Hormone therapy requirements ?

[Raed]

Hi,

First of all I want to thank Susan and all staff for this helpful site

I am 25  from Middle east, I have a letter of recommendation from my therapist, I want to start HRT but we just have oral and injection testosterone , and any one except children can buy testosterone here without prescription , but I prefer Gel , so is my therapist letter enough to buy testosterone online ? or from any Pharmacy in the states ? because I am traveling to the states after 2 weeks
if it's not how and where to get a prescription in Northern California as soon as possible ?

thank you

[Sarah Louise]

As far as I know all pharmacies in the United States will require a prescription from a doctor.

[Jayr]

Not only do you need a prescription from a doctor but it has to be from an American doctor.
Also if you're not an American citizen I doubt any doctor will write you a prescription for hrt, but I might be mistaken.

What's wrong with injections?
You're making your life a million times harder by chasing the one form of testosterone your country doesn't have.
Most guys would just be grateful and go along with that. Especially since you don't even need a prescription.
Is it really expensive where you live? Or something?

[Raed]

Also if you're not an American citizen I doubt any doctor will write you a prescription for hrt, but I might be mistaken.

I hope you are mistaken ..

T injections where I live are very poor quality , that what my therapist and my FTM friends who used injections told me
I'm moving to the states to start my new life because here where I live even if the poor quality hormones are available in many pharmacies , the society and our families do not accept us , and no surgeon or endocrinologist accept us too, they only accept intersex people and not all of them, so if I have to be an American to start my HRT in the states that will take a long time !
maybe I should buy injections from here to use it until I get a prescription

[Sarah Louise]

It might be hard to get any prescription drug through Customs without a written prescription.

Once you are here you will need to see a doctor and explain your situation and get a prescription that you can then take to a pharmacy.

Good Luck.

[Raed]

It might be hard to get any prescription drug through Customs without a written prescription.

Once you are here you will need to see a doctor and explain your situation and get a prescription that you can then take to a pharmacy.

Good Luck.

Thank you Sara good luck to you too



After I did some searches I found a doctor in San Francisco but I don't know if he will cooperate with me
his name is Charles Moser , I tried to call his office three times every time they put me on hold for 2 - 5 minutes then they told me he is busy

any other names in Northern California ?

[Natkat]

Hello Read

I had abit of the same problem,
for a time ago I really wanted to move to the US or some trans accepting places in Europa because we had what we call "homone-crise" in my country, which where alot of drama who for a period made homones illigal for transgender people. I been chatting abit on susan and someone told me that I could get in fuss for not being an amarican citizen, and this have worried me.

now, its better as the goverment have takeng the law back and alowed those who already been on homonest too keep going, so I dont feel like being in a hurry anymore to escape as it seams as things here in scandinavia are turning better slowly. but I have heard of the problem before where people I know tried to seach threatment in other countrys and been denied because they wasnt from the country, and then they needed some "experts of there country to give them, letters and so.

the problem with that is not all countrys is able to give this letters which can be a problem.
I hope that there is a way you can avoid all this problems and get threatment, I am really not an expert but I think it would be good if your like now seach for information, and maybe have a local trans guide.

just a question,
are you focusing on US states in general, or just a place who is transfriendly where you can transition?

[Raed]

Hi Natkat

thank you for your reply
It is great that your government do some positive changes , I think here in middle east we need several light-years to see some changes!

I've contacted with Dr Curtis Crane to undergo top surgery with him, and he was very welcoming so I thought I will not have any problems to find a trans friendly endocrinologist in California.

just a question,
are you focusing on US states in general, or just a place who is transfriendly where you can transition?

Yes for now I am focusing on US especially Northern California for many reasons because I've been there and I really liked the diversity. second reason I want to study there , and for now I can understand English more than any other language
So maybe there is other options which are Canada, UK, or Australia.

Good luck

[Natkat]

Hi Natkat

thank you for your reply
It is great that your government do some positive changes , I think here in middle east we need several light-years to see some changes!

I've contacted with Dr Curtis Crane to undergo top surgery with him, and he was very welcoming so I thought I will not have any problems to find a trans friendly endocrinologist in California.

Yes for now I am focusing on US especially Northern California for many reasons because I've been there and I really liked the diversity. second reason I want to study there , and for now I can understand English more than any other language
So maybe there is other options which are Canada, UK, or Australia.

Good luck

Ah okay, I only know informations about european countrys, depenind on where, so it was in caise you had a country in mind maybe I could give some facts,
I never been to US but im planning on going there once I get money, I have only heard good about California for trans or non trans related.

[FTMDiaries]

Congrats on your decision to move - I hope it goes well for you.

You mentioned the UK as an alternative so I thought I'd let you know what our system is like here. Like the Americans, our pharmacies will also only issue medication that has been prescribed by British doctors; if you need a foreign prescription filled you could show it to a local GP or hospital and ask them to write you out a new one based on what's been prescribed in the Middle East, but they don't necessarily have to agree, and that would only be in the short term (for example, an emergency refill of medication for someone who is on holiday).

It takes a looooooooooong time to get anything done on our NHS system and you need to be entitled to health care to use it. It's not free for visitors - you'd need to prove that you've moved here permanently. Here are the rules for England: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1087.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=162

If you wanted to transition here, you'd need to register with a GP and they don't generally prescribe testosterone. Even if you've already seen a therapist in the Middle East, our doctors have a pathway they have to follow when treating trans people and they might insist that you go through all the stages because a letter from a foreign doctor might not be acceptable. You could find yourself waiting up to 2 years and jumping through a huge number of hoops before you'll actually get to see someone who would be willing to prescribe testosterone or approve you for surgery on the NHS.

You can get this done more quickly if you're able to afford private healthcare. You could see a Gender Therapist within a few weeks, who could refer you to an associated Endocrinologist within a few more weeks; so under good circumstances you could start hormones within a couple of months. You would have to pay something like £150-£200 for each session with the Gender Therapist or Endocrinologist. They could also refer you for surgery if you're able & willing to pay for it privately. The costs run into several thousand pounds, depending on what you want. Everything you need is available in London; the rest of the country is a bit patchy and many of us have to travel to London for various parts of the process.

Good luck with your move, whatever you decide.