Research is still being done on complications that may arise from therapy with masculinizing hormones at a TRT Clinic in Nashville TN. Testosterone is associated with thickening of the blood, which may put you at risk of having a high red blood cell count. This can lead to a stroke or heart attack, especially if the dose is too high. People of all genders produce the hormone testosterone, but your body produces less testosterone if you're a DFAB. It's also important to know that, depending on how long you've been receiving testosterone therapy, your ovaries may have difficulty releasing eggs, and you may need to see a fertility specialist and use special medications or techniques, such as in vitro fertilization, to get pregnant.
While cisgender men have higher rates of cholesterol-related disorders and heart disease than cisgender women, available research on transgender men taking testosterone has generally not found these differences. Testosterone may reduce the ability to become pregnant, but it doesn't completely eliminate the risk of pregnancy. The short-term effect of the use of testosterone esters in the patients studied resulted in a large variability in total testosterone levels, depending on the injection intervals and personal capacity to metabolize androgens. These data suggest that testosterone therapy in TM interferes with vascular function more than in cisgender men of the same age.
There are potential risks of high blood pressure when taking this medication, so you need to take additional steps to monitor your health if you decide to use this form of testosterone. For example, changes related to muscle mass, body fat distribution, and menstruation require that you don't stop taking testosterone. Most research on the risk of heart disease and stroke in transgender men suggests that the risk doesn't increase once you start taking testosterone. Regardless of the type of testosterone you're taking, it's important to know that taking more testosterone won't make your changes go any faster, but it could cause serious side effects or complications. Therefore, we suggest that the duration of androgen treatment may represent a better parameter than the measurement of the serum baseline testosterone level when evaluating the chronic action of exogenous testosterone treatment in transgender people.
Now that you've learned about the effects of masculinizing hormone therapy, as well as the risks and specific medication options, the next step will be to talk to your provider about what approach is best for you. Your healthcare provider will make sure you are healthy enough to receive hormone therapy and will explain the benefits and risks of treatment.
