Getting testosterone and delivery types

[zetabyte99]

I'm finally headed toward testosterone and had some questions I was hoping could be answered here. I've lurked about the forums but a lot of the posts are more about the effects of testosterone itself. Also I've been looking at information about testosterone for 5 years and yet I still am so uninformed somehow.

First, from what I understand you either get a therapist letter and then get a prescription from the doctor or you can sign an informed consent form and get the prescription directly? I'm not sure how to go about doing this, I live in Texas so there aren't any big resource centers around me.

Second, once that's done I still am really unsure about which way to administer. Injectables, gels, creams, patches, pills, etc. I'm more looking at injectables, gels, and creams as those have the most info about them. I do have a needlephobia- which is what turns me off from injections. However, with gels and creams, I'm worried I won't "grow" to my full potential. I've heard gels and creams will end with the same results it'll just take longer- but how do we know that? Especially when lower growth is most prominent in the first few months and gels and creams act slower?

So yeah, any input would be greatly appreciated, thank you. Sorry if I seem really uneducated, I thought I was pretty well-informed until I realized I have no idea what I want to do. I guess what I'm informed about is the effects but I'm still wildly confused about the variables.

[jlaframboise]

Hey! So I thought I was going to have to go down the complicated, therapist note to prescription road. But luckily I found an informed consent clinic (which is also an OBGYN) so maybe go on google for your area and look in the OBGYN results and see if they cater to trans people. I get my prescription from them, fill it, and once the refills are gone the pharmacy sends a paper for my doctor to sign, and bam another refill. I get a 10 ML vial of T which is $110. Way less than creams or gels i assume. Mine might have been a rare find but hey it doesn't hurt. I'm not too educated on the therapist ~ hormones route so maybe other people can help you with that. As for needles, gels, or creams. I've seen results happen the fastest on needles and I personally prefer them. Even I had needle anxiety but it's gone now. Just another part of my routine


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[FTMax]

Alrighty. This may be all over the place, so forgive me. If it's too convoluted I'll come back and edit.

You have 2 options as far as getting a prescription:
- Most common: You speak with a therapist about your gender stuff for however many sessions they choose, they write you a referral for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), and you take that letter to a doctor who will agree to administer and monitor your hormone levels. The therapist refers, the doctor prescribes. The trick with this course of action is finding both a therapist and doctor who will agree to work with you.

- Less common: You find a doctor or organization that operates on informed consent, make an appointment, speak with a doctor and fill out some forms, get your blood tested, and they agree to administer and monitor your hormones. If you feel that you do not need/would not benefit from therapy, can't afford therapy, are saving money for surgery, etc. informed consent is generally the cheaper path to go down. Planned Parenthood offers HRT at some locations. If there are no LGBTQ resources near you, then I would advise you to start calling Planned Parenthood locations.

But! If you're working with your insurance and want them to cover the cost of things (T, doctor visits, and potentially surgeries down the road), you may need to speak with a therapist first. You would need to check with your insurer. Some of them don't care, some of them want a paper trail.

As far as T delivery methods, your options in the US will be injections, gels/creams, and pellets. I know we don't do pills here, and I don't think I've seen patches either. There is virtually no difference between what they'll all do for your T levels. They will all get you there. Evidence that people present leaning one way or the other is anecdotal at best. Speaking from personal experience, I had just as many changes on gel as I maintain on injections.

The only significant difference is going to be price and how they fit with your lifestyle. Shots are cheap. Gels/creams are much more expensive. There are quite a few threads you can read about the current prices floating around. I started on gel because I also had a needlephobia and the price of gel was low when I started. When the price went up, I switched to shots. I now have no issues with needles, am saving tons of money from what I would be paying for gel, have the same amount of masculinization as before, and I only have to stick myself once a week as opposed to applying gel daily. Win/win/win/win.

Hope this helps a bit. Feel free to message me if you have more questions once you've made enough posts to PM.