I was castrated at age 20 after thinking it over for a few months beforehand. I was aware of most of the consequences but was still willing to take the risk. However, I'd be willing to bet there are some consequences that we still don't know about, so it's always a good idea to be sure that castration is something you are willing to live with for the rest of your life.
I live in the United States, so my experiences with affording T may be different from yours. Here, the only legal options are paying for it out-of-pocket, having private or public insurance pay for it, or acquiring it free through a patient assistance program sponsored by the pharmaceutical companies, and that last one is what I was originally able to do because of my financial circumstances. Now, I get it through my local health center's pharmacy at a reduced cost, again because of my financial circumstances.
My experience has been that injectable T is typically the most affordable form. However, some (such as myself) prefer the more stable levels that you get with gels.
The long-term health effects are certainly one of the riskiest aspects of castration. You don't really know how it's going to affect you until you've done it, and everyone's experience will be different. In my case, while I did fine back when I was first castrated with no hormones in my system, I now experience significant health problems at age 36 if I don't take any hormone replacement. I don't know exactly why. Some of this could be aging itself, or it's possible that some of my other glands (adrenal, thyroid, etc.) aren't doing as well as they used to.
In any case, the most significant health problems for me when I don't take any hormones include severe difficulty sleeping, depression, irritability, low energy, weight gain, and cognitive functioning difficulties. I also experience constipation, which may be surprising since I don't recall ever hearing that mentioned as a side effect of castration (and my doctor hasn't either), but it definitely happens to me when I don't take any hormones. I haven't yet figured out a way to deal with all of them that doesn't involve taking hormones (either T or E).
Just a lack of T never caused me to develop any breast tissue, but I did develop a small but noticeable amount from my times taking E.
My procedure was performed by a licensed doctor, so I wasn't too worried about that. However, I did develop an infection afterwards, so even going that route is not guaranteed to be free of problems.
Hope that helps!
