Pain in the . . .uterus?

Any trans guys reading this who are on T and pre-hysto get menstrual-type cramping on occasion? It’s been happening to me more and more. Started a few months ago but was very infrequent. Lately, it’s been happening more. A week ago, it was so bad that I was in tears. I was actually having contractions like when I was in labour for a couple of hours. And, like when I used to have period pains or labour pains, I felt it in my lower back too. I read up a bit and some sites mention cramping in passing as a result of an accumulation of endometrial tissue in the uterus that is not being discharged by menstruation. But that’s all I found.

I will be making an appointment for a consultation with a local trans-friendly gyn-ob next week for sure. But in the meantime, I’d be interested in hearing if any of my bros out there have or have had this happen to them before their hystos.

A year + on testo

I’ve been a very bad blogger. I know I could post more frequently and write shorter posts but I always wind up with a lot to say and I hesitate to start posts when I don’t have a lot of time to spare because I know I will wind up taking more time than I had intended.

So my one year testosterone anniversary on May 26th came and went with no commentary from me. The Saturday before, I had a multi-purpose party to celebrate my anniversary, the end of term, two friends’ birthdays etc. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful.

On the phone

I’ve been told that my phone voice is now unmistakably male and that it has been for a whole. Indeed, when credit card companies call (because they always have to call) looking for Nancy, I have to pretend to hand the phone over to Nancy for them to believe me.  And when I’m “being Nancy”, I revert to a voice that is as feminine as possible . . .I probaly sound like Nancy with a cold. But I “pass”. And it hurts my vocal chords.

Soon, I won’t have to pretend to be female anymore . .. if this bloody name change paperwork can finally come through!

Stubble! And sideburns!

The last time I shaved all my facial hair off was in August 2008. Since it took about 3 weeks for it to grow back to a respectable (by my definition) length, I avoided shaving again. I got a trimmer nad have kept it trimmed, and only shaved the hair that grew higher up on my cheeks. I mean, not even a year on T and I have facial hair 2/3 of the way up to my eyes!! Haha. But that part that I would shave had been taking a while to grow back too.

So last Sunday morning, I shaved off those two small sections again and trimmed the rest, except for the sideburns. Two really cool things happened as a result:

1. I now have visible sideburns and have noticed that the hair there is getting more rigid and less fuzzy, like real man hair.
2. A day later, the hair that I had shaved off was already starting to grow back! Three days later, I feel the stubble and I can see the darkness underneath the skin where the hairs are starting to poke through.

sigh (Happy sigh, that is.)

Jacky hearts facial hair.

That Testosterone Thing

While I’m not completely against the idea that our biology (genes and hormones, for instance) have some impact on our emotions and reactions, I’m certainly not a biological determinist. Like most social scientists, I think that our emotions and behaviour are influenced by a multitude of factors and that this happens in such an intricate and interwoven way that  it’s impossible to isolate one single cause for anything.So when I started reading about the impacts of testosterone, I kept an open mind but I refused to swallow everything that I was reading about it whole.

Life without hips

Yes, I had read all about the fat redistribution that happens with testosterone treatment. I thought I was prepared for it but YIKES! My main gripe lately (always with a chuckle and tongue in cheek) has been: “No one warned me about how hard it is to live without hips!!”

I used to use them as a sort of shelf to help me carry things. No more. Last time I tried, a few months ago, the box just slid down. Now I get why men carry boxes by holding them up on one shoulder. It’s not macho, it’s just the only shelf they got!

And PANTS! Sheesh. Makes me wonder why, traditionally, men have been the ones wearing pants. Even with a tight belt, I have to pull up my jeans CONSTANTLY. Of course, it doesn’t help that I wear binders made of sleek material that probably enables the sliding even more but still . . . I’m thinking of making a bold fashion move and bringing suspenders back in style! Not slung down under the hips like my butch brethren either, but actually in functional mode!

Oh well. I always like to look on the bright side of life so . . . on a final note . . . it sure as HELL beats having periods.

Quick New Year Update

I’ve been a very bad blogger. December is always hectic with end-of-term stuff then the break happened. Yeah, I had a bit more time but laziness overwhelmed me so I did more Buffy the Vampire Slayer watching and spent way less time in front of the PC.

Taking a plunge

OK, so quite a few trans folk have been showing their faces on their blogs. I hesitated for a long time. One of the reasons was that I was worried that a student would accidentally stumble across my blog and put 2 and 2 together. You know what? I don’t care anymore. At this point, I’m pretty sure that several students know, just because my occasional ventures to the campus this semester (I’m on leave) have consisted of quite a few encounters with confused looking students. Also, I’ve given guest presentations to students that have had me in the past as a teacher – as a woman. And I was now introduced as male so . . .

5 months on testosterone

So, today, October 26, I’ve been on testosterone for exactly 5 months. Unbelievable. It seems like only yesterday that I was on the internet looking for a psychologist, thinking that it would be at least another year before I started hormone treatment. That was in December 2007. So here is a list of observed changes, physical and other:

Thoughts on Menstruation

On June 6, the day before my transition party, I began my first post-testosterone period. I found it very ironic that I should be on the rag for a party celebrating my transition from female-to-male. I figured I would have 1-2 more periods after that. About two weeks ago, I started the familiar PMS. First, I had a sore throat (I know, weird, but that’s been going on for about a year.) Then cramping and vaginal dryness (TMI?). Then moodiness. But then . . . no period! I’m still waiting with baited breath in case it’s just late. But it’s quite possible that my first post-T period was my last. Time will tell.