starting T as a minor in Japan

[kal]

Hello,
I'm 15 and I live in Tokyo, Japan.
I want to start T fairly soon, but apparently there are guidelines for health care professionals in Japan that advise not administering testosterone to minors, so I may have to go out of country. Does anyone know anything about this, have experiences or know people who have experiences with transitioning in Japan, or have some advice on how/which clinics I should contact overseas? For example, do I need to be a citizen of the country to start therapy there? I'm going to move to the US fall next year, but I'd really, really prefer to start T before I start my new school.
Also, I have some questions about starting T, since there's been quite conflicting information.
1) Will my height be increased or stunted? I'm still growing, currently 163cm, my father -is about 180cm, and my sister about 172cm. I turned 15 in March.
2) Neither my mother nor my father nor either of the men in their families has ever been bald. I think the last case of baldness was my great grandmother on my father's side? I as-sume this puts me at less risk for male-pattern baldness, but should I take some sort of baldness-prevention medicine anyway?
3) If money is not an issue, should I look into getting sub-cutaneous testosterone pellets? I've heard that it's more common to start them after first starting injections. Or should I just ask my doctor?
Note: I speak fluent Japanese and English, so that wouldn't be an issue.

(my parents are in fact supportive)

[Cindy]

Hi Kal and welcome,

One of the GM's Ayden is in Tokyo and he may be able to help.

As a rule most places will not put 'minors' on cross sex hormones until they are 18, but you can go on blockers to stop your puberty. As long as your folks are supportive you should be able to be treated at a paediatric endocrinology unit specialising in gender issues. Tokyo would certainly have them.

[Mariah]

Hi, Kal, welcome to Susan's. I think Cindy pretty well covered it. Ayden should be able to help you more. I look forward to seeing you around the forums. Good luck and Hugs
Mariah

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[kal]

thanks
I've just been around trying to get involved in enough posts so that I can find this Ayden.
perhaps consider lowering it to 10? :')

[kal]

do I need one more post...? thought it was 14...

[Cindy]

Don't post pad!!

I'll ask Ayden to contact you

[kal]

what is 'posting pad'?
don't worry, I've already contacted him thanks!

[Ayden]

Just got out from work!

My first question is this: do you hold citizenship or residency? I assume that you do, but it complicates matters if you don't.

I live in Osaka, so I'm not familiar with the clinics in Tokyo. But, there is more acceptance in the cities and the standards are the same regardless of prefecture. I have clinic information for some places in Tokyo, but it's on my home computer so I'll look that up once I get home and settled.

The basic requirements are still that you be legally an adult. Now, the legal age here as you know is 20. But with parental support its very possible to transition before then. I have a trans student who is in highschool and I know a few who are freshman at Uni.

Have you gone through therapy? Most places are a bit strict on the therapy requirements so it is very likely that you will have to go through therapy to be cleared to start hormone therapy. I'm not sure if they would require your parents to be there. If you have already done therapy, your next step would be to call a clinic and ask if they treat patients in your age group. Be aware that I have seen therapy requirements of up to a year before hormones will be administered.

I will double check that my links are up to date and accurate before I send them to you.

[kal]

Ayden, thanks for replying
Here is fine, I'd rather this be here for others like me if they need advice.

Yes, I was born here and I am a Japanese citizen, I have a Japanese passport and my mother is Japanese.

I have not gone through therapy yet, but I'd be glad to if it means I can get on T without waiting until I turn 20...
I've heard though, that it's possible to go to therapy for 3 months and then go on T?
I know there are multiple clinics, not least because I've tried to contact 2-or-so of them, so I suppose my real question is if you know any that are willing to administer T to a minor after less than a year of therapy. I'm not sure I can wait a year...maybe I should ask them about negotiating the year requirement, though, *after* I've actually gotten the names of clinics.
I also wonder if you know cases or people who have been to particular clinics, because that would be very helpful.

[kal]

Also, what kinds of complications can you see from my moving to the U.S. next year? I said 'fall' (I think I mentioned this in the original post) though the specific date is around the end of August/start of September.
If I have to wait a year through therapy...there won't be much point if I have to stop then resume when I move anyway. But if I can start T earlier, hopefully, very hopefully, then I'll be far enough along that it'll be worth the...hassle, since I assume I'll have to do some sort of re-admission to another clinic in the U.S., or transfer my papers, or take a month's-supply or something of that sort.

[Ayden]

Hey Kal,

I'll answer the best I can, but forgive me if I ask extra questions. I'm not doing so to bug ya, I've just been going through the process for about a year now so I hope my experience can be helpful.

The fact that you have citizenship will help you.

Have you talked to the Nomura clinic? I have their link and they have clinics in Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo. I have others as well, such as the Kono clinic.

because you have parental support, that will help you a great deal. I cannot disclose any information specifically because I am under privacy contracts, but I know someone in your situation. She was able to get the help she needed because her parents fought for her. I will say that I think your folks may need to go to bat for you.

It is possible to go to clinics here and get hormones without the year long therapy. I've heard of times as short as 1 month. What you will have to do is this: register for therapy and have your parents go with you. Your mother or your father alone is fine. After that, the doctors will ask you very personal questions. Be ready to answer questions about your body, your ideas of sex, your personal feelings about relationships. There are three clinics in Tokyo and one in Yokohama that will treat underage people. Let me double check my links before I send them. I don't want you to have to deal with dead links.

I came from the opposite situation. I'm American and I was getting treatment in Alaska before I came here. I won't bother you with details. When you go to the states, the state you settle in will affect your treatment. However, if you receive treatment here in Japan, American doctors will most likely not block you from hormones if you have the right documents. Please forgive my asking, but is your father American? That would help a great deal and it will make American doctors feel more comfortable with giving you HRT.

Again, the state laws do matter. I'm from Alaska so what I have to do to receive hrt is different from places like California or Washington. 

When I came to Japan I was able to bring a 6-month supply and I imported another several years. Drug laws are different and many japanese doctors do not like self administration of medication. I have given myself my hormone shots for over 3 years, but my japanese doctor wants me in every month.

What I can say, because I've gone through both systems, I've found that American docs (in certain states) will not take you off a serious medication like Testosterone.

[kal]

No, I really don't mind! I'm more than happy to provide you with any information you need.

No, I haven't heard or contacted the Nomura or Kono clinics. I'll contact any clinics you can give me links to.

Really? That'd be wonderful! 1 month!
I don't mind answering any questions about how I feel or my gender identity, really, I think being transgender makes you a certain degree of open-minded
I'll definitely be sure to bring at least one of my parents along, and I think they'd want to come to the first couple dozen appointments anyway.

Unfortunately, my father is not American. I'll be moving to Massachussetts.

Yes, I've heard that Japanese doctors don't want you to administer T by yourself.
Also, with regard to the actual treatment, what do you think of sub-cutaneous testosterone pellets and Nebido? Since Nebido is legal in Japan (I've heard it's not in America.)
My father has mentioned the pellets and I've wanted to do a little research on them, though I'll probably just have a long discussion with my doctor, perhaps there are only certain clinics that administer pellets.
There is the slight bruising issue though, perhaps it would just be simpler to start with shots like everyone else...?

I don't have very many anxieties about getting T in America, mostly because there is a much more open transgender culture there, and hopefully this turns out to be true for me.

[Ayden]

To me you sound very balanced and aware of yourself, so I think you will be fine with getting HRT in the U.S.

The links I have are outdated, but I called my buddy today and he's gonna get back to me. He's a trans activist here in Osaka.

I have heard and experienced that nebido is the go to medication. Pellets are possible, but I have no experience with them. The closest I've had is depo shots and subcutaneous estrogen pellets when I was young to treat a serious bleeding problem. In my experience, the pellets did bruise me and from the implantation I had to deal with burst veins. My veins are very small, which makes things like drawing blood very difficult.  I am not sure if you could get pellets here, but some doctors may be weary about giving them with you leaving in a year, and they are not the go-to in America so it may cause a pause in your treatment.

Massachusetts is very open minded, you'll be fine there. I wouldn't worry about your father not being American. I only asked because it can be helpful if you have someone who understands the American medical system. I, and I think many others here, would tell you that you have to be aggressive with the U.S. System.

I'll get you those links when Yuu-Kun gets back to me. He should be calling me later tonight when he's off work.

[kal]

Thanks for your input, I'll likely go with Nebido injections then.
If you want, provided with the names of the clinics, I could look up the websites myself.
I think I found the Nomura clinic you were talking about earlier...:
http://www.nomura-cln.jp

[Ayden]

That's the clinic I was referring to. Here's the link to the GID center. http://www.gidcenter.com

My buddy Yuu sent me this link as well. I think he thought it was for me, but it has a lot of links for clinics in Japan.

https://lgbtjapan.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/access-to-hrt-in-japan/

[Ayden]

If those don't work, let me know.