Hey guys,

So, this is a totally insane idea but seriously, "Hell Week" as I call it is getting more and more difficult for me to deal with every time. I was on T and everything was great, then I got fired from work and eventually had to stop taking T since I couldn't afford it anymore. My financial situation is very bad and not likely to change soon, if ever. (Okay, the "if ever" is just me being pessimistic.) It's not so much the cost of testosterone itself but the cost of blood tests and endo visits that I can't afford (I don't have insurance, so that doesn't help, and the last time I got a blood test they basically came up with a ridiculous sum and then halved it--seriously, they wanted over $1,000 but decided that since I'm uninsured they'd be "nice" and lower the cost to $500-ish).

So I'm thinking about going on "the pill" if only so I can stop having to deal with Hell Week. Estrogen sucks, but I figure a steady dose and no Hell Week would be a lot easier to handle than what seems to be hormone-induced bipolar disorder (seriously! that's what it's like).

I don't know how much it would cost without insurance though and I'm not sure if I'd need to go to a doctor to get a prescription or if that stuff's all just OTC now. Would it be considerably cheaper? It's seriously messed up and I can't tell you how much I'd rather be able to just get back on T right now and, in addition to no longer having to deal with Hell Week, actually feel more masculine and like myself again... but I'm ridiculously poor so that's not going to happen.

Thoughts, anyone?

TL;DR - can't afford T anymore, sick of Hell Week, thinking about going on "the pill" (with the assumption that it'll be affordable)

Um, please review TOS #11, hon.

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on July 02, 2013, 06:39:50 PM
Um, please review TOS #11, hon.

Sorry! I've edited my original post accordingly.

Have you tried going to Planned Parenthood?  I just went for a gyno exam and because I am poor, I got my visit (which included blood tests) for free. I also know people who get the pill free there from them as well. Also, you don't need an estrogen based pill, there's some that aren't based on E (I was actually told at that visit that if I want to get on the pill, I couldn't get on an E-based pill because I have a history of migranes and apparently it'll greatly increase my risk of having a stroke somehow).

I also know some Planned Parenthoods have LGBT services, and I know of at least one guy who started his transition there. You should see what your local one offers and ask them about costs. 

If they're not based on E, what are they based on? Do you know?

I think she said it's progesterone (spelling?) based, I didn't write it down (and I always forget everything if I don't write it down) since I am not planning on getting on hormonal birth control.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progestogen-only_pill

Does it actually stop Hell Week though? On the Wiki page it says there may be "light spotting" but it doesn't say whether you can avoid it entirely (or if it does, I just didn't read it carefully enough).

You should talk to a doctor (here's a Planned Parenthood locator http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center/), but from what I understand, the pill doesn't stop hell week entirely. Most pills give you the sugar-pills for a week in order to allow menstruation to occur, and insurance usually won't cover it to add in extra pills to avoid taking the sugar pills for a week. Usually women who want to avoid having a period for a month (like when they're going on their honeymoon, etc.) have to pay out of pocket to get the extra pills, and they need to ask a doctor. There's some forms of birth control that can stop periods, but I don't know what they are or how safe they are.

Where are you located?

Utah

Quote from: dreaming.forever on July 02, 2013, 10:11:39 PM
Utah

This is a long shot, but could you fly/drive to a clinic that is sliding scale with free blod test? I don't know if it's cheaper than saving the 1,000+ for blood work and T. I know in Philadelphia we have the Mazzoni center that does sliding scale T and free blood tests for patients and ships T all over the US for a reduced rate. I know Utah probably doesn't have that, but I'm wondering if any of the surrounding states do. Like Nevada or Colorado or even California if you can get to it. I know it may not be feasible, but just an idea.

That would probably be cheaper, but I think even doing that would be too expensive for me. If they did that at the Utah Pride Center, I could probably find a way to get there (I have epilepsy so I can't drive), but I don't think they do that there. All I can find on their website is a list of doctors who are supposed to be LGBT-friendly, and it's not even an updated list (I emailed them over two years ago to let them know one of the doctors no longer deals with trans patients, and though they said they'd update it, they never did).

Quote from: LearnedHand on July 02, 2013, 08:34:34 PM
I think she said it's progesterone (spelling?) based, I didn't write it down (and I always forget everything if I don't write it down) since I am not planning on getting on hormonal birth control.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progestogen-only_pill

progesterone is one of the estrogens, and I believe it's the one responsible for feminine fat patterns.

The pill does not stop hell week, except in very rare cases. So I'd recommend trying to get back on T instead if you can find a way.

Oral contraceptives are generally taken for 21 days of the month, then you either stop taking them or use a placebo for seven days before starting them up again. During that seven-day break, most patients experience hell week... although it is generally lighter than usual. With some brands you could use two packs one after another without a break (i.e. 42 days) but then you must stop taking them and you'll probably get a hell of a hell week at that stage.

I used a progesterone-only pill because I wanted to avoid oestrogen, and I can tell you that it didn't stop my monthlies; it just made them lighter. I'd have about three days of light, painless bleeding instead of my usual five days of heavy, painful bleeding. The pills normally contain progestogen, which is a synthetic form of progesterone. Progesterone is the 'pregnancy' hormone so it can actually cause your body to respond as if it were pregnant. So yeah, that includes laying down extra fat, retaining water, and breast growth.

There are health risks attached to oral contraceptives (as there are for most medications). Many of them are not suitable if you have certain health conditions, such as heart disease or epilepsy, so you probably couldn't take them. They also interact with several medications.

There are other medications available that can reduce the severity of hell week. Here's a good resource giving you some ideas, but I'd imagine a lot of these things would be expensive on your side of the Pond: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Periods-heavy/Pages/Treatment.aspx There are also other contraceptive choices (such as the implant) but that takes about a year to reduce the severity of hell week.

Whatever you do, this is a very complex issue so I'd recommend discussing this thoroughly with a doctor before making any decisions.

In the interests of full disclosure: I've done a lot of in-depth research into contraceptive pills, because the one my mother used for many years caused her to die of breast cancer aged 48.

I would not take this as something which will 'stop it', its actually quite rare for that to happen. I tried it myself as I couldnt take this anymore. I knew there was only a small chance it would work but it was a chance so I took it. Its actually about a 20% chance it would have stopped it. I went with an implant rather than this method as if successful it lasts for 3 years. It had the opposite effect on me. Instead of over in 5 days, it was lasting for 6 weeks constant, gradually getting worse and worse until by the end it was as bad as it would normally have been anyway. It was supposed to be left for 6 months before knowing for sure whether it would have the desired effect or not but 6 weeks of it I couldnt take any more and had it removed after 4 months. Of course I didnt want any more disgusting E in my body but if it stopped this it was worth a try. Regretted that decision. Even tried normal pills to try and control it and that didnt exactly work either. Stopping it completely and going on as normal has been my best option. The increased hormones just really messes up my body

Besides hysto there is no magic cure to stop this. Even T doesnt always do it for some people and they may continue to have it even years into it. It should eventually stop, and quick if you're lucky, but theres no guarantees with any of this stuff. Only way to be absoloutely sure it can never come back is complete hysto removal. Cant wait until that happens for me. Not sure how well T will work on me with this if my last ordeal was anything to go by but can only hope I get lucky this time

You should talk to your doctor about it but really they cant tell you if it will have the desired effect or not, the only way to know is to try it and see what happens. You might be one of the lucky ones it stops with, or you might end up the opposite like me. Hard to say. Taking this stuff of course can increase your risk of cancer, stroke etc too. Only a risk but its there. Worth looking into if you want to pursue this option but no one can say for sure the effect it will have on you

I'm on the Depo shot while I decide whether I want to start T or not (financial and health issues). It's stopped mine entirely, and I have a female friend who used to use it and it stopped hers as well. The trade off is that when I first started it I had more like hell month, which was pretty brutal. Also, it apparently thins your bones but I just take supplements and figure I'll probably end up with weak bones when I'm older anyway. I get mine free at the county health clinic, or cheaply through the clinic at my university. I believe Planned Parenthood also offers it at little or no cost.

Lemme just put in my two cents here:
do NOT go to a free clinic and get put on any type of hormonal pill.

I made that mistake once and the morons there didn't test my hormones, gave me the completely wrong type of pill for my body, and I ended up with a "hell week" that lasted a month and a half, as well as spent the next two years trying to revive my libido. I'm LUCKY that I was even able to recover from that mess. And this is all from 2 months on the pill.

I've been on so many types of pills, and not one of them has stopped my hell week. Not only that, but pumping female hormones into your body seems kind of ass backwards to me. It sucks that you can't afford T at the moment, but make sure this is definitely something you want before doing it (because more often than not, people do NOT get the side effects they're after).

I just don't want anyone to have to go through what I went through. Good luck dude.

Everyone, thanks for your replies and sharing useful information. I'm glad I posted this thread instead of just going for it, since it sounds like going on the pill would've been a really bad idea. I've decided I'm just gonna have to be more patient and keep waiting til I can afford to be back on T again. Thanks again 

I'd definitely think you could get blood tests for less than that, where on earth did it cost that much? Unless there is literally only one lab you can get to, try calling around. Just looking at google there's sometimes a $100+ difference per test between labs in the same city, for people without insurance.

Also, are you sure you can't get prescriptions and bloodwork with a GP? That'll also take some looking around, but since you've already been on it and presumably have all your past information, it wouldn't be that difficult for them unless you have any serious health issues that hormones would affect. I mean, I do everything with a GP and she'll just ring an endocrinologist at the local hospital if she's not sure about dosage etc. Or is there some reason they can't do that where you live. 

@Rossiter: Yeah, it's a shockingly high amount, which is why I think they genuinely pulled a number out of the air when deciding. The initial quote they gave me was a few hundred less, when it came time to pay they bumped it up and said they "overlooked" one of the tests requested--riiiight 

And that blood test wasn't even for every single thing that they normally check (the next blood test, my endo wanted me to also get progesterone level checked in addition--I assume that's the norm--but obviously I didn't end up getting that blood test done due to losing my job right in that timeframe).

My endo briefly said (muttered, actually! Not sure if it's an official diagnosis or what) something about Grave's disease, so I suppose there's a possibility the blood test was for more than just T-related things (I could list all the things that were requested to be tested, as I have a copy of the lab request, but I'm not sure if it's okay to post that stuff--I mean, I know we're not supposed to post T dosage but I've no idea about this).

Yeah next time I'm definitely going to ask around as much as I can before accepting one hospital's or another's atrocious fees, but even then, I don't expect it to be too much cheaper.

I might be able to get that done with a GP, I don't know. I'd have to find one. Thanks for the tip, that's no doubt cheaper than going to a specialist every time