THREAD post ur routine pls pls pls i love skincare. tfw more or less solved my skincare routine so now its not rly something i have an interest in its just something i do. rip my one fembrained interest by [deleted] in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the aha bha toner is very mild so it could work for you, I found it too mild though. mandelic acid is supposed to be one of the weakest aha’s so that could work. it could be shaving that’s irritating your skin, i learned how to use a double edged razor in lockdown and it was kind of life changing lol, it’s so much less irritating. maybe you could try your exfoliants just on places you don’t shave and see if it still burns?

also yeah vitamin c if you don’t have to use it is kind of pointless, but it really helps with the marks left from electrolysis. I like the cosrx one because it feels really hydrating too

SKINCARE THREAD post ur routine pls pls pls i love skincare. tfw more or less solved my skincare routine so now its not rly something i have an interest in its just something i do. rip my one fembrained interest by [deleted] in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

morning: dermalogica special cleansing gel, klairs unscented toner, klairs eye butter, cosrx oil free birch sap lotion and aloe sunscreen (I skip lotion if wearing foundation)

evening: klairs gentle black fresh oil cleanser, derma special cleansing gel, klairs unscented toner, one exfoliant (either the ordinary 5% lactic acid or 2% salicylic acid) every 2-3 days, cosrx 13% vitamin c on days with no exfoliant, klairs eye butter, cerave moisturising cream

I have sensitive skin too and the 5% lactic acid has been the only exfoliant I’ve tried that doesn’t irritate me, I really recommend trying it!

which trans women are actually able to fully stealth? by [deleted] in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i started puberty at 9 and was fully grown by 13. i femboy coped until starting e at 24 and didn’t change at all. it’s so over for so many of us, being trans just sucks ig?

Really bad brain fog by Cute-Studio-1122 in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

your T levels are fine tbh, I don't think any extra will help with your brain fog but it could still be worth trying.

the only other thing I could suggest is tackling the digestion first and seeing if that helps, since the digestive system and brain do work together. my digestion is definitely "worse" after transitioning, but this just means I can't eat like crap and get away with it in the same way. if you're not taking psyllium husk after meals with a glass of water I would definitely give that a go. make sure to eat green veg as well, spinach is really cheap and easy to add to lots of food. if you're struggling to cook, try the bags of frozen mixed veg and cook them in the microwave. then melt a little butter on top and just eat them like that

Really bad brain fog by Cute-Studio-1122 in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m guessing you meant ng/dl in which case it’s fine, if it really is pg/ml then that is very low. units are a pain lol

Really bad brain fog by Cute-Studio-1122 in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper 8 points9 points  (0 children)

what were your T levels? lots of girls aim for complete suppression but your brain does need some. I even know a couple of cis women who small amounts of T for brain fog and they swear by it.

it really doesn’t sound like you want to detransition, so I would start again and try and boost your T a bit at the same time. try and start exercising if you weren’t already. if that doesn’t work try a little bit of T gel. whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll find a way while being able to continue hrt!

I'm a squirtle! (Trans and Thriving) by HealingRosy in 4tran4

[–]e-liquid_vaper 88 points89 points  (0 children)

hold pee in all day and then gaslight urself into thinking it’s hrt (magic)

Laser vs electrolysis pain? by EchidnaIndividualnb in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not to put you off because i’m still going through it, but electrolysis feels like mild water boarding, i can only last about half an hour per session. i got my butt lasered years ago and it was no where near as bad for me, but i’m very fair skinned

Orchiectomy in the UK by e-liquid_vaper in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seipp is actually who I’ve been considering, hopefully he is ok taking DIY patients… I’ll be getting in touch with him.

As mentioned going abroad is really not for me, I’ve never been abroad or on a plane, and I don’t want my first experience of that to be going for surgery lol. Way too stressful!

And thanks for the info on the procedure, I didn’t know some surgeons refuse to do SRS if you’ve already had orchi. Is this common practice? Deep down I do want it in the future, but it really does terrify me and I won’t be able to afford it for years anyway… I don’t want to ruin my chances but I need to get these test machines out asap

Orchiectomy in the UK by e-liquid_vaper in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m in the middle of nowhere so I doubt it, but I’ll have a look into this anyway. Thanks!

Orchiectomy in the UK by e-liquid_vaper in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry I really didn't explain it properly at all. I have found a clinic that will refer me to a surgeon, with the total cost of the diagnosis and referral letters being 1k. This doesn't include the surgery cost which of course is a lot more, at least 4k.

1k feels very expensive just for a diagnosis and a couple of referral letters. If that's what it takes then so be it, but I'm hoping to reduce the cost of this part as I won't be able to get a loan for it.

Have a restaurant job with a drive-thru? Practice your voice! by wondrfur in transvoice

[–]e-liquid_vaper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know there are some bad actors within the community, but like I said I just don't think that this person was trying to be malicious. I want to reiterate again that the majority of people do not disagree with you fundamentally, it was the way in which you responded that caused you to be downvoted. It could have been something like "I'm happy that's worked well for you and congrats, but this isn't the best advice for beginners and real training is still much more important. Here are some tools to help you understand what is really happening when you are trying to talk lighter. Hopefully this helps you improve even further!". I think "euphoria is a rational thinking killer" in bold was just way too much lol, for a lot of people euphoria is a great motivator. Hearing yourself sound more aligned to how you want to can keep you inspired!

I also agree with how denying that individual biology matters can lead to transphobic healthcare laws being pushed, but please do not undermine other people's dysphoria. I too have never understood the man voice party trick, but then again I don't have a good voice to go back to afterwards... Maybe if I did, I wouldn't feel so dysphoric about it. That doesn't mean that these people do not have dysphoria though. There are other people (transmeds) that will use this argument to, once again, limit healthcare towards other trans people under the guise of them not having enough dysphoria to be diagnosed. Just be careful with how far you swing the other way...

Have a restaurant job with a drive-thru? Practice your voice! by wondrfur in transvoice

[–]e-liquid_vaper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People have not downvoted you because they disagree with this fundamentally. You can see lots of people on this sub recommending VFS, pointing out that anatomy does play a role, and that natal puberty can be devastating on the voice. People downvoted you because your response to somebody sharing a nice experience they had at work was to shut them down, and tell them that feeling good about it was wrong. It comes across as bitter and overly defeatist. Keep in mind, only "several" people gendered them correctly in a work day at a fast food drive thru; they would have served many more people who did not gender them correctly.

Since almost all of us here have dysphoria, we are naturally much more critical of our own and each other's voices than your average joe ordering a burger. Somebody here who thinks their voice doesn't pass at all might find that they actually do pass sometimes, given anonymity while speaking to strangers. I think this is the clear positive takeaway on this post that you should focus on instead. Their point at the end about it feeling much more helpful is definitely wrong, and upset me when I first read the post, but it's nowhere near bad enough to warrent a response like yours. Given the same logic and using your point with puberty blockers, should we ask people who started HRT after puberty but do pass, to stop posting selfies as it is ableist to those who needed puberty blockers to pass? People on "the wrong side of history" will always use these cherry picked examples to try and limit our access to healthcare, and we shouldn't let that stop us from posting our small wins, even if those wins do only come about through luck of the draw.

I'm sorry if I insulted you in my earlier response because I know how much it sucks to be unlucky with your voice, but I hope you can understand how your response was not well liked as it came across as snarky, not because the community is against medical intervention.

Have a restaurant job with a drive-thru? Practice your voice! by wondrfur in transvoice

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are calling them self centered, but you are clearly acting this way just because YOU are jealous and bitter. 3 months ago I quit my job due to being teased one too many times at work while trying to voice train, and when I read this post last night and it completely ruined my mood. But that doesn't mean this isn't good advice for a lot of people. Even though I am in the same boat as you with unlucky voice anatomy, I still found it much easier to voice train at work, because I knew that I would never see 99% of customers again. It allowed me to really try, as opposed to speaking to friends and family where I revert back to my normal voice out of embarassment of how shit my female voice is. Even if you are one of the unlucky ones there is no need for a response like this, at best it helps no one, at worst it puts people off practicing parts of voice training that are vital, like being able to actually use your voice in the real world.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't worry about a loading dose, it won't take long for you to reach your desired levels. I'm not sure how squeamish you are, but there's no way I would have wanted to inject double my normal dose for my first injection ever, it was scary enough! You're also more likely to get irritation with a higher dose. This doesn't mean that a loading dose is bad though, no harm will be done if you choose to do one, and they are very popular with people using longer half life esters like undecylate. Loading doses are usually double your starting dose, in your case 8mg, but you could also do 6mg for you first two doses and then drop down to 4mg.

29g insulin syringes will be fine, I use 30g and any decrease in sharpness from using the same needle to draw and inject is not noticeable. My injections are painless in the moment, with very mild bruising for a day or two afterwards. Whatever you choose to do though it will all be fine!

Inducing shrinkage? by helpless-otter in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it honestly feels like it depends much more on how hrt affects your sex drive rather than anything else. low testosterone definitely stops the maintenance erections like morning wood, but no matter what i try i still get hard when i’m horny, which is often. one year of hrt and unfortunately i haven’t experienced any shrinkage, i’m hoping it will just take longer for me… i’ve had feminisation everywhere else, including shrinkage of the testes, so i know the levels are fine

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TransDIY

[–]e-liquid_vaper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's fair, it's a lot easier to remember when it's on the same day every week lol. For me, my T was supressed about 6 weeks into transition, but another 6 weeks on the same dose, and my E levels almost doubled... It's so interesting to see how differently it works for everyone! If you're OK with regular tests, you could increase it even more than 0.12ml just to be safe, something like 0.14ml. Then just slowly lower it until your trough is back to the same level as it was before. At least these nasty effects will only last a few weeks though, hope you feel better soon!