Transfem
A community for transfeminine people and experiences.
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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.
- Gender Spectrum // Resources for youth, parents and family, educators, mental health professionals and faith leaders.
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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Injections all the way. (I am not trans, but I'm familiar with TRT protocols).
First, injections are easier to dial in blood levels. Pills may not come in the doses you need, and may not be readily split. It's fairly easly to add or subtract 1mL with depo estradiol; if you needed to, you could even dilute it to get finer control, but that's best done by a compounding pharmacy.
Second, pills tend to be hard on your liver. I know that, in the case of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), they're methylated in order to avoid first-pass metabolism by the liver. Methylating is necessary to allow them to act properly--if they're matabolized by the liver, then you get none of the therapeutic benefit--but methylating makes them really harsh on your liver, and can, in extreme cases, cause cirrhosis. (That's much more common in body builders that are taking massive doses of drugs, rather than people that are taking them under the guidance of a doctor. Buuuuuuut one of the potential serious adverse side effects or oral estradiol is jaundice-yellowing eyes and skin--which indicates potential liver problems in some people.)
Last, pills are generally a daily or multiple times daily dose. Biological half lives of oral medications tend to be under 12 hours (unless there's some XR version that I'm not aware of), so missing a day can significantly affect your hormonal levels. Injections--like estradiol cypionate--have a biological half life of about 5 days. If you inject weekly, you quickly end up building to a fairly stable blood level.
Oral (swallowing) bad, the good way to take estradiol pills is sublingual/buccal. Absorbed in the mouth, very little gets to the liver.
Huh. Surprising that they're not prescribed more often. I dont know of any trans women in my area who do injections. I asked for them once but was told they pretty well never prescribe them unless you can't take oral estradiol for some reason.
In re: TRT, doctors don't like prescribing depo testosterone because it usually ends up getting abused. In this case, "abuse" means that men will use more than they are prescribed. Testosterone is a DEA scheduled drug, so clients taking 2x their prescribed dose ends up looking bad for the prescribing doctor. For transwomen? I really don't know. You'd have to ask your doctor why that is.