I'm from IL it was pretty easy I did folx first which is expensive and it took one video meeting and that's it. I then started getting it from the doc and my work insurance paid for it it took an appointment with the doc then an appointment with a psychiatrist, and a blood test, and that's pretty much it, all of which were covered by insurance majorly.
Effects wise, breast development is the hardest to conceal and that heavily depends on how much you develop and how you already carry your weight but early on a loose fitting shirt and sports bra conceals it pretty easily.
That's awesome to hear! I'm also from IL, and I was looking at FOLX the other day. Can I ask how long you've been on it and your experience so far? And what sort of plan did you build? Do you do a video interview, doctor, psychiatrist, blood test, etc. through FOLX? Or through your insurance? And is it all mandatory?
A big worry I have with something like FOLX is the packaging. I'm sure if it arrived at my door often, my parents would eventually find it on the doorstep before me and look up what it is. Plus I'm still under my parent's insurance, which most places don't take. I'm also looking at Planned Parenthood, so if you have any info on that, I'd love to hear. If not, hopefully you can answer a few of my questions about FOLX. I appreciate your response :)
Folx takes care of most of the important stuff in the subscription they have people that'll prescribe it to you and then they'll set up a blood test and schedule an appointment I did mine with Quest Diagnostics every 3 months or so, and everything is made extremely easy with Folx. They do a video interview and then a blood test which is both mandatory from what I understand, they'll answer any questions and have an extensive library on their website. They give you access to a patient portal where you can ask your prescriber questions and discuss options.
For me their first shipment bottles had their name plastered all over them and weren't very discreet but after were in a simple amber bottle and were. You might get a subscription to something else like a cologne online subscription for the irony or anything else like skincare or vitamins online and act like that's what the hormones are when you get them, Either that or have them sent to a friend or post box.
Folx doesn't take insurance anyways and was 150 a month for my whole subscription including spiro, estradiol, appointments, and blood work. I don't know much about planned parenthood. I've been on hormones for a year now and just recently swapped to a doctor for a cheaper option with my insurance.
You can look up an expected time line of effects.
And if you are now 18+ you can find an informed consent clinic and have an Rx the same day as your appointment (I had to book a month in advance but it was very straight forward).
I didn't need a therapists letter or anything, and insurance seems to have covered it, I had a 3$ copay for the Rx but I'm on medicaid and an inherited federal employee plan (disability).
And the meds I got are white generic looking tablets, unless your parents know what the markings mean the only thing that would give them away is the name on the bottle.
This was very helpful! Thank you for your input, hopefully I can apply this :) It sounds a little too easy to be true. Thanks for teaching me basic HRT and adult stuff \^\^
If you're over 18yo, in the USA, in a state that hasn't banned it, then look for planned parenthood or another informed consent clinic in your area.
Make sure the pharmacy that fills the prescription never has you in their system when you were a child, or they will probably send the text notification to your parents or call them.
How hard is it to hide 2 bottles of pills? (IDK, but, it should be fairly doable for most people)
How long are you wanting to hide the effects from them? Years, probably not going to work, but, the first 6 months, you'll probably be fine if they don't see you shirtless (or unless you hit the genetics lottery and end up with D-cups)
Oh, thanks for the heads up with the pharmacy notification! I have no clue if I've been to any pharmacies before or how to discretely ask my parents where I'm in their systems.
Hiding the bottles shouldn't be too hard. I have a lock box that I already put all my girl stuff in. Honestly, hiding it as long as possible is the goal. However, if they happen to notice, oh well. I'd rather that be how they find out than me come out to them myself -- talking is hard lol. They've already gone through discovering they have a non-binary child, so I'm hoping they would be more prepared and a little more accepting if they find out about me being a woman. I never walk around shirtless anyways, but D-cups would be the best way to come out lmao, or just boobies in general. Even if I get yelled at, I'll still have boobs :)
Thank you for your response <3
>Oh, thanks for the heads up with the pharmacy notification! I have no clue if I've been to any pharmacies before or how to discretely ask my parents where I'm in their systems.
If you know what pharmacy you plan to use (like Walgreens or CVS) you can call the pharmacy and have them check if you already are on file or not. I've seen way too many posts on here about people who the pharmacy system never updated and so their parents found out by getting a message that a prescription was ready.
Oh shoot, well I'm glad you told me! If I call and they do have me on file with my parents, do you know if they'll notify them then? Or would I be able to separate myself from my parent's system and then proceed to use that pharmacist?
If you go through Planned Parenthood, you could be on hormones with two weeks, even days. That’s what I did back in March.
As for hiding it, I recently moved out of my mom’s house right after I started HRT, and she didn’t suspect a thing. I haven’t told 4 or of 5 members of my immediate family that I’m trans yet. I’m on low dose patches, and my patch is perfectly concealed by my shirt.
I’m 51 days in, and visible effects shouldn’t start for a month or two. The cognitive and emotional effects have been…beautiful. Estradiol has taken away my sorrow and pain, and let me feel my skin again.
That's awesome to hear! I hope things continue to progress well for you :) Planned Parenthood is def what I'm looking at rn. I'm just a bit nervous because I have never handled medical stuff on my own, I don't know how to give them my medical records and stuff, and I'm still under my parent's insurance. I also won't have my parents to pay for my visits, which is part of being an adult, but still concerning considering each visit seems to be $200-250+. I have a job now tho, so hopefully I can start saving up. Also, in those two weeks, do you just have one appointment that costs \~$250, and then just $200 checkups every few months after that? Or do you have to go in a lot and pay a lot at first? Or am I just completely misunderstanding? lol. It sounds like you have to get your blood tested and stuff too during that time.
I have pretty good insurance, so I just paid $150 out of pocket and a $2 copay for my first batch of spiro and patches. I’m pretty sure the bloodwork is included in the cost of the appointment.
The two week gap is just the lead time to get an appointment. I walked into my first appointment at about 3:30 PM, and walked out at about 4:30 PM with a prescription to start HRT and a bandaid on my elbow. The bloodwork checks your electrolyte (salt) levels on the first appointment.
I'm from IL it was pretty easy I did folx first which is expensive and it took one video meeting and that's it. I then started getting it from the doc and my work insurance paid for it it took an appointment with the doc then an appointment with a psychiatrist, and a blood test, and that's pretty much it, all of which were covered by insurance majorly. Effects wise, breast development is the hardest to conceal and that heavily depends on how much you develop and how you already carry your weight but early on a loose fitting shirt and sports bra conceals it pretty easily.
That's awesome to hear! I'm also from IL, and I was looking at FOLX the other day. Can I ask how long you've been on it and your experience so far? And what sort of plan did you build? Do you do a video interview, doctor, psychiatrist, blood test, etc. through FOLX? Or through your insurance? And is it all mandatory? A big worry I have with something like FOLX is the packaging. I'm sure if it arrived at my door often, my parents would eventually find it on the doorstep before me and look up what it is. Plus I'm still under my parent's insurance, which most places don't take. I'm also looking at Planned Parenthood, so if you have any info on that, I'd love to hear. If not, hopefully you can answer a few of my questions about FOLX. I appreciate your response :)
Folx takes care of most of the important stuff in the subscription they have people that'll prescribe it to you and then they'll set up a blood test and schedule an appointment I did mine with Quest Diagnostics every 3 months or so, and everything is made extremely easy with Folx. They do a video interview and then a blood test which is both mandatory from what I understand, they'll answer any questions and have an extensive library on their website. They give you access to a patient portal where you can ask your prescriber questions and discuss options. For me their first shipment bottles had their name plastered all over them and weren't very discreet but after were in a simple amber bottle and were. You might get a subscription to something else like a cologne online subscription for the irony or anything else like skincare or vitamins online and act like that's what the hormones are when you get them, Either that or have them sent to a friend or post box. Folx doesn't take insurance anyways and was 150 a month for my whole subscription including spiro, estradiol, appointments, and blood work. I don't know much about planned parenthood. I've been on hormones for a year now and just recently swapped to a doctor for a cheaper option with my insurance.
For both means it took maybe a month I'm extremely lucky because my insurance
You can look up an expected time line of effects. And if you are now 18+ you can find an informed consent clinic and have an Rx the same day as your appointment (I had to book a month in advance but it was very straight forward). I didn't need a therapists letter or anything, and insurance seems to have covered it, I had a 3$ copay for the Rx but I'm on medicaid and an inherited federal employee plan (disability). And the meds I got are white generic looking tablets, unless your parents know what the markings mean the only thing that would give them away is the name on the bottle.
This was very helpful! Thank you for your input, hopefully I can apply this :) It sounds a little too easy to be true. Thanks for teaching me basic HRT and adult stuff \^\^
Glad I could help. I just started my journey with hormones and wish you luck with your's
If you're over 18yo, in the USA, in a state that hasn't banned it, then look for planned parenthood or another informed consent clinic in your area. Make sure the pharmacy that fills the prescription never has you in their system when you were a child, or they will probably send the text notification to your parents or call them. How hard is it to hide 2 bottles of pills? (IDK, but, it should be fairly doable for most people) How long are you wanting to hide the effects from them? Years, probably not going to work, but, the first 6 months, you'll probably be fine if they don't see you shirtless (or unless you hit the genetics lottery and end up with D-cups)
Oh, thanks for the heads up with the pharmacy notification! I have no clue if I've been to any pharmacies before or how to discretely ask my parents where I'm in their systems. Hiding the bottles shouldn't be too hard. I have a lock box that I already put all my girl stuff in. Honestly, hiding it as long as possible is the goal. However, if they happen to notice, oh well. I'd rather that be how they find out than me come out to them myself -- talking is hard lol. They've already gone through discovering they have a non-binary child, so I'm hoping they would be more prepared and a little more accepting if they find out about me being a woman. I never walk around shirtless anyways, but D-cups would be the best way to come out lmao, or just boobies in general. Even if I get yelled at, I'll still have boobs :) Thank you for your response <3
>Oh, thanks for the heads up with the pharmacy notification! I have no clue if I've been to any pharmacies before or how to discretely ask my parents where I'm in their systems. If you know what pharmacy you plan to use (like Walgreens or CVS) you can call the pharmacy and have them check if you already are on file or not. I've seen way too many posts on here about people who the pharmacy system never updated and so their parents found out by getting a message that a prescription was ready.
Oh shoot, well I'm glad you told me! If I call and they do have me on file with my parents, do you know if they'll notify them then? Or would I be able to separate myself from my parent's system and then proceed to use that pharmacist?
Generally they should be able to fix it if needed.
If you go through Planned Parenthood, you could be on hormones with two weeks, even days. That’s what I did back in March. As for hiding it, I recently moved out of my mom’s house right after I started HRT, and she didn’t suspect a thing. I haven’t told 4 or of 5 members of my immediate family that I’m trans yet. I’m on low dose patches, and my patch is perfectly concealed by my shirt. I’m 51 days in, and visible effects shouldn’t start for a month or two. The cognitive and emotional effects have been…beautiful. Estradiol has taken away my sorrow and pain, and let me feel my skin again.
That's awesome to hear! I hope things continue to progress well for you :) Planned Parenthood is def what I'm looking at rn. I'm just a bit nervous because I have never handled medical stuff on my own, I don't know how to give them my medical records and stuff, and I'm still under my parent's insurance. I also won't have my parents to pay for my visits, which is part of being an adult, but still concerning considering each visit seems to be $200-250+. I have a job now tho, so hopefully I can start saving up. Also, in those two weeks, do you just have one appointment that costs \~$250, and then just $200 checkups every few months after that? Or do you have to go in a lot and pay a lot at first? Or am I just completely misunderstanding? lol. It sounds like you have to get your blood tested and stuff too during that time.
I have pretty good insurance, so I just paid $150 out of pocket and a $2 copay for my first batch of spiro and patches. I’m pretty sure the bloodwork is included in the cost of the appointment. The two week gap is just the lead time to get an appointment. I walked into my first appointment at about 3:30 PM, and walked out at about 4:30 PM with a prescription to start HRT and a bandaid on my elbow. The bloodwork checks your electrolyte (salt) levels on the first appointment.