Anyone else at TrueSelves?

[April Dawne]

I don't disagree at all. Desperation can drive people to do just about anything. I self-medicated for 9 months before I started seeing my doctor, and ended up with a brain tumor scare. Luckily nothing ended up being wrong, but the wait while my hormones reverted to pre-hrt levels was sobering and scary. I spent over a year researching HRT and thought I was taking proper precautions. I even quit smoking three months before starting HRT.

I don't believe in "fear mongering" as you put it, and I definitely don't look at myself as an authority on anything. I can only speak about my own personal experience and hope to add something to a conversation. However I do believe in people being aware of all possible outcomes and understanding the risks involved. If sharing my experiences with someone helps them out, great. I won't ever try to force my beliefs, interests, way of life, etc on anyone.

Funny thing, I found I am paying less by seeing my Doctor on my own without insurance than I was when I had insurance.

[Muffins]

I used to live with someone who self medicated (which I'm not strictly against) but this person didn't realise that yes you can still go and request blood tests off your own back without having to go through a "gatekeeper". I found I had hyperprolactinemia and anaemia within the first year of hrt which is the period when one is most susceptible to complications. I wouldn't say complicates are over exaggerated they do happen but if you don't get blood tests then you may simply never know. Then ten years down the track find out you have a brain tumour and be like "wwaahh??".
I understand the desire to avoid ignorant ->-bleeped-<- gatekeeper doctors but not blood tests, no doctor would ever say no to sending you for blood work, plus if you're changing your hormone levels then it makes sense to want to keep an actual eye on those levels to see how they are progressing and if they're progressing correctly.