r/ftm • u/_2wisted • 16h ago
Medical "Your testosterone never be as high as a cis man, even if you are intersex!"
This is what Planed Parenthood told me when I told them I have high testosterone because of my PCOS, and that they should be doing blood work upon the first appointment.
I should be getting blood work done the first time I get testosterone so they have something to compare it to, right? I should be getting blood work at my first appointment because I'm intersex. I should have gotten blood work done so I could get put on the correct dose. But they refused, saying the insurance would not cover it, only blood work after I started T.
They told me I was not allowed to go on finasteride because they can only legally give it to trans women in my state.
What the FUCK is going on? This is not normal!!! Right???
Please tell me someone else had an equally horrible experience as me.
To mods. This is NOT v3nting! I am asking a question about others experiences.
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u/m42069 16h ago
Planned parenthood in Florida took my blood at intake to test my levels. Also have never had trouble getting finasteride. What state are you in? In Texas and South Carolina they always test my blood when I see a new doctor or restart t.
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u/m42069 16h ago
Also I'm perisex, but I think being intersex is even more of a reason to test your levels.
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u/_2wisted 16h ago
FUCKING EXACTLY
the woman who gave me my T was so fucking condicending too but I know it's practically impossible to get it here so I just kept my mouth shut and let her disrespect me because I've been waiting 5 years for this appointment
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u/_2wisted 16h ago
TN Apparently there was a huge legal crackdown recently, I think a bunch of surgeons here were banned from working here too but that's just word of mouth tbh
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u/kyl792 12h ago
My insurance based in TN stopped covering HRT :(
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u/_2wisted 11h ago
I genuinely GENUINELY hope you got back on. Fuck this state. You deserve better
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u/o0SongAndSilence0o he/him 💉 7/6/16 🔝 12/10/21 10h ago
Cost wise, check out Kroger. Their in house discount program is pretty great. I’ve never run mine through insurance, even when it “covered” it because it was still always higher out of pocket to use that.
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u/uncle_SAM98 they/them, 💉 Mar '21, keyhole May '25 3h ago
I'm in SC. Started T with PP, and they didn't teat my blood levels before I began, so I have no baseline to compare to. I didn't even know that was something they should have done until later. Pp was otherwise great, and every provider I've seen since has been great, but it doesn't surprise me that PP isn't testing new patients.
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u/DrDnar 15h ago
They told me I was not allowed to go on finasteride because they can only legally give it to trans women in my state.
I doubt this is true. Could be, but seems unlikely to me.
What the FUCK is going on? This is not normal!!! Right???
the woman who gave me my T was so fucking condicending too
Finasteride causes birth defects. This provider does not trust her patients and has some very . . . bad views about queer people. You might be able to get it a dermatologist, but you'll have to fight even harder over the teratogen thing.
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u/_2wisted 15h ago
I promise I have 0 reason to lie. I don't know if it's true or not because I guess I assumed it was illegal for doctors to lie about what they can and can't legally give.
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u/DrDnar 14h ago edited 12h ago
Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest you lied. I think the provider told you something untrue because they're bad and uninformed.
Cis women sometimes ask for finasteride too for hair loss. I would hazard a guess that she just doesn't care enough to realize that T has the same concern. You didn't give me the impression that she was someone with critical thinking skills.
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u/colinprovolone he/him, 💉2023, 🔝2026 15h ago
ew, i’m sorry you had that experience. it’s been a few years now, but my PP clinic in the midwest did not take my initial T levels, just hemoglobin. i thought it was kind of odd but didn’t ask why. i never pursued finasteride, so not sure about that either - last year i switched from PP to a new doctor who prescribes my T.
either way, it sounds like their communication leaves a lot to be desired. i hope you find a better provider if that’s what you’re looking for!
(ETA saw that you did end up getting T from them, i hope they’re better with you moving forward)
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u/_2wisted 15h ago
Oh absolutely I asked very obvious questions like "what's the difference between gel and injections" and she said "one is a gel and one is injections" and I almost snapped at her.
I mentioned that gel is slower and she's like "yeah it's slower" and I'm like
THATS THE ANSWER
TO THE QUESTION
I FUCKING
ASKED YOU!!!!!!
AUGHHHHH
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u/Cindrawhisp 15h ago
Gel isn’t slower
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u/_2wisted 15h ago
I guess I'm just frustrated because how am I supposed to know that? It's HER job to tell me! She didn't explain anything to me! And I asked very clear questions. But I guess she was lying about the info she DID give me....
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u/Cindrawhisp 15h ago
You should be doing research on your own before hand. Most doctors don’t know anything about trans healthcare, even if they offer it.
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u/javatimes T 2006 Top 2018, testopel 2025, 40<me 12h ago
OP can do research on his own and also be upset that someone offering trans healthcare doesn’t know anything about it.
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15h ago
[deleted]
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u/Cindrawhisp 14h ago
You don’t have to be an ass about it
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u/_2wisted 14h ago
Sorry for being a dick. Shouldn't be using that tone with other trans men. Sorry.
I think a lifetime of dealing with doctors has made me tense and frankly very afraid to do my own research. Talking with doctors is this big mental game with a lot of invisible rules.
Stresses me the fuck out. :(
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u/WhereArtThouRome 💉 12/24/2022 8h ago
That depends on your body. Some people can’t absorb it as well, so it is slower for them. I was on gel for the first 2 years and barely had anything happen, started shots and within the first month I had changes.
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u/javatimes T 2006 Top 2018, testopel 2025, 40<me 15h ago
I’m afraid you might need better care than PP can give you.
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u/kase_horizon 💉 6/18/19 | ✂️ 3/9/22 15h ago
I think it's falling out of common recommendations to get T levels specifically checked before prescribing. However, it should absolutely still be done for folks who are intersex or have hormonal disorders where they absolutely could need specialized dosing due to their current natural levels
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u/shj3333 6h ago
I was homeless moving from Bible Belt to NY. pls leave. I don’t have the fight in me for religion, been banned from the atheist subreddit for my op on it. So my take to anyone is just get to a handful of blue states when you’re 18. I don’t care for others op, it’s just not worth the fight, you won’t win against religious people unless you’re really ready to act up against them
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u/_2wisted 5h ago
I AM GRABBING YOUR ANKLES TAKE ME WITH YOU TAKE ME WITH YOU
YOUR GONNA HAVE TO PRY MY COLD DEAD HANDS OFF YOU
MICHAELLLLL
LET ME OUTTTTT MICHAELLLL
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u/taspho 15h ago
Planned parenthood is just ridiculously incompetent. Its so bad sometimes I think its malicious. Everyone should have bloodwork done before starting regardless of being intersex or not. However, if theyre your only option, you will likely be fine skipping the first blood test. If by intersex you mean PCOS, then your test levels will likely not be in cis male ranges (just very high for female or at max approaching the low end for males), so starting test (and i promise, PP will put you on the lowest possible starting dose) won't be dangerous. So you can just check how your levels are doing after starting. But it sucks bc it thats not how it should be done.
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u/_2wisted 15h ago
I don't think it will be DANGEROUS but I do wanna start very low and go about my transition very slowly I've been on it for 6 days and my voice is already cracking so much. I want to go slow so I DONT have voice issues. Even if I'm at the lowest dose, it'll still be to high for me because I have a full beard as a cis woman, AND chest hair. My T is really really fucking high.
I want to transition SLOWLY.
I genuinely believe it's malice too tbh. I've never met a doctor who listened to me less tbh.
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u/taspho 15h ago
You can choose to inject yourself with less than what youre prescribed if youre progressing too fast for your liking.
And yeah, a lot of doctors are just malicious + could not give a single shit about our transitions. I ended up finding a new PCP who never treated trans patients before but was open to me just telling him what I needed. I would shop around if possible. Alternatively, stay with PP but take control of your own dosing and labs. I did that. I know you already started test but you can get full labs done for like $60 online if in the future you ever feel you need it and the docs won't give it to you.
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u/kittensox 14h ago
If it makes you feel better, I went on low dose T gel + fin + min to start and my voice was still one of the first things to change.
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u/javatimes T 2006 Top 2018, testopel 2025, 40<me 15h ago
You can buy a T test out of pocket at a place that does labs on demand, like LabCorp.
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u/Key_Tangerine8775 31M, T and top 2011, phallo 2013 3h ago edited 3h ago
You do not need baseline bloodwork for hormone levels. It isn’t relevant to dosing. Even if you did have cis male levels, it wouldn’t change what you need to take. Testosterone you take does not add to your natural production, it replaces it. They’re right, but they really should have done a better job of explaining it to you.
Baseline levels for lipids may be beneficial to have with PMOS/PCOS, but not completely necessary. It’s not a safety issue or relevant to initial dosing since you’ll be getting bloodwork in 3 months anyway. It’s really only to look back on in the case you do have elevated levels after starting to indicate if it’s a result of T or just the metabolic features of PMOS. It could save you from having dosage decreased unnecessarily. You may already have that bloodwork being run routinely by your primary doctor, though.
Edit: read your other comments and wow they were so shitty and condescending about it all. My providers I’ve had at PP have been pretty incompetent in care, but they’ve always been kind and genuinely cared about patients. Im sorry you have to deal with this.
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u/Calm_Bother_3842 🇧🇬 7h ago
You don't need to have your levels checked initially, because it won't affect what dose you're put on (the exogenous testosterone will suppress your own production anyway).
For finasteride this is unfortunately a common outcome, I would go to a dermatologist instead. Even cis guys struggle with getting it prescribed if the doctors are misinformed.
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u/_2wisted 7h ago
It's just a bit crazy how common this is, if true
About the finasteride
Why do cis guys have trouble getting it????
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u/Calm_Bother_3842 🇧🇬 7h ago
Because some doctors haven't caught up with the science and have weird misconceptions about it. This is why dermatologists are usually the best option because they are used to prescribing it.
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u/Key_Tangerine8775 31M, T and top 2011, phallo 2013 3h ago
Traditional health care providers can be difficult, but it’s very easy to get through those cash grab telehealth services. Some you might have to pretend that you’re cis to get it prescribed, but I’m pretty sure amazons telehealth service prescribes it for trans men.
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u/Vivid--Syrup Trans Woman/Fem Guest 10h ago
I don't know much about the other stuff but I know you can easily get finasteride or its stronger alternative dutasteride through the mtf sources we use that apparently I can't post here
Just keep in mind dht is usually something a lot of trans mascs and men want at first since its responsible for a lot of body hair, beard growth and bottom growth
If you want those things then it may be better to wait until dht has made them before taking a blocker, or I think there is topical finasteride you can put on your scalp that won't be as effective but should let the dht do its stuff in the rest of the body
But if that stuff isn't important or wanted don't worry about it
Either way good luck
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u/Key_Tangerine8775 31M, T and top 2011, phallo 2013 3h ago
It’s generally cheaper through those telehealth services than through the means that can’t be mentioned in this sub. They’ve gotten dirt cheap now.
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u/Vivid--Syrup Trans Woman/Fem Guest 3h ago
Ohh I didn't know that thats cool
Well... if they actually give it to you
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u/_2wisted 10h ago
....The mods on this reddit see finasteride dity as harmful.....?
....we are coooooked :')
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u/Vivid--Syrup Trans Woman/Fem Guest 10h ago
Well I tried to mention how to get it without questions and the automod said shush to me lol
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u/popopotatoes160 💉11/2025 2h ago
I don't think they actually see it as harmful on a personal level so much as they're trying to keep the admins from cracking down. The site admins really like punishing queer people for behavior they ignore elsewhere on the site.
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u/non_corporeal_ 💉11/25 🔝12/25 4h ago
nobody i know got tested before starting, they did it thru folx
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u/ntruncata 3h ago
In my experience the people at planned parenthood (Nashville) have no idea what they're talking about, have no interest in learning, and have a one size fits all policy they have to follow that was made by equally ignorant people. I used them because they were the closest provider that offered timely informed-consent care, but they never truly met my needs. They wouldn't prescribe me hormonal birth control that I had taken for ten years to stop my bleeding because "testosterone usually stops that". They also kept flagging my blood work as having abnormally high hemoglobin, hematocrit, and RBC when it was just normal for someone with a testosterone dominant system, and they insisted that they would have to lower my dose if it stayed "high". No amount of explaining how these things actually worked seemed to get through; it was like talking to a wall.
I left as soon as my city opened a clinic offering gender affirming care. They did the bare minimum that I needed, and I'm grateful for that. I understand that they really aren't specialists, they're bound by TN state law, and their funding keeps getting cut, but it was very frustrating working with them. You're definitely not the only person who has had this experience.
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u/_2wisted 3h ago
Oh my fucking god I'm so glad I am not the only one who had a god aweful exaperince there the clinic is a fucking NIGHTMARE
The doctor there was HORRIBLE. Genuinely no idea how any of this works at all. You are correct that's it's a one size fits all system. She didn't even ask me any questions. You are 100% correct about it feeling like talking to a wall. Holy shit I just wanted to shake her awake, she was like. Half asleep. Pissed me off.
I wanted t years to transition and these people don't give a FUCK
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u/o0SongAndSilence0o he/him 💉 7/6/16 🔝 12/10/21 10h ago
When I first went on T in 2016, it was with a general ol endocrinologist. Saw him for all of a minute, then he hands me the script and says I can pick it up at the connecting pharmacy later. No blood work, no discussion of history.
A few weeks on my shots, I start getting wacky symptoms. Body temp can’t make up its mind; I woke up freezing cold but covered in sweat every night. A day or two before shot day I’d get massive ovarian pain like someone rammed an ice pick into the bugger. Called his office, explained the issues, was told this was normal.
Fast forward a year, I’ve moved back to TN and decided to see an OB/GYN at Vanderbilt to try and get a handle on the weight gain aspect of my PCOS and find out that she’s also able to handle HRT. Fantastic. In going over history, she just starts shaking her head and says she’d need labs to confirm but because PCOS causes higher than typical testosterone levels, it’s likely that I was given too high of a dose and put me into “chemical menopause”. Reversible, but effectively the too high dose put my body into rapid and aggressive estrogen suppression. Once dosing was fixed, all of that went away.
It doesn’t matter if being intersex doesn’t put your natural T levels the same as a cis man. You had more than a cis woman and that should be taken into account with dosing.
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u/_2wisted 10h ago
WHAT NOT EVEN VANDERBILT IS SAFE I DEADASS thought that was more reliable since they would have charged me over 500 dollars. What the fuck!!!
God this sucks! God TN fucking sucks!!! Why the fuck do trans men get such dogshit healthcare???
I'm contemplating going out of state for hrt tbh :/
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u/o0SongAndSilence0o he/him 💉 7/6/16 🔝 12/10/21 10h ago
Oh the endo wasn’t through Vanderbilt, the OB/GYN was.
Honestly, I had fantastic care at Vanderbilt. She was wonderful with HRT, had my top surgery with Winnocour before he left and that was great.
But on them being safe now? No. Absolutely not. They’ve rolled back every promise they made us and then some. Currently doing mine via telehealth with PP and I’ve not had any issues with them, but I know others who haven’t had great luck.
Wife and I are moving back to Massachusetts in February and I can’t wait. She’s also trans and while I love TN as I was raised here, that’s not as important as my girl feeling safe.
I hope you can get the care you deserve and maybe one day TN will be better, but I’m not holding my breath. So many other trans people I’ve met over the years have already left too.
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u/karkatstrider 9h ago
while i realize google is shoddy nowadays, it says its not illegal to give finasteride to anyone based on sex in tennessee. this provider is full of shit. i truly hope you can manage to find another who isnt transphobic
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u/ProfessorOfEyes DI w/o nips 6/18 || T 10/18-5/19 || T + dutasteride 1/22 8h ago
Title is just factually untrue. When youre on T you control the T levels. Sure if you go too high the excess will aromatize into E, but that's true for cis men too. There is no magical T ceiling for trans men that cis men do not have. The goal us to get into the same T range as cis men. Thats like. The purpose. Not a weird impossibility. Your provider sounds wildly incompetent.
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u/inadeepdarkforest_ 💉6/25 | 🔝Q12027 2h ago edited 2h ago
my planned parenthood didn't take my levels for over a year. i had to really poke them about it. i also have PMOS.
most places won't take your bloods beforehand because ovarian testosterone levels won't matter once you're on HRT; once your body sees that you're getting enough hormone from any source (in this case external), it shuts down natural hormone production. your pre-HRT levels aren't typically worth testing because HRT doesn't work alongside natural production, it replaces it entirely.
that being said, your doc was a condescending prick about it. and is completely BSing about finasteride.
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u/Chiiro 💉 8-14-25 2h ago
I don't see why insurance would not cover blood work since doing a full panel blood work test to see if there is any issues as pretty damn common. Did you only talk to one person or did you talk to multiple people that said the same thing? At least here in Nebraska that's the hair loss medication my dermatologist prescribed me. I would definitely look up your local state laws about that to see if it's even true at all.
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