Hey, all. So, I get my T prescription from a public clinic where the doctor is, ahem, a lil deficient in knowledge of trans folks. I go there out of necessity, because it's free and I'm broke af, but I don't really trust the doctor.

Anyway, tomorrow morning, I'm planning to go to the clinic to get in line at 8 AM and ask to get my T levels checked, because I've been on the stuff for just over five months now. It's time, I would imagine.

My question is, do I fast before getting my levels checked? This is important information, and I'm not sure I trust Google to give me an answer.

I have never had to fast for T specific labs (T levels, estradiol, etc).

However, if you are having your glucose or lipids drawn, you should definitely be fasting.  It depends on your doctor if they want additional stuff. But testosterone levels themselves won't be dependent on fasting or not.

What Dex said. If it's just for testosterone or estadiol, you don't need to fast. But if they're doing lipids or a1c tests, you need to fast.

You don't need to fast.

You don't say how you're taking the T -- via injections, gel, patches, etc. -- but if you're doing weekly or biweekly injections, it's important, as you move forward with this, to be consistent about when you get your level tested. For example, my doctor favors doing the test at the midpoint of my weekly injection cycle; I inject on Sundays, so I schedule my tests on a Wednesday.  This matters because you want to be able to compare the results of one test with those of another -- your level is highest after your shop, then gradually goes down, so while it should always be in the normal male range, it should also be stable -- other physiological variables can influence it, so you want to pick up any changes.