Stroheckers.

[Darrin Scott]

I don't know if we're allowed to have the name of a pharmacy as the title of a thread, so mods, edit if need be.

The time is drawing near. I'm going to an endo on the 14th and hoping to do informed consent since my therapist is keeping himself busy with gatekeeping and letter fees. I hope to start T in March, but I don't know where to go to get the script filled. My friend goes to Wallgreens and it costs him like $105 and my other friend goes to Publix (grocery store) pharmacy and they won't give him a 10ml vial at a time. I was looking into Stroheckers, but both of my friends won't use them. 1 friend said it's too much of a hassle and the other said he'd never use an online pharmacy. I have a third friend who uses stroheckers and says it's $60 for everything. I'm looking into them because $60 sounds better than over $100 for T. What are your experiences? Are they a good company? I'm assuming no one here is dead so obviously that won't be an issue. I just want some feedback because I might use them.

[DavisJ86]

I have nothing but good reviews of them. I mean they send you supplies and T all for 60 bucks and they e-mail you and let you track delivery. Also speedy return. My NP will put my script in on Monday and I'll have it by Wed/Thurs. And I'm in Mass.

[Adio]

I love Strohecker's.  I've used their T for the past two years without any issues.  It would take a lot of convincing to get me to switch pharmacies.  The 10 ml vial lasts me about 5 months and the $60 includes needles, syringes, and alcohol pads. 

I'm not sure why they would think it's a hassle.  You either mail in your prescription or have your provider call/fax it in.  Then you call (I call before mailing it), give them your credit/debit info, and it ships to you within 3-5 days usually.  I've even gotten it relatively overnight once.  The customer service is excellent IMO.  My endo wrote two prescriptions on the same sheet, and after explaining the situation to Strohecker's, they went ahead and faxed it to my local pharmacy.  Couldn't ask for more.

[anibioman]

ive heard good things from friends of mine im pretty sure my best friend got his T cream from stroheckers not sure were he gets his injectables from now that he has switched.

[Robert Scott]

I get mine from bioscript --- similar to Stokers --- my son has gotten his from storker and has had no problem.  Both places cost about $60 and that includes alcohol wipes, syringes and T ... my bottle is 10 too .... plus at bioscript they will put your choosen name on the script and your records under your choosen name

[Bahzi]

The Apothecary Shop in Columbus, Ohio is nearly half the price of Stroheckers, FYI, it's like $35.  I know a couple local guys (we're 2 hours south of C-bus, in Cincinnati, so they have it mailed to them) who've used them and Stroheckers, and they prefer Apothecary.  I personally used Stroheckers and they were fine, although both I and another guy from my trans group are pretty sure they shorted us about 1mL in our last vials, but their custome service and shipping times have always been good. 

I currently go to Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago for my HRT care, and their in-house Walgreens fills a T script with needles and syringes for $35 without insurance, but it's not a compounding pharmacy, the T is from Pfizer and just discounted through a deal with Walgreens/donations money.  Not sure how it works exactly, but it's pretty sweet!

[lexical]

I've been getting mine from Stroheckers for the last 6-8 months and everything's been good for the most part.

The Apothecary Shop in Columbus, Ohio is nearly half the price of Stroheckers, FYI, it's like $35.  I know a couple local guys (we're 2 hours south of C-bus, in Cincinnati, so they have it mailed to them) who've used them and Stroheckers, and they prefer Apothecary.  I personally used Stroheckers and they were fine, although both I and another guy from my trans group are pretty sure they shorted us about 1mL in our last vials, but their custome service and shipping times have always been good. 

It's interesting that you mention getting shorted T from them. I just got a new vial in the mail today and it seemed a little lower than usual. I called them and they explained that they put closer to 11ml just to be safe and assured me it was the proper amount and that close to 1/3 of the vial should be empty. Still odd though since I've gotten these bottles several times now and it's usually fuller.

Well anyway, other than that they've been great... would definitely recommend them if your next option is $100+.

[Adio]

The Apothecary Shop in Columbus, Ohio is nearly half the price of Stroheckers, FYI, it's like $35.

How many mL are in the vial and does that include shipping, needles, syringes, and alcohol pads?  I've heard a few other guys mention the Apothecary Shop but not how to order from them and what's all included for that price.

I'm still rather loyal to Strohecker's, but next year I'd be willing to switch if it's really worth it.

[Felix]

I live down the street from Stroheckers. They aren't primarily an online pharmacy. It's a grocery store, mainly. Their tiny pharmacy found themselves a niche compounding hormones, but I don't think they set out to specialize.

[wheat thins are delicious]

The Apothecary Shop in Columbus, Ohio is nearly half the price of Stroheckers, FYI, it's like $35.  I know a couple local guys (we're 2 hours south of C-bus, in Cincinnati, so they have it mailed to them) who've used them and Stroheckers, and they prefer Apothecary.  I personally used Stroheckers and they were fine, although both I and another guy from my trans group are pretty sure they shorted us about 1mL in our last vials, but their custome service and shipping times have always been good. 

Maybe we use different T types but I tried to get T from them at the end of December and they quoted me 30 bucks for a one month supply (2 single use ampules) and said they were experiencing a shortage of the 10mL T vials.

[Felix]

I haven't actually checked around (I'm still a babe in the woods on this, just thrilled to have the prescription and still doing what I'm told), but I got the testosterone cypionate, 10ml suspended in sesame oil for $52.95 from stroheckers. They gave me a pile of alcohol wipes and 15 syringes, and after asking what size I wanted they gave me 15 22g needles.

[Bahzi]

I've been getting mine from Stroheckers for the last 6-8 months and everything's been good for the most part.

It's interesting that you mention getting shorted T from them. I just got a new vial in the mail today and it seemed a little lower than usual. I called them and they explained that they put closer to 11ml just to be safe and assured me it was the proper amount and that close to 1/3 of the vial should be empty. Still odd though since I've gotten these bottles several times now and it's usually fuller.

Well anyway, other than that they've been great... would definitely recommend them if your next option is $100+.

I don't pay attention so much to the fill level, but the transguy from my group and I both noticed that we didn't get as many shots as we should have.  Even accounting for the bit you lose to needle change over and such, we were both short two shots (and me a little more because my dose is a bit lower than typical).  I use 1mL syringes, and I'm pretty precise with the dosing, so I'm fairly certain they did short me, which isn't a huge deal if your doctor's not a jerk about refills and doesn't think you're just upping your dose to get quicker effects, ect.

[Felix]

I had to come back to this topic because I think I got shorted 5 or 6 doses worth by Strohecker's. I noticed when I picked it up that it looked low and even had way too few syringes included with it, but I was preoccupied and didn't think much about it. Now I'm sure there's a problem but I'm not sure what to do. I noticed that the label is weird - 2 refills that expire 2 months after the prescription date - and I know I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm still scared to confront the pharmacy or tell the doctor. It's not in my budget to pay for another refill until October because that's when I expected to need one. And I'm not sure if I want to use Strohecker's anymore but I hate confrontation.

I'm really stressed out by this. I've still got a little time to deal with it before I start feeling moody and icky, but damn. They're such a cute little place, and they're local, and I really wanted them to be good and trustworthy. I want everybody to be good and trustworthy.

[MadelineB]

I had to come back to this topic because I think I got shorted 5 or 6 doses worth by Strohecker's. I noticed when I picked it up that it looked low and even had way too few syringes included with it, but I was preoccupied and didn't think much about it. Now I'm sure there's a problem but I'm not sure what to do. I noticed that the label is weird - 2 refills that expire 2 months after the prescription date - and I know I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm still scared to confront the pharmacy or tell the doctor. It's not in my budget to pay for another refill until October because that's when I expected to need one. And I'm not sure if I want to use Strohecker's anymore but I hate confrontation.

Hang in there Felix. I use Strohecker's for my estrogen. So far they are the best pharmacy I've dealt with, but in general I always have to watch it with all pharmacies, with new prescriptions especially. What the doctor intends and how the pharmacy interprets often get out of sync, or sometimes I'm the only one who didn't understand. Be sure to call your doctor and talk to his assistant or nurse about the prescription and your circumstance if you have questions or doubts; there shouldn't be any problem other than having to refill sooner than you expected.

I've had lots of times when I thought I was shorted but the pharmacy just did the math differently that I did; I've only had one pharmacy short me, Rite Aid made a mistake with my very expensive patches back before I switched to IM. They thought they combined the boxes, but left out half of the contents! As soon as I realized it, my heart started racing, but I calmed myself down and went back to the pharmacy. They apologized and fixed their mistake right away. They were out of the cheap generic, so gave me the more expensive drug at no additional cost.

Even if I ever get shorted by Stroh's I'll keep going there since they are local, and $2.50 per week is a lot less than the $35 I was paying on patches, or the $40 per week it would have cost me to order the IM through a regular pharmacy.

[RagingShadow]

i get mine from there and never had any problems. nice, larger bottles too, compared to the tiny ones i used to get from my local pharmacy

[Beth Andrea]

Felix, you don't have to be confrontational. Sometimes mistakes are made, so we don't have to assume they deliberately shorted an Rx.

Just go in, and in a normal, conversational tone, say that it looks like you were a few doses short on T....describe what you observed, how long it lasted, etc. and ask how to prevent this in the future.

If it happens several more times, yes start thinking about being shorted...but once? Think the best of people, and life gets a little better.

Or, maybe that's just me. 

[Felix]

Felix, you don't have to be confrontational. Sometimes mistakes are made, so we don't have to assume they deliberately shorted an Rx.

Just go in, and in a normal, conversational tone, say that it looks like you were a few doses short on T....describe what you observed, how long it lasted, etc. and ask how to prevent this in the future.

If it happens several more times, yes start thinking about being shorted...but once? Think the best of people, and life gets a little better.

Or, maybe that's just me. 

Okay. I'm still new to hrt (it was my second fill of the bottle) and I think I've heard too many horror stories. And I have gotten so much healthier since I started T that the idea of screwing it up is hard to face. I'll call the doctor's nurse on Monday and discuss it with her.

Thanks for the input yall.