Resources For Trans Folks On The Road?

[Honey Crust]

Hey all, I’m a traveling trans girl who’s been on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for about a year and a half. My pharmacy is in Denver, and whenever I needed to refill my prescription during the summer I’d have to make my way back to Colorado once a month to get my hormones. I’d like to not have to do that lol

I was wondering if any other folks know of ways to get either free or heavily discounted hormones, and/or how to get them when you’re a thousand miles away from where you should be.

I’d also like this thread to be a general resource for any traveling transgender folks to find clinics, pro bono therapists, LGBTQ+ spaces that are explicitly trans-friendly, or any other ways to help each other out on the road. Thank y’all for your time!!

 

[Deleted member 20]

Could you not have a friend/family member get your prescription & mail it out to you. This is a common dilemma & practice among travelers. I routinely pick up scripts for family members (even narcotics), if its a controlled substance I gotta show ID but surprisingly the person prescribed the script doesnt have to be the one actually picking it up. I am unsure how stuff goes in Denver but assume there is always a way to sort this out without a return trip. Lots of people are on meds & often they take extended trips. Usually one needs to get their Doctor to initiate such processes. Often they get authorization from the insurance co who gives the pharmacy the ability to fill like a 3 month supply in advance. Many insurance companies & Pharmacists just need the doc to start the process so I would just tell your Doc your plans & get them on board. Instead of being at risk of running out I would just communicate how you live & travel with your Doctor & see if they will accommodate the request.

Now I am not trans but my teen is FTM. The shitty thing here for us to be able to get top surgery & HRT is that he needs to go to weekly therapy. Hes only 14 and not a traveler but the bureaucracy around transitioning requires monthly medical/psych visits & 4 weekly counseling sessions. Kind of unfair mandatory requirements that wouldnt exist while seeking other medical treatment. But we just play the game.

 

[Honey Crust]

Could you not have a friend get your prescription & mail it out to you. This is a common dilemma & practice among travelers. I routinely pick up scripts for family members (even narcotics), if its a controlled substance I gotta show ID but surprisingly the person prescribed the script doesnt have to be the one actually picking it up. I am unsure how stuff goes in Denver but assume there is always a way to sort this out without a return trip. Lots of people are on meds & often they take extended trips. Usually one needs to get their Doctor to initiate such processes. Often they get authorization from the insurance co who gives the pharmacy the ability to fill like a 3 month supply in advance. Many insurance companies & Pharmacists just need the doc to start the process so I would just tell your Doc your plans & get them on board. Instead of being at risk of running out I would just communicate how you live & travel with your Doctor & see if they will accommodate the request.

That’s something I never even considered holy shit thank you!

As for the bureaucratic bullshit I’m sorry y’all heave to deal with that. Lucky for me, Colorado is what’s called an “informed consent” state so I just went into planned parenthood, they asked if I knew the risks involved with taking HRT, I answered yes and a few more questions, and I got to pick up my first prescription that day.

 

[BusGypsy]

That’s something I never even considered holy shit thank you!

As for the bureaucratic bullshit I’m sorry y’all heave to deal with that. Lucky for me, Colorado is what’s called an “informed consent” state so I just went into planned parenthood, they asked if I knew the risks involved with taking HRT, I answered yes and a few more questions, and I got to pick up my first prescription that day.

Wow, just like that? I've used Planned Parenthood but didn't know they provide HRT. Neat. I love PP. I used to go to them for the pill and spare rubbers!

 

[DeadTreeMississippi]

Is there any way to change your prescription pick-up site? I'm ftm, haven't hit the road yet but plan to. Right now my doc gave me a 6-month supply script (sweetness!!). I've moved a few times across the city and have changed my pharmacy pick-site each time. They're pretty cool with it--I just give them a call and yeah it takes a few days while the doc puts in the new location but it's fairly painless, all things considered. I go through PP, pay out of pocket. I don't know how it would work changing to an out-of-state pharmacy, but I feel like it wouldn't be too bad...haven't tried it yet though.

 

[deleted24783]

I recently found out about

https://lgbtmap.org/

And i will be using that website along with others to determine where I can continue my hrt on state health insurance without being around legal recreational marijuana

Some personal advice I found significant: if you are mtf trans and taking hrt, if you smoke weed it will prevent your estrogen level from getting anywhere. Weed was habitual for me, but once I found out that my estrogen was only 60 when it was supposed to be at 200-300 and that it’s more likely than not because of cannabis consumption, I was shocked and dismayed at hindering the progress of my own transition.

So I want to be away from weed forever and just let my estrogen and the goddess work with me. Coming out saved my life and reduced my suicidal thoughts and feelings by >95%, hrt made me stop having nightmares (all of that I’ve suffered from since childhood) so I don’t want cannabis suppressing my dreams or estrogen anymore.

I am going to be comparing the map of states that offer HRt on state insurance To a map of cannabis legality and focus on states that help with HRT but don’t allow recreational weed

I’d like to be involved in more progressive discussion here such as this 😁 thank for starting this thread

 

[scutellaria]

yeah get someone to pick up the scriot and mail it. also depending on your insurance, some chain pharmacies will fill your script wherever. i had my scripts filled in oregon when i was on medi-cal. also theres always inhouse pharmacy, a grey market site where u can buy hrt much chesper than label price. thats where i buy my injectable p. also note: if youre travellig w a vial of e, keep it deep in your pack and keep your pack in the shade as much as possible. high temps during the summer will rapidly degrade estradiol and cold isnt necessarily bad but it can cause the estradiol to crystallize, thus come out of solution and then when you go to pull your shot, you only get the medium snd no e until it reintegrated.

 

[scutellaria]

all you trans girls who are new to travelling, please feel free to pm me with quedtions snd ill donmy best to get back to you. ive been travelling for a while now, have lived sll over the country and have learned a thing or two. i also have advocated for myself a lot in terms of heslthcare snd learned a lot about proper hrt (shit doctors dont care to know because they dont give any shit about anything but wpath)

 

[scutellaria]

hands down best place to establish medical care is portland. i had the most competent hrt orescribing doctor, free hrt, got a free orchie in like 6 months, and the healthcare is just off the chain

 

[DeadTreeMississippi]

I didn't even think about temp effects on meds on the road. I'll havta look up if T is the same way; probably best to take the same precautions anyway just in case.
I know the thread and replies are geared towards the ladies but they're helping me as well, so thank you everyone who's contributing

 

[scutellaria]

I didn't even think about temp effects on meds on the road. I'll havta look up if T is the same way; probably best to take the same precautions anyway just in case.
I know the thread and replies are geared towards the ladies but they're helping me as well, so thank you everyone who's contributing

it does also apply to t. theyre made in the same solutions. usually some type of alcohol (i think its usually benzyl) and then a very thick oil.
what i do is usually keep my vial, in the box with all the thick instruction pad thingys and maybe some toilet paper or injection supply wrappers for padding, then wrap it in some of my extra clothes or something and put it likeway in the niddle of all my shit in my pack and just never leave my hear in the sun. it usually will take quite a while for the whole inside of my pack to actually get hot enough to damage the vial. and when on trains i just do ymmbest to find a little shade even if im shifting my bag every couple hours or throw a layer over it or whatever i gotta do

 

[scutellaria]

also in regards to medical care, california actually has the best medicaid for trans people. i know for trans women, its the only place (maybe theres one other state but indont think so) you can get hair removal covered on medicaid.
and have heard that new mexico is another one of the best places for medicaid from other disabled folks i kno but i dunno nm well at all.

 

[Honey Crust]

Holy heck, I’m so happy this thread is gaining some traction again! Thank you all for your input, these are valuable insights for us travelin trans folk, and I know for sure that I’ve learned a bunch just from going through this over the past couple days.

 

[scutellaria]

also wondering if everyone is aware of the severely overstated/in many cases lack of need for anti-androgens with proper prescribing of estradiol. the wpath, the standard most doctors use, isbwhere we get the regimen of heavy spiro, light estradiol. this is sctually really harmful and is also the least effective way to take hrt. estradiol is, in most all cases, able to adequately suppress testosterone on its own.

and should you need an aa to supplement, there is bicalutamide, which is far more effective in terms of antiadrogenic mechanism than spiro, wayyyyyyyyyyyyy less toxic and has an effective period of several days compared to spiros 8-12 hrs. and supplement that with micronized/bioidentical progesterone, youre solid. most effective forms of estradiol: intramusculsr, subcutaneous, gel, patch, sublingual (not oral) - in that order. dont ever let your doctor tell you there are no options! educate yourselves snd advocate! bring friends with you to deal with difficult prescribers!

also not taking aa's means less prescriptions to fill while travellingg and if you are able to take injectables, even less. i only need to fill my script once every few months.

also if you take oral estradiol, do not swallow the pill. you should dissolve it under your tongue for ~30 mins, do not swallow and spit out whats left. the pill and coating are very toxic. this is where doctors get the myths that estradiol leads to cardiovascular difficulties. because theyre fucking idiots and because medicalized transmisogyny.

its the pill and coating that lead to dvt and heart/corculation conplications. there is no proof that estradiol administered to trans women has any more health risks that for cis women. hence medicalized transmisogyny.

 

[scutellaria]

if anybody wants more resourced for hrt info and research, feel free to pm me.

 

[ByronMc]

Thanks on the info about how weed may block, your levels!
Are they back up & am guessing you had blood tests to figure it out, huh?

 

[hornedplant]

seconding California medicaid as being great for trans health care
several friends got GRS covered via it, some others got FFS covered
iirc in cali anything "medically necessary" to treat gender dysphoria (arbitrary and usually means anything that could make you feel less dysphoric) is covered and insurance plans in cali are required to cover them by state law

 

[hornedplant]

if you go to a pharmacy chain for filling your hormones, you should be able to change which store you get it dispensed from fairly easily.
though it could be worthwhile to have them fill it in the next town you're going to be in so it'll be ready before you leave that town

I think she just lucked out, but one time our GF at the time called kaiser the day of and got her hormones filed less than an hour later, but pharmacies vary and another GF had delays at the same location a different time and thats where she always picks up her meds

 

[hornedplant]

to add to the info on HRT,
Dr. Deutsch has a guide on dosing/etc online at

http://transhealth.ucsf.edu/trans?page=guidelines-feminizing-therapy

http://transhealth.ucsf.edu/trans?page=guidelines-masculinizing-therapy

for people who're gonna be taking estrogen, its good to start your dose low and slowly ramp it up,
starting your dose real high can cause your breast buds to fuse and keep your boobs from growing as big as they would otherwise

again specific to estrogen-based HRT, but so much of the medical worry about estrogen is sorta based off of studies done back when we were using horse piss as a source of estrogen, and the whole increased risk of breast cancer thing is just… having (more) boob mass means you've got more boob to get that, but its not gonna much greater risk than if you'd grown boobs at first puberty

I'd definately heard about people finding smoking cigs kept their e2 levels down and i wonder if its just any smoke that messes with your levels regardless of what you're smoking

 

[hornedplant]

also there's is cool experimental thing about using selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) in HRT to get a sorta middle line between masculinizing and feminizing HRT
gonna be a bit harder to get a doctor to prescribe them, but they can be ordered online from your overseas pharmacy of choice
there is a some concern is they could be genotoxic, so do your research first
know one person who was interested in trying them, don't think they've started taking them yet (they're just doing E2 first are going to pontentially add in SERMs later depending on how they feel about breast growth, etc)