#nebido

It's been absolutely forever since i posted here, but I had another T shot today and realised its exactly 7 years since I started T!

Nebido buds!! Nurse did it over two minutes, about 1ml per 30 seconds, which does seem a bit fast to me tbh. When Dave did my Sustanon at home that's about how long he took to do the 1ml and that didn't hurt at all.

I've went through the answers but I didn't really find one that covers my situation fully - I just started T and after a self administered shot 1.5 weeks ago I still have a slight lump in the place of injection (tho I think it's getting better idk). I know that I probably did the shot pretty poorly due to the nerves, but I wanna check out if anything I did after maybe worsened it. Should I try to massage the spot and/or apply heat? Should I try to move the body part more to get the blood flowing? Also heard someone saying that intramuscular could be administered into places with a lot of fatty tissue (butt/stomach), so does anybody know which one hurts worse/gives a worse lump afterwards?

Anyway thanks in advance!

Hi Anon,

Thanks for the appreciation :).

Getting a lump after injecting T is very normal, this is nothing to worry about and even when administered by medical professionals, you will be left with a lump. Sustanon usually leaves a smaller lump, while Nebido can leave an egg size lump. You can gently massage the area or apply heat for the pain, but leaving it to disperse itself is totally fine.

In terms of Sustanon, this is a smaller injection and can be injected in the thigh, upper arm, bottom and stomach.

Nebido is a much larger injection and usually recommended to be administered slowly into fatty areas like the bottom and thighs. Nebido is also a thicker liquid than Sustanon so can take much longer to disperse, thus resulting in a bigger lump. Additionally, most UK GPs will not allow their patients to self inject Nebido (some do), so unless you have the approval of your Dr and have been shown how to, do not attempt to self inject Nebido without medical supervision.

It is important with any regular injections, that you alternate sites. So if you choose your bum, do one in the right bum cheek and then the next the left cheek and keep alternating. This helps to avoid muscle wastage and damage of repeated injection in the same site. Some Drs don’t think this is an issue, while other recommend this. So my advice is err on the side of caution and prevent possible damage by alternating sites.

If you are self injecting, your GP, nurse or sometimes the GIC should have shown you how to inject and where is best, as well as discussing the complications and risks of poor injection administering.

Effects I noticed in the first month:

- The very first thing I noticed was a change in the smell of my pee, which I believe is the oil base of the shot leaving your body, this only lasted a couple days and my pee smells fairly normal now.

- Oilier skin and greasier hair. Just super oily from around 1-2 weeks in. I need to shower every day, whereas before I could shower every other day if I felt like it. This also meant I got a few more spots on my chin where I wear my mask every day for university.

- Bottom growth. Noticed this around the 2 week mark, mainly that I was visibly bigger, but with very occasional and slight discomfort.

- Increased strength while working out. Noticed this around the 4th week when I was hitting multiple new PRs in the gym. Muscle size or definition hasn't noticeably changed, but I'm a slightly bigger guy so I might notice it more if I was a little leaner.

- Voice drop. Noticed it on and off through the month, but mainly in week 4. My voice pitch app placed my voice as androgynous pre-T (174-184Hz average), and I'm now in my male range pretty consistently (145-149Hz).

- Mentally I'm feeling better, less anxiety about my transition and more settled in myself, as is expected.

Things that haven't changed:

- Appetite. I was super hungry all the time pre-T, so I'm thankful it hasn't gotten any worse haha. I have gained a little weight, but I'm hoping it's just the muscle mass.

- Temperature. Aside from maybe 2 random hot flashes, I feel pretty normal in my temperature.

- Libido. Still have very low libido.

- Anger/frustration/crying. No changes there yet, not sure about crying as I haven't had any reason to cry recently.

- Body hair. No noticeable changes in hair amount, colour, texture or density anywhere yet.

I did an update at five months, here we go again at six months

In case you missed some previous details: I am an older than most ftm medical transitioners. Yep, I left it late mainly because my xennial idiot self had no idea I was trans for a long time - LGBTQ education was illegal when I grew up (Section 28, thanks Thatcher), the internet literally did not exist until I was in secondary school (and was dial up only), and if you get told you’re a tom girl long enough you struggle to figure it out. 

So, I am married, I have children, and a career - I’m your Trans Dad but you youngsters can call me Baba. You can’t tap me for pocket money (my little live in minions have already taken everything), but you can absolutely ask me questions, get moral support (or amoral if required), and if I ever meet you in person I do give great Baba hugs. 

I have been around the block few times and had the usual life disasters here and there. I count myself lucky to have survived this far!

Anyway, six months on T:

Periods are no longer a thing - yay! If I bleed now it’s because I’ve been a dumb arse and injured myself, not because mother nature is being a drama queen.

Hair - So much hair. I was expecting treasure trail and a few hairs on my chest but the extra hairs growing my upper thighs were an eye opener! Fine dark hairs on my upper lip are more fluffy than anything else and I am only shaving to get used to it.

Voice - Oh yes, it’s getting low and the worst of the cracking seems to have gone in the previous month. It may sneak up on me again though, we will have to see.

Strength - Hehe, wrestling matches with the hubby are getting good. I go to the gym and lift weights regularly, I can now match him for strength and he is having to come to terms with me being the bear in this relationship. To be fair, I really don’t think he minds,

Surgery - I see the consult for top surgery in three weeks. Given I have rather large moobs (two children will do that!) it will have to be a double incision and the first quote is £7800. In theory I could wait for the NHS, but I’d like to get surgery before retirement so private funding it is. I will see if I can get an hysterectomy through the NHS, but that’s not such a priority atm. The moobs are a huge dysphoria issue since I feel like they stop me passing and during summer it’s too hot to bind.

Hormones - Obviously, I’m now six months in. I started out on Testogel and it worked but timing when to apply it with gym workouts and an active shift working job was a pain. You can’t shower within hours of applying it which has the potential to make you chose between T levels and feeling icky/sweaty all day. My wonderful specialist laughed at me for making the decision to change just as we got my T levels in the right place and then cheerfully stabbed me in the backside with Nebido. In three months time I will go back for another round. A week later and I am already liking not having to do anything and knowing my T is there.

Random - My body temperature has gone up, I don’t feel the cold so much and I struggle stupidly in the heat. Libido, oh boy, that is crazy and hubby is loving it!  My face shape is changing and fat distribution is giving me a belly and my hips are less obvious, while my shoulders are broadening.

Overall - Passing is hit and miss, hubby informed me I am in the uncanny valley stage of transition. 

My workmates and I are running an experiment with the people we meet on a daily basis. I think it’s mostly women who code me as female and men who code me as male. They think it’s age based and the older a person is the more likely they are to see me as female. Results when we have a large enough study.