I spent a few weeks reviewing what my options were given that my GP had refused to prescribe HRT & blockers.
[CAUTION applies beyond this point]
It was clear that I was, at this point, at least 4 years away from an officially prescribed regime of Transfem medication. So I took the decision* to source these myself. I was able to afford this (for a few months at least!) and I was able to obtain a genuine 2 month supply of the appropriate branded 'magic pills'. I will be telling my GP in due course. My mood has improved considerably.
*My decision was based on weeks of research, talking to many others (including professionals) and not hitting the 'Buy' button at 1am. I understand the risks. I'm also in my late 50s so understand my body pretty well! I do not recommend that anyone else follows my example, please seek professional advice!
Shiraz
Comments
Self prescribing
Depending on the version of estrogen, there are rules of thumb for what a target dose is.
I started off with Leo Wollman back in1987 and he gave me a proximate dose of 5 mg of Premarin to start off with and given my size and weight was actually not too far off. Googling shows it is still the suggested dosage. I later on switched to a 'friendly' GP since Dr Wollman was getting on in years and he was very hard to get to.
Eventually I came under the care of a 'real' endo some two years later and he blood tested me and found I was not too far off in terms of hormone levels and only had to tweak my dosage just a bit, being a bit too high. Speaking of which, a overly high hormone dosage does NOT make you change any faster. How responsive you are to hormones is strictly a genetic thing.
Point is, self directed hormones can be done. I bet there are similarly 'friendly' GPs out there willing to prescribe and not ask too many questions. I found mine through my electrologist (also trans) who knew of him.
In any case, there are good pharmacies out there in Canada and New Zealand that I know of who are reliable.
I personally would not trust going to less trustworthy countries like India or some such.
As long as one is blood tested and monitored the only risk is the source of the medication, just be very careful.
As for blockers, one can use Spironolactone too to do some blocking though it is not as effective as the 'real' ones used to block puberty but it does help with keeping ones hair. At least in the US, Spironolactone is also dirt cheap. I just bought 30, 25mg tablets for 34 US cents, through insurance. I had to stare at it for a second and could not believe my eyes.
Just be very very careful.