The truth about female to male transition

It seems there are a lot of disinformation those days about Female to Male transitioning and I would like to bring my 5 cents to the debate as a FTM, transmale, transguy, partner and to give resources and positive examples of positive transitioning.
Transition (testosterone, top and bottom surgeries) for a self-identified male trapped in a female body is sometimes the only solution to feel better but a potential candidate for transitioning should be aware of the following:

• Medical staff and professionals are not neutral to advise you about your female to male transition in countries (like USA or Serbia) where psychological counselling, surgeries and selling T are part of a very lucrative business. If we refer to Ethan Daniel website, the total cost of a full FTM transition is 270,000 $ . So it means that for most doctors, FTM are just a way to diversify their turnover and make it grow quickly so you can't expect from medical professionals and doctors neutral advices and answers to the following important questions: is transition right for me ? Should I take T ? What surgery should I do ?...You are the only one in control of your life and the only who will look at yourself in the mirror everyday...Also a lot of those plastic surgeons invade trans support groups and conferences to lobby for surgeries and to give you the feeling you are not fully a FTM if you go only on passing or T...If you want to pass without, you can...
  
• Going through a Female to Male transition process will dramatically change who you are now. You will never be the same again and everything will be different in your life. Your body, your mind, the way you appear to the world, your friends, your social circle and life, your job, your partner will change. The transition will give you a different future. It is costly and most of the time, as people are ignorant or simply not supportive, it is not a joy ride. But it can be a real exciting challenge. Also, there is a real transmalehood feeling and support among the community.
  
• Transitioning is not a condition, a ritual of acceptance to be part of a community compete with others or a way to look different or unique. Just because you can't predict the results and sometimes, let's be honest, you will end up less pretty and attractive that you were...If some of your FTM pals or friends put pressure on you and encourage you to get on T, to go for surgeries, just go away...You need to choose this Female to Male transition path for yourself, not because it looks cool, trendy, a fashion, an ultimate hardcore body modification or it is in in now or everybody around you is doing it or advise you to do it or because you want to be the first FTM in your small town or in your student hall...Think of you in 10 or 20 years from now when the FTM frenzy will have long vanished and you will have your body as a legacy of those years and ask yourself very openly the question: will you be still happy with it at 60 years old ? Will you have regret after your female to male transition ?
  
• Testosterone is not a diet pill. it will not make you magically thin and good looking. If you want to have a muscled body, 6 pack abs, pec, you need to have an appropriate diet and to work-out a lot. But if you work-out very hard, the result can be astonishing and handsome: look for example at Paulo Batista on youtube.
  
• Testosterone will make you bald faster than a regular male and at a younger age. After having taken testosterone, you will look older as you may loose vast majority of your hair and have the look of a 45 years old guy whereas you are in your mid-twenties. Best examples of the evolution of hair loss on Youtube can be pictured through Charles Asher or Meiko Elias Xavier channels. If you refer to the video, those guys have become almost totally bald in a 3 years timeframe....
• With testosterone, body and facial hair do not grow where and how much you want. It is one of the best illustration of Murphy's law: some FTM, transguy, transmen dream to have a lot of facial hair but despite years on T, they still look like teenagers. Other may like not to have too much but end-up with the hairiest butt on earth...The way it grows depends pretty much of genetic.
  
• Other myths about Testosterone are documented here. Please note that testosterone will also give you acnea (welcome back to teenagehood ;), will change your skin texture and odor & body fluid smell...
  
• Surgeries results are erratic and less mastered than MTF surgeries. Even from the best and well known surgeons. In some cases, you will need multiple revisions. For the top surgery, scars will be always be visible so when sunbathing in summer or when doing sport or removing your shirt, you will be identified as trans and will never pass. For the bottom surgery, despite different techniques and even for the best and well known surgeons, you will not "pass" completely as the "result" is fake and far from a biological male penis. So despite bottom surgery and its costs and its pain, you will have in any case to inform your potential partner or ONS about your trans-identity. Also, no operation so far can make a FTM producing sperm so you will be a sterile male by definition. The surgeries are so costly (FTM transition surgeries are 40% more expensive than MTF ones...) some FTM have to ask for donation or to do sex work to fund them or to use part of their student loan or have their partner funding it ...
  
• Your sexual orientation and potential "market" of partners will change due to the transition. If you self-identified as lesbian before transitioning, you may after date women self-identifying as lesbian (although those lesbian dating FTM should be true to themselves and admit they are bi ;), bisexual or pansexual or straight female or even male (and so become a gay transmale). Note that for straight female, you will be in direct competition with biological males regarding dick existence and your desire to become a father...Also, you may also have the chance to have your lifelong partner staying with you all along the Female to Male transition process...It also happens...

• As your sexual orientation may change, you may not be wise enough to adjust your protection when adopting new sexual practices or new partners of different gender. For example if you were having sex with lesbians before your transition from Female to Male, and after, if you define your sexual orientation as a gay or bi as a transmale, you may not understand you are now exposed to a far higher HIV and Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) risk than before transitioning . This is confirmed by very official medical studies about HIV prevalence in the FTM community. Also by having sex with gay biological males and "lesbians", you may infect, without even noticing it, women who belong to this "lesbian" community, a community with the lower HIV prevalence rate so far...
  
• Also your social life, your friends and the places you go out may evolve. Some friends or family members will understand & support the transition, some others not. Maybe your previous lesbo friends will still hang out at the same place but you may not be allowed to enter the bar due to your male identity...Or you will find new friends....Some FTM choose to stay in the queer community after transitioning, some others do not and choose to live and hang out at the usual dude places...
  
• FTM forum and websites made by FTM are helpful and good resources to be informed, to get contact names, to see surgery results about FTM transition...Always choose to get information from people being at least on T for 5 years and who may have done the whole process including surgeries as it will give you the full picture of FTM transition and will prevent you from behind fooled by the candid eyes some extremist newbies may have. It is better to collect experienced and more balanced opinion.