Thank you for posting this, it's something that deserves more attention. It's the same issue with outlawing abortion: you're not stopping it, you're just forcing people to do it through illegal...
Thank you for posting this, it's something that deserves more attention. It's the same issue with outlawing abortion: you're not stopping it, you're just forcing people to do it through illegal means.
I did DIY subQ EV injections for about a year using goods from Lilian (IYKYK, probably not allowed to post a direct link here) and had a pretty great experience, but getting to the point of feeling comfortable that I was buying the right stuff was a lot of work and a lot of working with the DIY community. It's possible, and really not the hardest thing in the world, but there's room to mess up. What made me make the jump was that my medication, doctors, labs, the cost of all those went from about 1.2k/year to like, $120 total a year. At a time when I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to continue HRT, DIY was a literal life saver.
Fortunately I got a better job and was able to find a really cheap telehealth service that took my insurance, and they also got me back onto Spiro which I couldn't find a good supplier for previously, so I increased by EV dosage to try and encourage natural T suppression. This service comes with basically everything, labs, appointments, even letters for states that require those for gender/name changes, for $40/mo after insurance.
I also made the jump over because my state attempted to ban trans healthcare for adults, however under the ruling sort of grandfathered in people who were already receiving HRT so (as I understood it after speaking with a provider) I'd need to already be on legal HRT right now or else it'd be barred from me until like, half a decade worth of roadblocks were overcome. So I panicked, but my current provider did emergency sign-ups and consultations and I got onto legal HRT within a week of the decision being announced. Luckily the decision was blocked by a St. Louis court, but the fact that it's something that happened is scary.
I would say that getting HRT through a medical provider has been much more effective, and overall less stressful, than doing it all myself. However at a time when there were no other options DIY was a lifeboat that kept me sailing until I was in a better place financially, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm keeping my extra vials of DIY and needles for when the next attack comes on my ability to access healthcare.
For those wondering about a cheap, informed consent based, insurance-optional service to obtain HRT, the service I mention in this post is called Plume and I don't plan on changing providers any time soon!
That issue along with the AG targeting WashU is what made me switch my surgery over to Chicago. Not going to be in limbo and maybe attacked by republicans just because it's closer. Also if you're...
That issue along with the AG targeting WashU is what made me switch my surgery over to Chicago. Not going to be in limbo and maybe attacked by republicans just because it's closer.
Also if you're close to IL, planned parenthood does HRT as well.
I'm with you, any plans that I ever had for staying in Missouri evaporated when that decision came out. As soon as I get my degree in about 4 more semesters I'm gone like enron. I hear New...
I'm with you, any plans that I ever had for staying in Missouri evaporated when that decision came out. As soon as I get my degree in about 4 more semesters I'm gone like enron. I hear New England/New York area is nice...
Also if you're close to IL, planned parenthood does HRT as well.
Planned Parenthood was what I did first, after having also done Plume I found that PP was very similar to Plume (at least with how I did it which was through telehealth), just more expensive.
Here's something I haven't seen reported on before! DIY HRT -- the practice of obtaining transition-related care through online grey-market pharmacies instead of officially sanctioned channels --...
Here's something I haven't seen reported on before! DIY HRT -- the practice of obtaining transition-related care through online grey-market pharmacies instead of officially sanctioned channels -- has only been growing in popularity in recent years. Personally, I just made the switch to DIY'ing after more than 2 years of "legitimate" HRT, and this article does a good job of covering why other trans people are increasingly making that same decision, in a surprisingly empathetic and balanced way (considering the state of mainstream reporting on transgender issues).
Yes, although in many ways I’d rather it stayed under the radar, since I’m sure the government here in the UK, and elsewhere, would love to crack down on it. Seems a natural next step after making...
Yes, although in many ways I’d rather it stayed under the radar, since I’m sure the government here in the UK, and elsewhere, would love to crack down on it. Seems a natural next step after making it increasingly necessary! I’m on some combination of official and DIY since there has been a shortage of one of the medications I take, for nearing a year now, that no one seems to be in any particular rush to repair…
The article pointed out that this isn't new or limited to trans care. And the people using DIY know it's not the same and that it's risky: But basically the standard and availability of care and...
The article pointed out that this isn't new or limited to trans care.
And the people using DIY know it's not the same and that it's risky:
62% of medicines purchased online are substandard or counterfeit, and a 2010 Korean study that found 26% of medications tested from online pharmacies contained toxins like mercury, lead and arsenic, while 37% of samples tested didn’t have any active ingredients at all.
But basically the standard and availability of care and costs needs to meet the people where they are at: when good options aren't there, people will always DIY because we have to. And as the article pointed out this erodes public trust in established medicine. With other issues like managing pain or cancer or "low-t", we get more belief in quackery and informercial diagnosis and all kinds of nonsense.
Thank you for posting this, it's something that deserves more attention. It's the same issue with outlawing abortion: you're not stopping it, you're just forcing people to do it through illegal means.
I did DIY subQ EV injections for about a year using goods from Lilian (IYKYK, probably not allowed to post a direct link here) and had a pretty great experience, but getting to the point of feeling comfortable that I was buying the right stuff was a lot of work and a lot of working with the DIY community. It's possible, and really not the hardest thing in the world, but there's room to mess up. What made me make the jump was that my medication, doctors, labs, the cost of all those went from about 1.2k/year to like, $120 total a year. At a time when I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to continue HRT, DIY was a literal life saver.
Fortunately I got a better job and was able to find a really cheap telehealth service that took my insurance, and they also got me back onto Spiro which I couldn't find a good supplier for previously, so I increased by EV dosage to try and encourage natural T suppression. This service comes with basically everything, labs, appointments, even letters for states that require those for gender/name changes, for $40/mo after insurance.
I also made the jump over because my state attempted to ban trans healthcare for adults, however under the ruling sort of grandfathered in people who were already receiving HRT so (as I understood it after speaking with a provider) I'd need to already be on legal HRT right now or else it'd be barred from me until like, half a decade worth of roadblocks were overcome. So I panicked, but my current provider did emergency sign-ups and consultations and I got onto legal HRT within a week of the decision being announced. Luckily the decision was blocked by a St. Louis court, but the fact that it's something that happened is scary.
I would say that getting HRT through a medical provider has been much more effective, and overall less stressful, than doing it all myself. However at a time when there were no other options DIY was a lifeboat that kept me sailing until I was in a better place financially, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm keeping my extra vials of DIY and needles for when the next attack comes on my ability to access healthcare.
For those wondering about a cheap, informed consent based, insurance-optional service to obtain HRT, the service I mention in this post is called Plume and I don't plan on changing providers any time soon!
That issue along with the AG targeting WashU is what made me switch my surgery over to Chicago. Not going to be in limbo and maybe attacked by republicans just because it's closer.
Also if you're close to IL, planned parenthood does HRT as well.
I'm with you, any plans that I ever had for staying in Missouri evaporated when that decision came out. As soon as I get my degree in about 4 more semesters I'm gone like enron. I hear New England/New York area is nice...
Planned Parenthood was what I did first, after having also done Plume I found that PP was very similar to Plume (at least with how I did it which was through telehealth), just more expensive.
Here's something I haven't seen reported on before! DIY HRT -- the practice of obtaining transition-related care through online grey-market pharmacies instead of officially sanctioned channels -- has only been growing in popularity in recent years. Personally, I just made the switch to DIY'ing after more than 2 years of "legitimate" HRT, and this article does a good job of covering why other trans people are increasingly making that same decision, in a surprisingly empathetic and balanced way (considering the state of mainstream reporting on transgender issues).
Yes, although in many ways I’d rather it stayed under the radar, since I’m sure the government here in the UK, and elsewhere, would love to crack down on it. Seems a natural next step after making it increasingly necessary! I’m on some combination of official and DIY since there has been a shortage of one of the medications I take, for nearing a year now, that no one seems to be in any particular rush to repair…
The article pointed out that this isn't new or limited to trans care.
And the people using DIY know it's not the same and that it's risky:
But basically the standard and availability of care and costs needs to meet the people where they are at: when good options aren't there, people will always DIY because we have to. And as the article pointed out this erodes public trust in established medicine. With other issues like managing pain or cancer or "low-t", we get more belief in quackery and informercial diagnosis and all kinds of nonsense.