Testosterone Questions

[NikFtM]

I do go to gender therapy, but things seem to be going pretty slowly.  Although, I'm not going to rush anything because that may cause a bad situation.  I do have a couple of questions regarding T shots, and I'm not positive whether my therapist could answer them (one of them being a personal experience question).
1. From what I've heard, you have to get forms signed by your therapist, as well as your parents if you're under 18.  My dad doesn't currently live with me.  Would I still have to get it signed by him too, or would they be okay with just my mom's signature (I live in Arizona if that helps).
2. How long did it take for you to get on T/how many appointments with your therapist did you have before you got on T?  I know it's different for everyone, but I don't want to underestimate the time it might take for my therapist to give me a referral.
Like I said, I don't want to rush anything.  I'm moving to California soon, and I'll have a bit of a fresh start so I wanted to know if it would be at all possible to start before July.

[maksim]

1. Just your mom's signature should be fine! As far as I'm aware you only need one parent to sign off on something, much like with any other medical decisions for minors.
2. I got my referral after 4 appointments with my gender therapist, which was considered to be pushing it back a little too much as far as time goes to some people. For minors I believe it would take longer.

Good luck!

[FTMax]

1. It's not a form you would get, but a referral letter. This letter should say that they've evaluated you and believe that you experience gender dysphoria and that hormone replacement therapy in the form of testosterone is the most appropriate next step for you. You would then take this to a doctor who is willing to prescribe and monitor your T. Your mom would need to come with you to this appointment and sign off on consent forms with you.

2. I didn't do therapy before HRT. The longest I've seen someone go when they were 100% sure they were trans and had no other issues to work on was 3 months. It may be longer if you are under 18.

It is probably possible that you'd be able to start before July. You could look into informed consent options. Someone in Arizona might have a better idea of what is available in terms of that. With informed consent, you skip therapy and just review HRT stuff with a doctor before consenting to treatment. Your mom would still need to consent as well but it would skip therapy and usually get you started faster/less expensively. Planned Parenthood locations are starting to offer this in many places, but you'd need to call and check that your local ones do.

The bigger hurdle might be finding a doctor unless you already know of one or your therapist knows of one.

[NikFtM]

1. It's not a form you would get, but a referral letter. This letter should say that they've evaluated you and believe that you experience gender dysphoria and that hormone replacement therapy in the form of testosterone is the most appropriate next step for you. You would then take this to a doctor who is willing to prescribe and monitor your T. Your mom would need to come with you to this appointment and sign off on consent forms with you.

2. I didn't do therapy before HRT. The longest I've seen someone go when they were 100% sure they were trans and had no other issues to work on was 3 months. It may be longer if you are under 18.

It is probably possible that you'd be able to start before July. You could look into informed consent options. Someone in Arizona might have a better idea of what is available in terms of that. With informed consent, you skip therapy and just review HRT stuff with a doctor before consenting to treatment. Your mom would still need to consent as well but it would skip therapy and usually get you started faster/less expensively. Planned Parenthood locations are starting to offer this in many places, but you'd need to call and check that your local ones do.

The bigger hurdle might be finding a doctor unless you already know of one or your therapist knows of one.

My therapist said she did know of one that was near her office so that's not much of a problem.  Thanks for your help!