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Hi! I did end up switching to injections after a few months. I found the gel to be pretty sticky on my undershirts and it also smelled a little funky to me. But I also know folks who've only been on gel and didn't mind it - and they still had voice changes. It just tends to happen a little slower that way. You also can get T creams that aren't sticky like the gel from a compounding pharmacy, those just aren't covered by insurance. I will say too: I'm just about THE biggest baby about needles, but it really does get easier after the first couple of times. Doing injections subcutaneously (under the skin) is usually easier for people than intramuscular (into the thigh muscle). I'm a pharmacist and we do injection teaching for people starting T and E, but many places nurses will help you do your first dose in the clinic as well. There's also a brand new oral form of T called Jatenzo, but I haven't seen a single insurance plan cover it. Anyway - probably much more info than you wanted. Any way you decide to go is the right way, and you can always switch if down the line it doesn't work out or meet your needs :)

@@samjam6331 thank you so much I really appreciate it :))

Hi! This was also the primary anxiety for starting T for me. I will say I'm glad that I started out on low dose gel because it gave me time to adjust. Initially it seemed like I kept gaining lower notes but really didn't have a ton of impact to my higher notes. I also did some voice lessons for a few months early on and that was helpful. Falsetto (for me anyway) feels very different from head voice, and it definitely took some adjusting. It's almost like... going from trumpet to flute? Imperfect metaphor, but I'm a band guy XD For a bit it felt like I would be reaching for one note and a completely different one would come out instead. Super frustrating/discouraging when that started happening. The key is to keep singing and eventually those muscles become attuned to find those higher notes reliably again. When I was thinking over starting T I talked to a good friend who's a cis guy in theater whose voice didn't drop until midway through college. His advice to me was that yes it is a frustrating experience when initially some of those higher notes don't come as easy, especially for him because being a high tenor was a part of his identity. But those notes aren't lost, you just have to work at it and maybe use some different techniques to get there. I do miss belting out Sara Bareilles in the original key on a whim without warming up, but now that I'm more acquainted with my voice I really do have a great time singing. It's different for sure, but still me. I regret not recording more during that tough phase so I could better illustrate that transition (pun intended), but trust that even if it becomes rough for a little bit it'll get better

@@samjam6331 Thank you so much for all the extra info! My head voice is more flute-like, so I'm hoping my falsetto comes out more trumpety. I just started low dose, so we'll see what happens. Thank you!

Hi friend! I appreciate you saying this so much, and I’m sending all the good vibes I have that you’ll also have a positive experience. It’s really scary to put yourself out there and be vulnerable, but what I found was that when I did and owned that conversation on my terms the right opportunities started finding me. This video is a few years old now, and it shows me basically at rock bottom. It was hard to rewatch because I acutely remember how painful and scary this time was. But it also lit a fire in me to make sure that my field didn’t keep doing this to other people (or worse, patients who are trying to access care). So, just a brief update: I’m now a pharmacist (in a post-grad residency program) at a large LGBTQ non-profit health system. I’m also going to be teaching at a pharmacy school alongside a faculty member who is also trans. And I’m hoping to start publishing papers this year that improve care for trans and non-binary people in my field. I didn’t get here with all sunshine and daisies, but I made it through my training and now I’m here. And I’m really glad I am. In short: fuck anyone who makes you feel small. You are brilliant, and you have so much to offer to your field and to this world. And if nothing else, know that I’m rooting for you ♥️