I want to start hormone therapy but i dont know what to do

[chocolategirl]

Hello, im 21 and want to start hormone treatment and start my transformation but I don't know what steps to take or what to do. Can anyone help me get started on the right path? I've done a lot of thinking and I need to start now and really want this with every fiber of who I am. I dress about twice a week, and i love the attention i get from guys, i feel like this is the life for me. I feel so much better when i dress. But i want to be more of a girl than ever. please help me. my email is

clairechocolatecd@yahoo.com

[Alyssa87]

cali is the easiest state in the union to access hormones.

http://www.tsroadmap.com/los-angeles/index.html

[chocolategirl]

cali is the easiest state in the union to access hormones.

http://www.tsroadmap.com/los-angeles/index.html

thank you so much, ill be sure to give some of these references and doctors a call

[Alyssa87]

best of luck.

[Fox]

I can't help you, but I wish you luck.

[chocolategirl]

I can't help you, but I wish you luck. thank you very much ;)

[SarahG]

Or you could just bypass the white coats, buy the hrt online, go DIY and then after 3+ months go get slips (under the SoC you can get RX's after at least 3 months diy). Just do your research first, isn't as hard as its commonly supposed.

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TsDoItYourselfHormones/

[phobun]

clairechocolatecd@yahoo.com
If you're a CD, are you sure you're making the best decision in starting hormones?

[2009AD]

Or you could just bypass the white coats, buy the hrt online, go DIY and then after 3+ months go get slips (under the SoC you can get RX's after at least 3 months diy). Just do your research first, isn't as hard as its commonly supposed.

Sarah, You are one of the more sensible posters on HA, but the above is just bad and dangerous advice. None of us know the OP's health history, the OP may not be fully aware of their own health history or present medical condition. The last thing an untrained person should do, is start taking Rx drugs without consulting a qualified physician.

To the OP: Best of luck in the future. Next time you need medical advice, call a local health clinic or a physician's office. If they can't answer your questions, they will refer you to qualified experts. Alyssa sent you a good link which lists resources in your area.

In general, it's best not to ask for such sensitive medical advice on porn boards.

[chocolategirl]

Or you could just bypass the white coats, buy the hrt online, go DIY and then after 3+ months go get slips (under the SoC you can get RX's after at least 3 months diy). Just do your research first, isn't as hard as its commonly supposed.

Sarah, You are one of the more sensible posters on HA, but the above is just bad and dangerous advice. None of us know the OP's health history, the OP may not be fully aware of their own health history or present medical condition. The last thing an untrained person should do, is start taking Rx drugs without consulting a qualified physician.

To the OP: Best of luck in the future. Next time you need medical advice, call a local health clinic or a physician's office. If they can't answer your questions, they will refer you to qualified experts. Alyssa sent you a good link which lists resources in your area.

In general, it's best not to ask for such sensitive medical advice on porn boards.

I know, but i didnt know who or who to ask at all. My original question started on craigslist and someone told me to post here and that someone would answer my question or be able to help and im so much smarter than i was about this. So thank you guys so much. I now am armed with a list of contacts to medical professionals in which i am not ashamed to talk about what i am looking to do with my body. I am going to talk with a medical professional first. Thank you all for your help, concern, and support.

[SarahG]

but the above is just bad and dangerous advice.

Why do you think I said "just do your research first"? I am not saying to go buy a box of estrogen, a bottle of spiro and just start taking it tomorrow.



The last thing an untrained person should do, is start taking Rx drugs without consulting a qualified physician.

I quite disagree. Sure, using a therapist to get the letter to take to an endo or gp may be the safest way of approaching this chemically... but that doesn't mean it's always the best solution.

Sure there are good therapists out there that will give someone ready for HRT a letter within the first three months, but the there are no shortages by any means of girls who have had exploitative therapists who wanted them to go ft for absurd amounts of time prior to hrt (which is itself reckless & unsafe), or made them go through absurdly long lengths of therapy before even considering writing a HRT letter (which is also itself reckless & unsafe).

Sorry but the therapist-gatekeeper system is a one sided game where the person who you're paying (usually cash, it's uber rare for a therapist to take insurance even when insurance covers it) has a direct conflict of interest to make you take as long as possible. Why? Because the longer you take to get on hrt, the more sessions of therapy you have to pay for... and if you have to wait so long that you can't pass (I know people who have been in therapy for more than three years just to get on hrt so this isn't just "academic theory") then the therapist might keep seeing you indefinitely to help you "get through the every day nonsense that comes with not passing."

There is nothing more reckless then using gatekeeping authority to delay a young transitioner's transition, because there is a time constraint involved. Waiting three years to pay for your therapist's kid's braces may work great for 60 year old baby boomers (since at that age, what's another 3 years? not like they're going to get any more masculine or have hrt work any less from waiting 3 at that age) but it is a terrible thing to do to someone who is in their late teens or early 20s. Why do you think suicide and self destructive behavior is so prevalent in the community?

DIY is the checks & balances on militant, out of control therapists. You can play the therapy game, and then if they start being a typical therapist asshat- you can go "fuck this shit, I've been in here for _ months/years, this isn't going anywhere- you had your chance to help me do this the safest way, you blew it- now I'm off DIY. See ya!"

It is an important option that people need to know they have. Again that doesn't mean "don't get bloodwork, don't see doctors, and don't get therapy if you think you need it"- but if no one is being sensible it is entirely plausible.

By all means use doctors, but you don't have to take their opinions on "how to transition" as the law of the land.

The two links I gave are extremely important resources to find more about hrt, as the other problem that people have to take into consideration are how blatantly uninformed many doctors, endos, and so on can be about HRT for trans patients. I actually had one doctor once order my bloodwork, and upon seeing the results.... scratched his head and then handed the findings to me and said "well, you better know what this stuff means BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL DON'T" And that was someone with a medical degree in a large practice! To anyone considering HRT, the best advise I can think is is to read as much as you can on the subject, from as many sites as you can on the subject. To dismiss the DIY-hrt group because "well, that's DIY and DIY is reckless" does not make any sense whatsoever, a lot of the posters there have far more experience on "how hrt works" then some of the people out there pretending to be informed doctors. Do read up on it, do ask questions, do read up some more on it... know as much as you can regarding the medical science part of HRT treatments. Know how it works, how to tell what various hormone levels mean, know what the risks are- know as much as you can.

[MacShreach]

<snip>

Sorry but the therapist-gatekeeper system is a one sided game where the person who you're paying (usually cash, it's uber rare for a therapist to take insurance even when insurance covers it) has a direct conflict of interest to make you take as long as possible. Why? Because the longer you take to get on hrt, the more sessions of therapy you have to pay for... and if you have to wait so long that you can't pass (I know people who have been in therapy for more than three years just to get on hrt so this isn't just "academic theory") then the therapist might keep seeing you indefinitely to help you "get through the every day nonsense that comes with not passing."

There is nothing more reckless then using gatekeeping authority to delay a young transitioner's transition, because there is a time constraint involved. <snip>

This is absolutely true. Young transwomen are in a particularly difficult situation and the way they are treated varies enormously. I did read recently that the US Society of Endocrinologists is intending to alter its recommendations so that young transwomen are immediately given androgen-blockers to put their biological clocks on hold while the situation is assessed, but as yet this revision has not been published.

There is definitely a major problem with psychotherapists, and long delays are unfortunately very commonly reported. This is acerbated by the fact that there are still many who cleave to the views of quacks like Blanchard and Zucker, who are determined that transsexualism is a mental disorder that is best treated by psychotherapy rather than hormone therapy or surgery; I'm afraid that until the blatant pseudo-science these men peddle is finally condemned these problems will continue, and you certainly don't want a therapist from their camp.

Sarah is right-- the younger you get the testosterone under control the better. At your age you absolutely do not want to have to wait three years.

It would be better to do the research as Sarah said, find the therapists near you who are switched on and sympathetic, and do it that way, BUT if you are sure this is your path, you have to act quickly. Best of luck

[astridgirl]

When I started out you HAD to go into a gender program which was costly, time consuming, and they made you live full time without any hormones for 6 months before giving you the recommendation.

Gurls like us in the United States, although easier now, dont have the luxury of gratis healthcare and a system that provides the type of Psych and health services needed before you start taking anti andro and Estro so you can be assured you dont have something in your background that might be a problem.

Plus overall the majority of gurls do not have access to mounds of cash to pay for therapy times and therapists that many times "mail the sessions in" and milk it for a long time. Even now trying to get my letter for SRS that I need is becoming an issue. The therapist wants me to come to her for six months twice a month even though I have lived as a woman successfully for more than 10 years. I think they pay attention to the Harry Benjamin standards when it works for their pocketbook and dismiss the parts that say "your patients might be under financial distress and this should be taken into account when providing services.".

My suggestion to you is to take a look at

www.annelawrence.com
She has good information being that she is a TG herself. She will also do phone consultations.

There is also good information from the Tom Waddell clinic out of San Francisco and if your a resident of San francisco you can recieve free testing, psych, and hormones from them if your in that area.

http://www.sfdph.org/dph/comupg/oservices/medSvs/hlthCtrs/TransgenderHlthCtr.asp

i would say dont take hormones or anti androgens without doing the lab work first but because of cost I havent even had my liver scan in two years so I know how it can be. I have been on Hormones and Anti andros since 19.

For actual hormones and antiandrogens I get them through,

www.inhousedrugstore.com

They have been good in getting the hormones to me and they seem to be valid.

Good luck girl and just remember there are many online communities like here and over at Adultfriendfinder and yahoo groups that can answer questions from girls like me that have gone through it.

Cheers

Astrid Shay :)

[SarahG]

When I started out you HAD to go into a gender program which was costly, time consuming, and they made you live full time without any hormones for 6 months before giving you the recommendation.

Exactly, and that is blatantly unsafe & reckless. Using carrot & stick tactics to prematurely force someone to go ft is a really really bad idea.

-It makes it emotionally harder on the patient
-It puts the patient at greater risk of social problems (family, friends, whatever)
-Creates the illusion that transitioning is a "wake up one day and decide to be a girl" impulsive decision. As far as everyone knows, you're just a normal guy one day then a guy wearing girl clothing the next. No one is going to take that seriously, not your family, not your employer, no one.

There's a reason why for most people transitioning is a long process, only the patient should decide when they're ready to be fulltime.


Gurls like us in the United States, although easier now, dont have the luxury of gratis healthcare and a system that provides the type of Psych and health services needed before you start taking anti andro and Estro so you can be assured you dont have something in your background that might be a problem.

Even if someone has health insurance, odds are most people you'd run into wouldn't know what to look for in determining "if the patient is safe/ready for hrt."

There are a few, FEW people who specialize in treating trans patients... and going to them may make this less of a problem, but then you have to worry about finding one in your area. For a lot of people, there is no one in your area with that expertise/specialization... and for a lot of people the only practices are ones that suck (i.e. the Clark Institute).

Ok, so maybe you can travel to someone with that expertise. Well, that's going to be difficult and possibly cost prohibitive if they want to see you for an hour every two weeks, for 6-48 months before ok'ing HRT... and then once a week for 3-6 months after that as they slowly adjust your dosages. Even if your insurance will pay for that... it's not going to cover the cost of getting there.


The therapist wants me to come to her for six months twice a month even though I have lived as a woman successfully for more than 10 years. I think they pay attention to the Harry Benjamin standards when it works for their pocketbook and dismiss the parts that say "your patients might be under financial distress and this should be taken into account when providing services.".

My bigger beef with -some- therapists, surgeons, and other medical "professionals" is that they will often use the SoC as if they are RULES instead of GUIDELINES. The SoC was never meant to be a definitive set of treatment RULES. Your shrinks, doctors, etc are supposed to be intelligent enough to think for themselves, and make decisions based on what's best for your unique situation, even if that means not following the SoC to the letter. This isn't "bending the rules" because there are no rules.. just guidelines.

There are some medical "professionals" out there who would take someone like you- someone who is pretty much done in every way but SRS (been fulltime for years, in stealth, passable, been on hrt at least as long) and, if the patient is DIY.... INSIST THEY END HRT UNTIL THEIR LEVELS GO BACK TO THE NORMAL MALE RANGES, force them to undergo months of therapy, and then- if the therapist feels like it, send them to an endo who will then spend 3 months working the patient back up to normal HRT levels. A lot of the less than ethical clinics & quacks out there will do precisely that to punish people for choosing DIY.

I know of a few surgeons who will not operate on a patient unless they get a letter from the patient's shrink explaining how "closely the patient has followed SoC guidelines in the past, and how likely the patient is to follow SoC rules in the future." Basically it's power addiction, if the patient shows signs of thinking for themself, and is likely to ignore the SoC when they feel the need to- they're shown the door.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to take someone off of hrt unless it is in response to an immediate medical problem. Baseline bloodwork readings are helpful, but by no means required for hrt. There is no reason to demand a patient go off hrt, wait for their levels to go to the normal range, to get a baseline reading. That's absurd, hurtful, and probably intentionally belligerent... yet some doctors will demand it. Those are people to avoid...

[MacShreach]

<snip>
My bigger beef with -some- therapists, surgeons, and other medical "professionals" is that they will often use the SoC as if they are RULES instead of GUIDELINES. The SoC was never meant to be a definitive set of treatment RULES. Your shrinks, doctors, etc are supposed to be intelligent enough to think for themselves, and make decisions based on what's best for your unique situation, even if that means not following the SoC to the letter. This isn't "bending the rules" because there are no rules.. just guidelines.

<snip>

I think you know by now that I agree with you on most things but it's worth noting that in 2006 Dr Russell Reid was hauled up before the BMA (the doctors' professional body in UK) on misconduct charges after doing pretty well exactly what you suggest--treating the SoC as a guideline rather than a hard and fast rule. Dr Reid was a deeply compassionate professional committed to helping his patients, who believed in expediting the process of transition with as little trauma as possible.

It is pretty clear that the case was trumped up by a coalition of rival doctors and one or two patients who were actually transvestite but had lied convincingly to get SRS (one had even written a book about it) and then decided that it was a bad idea after all and blamed Reid.

The case was very well covered and Reid found himself being publicly attacked in the most diabolical language by narrow-minded radical feminists who are against any help for transsexual women (surprise), as well as the usual suspects of churchmen and religious fanatics. Reid was found guilty of professional misconduct and his career was effectively ended.

The result has been disastrous, and though it was a UK case, you can bet professionals, and more pressingly their insurers, elsewhere, took note of it. This is not going to encourage doctors to be bold in their interpretation of the SoC.

[peggygee]

Hello, im 21 and want to start hormone treatment and start my transformation but I don't know what steps to take or what to do. Can anyone help me get started on the right path? I've done a lot of thinking and I need to start now and really want this with every fiber of who I am. I dress about twice a week, and i love the attention i get from guys, i feel like this is the life for me. I feel so much better when i dress. But i want to be more of a girl than ever. please help me. my email is

clairechocolatecd@yahoo.com

I would ecourage you to seek counselling from a therapist who is versed
in gender identity issues.

Along those lines, I would also feel that you may want to initially strart
off under the care of an endocronologist or GP who is knowledgeable
in HRT treament of transwomen.

Once you have determined that transitioning is truly the right course of
action, and that there are no underlying or pre-existing conditions that
would preclude you from doing HRT, then you may want to consider DIY.

Even if you do DIY, you may want to have lab work down periodically,
and I would strongly encourage you and every transwomen reading this
to attempt to gain an understanding of what their lab results mean.

Bottom line, do as much research on this as you possibly can, afterall
it is your health and well-being at stake here.

Also do not make the mistake of " if a little is good, more will be
better". Do not take dosages that are not medically appropriate for you
in the belief that larger dosages will get you quicker results.

I've also sent you a PM for a site that you can do additional research from.

If you have further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Best of luck,

Peg

[SarahG]

The result has been disastrous, and though it was a UK case, you can bet professionals, and more pressingly their insurers, elsewhere, took note of it. This is not going to encourage doctors to be bold in their interpretation of the SoC.

I am aware and not surprised by that case.

Most times when I hear of clinics or specialists demanding someone DIY quit cold turkey to get that "baseline reading" I mentioned earlier, its someone under NHS in the UK. Does it happen here? Sure, but I hear about making patients go off HRT as punishment for DIY far more from people in the UK.

Bare in mind however, there is a far cry difference to most between "bending the rules" for srs and "bending the rules for hrt"- it seems most people who think "there has to be gatekeeping to some degree" think of it far more in terms of srs than hrt. Or, at least that's been my impression.