This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, this account appears authentic. There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or inauthentic.
The user's comments are highly specific, emotionally consistent, and detail a long-term, complex medical and social experience that aligns with known detransitioner concerns. The narrative is personal, nuanced, and spans several months, which is not typical of bot behavior. The passion and anger expressed are consistent with the harm and stigma mentioned in the prompt.
About me
I started taking testosterone as a teenager, thinking becoming male would solve my identity struggles. I stopped after two years because it felt wrong, but now I have a chronic throat condition that a specialist links to the hormones. My voice is permanently deep, so everyone who hears me assumes I'm a man, which makes my life as a woman incredibly difficult. I'm stuck in a painful in-between space, angry about the permanent consequences of a choice I made so young. I don't regret stopping, but I deeply regret ever starting.
My detransition story
My whole journey with transition started when I was a teenager. I was really struggling with my identity and I thought that taking testosterone and becoming male was the answer to my problems. I was on HRT for two years, but I decided to quit abruptly one day because it just didn't feel right anymore.
The biggest physical consequence I'm dealing with now is my voice. A few years after I stopped T, I had a really intense singing session and got a sore throat. That was ten months ago, and the pain has never gone away. I can't talk without pain, and if I try, I can get really sick afterward with flu-like symptoms. I've seen every specialist you can think of. They thought it might be acid reflux, but that didn't fully fit. Finally, an endocrinologist told me she believes the testosterone I took is a big part of the cause. They think I might have an autoimmune thyroid condition now. I'm so angry that I was allowed to take cross-sex hormones as a teen when this could be the result. My voice gets fatigued so easily, and it's a constant, painful reminder of a choice I made when I was young.
Socially, being off T for four years now is its own kind of hell. I know, deep down, that I am female, but my voice is so deep that no one else sees it. People hear me and immediately decide I'm a man. It’s exhausting. I get scared to tell new people my name, which is very feminine, because I feel like they won't believe me or will think I'm lying. It feels like I'm doing something criminal just by introducing myself. I’m torn all the time between just letting people see me as male because it's easier, or putting in a huge amount of effort to try and be seen as a woman, only to be met with confusion and hostility. I haven't even tried growing my hair long yet because I'm afraid people will just see a dude with long hair.
I don't really have any regrets about stopping testosterone. I know it wasn't right for me. But I do have serious regrets about ever starting it in the first place because of the permanent health problems it seems to have caused me. My thoughts on gender now are complicated. I just want to be seen for who I am, a woman, but my body doesn't reflect that because of the changes from T. It feels like I'm stuck in this in-between space that society doesn't understand.
I hope that by sharing my story, it helps others who might be going through the same thing. We need more awareness and better support for people who detransition.
Here is a timeline of my journey:
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 | Started taking testosterone (HRT) |
| 18 | Stopped testosterone abruptly |
| 21 | Had a singing session that caused a severe, lasting sore throat |
| 22 (Present) | Still dealing with chronic throat pain and voice issues; diagnosed with a suspected autoimmune thyroid condition linked to past HRT use |
Top Comments by /u/killmissy:
Based on experience, I think you'll likely be just fine. With new sexual partners, they're new, you know? They don't know what you had before, so they're likely going to think that's how you would've been by nature. Some women really can be this way naturally as a result of hormones (higher testosterone), I think.
It would be nice if there was a safe, risk-free way to reduce the size, but to my knowledge, no such thing exists. Best bet is probably time off of testosterone, staying healthy otherwise, and maybe it'll get a little smaller. Ultimately, though, I would much rather worry about a bigger size than worry about potential complications from a surgery (which could be loss of sensation, new forms of pain).
I was on HRT for 2 years as a teen and decided to abruptly quit one day. 3 years later I had a screamo-type singing session and got a sore throat, which, and I mean this fully, has not gone away for 10 months now. I haven't been able to talk without pain ever since, so I avoid it AT ALL COSTS or I can fall really ill after (with flu-like symptoms).
I've been to all the specialists, which have been examining my throat and stomach extensively (because it is believed that acid reflux may be to blame), but what they found so far doesn't fully confirm it nor do I have the classic symptoms. It's terrible, oh my god. No medications have helped so far either. I'm now going to an endocrinologist, finally, who said she believes the testosterone usage surely is part of the cause of it, and I'm doing further tests to see what's wrong. They've found that it may well be an autoimmune thyroid condition. Discovering that makes me even angrier that I was allowed cross-sex hormones as a teen because of the way it might have affected my body in this regard.
Anyway, yeah, even before the severity of my situation, my voice did tend to get fatigued more easily than before HRT. I'm sorry to hear you have to deal with it as well. Maybe a speech pathologist could help you, I know mine recommended me to, for example, widen my vocal range (because it is quite limited) and use my diaphragm more effectively. Could help.
Hey, I feel you. It's been very hard seeing how the world isn't understanding of situations like ours. I'm still torn between if I want to be authentic, and mostly be seen as male, or put in a huge amount of work to be seen as a woman. Even with a lot of feminine features, the deep voice—people hear it, and everything else is seemingly irrelevant, I just must be a dude in their mind.
It's really difficult to navigate when, deep down, you know you're female, but people will be confused and hostile towards you for calling yourself one or even dressing femininely, because they'll assume you're a trans woman. I'm genuinely scared of telling new people my (very feminine) name sometimes when they ask, you know. It feels like I'm doing something illegal, like they might think I'm lying. Then I feel like I owe them an explanation, but not always would that be a good thing to do.
I wish I had advice for you, but.. this is basically the same hell I'm going through (4 years off T, btw), and all I can say is that you're not alone. I hope with time we can figure out better ways to deal with it, and that maybe society also gets more educated on this matter. I think things might slowly be heading in the right direction with detransitioners speaking up, and I'm very glad this sub exists for support, at least we have that for the time being. Wishing you well, for real, and I'm sorry that you also have to deal with this.
If home remedies aren't really helping far enough, then I really do recommend a professional. It's better to address this sooner than later because me, I don't know, I wish I had known sooner that something like this could happen (with the heavy symptoms). Maybe something could've been done better to prevent it, you know. It may be that you are using your voice incorrectly, as I was told I am, and that could lead to damage over time. By the way, don't know if you've tried, but maybe sleeping with a humidifier on could be good, and there's also these tablets you can take to lubricate your throat and vocal cords. Should be easily available in pharmacies, and I find that they do relieve symptoms at least a little. I hope you find something that works for you!
4 years off T and same issue, interactions with strangers leave me feeling so drained and bad, I can feel their confusion and.. distrust? Sometimes it feels criminal to even tell someone my real name, because chances are high they expect to hear a male one. The only thing I haven't tried yet is growing out my hair, and maybe some makeup. Have you tried that? Me, I can't help but fear if people will see me as a "dude" already, why not "dude with long hair" instead.. shit's tough when you just wanna be your core self, and people see you the wrong way at the very foundation of who. you. are. Absolutely terrible thing to have to experience, and I'm sorry you're also facing this. I hope you can figure out a good way to live with it. Maybe in the future with better detransition mental health resources and general awareness it could get easier for us, there's that to look forward to