I’ve been in therapy for a few months and I really want to start HRT soon but I don’t know if my therapist will write me the required letter. If she doesn’t by the end of this month I’m going to start doing DIY, is there anything I should know about the process before I get started, anything I should be aware of? Are there risks or side effects. Things that I should be aware of before going in
P.S. Don’t give me any of that crap about detransitioning, you don’t know me well enough to say I would, frankly I’ll never call myself a boy again, not of my own volition or to capitulate to others.
IM injection works the best for most folks but estrogel is the safest. Doing buccal with pills was just a waste of time for me. If I had it all to do over again I’d start with injections. It probably seems scary to you right now but injections are where you will most likely end up so just go ahead and start off right.
Have patience with yourself because sourcing crypto, injectables, and injection supplies isn’t a figure it all out in one night kind of a thing. The hardest part about DIY is learning how to use crypto, so step one is to install a software wallet like Electrum-LTC and figure out how to get funds into it in your country. If you’re extra paranoid for some reason learn how to transfer LTC into an XMR wallet.
There’s some simple math to figure out how much to inject based on the concentration of your vial. Swapable Luer lock needles with 18G to draw and 23G to inject make it easy for me and almost pain free. They usually have a bit of “dead space” inside the needles so I pull all the medication out of the 18G into the syringe, swap to the 23G, and fill it up till a drop forms at the tip of the needle.
Keeping a small makeup bag stocked with some hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, cotton balls, bandages, syringes, needles, and the vial makes for a nice all in one grab and go.