Voice Clip 11: 8-12-09

Here is my 11th voice clip. For the previous 10 clips, please see my post from yesterday, August 11th.

Clip 11: August 12th, 2009 - 9 weeks on T

Voice Changes 2.0 - actual sound clips

Okay, so here are the first round of sound clips. I've been doing recordings once a week since I started T. The first clip is from before I started T, just so I'd have a point of reference that was completely pre-hormones. I try to do my voice recordings every Wednesday morning after I've taken my testosterone shot, so there will be a new clip for tomorrow as well.

The first recordings are a little rough and the volume varies a bit initially. At that point I was still figuring out how to use my microphone properly.

This is my first attempt trying to post sound clips, so please let me know if they don't work for some reason.

Clip 1: June 1st, 2009 - 10 days pre-T

Clip 2: June 11th, 2009 - 1 day on T

Clip 3: June 17th, 2009 - 1 week on T

Clip 4: June 24th, 2009 - 2 weeks on T

Clip 5: July 1st, 2009 - 3 weeks on T

Clip 6: July 8th, 2009 - 4 weeks on T

Clip 7: July 15th, 2009 - 5 weeks on T

Clip 8: July 22nd, 2009 - 6 weeks on T

Clip 9: July 29th, 2009 - 7 weeks on T

Clip 10: August 5, 2009 - 8 weeks on T

Update 8-3-09

Wow! So, it's already August. What the heck happened to the summer. There's so much I still want to cram into it. Sorry, just surprised at how quickly it's gone by...

At any rate, it's been a while since I've posted. There hasn't been a whole lot to post in regard to changes. My voice is continuing to drop. I know I said I'd be posting my voice clips soon, and I haven't, but I will... promise. All told, they're not very interesting anyway. Just me saying the same thing every week. Plus, since they're weekly, the change is heard very gradually (with a couple exceptions).

I'm starting to grow facial hair (and more body hair in general). It's actually been coming in for a little over a month now, but as with teenagers, there's nothing impressive to see just yet. I have been taking photos every one-two weeks right before shaving, just to have a documentation of how quickly (or slowly) it's growing. It is growing sufficiently enough, that if I don't shave, it just looks really stupid. Mostly it's blonde, soft, wispy stuff, though it is coming in pretty densely. Kind of a weird combination.

I've also started talking to a surgeon about getting top surgery (chest reconstruction). His name is Dr. Brownstein and is based out of San Francisco. His website is www.brownsteinmd.com if anyone is interested in checking out his work. He answers a number of questions about surgery options and procedures, and also has a good collection of patient photos for those who are curious what the results look like.

There are two types of top surgery, one is called keyhole, the other is a double mastectomy. I will be getting a double mastectomy. There are several reasons why I think this is the best option for me, which I'll go over at another time. The most important reason is that keyhole surgery is really only an option for transmen with very small breasts (i.e. size A or smaller.) I'm not a size A.

You may be wondering, "Why all the way down to San Francisco?" Good question. There are probably a couple surgeons up here who will perform chest reconstruction for FTM's but they don't have nearly the experience of Dr. Brownstein, who's been doing FTM chest reconstruction for over 35 years. In fact, he's one of the most experienced surgeons in the country. A friend of mine also got his surgery from Dr. Brownstein and is pleased with the results. I'm pleased with the results too!

Right now I'm looking at either December 30th as a date or January. We'll have to see what works out in terms of scheduling, since I know both my parents would like to be there and I know I would appreciate the support. I'll go into more detail about my surgery as I find out more information. For now, I just invite you to check out Dr. Brownstein's website.