u/yeenspleen

My boyfriend (19 FtM, not on testosterone) gets a UTI pretty much every time we have sex. I (20 FtM, on testosterone) don’t but more often have problems with BV.

We’ve tried all the necessary precautions that we know of. We both take nitrofurantoin (prescribed, 50 MG) after sex, we shower beforehand, we pee afterwards, we always clean the dildo and use a condom- so why does this keep happening? It’s been happening for months since we met.

We’ve tried no lube, different brands of lube, different brands of condoms (both latex and non-latex, lubricated and non-lubricated) and no condom. Even if his body doesn’t come into any contact with my own spit or slick, it still happens, and it happens the most often when he is on his period.

He has not seen a gynecologist. I have, and have been treated for BV before, plus was prescribed the nitrofurantoin after the first time I got a UTI, which has only happened once. I use boric acid suppositories which have helped reduce the frequency and severity of BV, but he hasn’t tried them yet. To my understanding they probably wouldn’t help prevent UTI’s anyways.

What else can we try?

I’ve been on T for a few months over a year now (yay!) and I wanted to share with everyone my favorite side effect that I don’t see talked about enough:
I grew out of my dairy allergy!

I used to have a ton of allergies as a kid. As an adult, I grew out of some of the more severe ones but retained others. I’d come to terms with the fact that I’d live my life allergic to dairy, but after a year of testosterone that allergy is completely gone. No more anaphylaxis, no more swelling at all, not even a little bit of tingling in my throat. Just completely gone. I can eat cheese and ice cream for every meal and not feel any effects.
On top of that, I don’t feel any effects from hazelnuts anymore. My nut allergies had subsided in adulthood so they weren’t AS severe, but I still had to be careful to prevent unwanted swelling and discomfort. Now, I can eat as much Nutella as I want. It’s amazing.
I’m still allergic to loose pollen (like most of us), but honey no longer makes my throat swell, either.

Unfortunately it hasn’t had any effect on my cat allergies.

I hope my fellow allergy brothers see the same benefits when they start testosterone. Feeling zero negative effects from ice cream has seriously been a huge win for me.