So, I get paranoid sometimes.  I'm not expecting anything to happen, but in the chance that it does happen (world war 3 or something stupid) and we can't get estrogen (or testosterone), what shall we do?

I remember reading a post a while back and someone mentioned that they stocked up on estrogen.  I'm not looking for a guide on how to acquire estrogen illegally, as I know how to do that already.  I have my prescriptions and they are filled and covered by my insurance.

Can a doctor write large prescriptions to get filled and pay them out of pocket?  I know my insurance wont pay for more than 90 pills at a time.  Does anyone know what the costs of estrogen out of pocket are?  Do pharmacies restrict the size of prescriptions?  How could you legally stock up on estrogen, say a years worth?

Any other ideas?

MY endo is the only one so far to write out long scripts six months worth at the moment. I Thought it was strange that he'd do that but not give me progesterone lol. He's old I won't question him
Guess it depends on the doctor if you can find one that would understand your request or just do it without question I don't see why not.

Great, I was just thinking about this earlier today and counting how much E I have. Now I'm thinking to order more

without knowing anything about when E expires, here's a though. figure out a schedule for skipping an occasional dose.

Say, for instance, you skip one dose a week....that's 52 doses at the end of the year - if your dose is two a day that's a months worth almost....if you skip two doses a week that's two months (well, 52 days).

Say you did that for 7 years - you have a year's worth in reserve.
You would just have to remember to rotate so you don't have a seven year old pill you are taking.

There might be other occasions where you can pad that a bit. Say for instance you have surgery and you have to lay off 2 weeks out....that's 2 weeks that go in the "bank"

Say you change docs for perfectly legit reasons and you get the new doc to write a script while you still have a couple of weeks on the old script, go ahead and fill the new one if you can and bank those two weeks.

Slow and tedious, but if doomsday holds off a decade or so you will have options.

Plus, if worse comes to worse and things get really bad, you might decide to ration your stock and spread it out longer than the prescribed dosage.

Since 1988 we have kept about a two year supply to hand as a precaution. All obtained legally through a doctors script.

In the UK most GP's will write up 6 months at a time if you ask them nicely. I don't know what the situation is elsewhere.

Generally Estrogen comes with long expiry dates (4 years or more) Progesterone is more difficult because the expiry tends to be much shorter. Sometimes less than a year. So a two year supply is about the maximum practical limit. You also need to ensure that you undersand the correct storage conditions for the pills or they could degrade.

Mind you I think the disaster scenario probably won't happen. I was expecting armageddon sometime in the 1990's and thankfully we are all still here. 

if worse comes to worse and things get really bad, you might decide to ration your stock and spread it out longer than the prescribed dosage this may well prove to be the least of your problems.

FIFY

Cycling (or skipping) doses while pre-op is apparently a bad idea, as the body needs a constant supply to fight against the naturally occurring hormones, in a nutshell. I'm pretty sure this includes patches but don't quote me on that

If you're giving medical advice, and dosing advice, which I think is against the rules here (and for even what I would consider good reason) don't you think you ought to be pretty damn sure about what you're saying, and not just say, "don't quote me on that"?

I'm kinda glad I asked about this.

When I graduate, my insurance coverage ends 30 days after graduation.  Granted, I am looking at going to grad school but that might not happen right away.  I might have to start spring semester and in the time between being in school I might not have coverage.

I could probably talk to my doctor about prescribing more than I need per month, and only using what I actually need since my SRS is coming up next month.

Quote from: tekla on January 13, 2010, 06:23:12 PM
If you're giving medical advice, and dosing advice, which I think is against the rules here (and for even what I would consider good reason) don't you think you ought to be pretty damn sure about what you're saying, and not just say, "don't quote me on that"?

!!!!!!!!!? so it's ok for someone else to but not me? I was only trying to help by clearing the air, I added the don't quote me so people know not to take it for the ultimate be-all-end-all truth, which is more than what the person I was referencing did.
But seriously what is your problem with me? If you have an issue with me then discuss it in PM like a mature adult. Instead of all these childish little quibs.

Telling people what dosing schedule might be right for them is not a quib.  It can be a life and death issue.

And my only problem is the truth.  Tell it, and you'll never have a problem from me.

Quote from: tekla on January 13, 2010, 11:30:50 AM
if worse comes to worse and things get really bad, you might decide to ration your stock and spread it out longer than the prescribed dosage this may well prove to be the least of your problems.

FIFY

Agreed 100%. If things get so bad that I can't get testosterone, I'll have much worse to worry about.

Damn Skippy.

Quote from: tekla on January 13, 2010, 09:35:35 PM
Telling people what dosing schedule might be right for them is not a quib.  It can be a life and death issue.

And my only problem is the truth.  Tell it, and you'll never have a problem from me.

Truth is subjective, one doctors dosage recommendation is different to another doctors. And really I didn't tell anyone what to do I simply mentioned that cycling pre-op is not a good idea.. in response to someone else suggesting to... but oh you didn't have a problem with them do you, just me. hhmmm you're just assuming too much because you have issues with me that you are too scared to discuss with me, and frankly you're just embarrassing yourself.
Are you willing to go PM and work it out like I've suggested. Or do you want to continue ruining other peoples threads? Your call as this will be the last time I reply to anything you type on this forum.

When I came to Australia my U.S. doctor gave me 6 months supply of both my estradiol and spiro. He wrote it on the prescription like that so I had to buy the whole six months all at once and Walgreens special ordered it for me. I didn't know how hard it would be to find a doctor over here so I stocked up just in case. Anyway it's kind of cool to think I probably now have in my medicine cabinet all the spiro I'm ever going to need

Quote from: Muffin on January 13, 2010, 06:18:35 PM
Cycling (or skipping) doses while pre-op is apparently a bad idea, as the body needs a constant supply to fight against the naturally occurring hormones, in a nutshell. I'm pretty sure this includes patches but don't quote me on that

well, I was under the impression it was the AA's thaty ou wouldn't want to skip. I thought that was what fought off the ugly effects of T.

I'd be very surprised if missing two doeses out of 14 in a week would cause any noticeable effect. Every med I've ever seen has instructions for what to do if you miss a dose and we all do  from time to time for various reasons.

In any case, if she's scheduled for SRS soon then fighting off T won't be a concern post-op (also wouldn't be for anyone who's had an orchi).

I wouldn't worry about the scolding, by the way, she ask a specific question that was NOT about dosing and she's getting answers within the context of the question.

Neither of us said "I recommend such-and-such doseage"

She said "how could I....?" and I replied "this is how you COULD..." and you just responded to that.

Some folks ain't happy unless they are proving to you how much smarter they are than everyone else in the room.

Truth is subjective, one doctors dosage recommendation is different to another doctors.

True that, and you are not a doctor, and I'm not that kind of doctor, and the rules of Susan's state that such information or suggestions are not really in the best interest (read: subject to lawsuits) of the site.

And I write on a public forum, for a public that could possibly consist of the entire world.  I don't do PM, IM, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or any of that.  My E-mail and phone are pretty much limited to business (i.e. job offers) only.  I don't reply to anything else other than from my kids.

Anyone, and in fact, just about everyone, is free to take exception to what I say - and god knows, they do.  So be it.  I believe in the free exchange of information, ideas and thoughts, and in that spirit I post in public in front of god and everyone (though I've always wondered about that phrase, a favorite of my mom's, 'cause where exactly can you hide from god, but...) to read and think about.  They can take it, or leave it.  So it goes.

I'm not much for private life, I live in public, I've always been public.  My writing is not private (and never has been, think people criticize you on the web?  Try publishing a book and reading the reviews), my speech is not either. 9 out of 10 PMs I get I just don't respond to, I pretty much don't even read (unless its a technical question, or something like a phone number or address or name that I'm reluctant to post in public), much less respond to.  Not my deal.


Some folks ain't happy unless they are proving to you how much smarter they are than everyone else in the room.
As my kids say, 'true that.'  Of course the opposite is true too.  So it goes.

Quote. but oh you didn't have a problem with them do you, just me

considering the people involved in the discussion, this statement made me lol

I a taking two days off estrogen.  But they aren't these two days.

Quote from: Muffin on January 13, 2010, 11:28:42 PM
Truth is subjective, one doctors dosage recommendation is different to another doctors. And really I didn't tell anyone what to do I simply mentioned that cycling pre-op is not a good idea.. in response to someone else suggesting to... but oh you didn't have a problem with them do you, just me. hhmmm you're just assuming too much because you have issues with me that you are too scared to discuss with me, and frankly you're just embarrassing yourself.
Are you willing to go PM and work it out like I've suggested. Or do you want to continue ruining other peoples threads? Your call as this will be the last time I reply to anything you type on this forum.

Steroids, widely accepted, (especially in specie endogenous steroids) will create dependency conditions with the first dose.  The body reacts, rebounds, over time.

LH could rise dramatically following the withdrawal of hormones.  This is why it is recommended certain (there are blockers, progesterone duplicates, steroidal genesis inhibitors, hypothalamus receptor agonists -- which includes estrogen, progesterone, testosterone -- and, GnRH analogous) anti-androgen treatments be tapered off.  The following series of endocrine responses do not lend themselves to accurate prediction.

With that in mind it is probably better to follow the continuum of treatment rather than not.  Just sayin.

Completely, I get the shakes in my hands if I'm late taking a dose, but that's just me. My house mate run out of oestrogen for two days last year and she was an absolute mess. But I guess everyone's different
I also recently switched from spiro to androcur and I read that ramping up and down is recommended but my doc and endo never mentioned that. Just another example of how much the treatments for TSs are still new ground (perhaps to some degree), we're almost like guinea pigs.. still. But not.. I don't know. lol I think I jest a little. >_>