Wow, what a day!

So I heard about this one doctor in the Chicago area that works mostly with trans folks so I gave him a call about a week ago and set up today's appointment/consultation. Told him I've been in therapy for the last year talking about my gender issues. Fast forward to today: really great guy, very genuine and knowledgeable in trans issues (he actually spoke at Southern Comfort last year). So we're chatting, he takes my blood pressure and some blood for labwork. I ask him when I might be able to go on T and he said "today"...! Totally caught me by surprise, figured it'd be at least a few more weeks. He taught my gf and I how to do the shots on our own and gave us needles for the next month and the T of course. Still in shock about all this but SO happy! Day 1 on T!

For anyone in the Chicago area, his name is Dr. Miller. Definitely would recommend him and he has very reduced rates for people paying out-of-pocket.

Wow that's great.  Congratulations 

Hey congrats!  With all the stories of people caught in red tape waiting for their hormones it's a real relief to hear that some people are able to get what they need when they need it! 

Congratulations on starting T!

Sounds sketchy to me... don't think I would attend a doctor that gave t out on first appointment. But Congrats!

Thanks guys!

Quote from: Tad on March 26, 2011, 07:39:51 PM
Sounds sketchy to me... don't think I would attend a doctor that gave t out on first appointment. But Congrats!

I know what you're saying, and I thought about this too. We talked a lot about it and he knows I've been in therapy for a year and thinking seriously about transitioning for the last 2 years. Don't think he gives it to everyone on the first appointment either. It just felt like he trusted me and knew that I had thought this through.

Congrats man that's awesome!

It's still hard for me to believe this all happened yesterday... (I'm lexical's girlfriend). The doctor almost made me give him the shot! I got super nervous, so he (the doctor) did it, and now I have to practice on tomatoes, apparently? Haha. He did say not to expect any changes for a while, so I guess it's just time to be patient. But thanks for all your support of Alex! I'm so proud of him

oranges are a good one to practice on. When i  got my cert for giving shots.. it's what we practiced injecting on before moving on to humans. And you can give an orange quite a few shots of saline solution before it fills up.

I'd be tempted to fill it up with saline just a bit and leave it for my roommates 
Thanks for the idea, though.  I'm really nervous about the shots for when I get to that point, so it's always nice to hear suggestions. 

Yeah, I've seen a video on someone practicing on an orange and it seemed to work well. A tomato seems like it would be too soft, but I guess we'll see!

The doctor compared giving an injection to throwing a dart - that you're supposed to pull back then jab it in all the way - and that makes me a bit more terrified. He said, though, if neither of us is ready to do his next shot (next Saturday) that we can come into the office and he'll work with us again.

As for injection site, it seems like most guys do in it the thigh or butt. Alex's first shot was in the upper arm/shoulder, which seemed a bit odd to me since I'd never heard someone mention that as a possible site before. All kinds of new things to learn!