Thank you Jannet, my PCP came back and suggested I schedule an appointment with an endocrine specialist however he will be more than happy to continue being my PCP. That was a relief. Do you still have to get the letter from the counselor to begin your HRT or has that been abolished? The counselor I initially went to I really really liked. They know my biological male name but always call me Ali and the office manager was always so sweet. They ended up not being in my insurance network and cost 120.00 per session so I had to back away. I found another one nearby me in hopes to meet with her in a couple weeks. We'll see!

Ali

My original therapist was also registered to provide hormones, i stayed with her for 12 months, i was getting frustrated as my estrogen levels were low, i had no Testosterone on 150mg spiro, but instead of more estrogen she wanted to give me more spiro .??
She only liked giving patches, so my levels were equal to a 60 year old female. 
I just jumped to another Dr ( i just called and made an appointment ) who gave me a script fro injections.
Best thing i ever did.

The reason why I want the patch is the reduced risk of blood clots. I have Type 2 diabetes which I am working very hard to reverse my A1C numbers are almost back to normal range. They said the injections can actually increase clot risks so I don't want that.
My therapist is just that but she can provide the letter to begin HRT. I'm meeting with an endocrinologist next week. Hopefully with my estrogen levels already up there, it should help matters. 
Speaking of Spiro, I heard that spiro can also be dangerous and there are newer t blocker prescriptions that would be better than spiro. Do you have any insight in this? Your thoughts?

Any hormone thats classed as bio identical, and is delivered without passing through the liver ( parental delivery ) have very little to no risk of blood clots. Injections have the lowest risk of all the options.
A supplement called Rutin, takes that risk to 0.
I cut myself the other day, blood clots were the least of my worries, i bled like a pig, on a frigging paper cut!!!

so let me asking you something, when you finally got on HRT did you quit all the herbals? I know you talked about White Peony and Reshi etc. Do you still take anything? I just purchased two more bottles of BO, one more of PG and Reshi and they arrived today but now that I have my HRT Dr appt next week felt I should stop them. I have to send them back to get a refund. But I am going to keep taking fenugreek and blessed thistle since they help increase mammary gland growth quickly. Which I can attest too.

Thanks again Jannet, between you and Megan you've been very helpful in my journey.

Luv,
Ali

I would drop the herbals, let the HRT do its work.
Lotus has some threads on what she takes that helps HRT to be more effective.  Thete is no point taking a low effect herbal, blocking some recepters with it, and peeing your HRT meds away.

My original therapist was also registered to provide hormones, i stayed with her for 12 months, i was getting frustrated as my estrogen levels were low, i had no Testosterone on 150mg spiro, but instead of more estrogen she wanted to give me more spiro .??
She only liked giving patches, so my levels were equal to a 60 year old female. 
I just jumped to another Dr ( i just called and made an appointment ) who gave me a script fro injections.
Best thing i ever did.

The reason why I want the patch is the reduced risk of blood clots. I have Type 2 diabetes which I am working very hard to reverse my A1C numbers are almost back to normal range. They said the injections can actually increase clot risks so I don't want that.
My therapist is just that but she can provide the letter to begin HRT. I'm meeting with an endocrinologist next week. Hopefully with my estrogen levels already up there, it should help matters. 
Speaking of Spiro, I heard that spiro can also be dangerous and there are newer t blocker prescriptions that would be better than spiro. Do you have any insight in this? Your thoughts?

Any hormone thats classed as bio identical, and is delivered without passing through the liver ( parental delivery ) have very little to no risk of blood clots. Injections have the lowest risk of all the options.
A supplement called Rutin, takes that risk to 0.
I cut myself the other day, blood clots were the least of my worries, i bled like a pig, on a frigging paper cut!!!

so let me asking you something, when you finally got on HRT did you quit all the herbals? I know you talked about White Peony and Reshi etc. Do you still take anything? I just purchased two more bottles of BO, one more of PG and Reshi and they arrived today but now that I have my HRT Dr appt next week felt I should stop them. I have to send them back to get a refund. But I am going to keep taking fenugreek and blessed thistle since they help increase mammary gland growth quickly. Which I can attest too.

Thanks again Jannet, between you and Megan you've been very helpful in my journey.

Luv,
Ali

I would drop the herbals, let the HRT do its work.
Lotus has some threads on what she takes that helps HRT to be more effective.  Thete is no point taking a low effect herbal, blocking some recepters with it, and peeing your HRT meds away.

That's what I thought... thankfully I stopped all..Amazon allowed me to return everything.  Like I said, the only thing I take are the liquid extracts of Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle under my tongue 3 x a day. Those two have been building my mammary glands like crazy. 

Ali

The reason why I want the patch is the reduced risk of blood clots. I have Type 2 diabetes which I am working very hard to reverse my A1C numbers are almost back to normal range. They said the injections can actually increase clot risks so I don't want that.
My therapist is just that but she can provide the letter to begin HRT. I'm meeting with an endocrinologist next week. Hopefully with my estrogen levels already up there, it should help matters. 
Speaking of Spiro, I heard that spiro can also be dangerous and there are newer t blocker prescriptions that would be better than spiro. Do you have any insight in this? Your thoughts?

Any hormone thats classed as bio identical, and is delivered without passing through the liver ( parental delivery ) have very little to no risk of blood clots. Injections have the lowest risk of all the options.
A supplement called Rutin, takes that risk to 0.
I cut myself the other day, blood clots were the least of my worries, i bled like a pig, on a frigging paper cut!!!

so let me asking you something, when you finally got on HRT did you quit all the herbals? I know you talked about White Peony and Reshi etc. Do you still take anything? I just purchased two more bottles of BO, one more of PG and Reshi and they arrived today but now that I have my HRT Dr appt next week felt I should stop them. I have to send them back to get a refund. But I am going to keep taking fenugreek and blessed thistle since they help increase mammary gland growth quickly. Which I can attest too.

Thanks again Jannet, between you and Megan you've been very helpful in my journey.

Luv,
Ali

I would drop the herbals, let the HRT do its work.
Lotus has some threads on what she takes that helps HRT to be more effective.  Thete is no point taking a low effect herbal, blocking some recepters with it, and peeing your HRT meds away.

That's what I thought... thankfully I stopped all..Amazon allowed me to return everything.  Like I said, the only thing I take are the liquid extracts of Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle under my tongue 3 x a day. Those two have been building my mammary glands like crazy. 

Ali

Thats lucky .. I ended up just giving my extra stuff away, i guess I am financially in a decent place, the money was already spent, if i could help somebody else out, then why not.
I got mine in bulk order, so i had had them a few months, returning was not really an option.

Hi Ali
  actually this is my first post on this site. Only found it today. I suppose I should introduce myself.. My name is Toni and Im 57 and just starting my transition. I havent even had my first appointment but have registered with my GP and been referred to GIC. Im going a shared private and NHS route to save costs. One of the joys of being a UK resident! Im soooooooooooooooooooooo f*****g excited!!!! :o) :o) :o)
I just wanted to say that I have suffered this GID all my life. I have desperately tried to fit in with my birth gender. I have embraced and then purged the female more times than I care to count. Had many many relationships fall apart causing pain and upset all round..all because I couldnt commit to the path that is now so obvious. I was always worried about other peoples opinions. Ive lived my life giving away my power to others. Now I have to live MY life for MYSELF. If that is selfish then so be it. I wouldnt have caused so much upset if I had been true to myself..sooo..maybe... the selfish thing is to NOT deal with this condition at the earliest possible opportunity. We dont choose GID. We just have to deal with it in whatever way that works for us. Remember though, that in my experience, it NEVER goes away..not ever. Also in my experience, the longer it is left untreated the worse it gets. It is a POWERFUL thing that becomes overwhelming. My everyday mental health suffered terribly. Some days I cant leave the houseboat  because of the very very heavy overcoat of masculinity I have to don every time I do. I am also reworking my idea of what it is to be a trans woman. I dont think I will ever truly  pass, although I am very small, 5'4"..my face is worldly worn..but..I havent been on Estrogen yet so I dont know what I will look like. For me though, My main aim is to live the rest of my life as authentically as possible. I am a trans woman. I may always look like a trans woman, but as long as I am happy I now dont care what other people think. They will think what they want no matter what I do or dont do. I suppose Im trying to say that you may cause more pain for you and your family  by trying to deny your feelings than actually dealing with them in whatever way works for you.
I wish you all the luck in the world for the future....
Much love
Toni x

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