Do you have any kind of insurance coverage? That would affect a lot of your costs. Most insurers will at least partially cover a visit to a general practitioner or an endocrinologist if it is coded correctly. Then you'd only have to pay a copay.
For me:
- Initial intake visit copay $20 (billed at $200)
- Initial round of lab work $36 (billed at $550)
- Follow-up visit to get prescription, learn to inject copay $20 (billed at $200)
- 10ml vial of Testosterone, 24 drawing needles, 24 injecting syringes $75 (paid out of pocket)
So without insurance, and assuming the place I go didn't have a sliding scale payment system, I would've paid $1025 just to start HRT. Instead I paid $151 with insurance covering visits and labs, and T being paid out of pocket. Even with paying the monthly premiums, I come out ahead. Insurance is worth it. Especially if you decide on surgery down the road.
It all really depends where you go and whether or not you have coverage. There are cost effective options out there in terms of doctors. Lab work is where it tends to get expensive, but I would happily pay that bill in order to know how my body is internally reacting to the T. My doctor is fairly cautious - she orders a lot of tests and wants people to come in 4x a year for the first year, and 2x a year after that. So talk to whoever your provider is going to be and ask what their expectations are and see how that would fit into your budget.
My advice is to think beyond just the first prescription. Most providers will want to see you fairly often the first year you are on T, and most will not allow you any refills for the first year from what I have heard. Saving up for the first set of visits and labs and T is good, but if your doctor wants to see you quarterly, you've got to come up with that same amount again three months later. I don't mean to discourage you or make this seem impossible. I just think it's important to keep in mind that T is a maintenance medication and requires regular refills and upkeep.
