Looks like goodrx actually has a relatively easy way to compare, if you go to https://www.goodrx.com/testosterone and use the drop-down menu.

I will say, in my experience, the cheapest option is always injected (cypionate) vs. any kind of topical form. Kind of a bummer if you’re scared of needles or just prefer the gel, but it’s been pretty consistently true where I’ve looked.

So far it’s not too bad. It was an outpatient procedure; I could dress myself pretty much when I woke up and walk pretty comfortably later that day. I’m a little stiff and sore, and the bleeding took a while to slow down — there’s still spotting, which is apparently very normal — but unless I get an infection I think I’ll be pretty much functioning normally soon.

My uniform is Hawaiian shirts or other irregular patterns that break up the silhouette.

Do you have a source on the topical/DHT connection? It kind of fits my experience, but I would love to see actual data there, as I am waffling about whether to stay on gel or go back to injections myself.

I started on injected, ramped up until it actually caused me problems (turns out my family history of epilepsy and migraines around puberty is androgen-sensitive, and I started having difficulty with light triggering awful headaches). Sustained at I think 50-60 mg after that, took about two years break and back on injections at 60 until I switched to gel about a year ago. The reason I say the DHT matches my experience is because I had a definite increase in hair growth and possibly bottom growth after switching and getting the dose right. (I had very little bottom growth before, and I still don’t really notice it.)

The whole process has been a little frustrating for me. Voice change, hair growth and muscular development were what I most wanted from T, but I turned out to be a tenor, got the genetics for just enough facial and chest hair to make it obvious how little I have, and my ability to get muscle definition is worse than the women in my family still. Like, I feel good on T, but it hasn’t been what I dreamed of as far as transforming my body.

I take voice acting classes and am in a number of voice acting Discords and… I doubt it. Voice acting’s fun, and there’s aspects of it that might help, but the focus is pretty different.

That said, to OP’s question: I’ve never seen masculinizing voice training offered, anywhere. It’s all the other way, because there’s an assumption that people will do HRT and that for most transmascs the resulting change will be enough. I’ve contemplated it myself, because my voice is still pretty high and my speech patterns get me ma’amed on the phone, but it seems to be pretty rarely offered.

Not yet. I’ve begun working towards it, but it’s overwhelming to research for very long, there’s not a lot of info out there, and a lot of what I can find is discouraging. According to the 2015 US Transgender Survey, only 1-2% of transmascs get bottom surgery; I’ll be interested to see next week when the 2022 numbers come out if it’s any higher, but I expect it’s still pretty low.

Insurance covered 90% of the total, so I paid about $4000 US for the surgeon and facility fees. The clinic the surgeon works at has good insurance wranglers who made sure my two therapist letters said exactly the right thing to satisfy the insurance company.

Bruce Springsteen.

The classic rule of ponytails is that if it’s tied low on the head, down by the nape of the neck, it’s masculine, while if it’s tied on the top of the head it’s feminine. Don’t know why, but that makes for a fairly easy and forgiving default — anything at least shoulder length can be tied in a ponytail.

For me, the dysphoria was around not having a penis, rather than having a vagina, so I didn’t feel the need for vaginectomy. I’m nonbinary transmasc anyway, and my kind of ideal was to go for “best of both worlds” rather than cis-equivalent. (Also, I knew meta probably wouldn’t give me enough size for penetrative sex, and I didn’t want to make that otherwise more difficult.)

So far recovery is going well! I’m not in much pain and have been able to waddle around like a penguin from basically when I woke up after the surgery.