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I got a notification from LJ today saying someone "liked" an old T update of mine. I didn't even know that was a thing you could do on LJ. Anyway, it reminded me that I haven't made a real update since the summer. So, without further ado:
I started T 7 May 2013, some 1343 days ago. I've spent the majority of that time on 1.25 g 1% gel daily, though I've also spent about a year on 1.25 g 1.62% gel daily, and I was on 20 mg weekly injections for six weeks. I've also been on E-blockers for a bit over a year: raloxifene for a couple months, anastrozole for a few more, and Lupron for almost a year. For that matter, I switched from 1.62% gel back to 1% gel two and a half weeks ago when I got back the results of my most recent levels check. tl;dr my levels were squarely in the middle of the healthy male range (T 703 ng/dL, free T 120.2 pg/mL, E 22 pg/mL) for the first time, and I'm not comfortable with that. It is also unclear to me how my levels got that high given that on the same dose of T but without the E-blocker, my levels never got very far above 400 ng/dL.
I've noticed some changes since my last update, too. I started growing a lot more hair on my face. I shave my upper lip every other week or so, and I pluck out approximately one hair every two weeks from my neck/under my chin. My legs have gotten even hairier, if that was possible -- this was something three other people commented on independently even though I didn't really notice. My voice has gotten deeper in the last year -- also something other people noticed that I did not. I think my hairline's finally changing a little, but my barber assures me I'm not losing my hair. I'm pretty happy with all these changes except for the facial hair. I don't feel up to dealing with it, but I seem to be managing anyway.
( NSFW TMI )
I started T 7 May 2013, some 1343 days ago. I've spent the majority of that time on 1.25 g 1% gel daily, though I've also spent about a year on 1.25 g 1.62% gel daily, and I was on 20 mg weekly injections for six weeks. I've also been on E-blockers for a bit over a year: raloxifene for a couple months, anastrozole for a few more, and Lupron for almost a year. For that matter, I switched from 1.62% gel back to 1% gel two and a half weeks ago when I got back the results of my most recent levels check. tl;dr my levels were squarely in the middle of the healthy male range (T 703 ng/dL, free T 120.2 pg/mL, E 22 pg/mL) for the first time, and I'm not comfortable with that. It is also unclear to me how my levels got that high given that on the same dose of T but without the E-blocker, my levels never got very far above 400 ng/dL.
I've noticed some changes since my last update, too. I started growing a lot more hair on my face. I shave my upper lip every other week or so, and I pluck out approximately one hair every two weeks from my neck/under my chin. My legs have gotten even hairier, if that was possible -- this was something three other people commented on independently even though I didn't really notice. My voice has gotten deeper in the last year -- also something other people noticed that I did not. I think my hairline's finally changing a little, but my barber assures me I'm not losing my hair. I'm pretty happy with all these changes except for the facial hair. I don't feel up to dealing with it, but I seem to be managing anyway.
( NSFW TMI )
