I’m about to begin HRT and since I am not able to get that through my country’s public healthcare, it’ll have to be either DIY, or something like GenderGP or Imago.
I’m uncomfortable with Imago being a US company, but if it otherwise makes much more sense than GenderGP, that might not be an unsurmountable issue.
There has been talk that neither of those give as much support, or as good quality support, as they once maybe did. For example somebody actually reading the laboratory results and possibly recommending changing a substance or dose if so required would be would be a nice thing. Being middle-aged and having had relatives die at around my age because of blood clots, I know that at least I should choose some other ways than injections for taking the estradiol. An ability to talk with a specialist about this kind of stuff would be appreciated.
So, what’s the practical difference between Imago and GenderGP? Also, is there also a third one?
The most important service would of course be the ability to get an EU prescription through them so that I can go to a local pharmacy and buy the hormones and blockers there.
What do you mean about not taking injections because of blood clots? The risk to your liver is much greater when you take pills over injections, I’ve heard injections are relatively safe. Patches or gel would be the other option, I suppose, but I’ve heard it’s easier to get T suppression with monotherapy on injections.
Unfortunately no one I know is rich enough to have gone private, but if you want any tips on DIY + how to get blood tests for free in the UK I’d be happy to help!
Also here is a list of different private options in the UK, there are a lot more than two: https://transactual.org.uk/medical-transition/private-care/
What do you mean about not taking injections because of blood clots?
I’ve heard it recommended that estradiol should not be taken as an injection if you’re over 40-year-old. And that should not be such a problem with blockers, for example.
Oh, well I’m sure you know more than me about that. I’d be interested to see your source, though
My source is basically hearsay from other trans women, based on what the doctors in the public healthcare in my country have told them during their transitioning.
I’ve never heard that from anywhere. Transdermal or injections are going to be safest for someone at risk.
About the list of options: thosenwould require me to live in UK or at least physically travel there to use those services, right?
I’m with imago. I could answer any questions you have about it. Feel free to DM or just write questions here. I can’t speak to GGP except that I know a lot of folks on imago went there after leaving GGP unsatisfied.
Imago have amazing staff, their community is really nice. I got a welcome call with a really nice person and then a doctor call for 45 mins with a really nice doctor who walked me through my options and we came up with a preferred intake method together. I have to provide my own blood tests at 0, 3, 6 and 12 months, and then I think it’s annual after that so that’s a cost you need to factor in. The doctor will monitor my blood results and adjust my treatment if I want it adjusted or my levels are not where I want them to be. I can also email support to get in touch with my doctor at any time. Overall I’m really happy I went with them but that’s not to say there aren’t some issues with the service sometimes.
I’m 38 and the doc put me on E gel and cypro. The dose was sensible and I hit cis woman levels for E and T at 6 weeks which I’m really happy with. The plan I discussed with my doctor was to see if my levels are stable after 6 months and then stop the cypro, up the E dose and maybe add in progesterone.
I receive from them an e-prescription for 3 months worth of meds and in the same email I get a link to an online pharmacy that dispensed the meds to me. You could also take this prescription to a high street pharmacy but be warned, some UK pharmacies have explicitly transphobic policies in place and will refuse to fill your script. It might involve asking a few places in person to find out of they would take the prescription. That’s if you really don’t want to use the online service for whatever reason (e.g. If you have no safe address to have the meds posted to).
[Edit: Re imago being a us company: we were all very upset when this happened. It was registered in Malta up until a few months ago when they reincorporated in delaware (for tax reasons it seems). This makes them technically a us company but they operate in the EEA therefore they are subject to GDPR and because it’s medical data that’s extra protected under GDPR. I would understand why you’d be sketched out by that that, from my position it hasn’t really altered my care in any way]
both can give you a prescription to fill out in your local chemist in the eu, or can work with local GPs.
i was with genderGP and am moving to imago now, because it’s cheaper.
i also don’t like how genderGP seems to have gone all in on gen-ai. they’ve even created a gen-ai chatbot called “genni”, which i feel is something that should never be mixed with healthcare, considering the many many mental health problems gen-ai chatbots have been known to create and amplify. i know there’re so many trans people trying to access healthcare & not enough willing healthcare providers, but this isn’t the way to bridge the gap 😭
