Blockers or T?

[sososopranoboy]

Hey Hey Hey this is JD. I'm fairly new here so I have no idea if this is in the right place haha

But anyways, my mom wants me to start blockers before going to T. But, I hear that blockers are very expensive and don't really do much after puberty except stop your monthly cycle (which is still fabulous nonetheless). I'm waaaay past most of my puberty. Truthfully, I just want to get T and get it over with. But my mom is persistent on me taking blockers first for about a year. We're not a very wealthy bunch and I've heard that blockers can be like $1000 a month??

So anyways, all I want to know is: should I just take the blockers for a few months or would it be better just to go straight to T?

Oh, and my mom is totally okay with me taking T because she's totally accepting and stuff, but she was told that you HAD to take blockers first (which I know isn't true but whatevs).. So that's why she's shy with me going straight to T.

[spacerace]

When you actually go to a doctor that will prescribe it for you, that person can tell your mother what the order should be. It's still a prescription - it is not like you have to know exactly what you will need going into it. Just tell her to wait for what the doctor says and then you can figure it out if there is still a decision to make for some reason.

[Soren]

From my understanding, in the ftm area,  blockers are only used if the person hasn't/has just entered puberty, to give them more time to decide the best course of action. If you do plan on going on T, just skip the blockers- it'll only waste money.

[aleon515]

That's right. Don't give your age here, as it is against the rules here to state your age (unless you are older) However, if you are younger than about 14 or so,  but it depends on the I think blockers make sense. They would stop your body from going into the wrong puberty and sort of give you time to think about stuff. If you are much older than that, the blockers won't help much. We have maybe a small no. of guys here who took blockers. I doubt you can get T at all if you are younger than say about 15-16, but I don't know what the lowest age is. You really need to go to an expert who has handled young clients before . You might do a search here as the topic has come up ,but I suggest you do your search for Lupron. There are other kinds of blockers which would not be useful for trans guys. Good luck.


--Jay

[Aido]

In Ireland you have to do blockers first. I was on blockers for four months before I could start T and now four months on T I'm still on blockers, hopefully finishing them in November. The blockers do make a big difference with lowering your estrogen so if you have high female hormone count, they may want you to do blockers first. They are hella expensive though!

[aleon515]

In Ireland you have to do blockers first. I was on blockers for four months before I could start T and now four months on T I'm still on blockers, hopefully finishing them in November. The blockers do make a big difference with lowering your estrogen so if you have high female hormone count, they may want you to do blockers first. They are hella expensive though!

In the US, they are generally only used for minors (do not post your age!!!), actually young minors who are going thru puberty (generally over 9 or 10 and younger than 14-15). If you get on them a bit late (say 15) they might still help by reducing the likelihood of needing a double incision for chest surgery but may not entirely reduce the likelihood of any surgery at all. They would also help block periods. But they have their own side effects. And as Aido mentioned are extremely expensive. NOt sure if anybody does this who is do not get the benefit from insurance. I think blockers can be up to $1000 a shot, usually once a month, and generally carried on for a few years. We have a few younger members here who were on blockers.


--Jay

[Jack_M]

Best way to deal with it is if you're over puberty and don't live somewhere like Ireland where apparently they don't understand medicine or just want to make it a hassle :-/ is tell your mum to do her research. T overrides oestrogen so blockers do nothing but cost you a lot of money while delaying transition.

I'd suggest that when it comes to getting an endocrinologist appointment, take your mum. They'd be able to explain it there. A mother can't demand you take blockers, the doctor has to be on board, and if you're post puberty, most won't be on board with that. Depending on where you live though, you will need your parent's permission to start T if you're under 18; 16 in Scotland and maybe other places. Having an endocrinologist explain why blockers may be useless for you and why you should take T could make the difference.

[Aido]

Best way to deal with it is if you're over puberty and don't live somewhere like Ireland where apparently they don't understand medicine or just want to make it a hassle :-/ is tell your mum to do her research. T overrides oestrogen so blockers do nothing but cost you a lot of money while delaying transition.

I'd suggest that when it comes to getting an endocrinologist appointment, take your mum. They'd be able to explain it there. A mother can't demand you take blockers, the doctor has to be on board, and if you're post puberty, most won't be on board with that. Depending on where you live though, you will need your parent's permission to start T if you're under 18; 16 in Scotland and maybe other places. Having an endocrinologist explain why blockers may be useless for you and why you should take T could make the difference.

Yeah, it really seems like they just want to make it a hassle. We have one hospital that can prescribe hormones in the entire country and it can take some people absolute months to get onto hormones. Previous to this you need a diagnosis from two different psychiatrists. I started the whole process this time last year, got onto blockers the following january and T the end of April :/ This country is a joke really

[Jack_M]

Hate when stuff like that happens. It's just medical nonsense. I think it comes down to politics, as in the harder they make it, maybe the less will "choose" to be transgender.