Transfem
A community for transfeminine people and experiences.
This is a supportive community for all transfeminine or questioning people. Anyone is welcome to participate in this community but disrupting the safety of this space for trans feminine people is unacceptable and will result in moderator action.
Debate surrounding transgender rights or acceptance will result in an immediate ban.
- Please follow the rules of the lemmy.blahaj.zone instance.
- Bigotry of any kind will not be tolerated.
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This community is supportive of DIY HRT. Unsolicited medical advice or caution being given to people on DIY will result in moderator action.
Posters may express that they are looking for responses and support from groups with certain experiences (eg. trans people, trans people with supportive parents, trans parents.). Please respect those requests and be mindful that your experience may differ from others here.
Some helpful links:
- The Gender Dysphoria Bible // In depth explanation of the different types of gender dysphoria.
- Trans Voice Help // A community here on blahaj.zone for voice training.
- LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory // A directory of LGBTQ+ accepting Healthcare providers.
- Trans Resistance Network // A US-based mutual aid organization to help trans people facing state violence and legal discrimination.
- TLDEF's Trans Health Project // Advice about insurance claims for gender affirming healthcare and procedures.
- TransLifeLine's ID change Library // A comprehensive guide to changing your name on any US legal document.
Support Hotlines:
- The Trevor Project // Web chat, phone call, and text message LGBTQ+ support hotline.
- TransLifeLine // A US/Canada LGBTQ+ phone support hotline service. The US line has Spanish support.
- LGBT Youthline.ca // A Canadian LGBT hotline support service with phone call and web chat support. (4pm - 9:30pm EST)
- 988lifeline // A US only Crisis hotline with phone call, text and web chat support. Dedicated staff for LGBTQIA+ youth 24/7 on phone service, 3pm to 2am EST for text and web chat.
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I personally use spray, it's like gel but dries much quickier (2 min dry enough, 1 hr to fully dry). But the 'fully dry' is moreso that in that time you'd best not shower yet, that's it.
Dries in 2 min enough to put clothes over the sprayed spot and do your thing. I have a skin that is drier than the Gobi desert, so that also helps.
You'll need to do it daily, but depending on the person, you can have it 1x a day or twice, and up to three doses per time.
Whether or not you want HRT, it's valid. DIY just means you take the meds without a formal prescription. If your situation allows you to do so safely, without problems with doctors and/or governments, I'd recommend the official path. Otherwise, DIY is also perfectly valid. Stay safe and aware! If you do HRT, always keep a few months' worth of supply in stock, in case.
GUIDE TO CHOOSING YOUR MEDICATION PATH (TL:DR; below)
This guide assumes you already have decided to get HRT. It's not meant to replace official advice from affirming and up-to-date doctors, etc. and all that legal stuff.
The following options consist of injections, pellets, patches, gel, spray, sublingual pills, and oral pills.
The following only applies if you haven't had orchi-/ovariectomy yet! Except for injections and pellets which can work monotherapically, all methods additionally require the hormone blockers for the hormone you want to reduce.
All of the listed HRT methods are safe and work well, it's mainly subtle nuances between them. Which is best, just depends upon your situation and preferences.
If a method, for whatever reason (costs, laws, insurance, transport..), is unavailable for you, then answer as if negative for that method.
1. Do you dislike needles and scars?
Yes -> See question 2
No -> See question 4
2. Do you have sensitive skin?
Yes -> See question 3
No -> See question 5
3. Do you prefer ease of use (although there may be liver/blood issues), or effectiveness?
Ease of use -> Take pills orally (health risk long-term)
Effectiveness -> See question 6
4. Do you want it to be easily available, or for it to be applied less often?
Easily available -> Injections
Apply less often -> Pellet implant
5. Do you want to hide it more easily, or to apply it less often?
Easier to hide -> Gel/Spray; see question 7
Apply less often -> Patches
6. Do you work in a flammable situation (e.g. as a firefighter) and/or is your skin damaged?
Yes -> Take pills sublingually (small health risk)
No -> See question 7
7. Do you prefer it to dry quickly, or for it to possibly yield higher hormone levels?
Dries quickier -> Spray
Higher hormone levels -> Gel
TL:DR; If you still don't know which method to use, or feel indifferent - and it is an option -, then I would recommend injections. WillStealYourUsername below me also has some good explanations.
Why that method?
They're the gold standard for combining safety with effect. Consider the following. If you want pills and consume nicotin, you will have to stop with the latter before starting. Patches are pretty visible and can fall off or cause allergic reactions. Spray/gel has to dry for 2-5 minutes, with a cooldown of one hour before showering.Like spray/gel, it bypasses the risk for the liver (sublingual reduces the risk to an extent).
Though they need to be applied more often than pellet implants (which are only once every 6-12 months), they are more affordable and like patches, are not on a daily, but weekly basis. Their doses can be more easily finetuned, and they can work on their own, without blockers being necessary.
Does it have downsides compared to other methods? They hurt a bit (obviously), your hormone levels will spike and fall more sharply, it takes more preparation, and administering it isn't as easy. But still, injections are the best widely available method. They're the 'jack of trades, master of some', if you will.
I'm curious about needles. I don't think I'm squeamish, but does stabbing your skin for years on end have any bad side effects?
You should rotate where you inject. I switch thigh each time and try to not hit the exact same spot. Injecting into the same area too often can lead to scar tissue buildup which makes that part of the skin hard and therefore hard to penetrate with a needle.
I did this as well for spray in the beginning. Had that after administering, it sometimes felt for a few min as if someone was grasping my arm tight. So I rotated and after a week it no longef happened, then I tried going back to administering it on one arm only, and that worked well.
Not really, consider that some people regularly inject their skin for blood donation or checkups, and it goes fine. What WillStealYourUsername said is true, though.