T Patches

[Carson]

does anyone know how much they cost with or without health insurance?

[cynthialee]

T patches do not have a high enough dose of T to masculinize. They are for old people who have no libido due to lowered T.

[Robert Scott]

Are you sure?  When my son went to his doctor about starting to transitions -- she listed that as one of his options.  We checked on pricing and found it to be twice the cost of injections.  The doctor told us that the shots typically change a person quicker because of the peaking of T in the system since patches provide an even flow... however, after 2 years you cannot tell the difference between those who took shots and those who used a patch.

[cynthialee]

Perhaps I stand corected.
.....Gonna need to look back into T patches, last time I looked into this for my spouse I found nothing with a higher masculinizing dose, just low dose patches for libido.

[Ryan]

I believe patches can be used in FTMs, but they're not recommended. They can cause irritation to the skin and it's gonna suck if you have to wear them all the time.

[Robert Scott]

Ya but for some us needle phobic folks .. it looks like a great alternative.   However, I do have a nurse as a wife ... so I am covered.

[Ryan]

Creams and gels are a better alternative for needle phobics. I've never heard any advantage of uses patches over other forms.

[Carson]

yeah it was presented to me as one of my options (I use one of the most well known endos in the country). She recommends cream or gels but I wanted the fast changes of injections but now that I am considerably masculinized after 9 months on T(I know I still have a lot of changing to do) I would rather just slap a patch on every morning than have to worry about injecting or rubbing cream on and waiting for it to dry. I do shots weekly and am on a "half dose" as it is to keep my levels where they need to be so maybe the patch dose would be enough.

[Mark]

T patches do not have a high enough dose of T to masculinize. They are for old people who have no libido due to lowered T.

This is definitely not true. My endo wanted me either on a patch or a cream instead of injections. The problem with patches are they are extremely costly. When I went to my local pharmacy they said that without insurance it would be about $340 a month. With insurance it was something like $200 a month. IDR the exact prices, im sure i put it on another thread tho. Anyway, I found patches to be a better option then creams/gels because i didnt want to have to worry about getting to T on anyone else, or waiting for it to absorb into my skin(even tho im currently injecting). The problem with patches are that they are expensive and as Ryan said that can irritate your skin. When using patches, you have to reapply a new one everyday and rotate the spot you used. My endo recommended having a 7 day rotation pattern, a specific spot for everyday of the week. I currently am injection, but might use patches in the future.
GL and hope your insurance covers more then mine did.

[cynthialee]

I stand corected.

[Carson]

This is definitely not true. My endo wanted me either on a patch or a cream instead of injections. The problem with patches are they are extremely costly. When I went to my local pharmacy they said that without insurance it would be about $340 a month. With insurance it was something like $200 a month. IDR the exact prices, im sure i put it on another thread tho. Anyway, I found patches to be a better option then creams/gels because i didnt want to have to worry about getting to T on anyone else, or waiting for it to absorb into my skin(even tho im currently injecting). The problem with patches are that they are expensive and as Ryan said that can irritate your skin. When using patches, you have to reapply a new one everyday and rotate the spot you used. My endo recommended having a 7 day rotation pattern, a specific spot for everyday of the week. I currently am injection, but might use patches in the future.
GL and hope your insurance covers more then mine did.

thank you so much, that helps a ton.