Where To Buy Hormones For Transgender UPDATED
For transgender people, starting gender-affirming hormone treatment in adolescence is linked to better mental health than waiting until adulthood, according to new research led by the Stanford University School of Medicine.
where to buy hormones for transgender
The study, which appeared online Jan. 12 in PLOS ONE, drew on data from the largest-ever survey of U.S. transgender adults, a group of more than 27,000 people who responded in 2015. The new study found that transgender people who began hormone treatment in adolescence had fewer thoughts of suicide, were less likely to experience major mental health disorders and had fewer problems with substance abuse than those who started hormones in adulthood. The study also documented better mental health among those who received hormones at any age than those who desired but never received the treatment.
The researchers analyzed data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, which comprises survey responses from 27,715 transgender people nationwide. Participants, who were at least 18 when they were surveyed, completed extensive questionnaires about their lives.
Because some transgender people do not want hormone treatment, the study focused on 21,598 participants who had reported that they wanted to receive hormones. Results were analyzed based on when participants began hormone therapy: 119 began at age 14 or 15 (early adolescence), 362 began at age 16 or 17 (late adolescence), 12,257 began after their 18th birthday (adulthood), and 8,860 participants, who served as the control group, wanted but never received hormone therapy.
Compared with members of the control group, participants who underwent hormone treatment had lower odds of experiencing severe psychological distress during the previous month and lower odds of suicidal ideation in the previous year. Odds of severe psychological distress were reduced by 222%, 153% and 81% for those who began hormones in early adolescence, late adolescence and adulthood, respectively. Odds of previous-year suicidal ideation were 135% lower in people who began hormones in early adolescence, 62% lower in those who began in late adolescence and 21% lower in those who began as adults, compared with the control group.
Turban and his colleagues hope legislators across the country will use the new findings to inform their policy decisions. Although several bills to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth have been introduced in state legislatures in recent years, nearly all have failed to become law, he said, adding that all major medical organizations support provision of gender-affirming medical care, including hormone therapy for patients who desire it and who meet criteria set out by the Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
This gender-affirming treatment uses female hormones to create a more feminine appearance. Feminizing hormone therapy may be used as a standalone treatment or combined with gender affirmation surgery.
The drugs, known as GnRH agonists, block the brain from releasing key hormones involved in sexual maturation. They have been used for decades to treat precocious puberty, an uncommon medical condition that causes puberty to begin abnormally early.
Studies have found some children and teens resort to self-mutilation to try to change their anatomy. And research has shown that transgender youth and adults are prone to stress, depression and suicidal behavior when forced to live as the sex they were assigned at birth.
Adapted from: Gardner, Ivy and Safer, Joshua D. 2013 Progress on the road to better medical care for transgender patients. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity 20(6): 553-558.
16. World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Standards of care for the health of transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming people. 7th ed.; 2011. 20V7%20-%202011%20WPATH.pdf (Accessed on 24 December 2012)
Although health care laws have evolved since her transition started, many transgender people remain without health insurance coverage for transition-related care. Eight states and the District of Columbia now offer transgender health care under Medicaid, and 15 states and the District of Columbia require private insurance companies to cover transgender health care, according to the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., include gender-affirming care in their Medicaid plans. But 10 states exclude such coverage entirely. In 2019, an estimated 152,000 transgender adults were enrolled in Medicaid, a number that has likely grown during the pandemic.
The ACA prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, disability and sex in health programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. The Trump administration significantly narrowed the power of that provision, including eliminating health insurance protections for transgender people.
This landmark decision has served as a crucial tool to address LGBTQ discrimination in many aspects of life, including health care. As of July, for example, Alaska Medicaid can no longer exclude gender-affirming treatment after Swan Being, a transgender woman, won a class-action lawsuit that relied in part on the Bostock decision.
By studying best practices across the nation and analyzing internal data and patient feedback, we designed a care model to better serve our transgender and nonbinary patients 18 and older called Transgender Hormone Informed Consent. The treatment protocol is designed to reduce barriers to care, improve the informed consent process and provide even better services to our community by shortening the process to receive hormone replacement therapy in an affirming and affordable way.
Howard Brown believes that people have a right to make decisions about their gender, gender identity and whether they would like to use HT. In many places in the past, patients had to get a letter from a therapist saying that they could get HT before they could get hormones. Howard Brown does not believe that people need therapy before they can make a decision about whether HT is right for them. Howard Brown believes that people should be given complete, accurate information, and supported in making their own decisions about whether to get HT or not.
If you are prescribed hormones, you will receive a diagnosis of Endocrine Disorder (ICD code 259.9). Unless you specifically request it, you will not receive a diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder, Gender Dysphoria or Transsexualism. In many places in the past, patients would receive one of these diagnoses automatically. Howard Brown does not believe that being transgender, gender non-conforming or gender queer is a sign of mental illness or a gender identity disorder. Instead, Howard Brown believes that patients who ask for HT are asking for care that will help their bodies match their gender identity. If you currently have a diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder, Gender Dysphoria or Transsexualism it will be replaced with Endocrine Disorder.
If you get HT and use your insurance, your insurance company will see a diagnosis of Endocrine Disorder and will know which hormones or hormone blockers you got. If you choose not to use your insurance for HT, you will have to pay the full cost for any HT care any time you have an appointment or get your blood tested.
If you would like to be in therapy or would like some counseling to develop your transition plan before beginning HT, you are welcome to request counseling services at Howard Brown or begin counseling with a therapist somewhere else.
Purpose: Inconsistent access to healthcare represents a barrier to transgender patients receiving hormone therapy through a licensed provider. Inability to access care leads many transgender people to buy hormones from unlicensed sources and transition without medical supervision. Little is known about the factors predisposing people to rely on this method of transition. It is critical to understand what leads to non-prescribed hormone use to better support safe medical transitions for transgender people.
Methods: We conducted an analysis of a study with 314 transwomen in San Francisco from August-December 2010, using Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS). The study collected information on demographics, hormone use, gender identity milestones, violence and trauma experienced due to gender identity, substance use, sexually transmitted infections, law enforcement contact and sexual behaviors. We evaluated whether these demographic and behavioral characteristics were correlated in the following outcomes: taking hormones not prescribed by providers and taking hormones consistently without interruptions. 041b061a72