Hey guys, I posted this in the HRT section but think i can get better info here from other guys.
Does anyone know if the doctor would test for suboxone (for those who don't know, this is a drug to help prevent withdrawal symptoms. you CANNOT get high from taking it.) when they do the blood test? i thought i read somewhere on this forum that a guy couldn't get T until he tested negative for marijuana, so i don't know. i'm afraid of bringing this up with any doctor in case they write it down and make it hell for me to get T later on. Thanks for the help everybody.

Back when I did drugs I was always open with my doctors about it. There's no reason they should care if it isn't relevant to your health.

Before I got T I was only given liver panels and basic health tests. Your trans treatment shouldn't overlap much with your addiction treatment.

Quote from: ImSoLost on April 04, 2012, 01:04:48 AM
Does anyone know if the doctor would test for suboxone (for those who don't know, this is a drug to help prevent withdrawal symptoms. you CANNOT get high from taking it.)

Suboxone is recreationally abused, you can get high from it but someone with a tolerance to opioids wouldn't really notice that "upper" effect.

Quote from: ImSoLost on April 04, 2012, 01:04:48 AM
when they do the blood test? i thought i read somewhere on this forum that a guy couldn't get T until he tested negative for marijuana, so i don't know.

I don't believe Suboxone (Buprenorphine) thins your blood and unless your physician was going to do other tests at the same time (kill two birds with one stone) it wouldn't normally show up.  As for someone not getting T until they quit smoking marijuana, that could be very likely for an individual living in a state where possession of marijuana is a felony or they were a minor.

Quote from: ImSoLost on April 04, 2012, 01:04:48 AM
so i don't know. i'm afraid of bringing this up with any doctor in case they write it down and make it hell for me to get T later on. Thanks for the help everybody.

It probably would not be difficult for you to obtain Androgel.  However, without going into too much detail, if you were court-ordered to rehab (as opposed to voluntarily entering a program) and/or previously an intravenous drug user it would be one of those gray areas where most physicians would feel it unethical to prescribe you testosterone injections to take home.  That shouldn't stop you from receiving them in a clinic though.  The doctors reasoning would be the same as the caring and considerate friend who doesn't take their recovering alcoholic friend to a bar for happy hour.  They want you to be successful in your recovery and asking for intravenous drugs; even non-narcotic, can be seen as a red flag (or in your case a red herring).

If you have a substantial amount of trust between you and your physician, don't be afraid to ask, that's what they're there for.  But if this is a doctor you don't know well, don't tip your hand, just ask for something small and let them suggest bigger.

Quote from: Felix on April 04, 2012, 03:15:05 AM
Back when I did drugs I was always open with my doctors about it. There's no reason they should care if it isn't relevant to your health.

Before I got T I was only given liver panels and basic health tests. Your trans treatment shouldn't overlap much with your addiction treatment.

This for me too, doctors didn't have a problem with my past abuse/use

Quote from: ImSoLost on April 04, 2012, 01:04:48 AM
i thought i read somewhere on this forum that a guy couldn't get T until he tested negative for marijuana, so i don't know.

Lol no, there would be a lot less guys on T if that was a rule, at least here in California. I wouldn't worry about getting drug tested unless you're in police custody or a minor and your parents request it.

Thank so much you guys. Yea I struggle with heroin, but I have never and will never inject it. Anyways, my habit has gotten worse as of late. I use because I don't want to think about the fact that my mother can't get on board with transition and out of fear that i'll never be happy so i want to feel nothing. but i'm finally working and with possibility of steady paychecks in the near future i might try to go on a low dose and if i know for sure it's right will tell my parents they need to just get over it. so with this possibility i really want to quit doing drugs and fully experience life and transition. thanks again everyone. it's nice to know i shouldn't have trouble regardless of my status.

The guy who had to test negative for marijuana before getting T = me. And no I wasn't a minor at the time.

If you don't disclose your drug use with your doc they won't test you. They might not even test you if you do disclose. It just depends on their personal opinions on drugs, I guess.

They conduct the drug test via a urine sample and that costs money, so they won't do it unless they think they have a good reason. They don't gather the info from your blood tests.