Eve,

Great post! One thing that I would like to add is that self-medicating can be extremely dangerous. There are a percentage of people who are risking their lives by doing so because they may be at risk.

But you make a good point about feminizing. I have known my whole life I was trans*. Though I did not take prescribed drugs to feminize before I started HRT under a doctor's care, I did take supplements for a while. They can work, somewhat, but actually are a big waste of money (I spend much less on Estradiol and Spironalactone $20 / month - Generic pricing via Costco). Anyways, the decision to take hormones or even supplements should not be taken lightly. My goal with the supplements was to try to stay as feminine as possible without transitioning. I did have some breast growth and hip growth with them. But looking back, I had in some small way had already made a decision to transition, without really knowing or understanding what was going on inside of me. I thought I was in control.

So my advice for anyone considering supplements or "bootleg" Estrogen, they should seek support (here and elsewhere) and therapy, in order to understand what that means and where it is headed. It can be hard for those to take that first step. Because those are tough questions to answer and many "don't want to go there". Anyone who reads this comment, and needs help, please contact me. I can and will help.

--Lisa

Lisa, thanks for your comments, yes you're right about self medding, but then I've always been my own person, and done things my own way...........Funny but I too started with supplements and found Pueraria Mirifica to have started my boobs off, but I've posted all this stuff in earlier blogs. I didn't think that it was a waste of money, because I could legally get the stuff, then I found a way of getting the real stuff, and then results were a lot stronger and faster. I was lucky in that I told my GP about my self medding, and she then offered to prescribe for me, before referral to CHX GIC.

When I post about my past self medding I am not advertising that it's a great idea for one and all to follow, in fact I posted that I started oestrogen "way before any sane person would have advised anybody to".

I paid 4USD for my meds each month. One thing that my doctor would be diligent about was me taking a baby aspirin each day once on HRT to be safe.

Well in the UK an NHS Prescription is £8.05 per item so if I needed two items such as oestrogen and spiralactone it's £16.10. Good news is that we can have a pre-payment card for £104 per year so it brings the costs right down. If I could get a private prescription oestrogen is around £3 for a months supply, however GP's often charge for private prescriptions, so we get caught whichever way we go.

So did you have to pay the doctor for the prescription Karen?

Is a baby aspirin easier to swallow than an adult aspirin.......LoL

Anyway humour aside, having the NHS in the UK is not always the free ride that others might think.

Cheers,

Eve

About the only things I was covered for were doctor visits and drugs, everything else was out of pocket for me. There is better insurance which even covers surgery for those who make little to nothing while I am at the opposite end of the scale.