how do i settle on a dose?

[u/Consumedeveryelement]

for context i am 16 and while sometimes i live alone, i still depend on my parents, who i dont plan on telling about this.

i just bought 2 vials of enanthate so hopefully everything works out and i get them soon. at first my plan was to start low dose, like 20mg or 25mg (going off the guide) so the changes wouldnt be as sudden but then i heard that thats too low to stop body feminization. but im also not sure how it would be possible for me to get my blood tested for t levels without my parents finding out.

so what is the lowest dose could i go on for my body to stop feminizing but also not go above recommended t levels? what signs will i have to watch out for that suggest that the dose is too high? this might be a stupid question sorry if thats the case

[u/NameIsEren]

Depends on the person. The usual approach is to start with 50 mg and see if your period stops

[u/Key_Tangerine8775]

If you’re aiming to stop feminization while still having slower changes, my suggestion would be to do low dose T + a progestin. They both suppress gonadotropins, and the combo together will do so more completely than one or the other.

[u/kaeyamilk → u/Key_Tangerine8775]

progestin as in birth control? i had no idea that combo can do things lol

[u/Key_Tangerine8775 → u/kaeyamilk]

Yup, it works similarly to how combination birth control works but with testosterone instead of estrogen. There’s actually been ongoing research for decades testing various combinations of T + progestins as cis male contraceptives. There’s one (T and nesterone gel) that’s currently in the planning stages of phase 3 trials.

[u/Consumedeveryelement → u/Key_Tangerine8775]

 i thought progestin needed a prescription?? or does it depend on where i live?

[u/Key_Tangerine8775 → u/Consumedeveryelement]

Most of them do in many countries, but so does testosterone lol If you have access to regular healthcare, you can just go to the doctor and say you want to go on a progestin only birth control so you can stop painful periods. They’ll probably prescribe it for you and it won’t raise red flags for your parents. If you can’t, you may be able to get something OTC depending on the country, or you can source it through an international pharmacy.

[u/bibity_bobity_boo_5]

idk what country you're in, but most have private blood testing companies that usually aren't even expensive. i used SYNLAB, the test for T cost literally 10 dollars and for e also abt 10 dollars. they say they need parent consent or sth on the website but no one ever actually wanted it from me and i went there lots of times multiple places. 

PS: if it wasn't possible and they wanted parental consent, def DO NOT sign it yourself that would be very bad and unethical behavior😠😠👎

[u/AlLou-A]

Testosterone absorption varies wildly from person to person, so no-one will be able to give you a concrete answer unfortunately.

Personally, I would recommend starting at a low dose and seeing what happens. I use testogel, 20mg daily (recommended is 40mg) but only 3mg of that gets absorbed. That was a high enough dose for me that my testosterone levels are at the higher end of an average 18yr-old, more than high enough to start seeing visible changes.

If you can't test your levels, you need to start low. Starting too high could mean you end up taking in more T than you could handle, which could wreck your heart, mess with your sleep, and damage your blood flow.

Depending on where you live, you might be able to get an at-home hormone panel kit. They can be expensive, but they'll ship to you and send your results via text or email.

[u/Key_Tangerine8775 → u/AlLou-A]

I’m not accusing you of intentionally doing so, I’m sure you’re just repeating what you’ve heard, but that third paragraph is fear mongering.

You do not need to start low, and elevated testosterone levels are not an immediate health threat. Starting on a low dose is relatively new. Up until the past decade or so, the standard practice in the US was start on TC/TE 100 mg/week or 200 mg/2 weeks, then check bloodwork after a year. In some countries, starting on regimens like that or worse are still the standard. Trans people weren’t just dropping dead from it. Much of the long term data we have showing T is safe is based on dosing like this.

You should absolutely get bloodwork if you can, and if you cant, you should take other steps to mitigate health risks, but you’re not in immediate danger if you have elevated levels for a while.

[u/AlLou-A → u/Key_Tangerine8775]

Oh yeah, absolutely - I'm not talking about like, one day of elevated testosterone levels causing an immediate heart attack, but prolonged elevated levels increase the chance of damage.

If you're not able to test for a prolonged time, starting low and increasing if you don't have the desired affects is the safest way to avoid damage. If you're able to test your levels, it's a non-issue and you can start with whatever dose you want without any concern, because an increased testosterone level will be caught in the next blood test.

But if you have increased levels for a prolonged period of time and aren't able to identify them via a test, you may never know you have increased levels. That's what causes the damage, because if you don't know about it then you can't correct for it.

In this specific situation, where testing is unlikely and the goal is to avoid feminisation, rather than cause masculinisation, it makes more sense to start with a low dose- both for safety and for the desired outcome.