I have a close friend who is also a transguy and he's been on T for 10 months now. He was able to get his insurance to cover gels, so he has been on androgel this whole time. He recently switched insurances, and at first his new company covered most of the gel, but they just realised he is listed as female and are refusing to cover any more of his T. He's only got like one week of T left and since we're in college, he isn't able to get back to his endo right now to get a new prescription or learn to inject. I could theoretically teach him but I wouldn't be comfortable doing that since I'm not a medical professional. He's also really anxious about needles and really does not want to be on the shots. He's also been having issues with changes not really happening, his levels are extremely low, and chances are his dose will go up. His T is already at $430 for a 20 day supply, and if his dose goes up then that quickly turns into $800 a month, and he can't even do the $400.
I've been in a similar place, having a very sudden realization that I can't get the gel, I must to injections because insurance won't cover it. I hate needles and I get more and more anxious about needles every single shot I do. I know I can't be doing injections for my whole life, but I have to put up with it right now and hope that insurance laws are put in place to cover my T for me. When I was having a hard time with the fact that I was forced into injections, I talked to him about it. But I can't seem to get him to talk to me, I found out all of this info through a blog post and another friend. He's been in a really bad place about it, and I want to help him, but he won't open up. He said something weird to my friend about how transguys don't talk to transguys because it's awkward, but that isn't true at all, transguys are the ones who can understand the most. He complains that my friend doesn't understand but he won't come to me or anyone else who DOES understand. How can I help him?
Hey Dean, that sucks. My roommate is trans so we talk about the down and dirty parts of being trans sometimes, because there's no one else to talk that openly about it with. No one that can really understand. Back to the testosterone though, injections are soooo much cheaper than gels. I'm on a standard/high dose and pay about $30 per month. You should open with that. I actually have my roommate do my shots for me because it takes me forever to convince myself to do it and the last time I bled a lot and I feel like it will happen again. Just keep trying to talk to him. Some trans guys think they're not supposed to talk about stuff, but that's total bs. I'm the youngest boy of three. Me and my brothers talk about things that matter, like our feelings, when we need to do that. Good luck with your friend! I really hope he gets everything figured out soon!
I had a trans buddy that I could get into the nitty gritty with, but they no longer identify as trans (long story there, neither the time nor place though) so I am f2m buddy-less. I am in a local support group specifically for trans people, but so far I'm the only f2m to attend recently.
I know that when my friend decided to change paths, I felt very alone. Not having someone to bitch about binding and therapists to is rough.
Quote from: KamTheMan on October 07, 2014, 11:06:02 AM
Hey Dean, that sucks. My roommate is trans so we talk about the down and dirty parts of being trans sometimes, because there's no one else to talk that openly about it with. No one that can really understand. Back to the testosterone though, injections are soooo much cheaper than gels. I'm on a standard/high dose and pay about $30 per month. You should open with that. I actually have my roommate do my shots for me because it takes me forever to convince myself to do it and the last time I bled a lot and I feel like it will happen again. Just keep trying to talk to him. Some trans guys think they're not supposed to talk about stuff, but that's total bs. I'm the youngest boy of three. Me and my brothers talk about things that matter, like our feelings, when we need to do that. Good luck with your friend! I really hope he gets everything figured out soon!
He knows they're a lot cheaper but he has needle anxiety.
I'm not sure if this helps or not, as I've not attempted to get my hormones written off. I did, however, come upon this factsheet about getting trans medical care deducted from taxes. Might help with the expense of things in the long run?
http://transequality.org/Resources/IRS_Factsheet_2012.pdf
Quote from: GnomeKid on October 07, 2014, 04:46:18 PM
I'm not sure if this helps or not, as I've not attempted to get my hormones written off. I did, however, come upon this factsheet about getting trans medical care deducted from taxes. Might help with the expense of things in the long run?
http://transequality.org/Resources/IRS_Factsheet_2012.pdf
I sent that to him, I don't know if it'll help in the long run, but it's sure good to know for the future. Thanks for that link.