Online Hormones

[Guest blownawish]

well hi everyone my issue is that i live in the DEEP south and seeing someone for hrt is pretty much impossible so my last resort is to try online hormones and wondering what would be the best doses and best ones to use? i know this is dangerous but i have no other option as long as im living where i live

ps thanks for the help!

[Guest NatalieRene]

What ever you do don't go the online medical route. Your body chemistry is unique and another persons dosage is not going to be what you need. In addition you just don't know if the pills you bought are what you think you purchased or if they have been laced or even just not as strong as they are supposed to be.

I know it may sound difficult to find a doctor now, but there are many people from Laura's that live in the south that could probably refer you to a doctor that could help you. You could also talk to your therapist and see if they know of a doctor you could go through. Mine was able to refer me to my hrt doctor.

[Guest ~Brenda~]

Dearheart,

Self-HRT is never an option. You must be diagnosed with GID and be given a letter of recommendation for HRT. After that you must have your blood tested prior to HRT to insure that you are healthy enough for HRT. Additionaly, your blodd must be monitored by an endocrinologist while on HRT (especially during the initial phase) to watch for any anomalies that may arise as a result of HRT. Please keep in mind that you increase your chances of blood clots and stroke when taking estrogen. To date it is unknown why estrogen increases these risks, but the risks remain.

One of the rules (in the Terms and Conditions) here at Laura's is that one must not discuss hormone dosages. Hormone dosages will vary from person to person, so you must be evaluated by a qualified physician for HRT so that the correct dosage for you can be prescribed.

Too much is dangerous and will not help you. Too little will do nothing for you. You have to get the right dosage, and that can only be specified by a doctor.

Love

Brenda

[Paula ult]

Talking about hormone dosages is against the rules, and we seriously frown upon self medicating.

A friend of a friend is fighting for her life as we speak, she was self medicating and has blood clots in both legs and lungs, hormones are powerful drugs, proper dosages and blood work prescribed by doctors and endo's ensure there are minimal risks.

There are quite a few that are transitioning in Florida and there are resources available, the first step is finding a gender therapist, they will help you determine if transitioning is what you need to do.

Paula

[Guest OneSmallStep]

well hi everyone my issue is that i live in the DEEP south and seeing someone for hrt is pretty much impossible so my last resort is to try online hormones and wondering what would be the best doses and best ones to use? i know this is dangerous but i have no other option as long as im living where i live

ps thanks for the help!

I notice your thing says you're in Florida too, what part? I'm in Orlando, if you are anywhere near there, there's some really good therapists/endo's around here, maybe traveling to Orlando for them might be possible? Also if you are not in/around/near Orlando I can probably get you some info for where you are around, I go to a 3-times-monthly trans-support group meeting where we have people from all over and I'm sure someone will have some info for where you are at

Feel free to pm if you'd like.

[Guest KimberlyF]

well hi everyone my issue is that i live in the DEEP south and seeing someone for hrt is pretty much impossible so my last resort is to try online hormones and wondering what would be the best doses and best ones to use? i know this is dangerous but i have no other option as long as im living where i live

ps thanks for the help!

As another member mentioned, you live in Fla? That's south but hardly the deep south. There are good old boys but also thriving LGBT communities and more liberal cities. It's why Fla is in play in Presidential elections and Alabama isn't.

You can also try an online therapist to discuss how you're feeling about things. And you can always talk to us. HRT is a wonderful tool but it doesn't solve all of the worlds problems and in some ways it creates new ones. We do understand your pain if you want to talk. Say as much or as little as you want whenever you want and someone will be there.

Kim

[Guest KimberlyF]

Okies these are my thoughts and YMMV.

I know this is frowned upon on this board and a taboo subject but I've mentioned a few times that I self-medicated 20 plus years ago. I wouldn't do it now and I wouldn't recommend it. I've read the standards of care though, and they even mention hormones can be prescribed without 'A period of psychotherapy of a duration specified by the mental health professional

after the initial evaluation (usually a minimum of three months)' if the other option is black market hormones because I believe they understand the frame of mind a lot of the people doing this are in. Option B without hormones or not being moved to the front of the line upon early contact with a therapist isn't a nice one. Many people mention their therapists said they were just waiting for them to ask for a letter. These people are coming in the door demanding one.

I was laughing about my black market 'dosage' with my doc this week I have no idea how many mgs my pills were but if they didn't do anything after a month, I was supposed to take two a day. I can laugh now. I am alive to do it. It MAY have killed me and I know that. But if I didn't do that then I would have prob done something that would have killed me. It bought me time to get into a better place. If it buys anyone more time I wouldn't push them that way, but it's more desirable than doing guaranteed permanent harm to oneself in a matter of minutes.

I will never advocate taking them now. There are so many other options avail. compared to when I was a teen. But I really think this type of thread almost needs to be moved into a suicide/depression sub thread or something and treated the same way. If they're where I was it's a serious call for help and instead of just being told no, we should try to help them talk about why they're where they are. Do they feel alone, powerless, too scared to do things in the open?

And don't hate me because I think the mods on here do an amazing job, but I understand the rules of the board, and when someone is in pain, a bunch of posts pointing out terms of conditions instead of a quick edit if anything breaks the rules and private PM or something might not be the most compassionate answer.

Kim

[Guest AshleyRF]

I will be the only one here to tell you to do what you think you need to do. The rest of these yahoos who tell you not to self med and to find a doctor all live in areas that have doctors who have dealt with trans patients before. That is far from the case in the south. I to live in the deep south and I spent months trying to find any doctor near me that had any experience with trans people. The closet I could fine was in New Orleans... A 4 hour drive away for me and even then the doctor I have found only has minimal experience dealing with a few trans people many many years ago. To be honest, my testosterone levels have not changed one bit since I started HRT (thankfully they were on the really low side to begin with) and it appears that I do not respond to Spiro. My doctors don't have any idea what to do to fix the problem other than an orchi but I'm not wasting money on an orchi now when my SRS is less than a year away. They are in the process of trying to find anyone near here that might know another way to get my T levels to the normal female range but have also had no luck.

So yeah... I don't suggest just ordering meds and taking however much of it you want, but if you do your research, find some way to have regular bloodwork and order from a reputable online drugstore, I say go for it. Self medding is probably my next step as well since I can't get a prescription for cyproterone acetate in the states anyway and that is really the only other option for me to get my T lvls where they need to be.

I know I'm going to get crap for this post but I really don't care anymore. I'm sick of people who have the luxury of living in a place where real help is readily available trying to tell those of us who do not have that luxury what we should and shouldn't do. It's your body... take control of it.

[Guest]

The rest of these yahoos who tell you not to self med and to find a doctor all live in areas that have doctors who have dealt with trans patients before.

Did it ever dawn on you that our warnings are based on actual events from our members? This isn't one or two either, it is thousands over several years. Some of these have resulted in deaths, but you in your infamous wisdome advise people to just go ahead. After all what do YOU have to lose if others die from your advice? I myself have had blood clots long ago and I was under a doctors care. As it turns out he saved my life. If I listened to people like you I wouldn't be here now. Are you prepared to take responsibility for the lives of those who listen to you now? What part of "You could die don't you understand. The quote below from Paula is but one account of many.

A friend of a friend is fighting for her life as we speak, she was self medicating and has blood clots in both legs and lungs, hormones are powerful drugs, proper dosages and blood work prescribed by doctors and endo's ensure there are minimal risks.

Getting hormones without a prescription are not only ILLEGAL it's dangerous. How many do you think who obtain their meds this way will actually get tested?

This site is actually concerned about it's members. You obviously are not.

[Guest AshleyRF]

Actually.. I probably am more so concerned with their HAPPINESS. It seems you are only concerned with making a good public face with other trans people.

You fail to understand that for some there just are no other options. What's better, to trust yourself and do your own research or to trust a doctor who has never had any experience with trans people.

Sure, people die from self medding. They also die from doctor prescribed medding. Dieing is part of the risks you take from this, as is breast cancer, loosing your job, loosing your friend and family, or even being beaten to death for being trans. All of these things happen to trans people ever day, so by your reasoning that self medicating is dangerous, well so is every part of transitioning so lets try to talk people out of all of it then. It is up to the individual to decide what is and is not the right thing for them to do, not you nor anyone else in a forum.

Life is nothing but taking one risk after another. Their are no guarantees in life except that one day you will die. I would rather see someone live for 10 years happy than 20 in misery.

Once again.... all the negative feedback over this comes primarily from people in areas loaded with experienced doctors for trans patients or at the very least those who have already managed to find a doctor. You rarely if ever see the person who is struggling to find an experienced doctor saying "self medicating is never an option, you will die from it".

The only thing I don't care about is if I urine people of by not being trans politically correct and being the one who has the guts to tell the truth the way it really is.

Hugs

Ash

[Guest Donna Jean]

I will be the only one here to tell you to do what you think you need to do. The rest of these yahoos who tell you not to self med and to find a doctor all live in areas that have doctors who have dealt with trans patients before.

I guess that would make me a "yahoo", too....

I advocate doing it right!

I live in the sticks and had to go great distances to get therapy...

I now I travel for hours for my doctor...

If someone were to cut their arm off, would you advocate sewing it back on at home because the hospital is just too far away?

It's naive to think that people won't self medicate because of what we say and do here...

We just try to promote doing it the right way...

That is one of our purposes .....

And one of our rules.

Donna Jean

[Guest]

Actually.. I probably am more so concerned with their HAPPINESS. It seems you are only concerned with making a good public face with other trans people.

Actually I am much more concerned with saving peoples lives which you obviously are not. It is one thing to go through normal risks and quite another to intentionally put yourself in harms way. How many happy dead people do you know? I would be stupid and irresponsible to sanction practices that have harmed and killed some of my members. At this point we should agree to disagree.

Laura