Previously: 17 days of T

Lots of medical (and some sexual) TMI follows. Reading other people’s detailed accounts of hormone therapy was valuable to me, so I’m providing the same thing. If you don’t want to know all about the shit my body’s been up to, this post is not for you.

The most noticeable change for me, over the past couple of weeks, has been my voice. I’ve been hoarse and had a cough; my voice started breaking occasionally, and sometimes things come out deeper than I meant them to. I have to deliberately pitch my voice lower, to some degree, because speaking in my normal range is mildly uncomfortable. When I tried to sing a hymn that was stuck in my head, I had to stop and try again from a lower starting point, because I couldn’t hit the notes. It’s all very satisfying.

Betrothed reports several effects that aren’t obvious to me from the inside, and they aren’t sure whether their observations are real or they’re imagining things. They’ve noticed my body odor changing frequently – sometimes returning to how it used to be, sometimes different new smells. They also report that I’m less irritable, have a higher frustration tolerance, and seem generally happier. Plus they think the hair on my arms is slightly thicker, and my breasts are slightly softer in a way that might reflect fat redistribution.

I’ve had a gratifying amount of clit growth for such a short time. The first and most annoying sign of this was finding bicycling significantly more uncomfortable than it used to be (how do cis men deal?) Betrothed reports that the clit itself, not counting the hood, is about the size of a pencil eraser; both of us can now notice through my underwear when I’m aroused, and there’s the distinct experience of an erection. I’m getting a lot more out of clitoral stimulation than I used to, too.

I’ve always been prone to pretty severe acne, but it’s been maybe a little worse. I’ve also always had a tendency to benign vulvar cysts, and I’ve definitely had an increased rate of those, which is annoying as hell. I tried all sorts of acne medications, including some intense prescription ones, back in puberty #1, without a lot of luck, so I’m pretty resigned here.

Finally, I’m starting to get hit with the horny hammer. I had a pretty high libido for someone AFAB to start with, so this is … an experience. I wake up touching myself most mornings. The process of getting off tends to be faster … but I end up going for three orgasms before I’m done, and that’s more a matter of “physically exhausted” than “actually satisfied.” How do teenage boys cope? Can I get a refractory period at the store? Help.