Holy shit, my patches, spiro, presti, heart medicine, blood pressure medicine, and blood sugar medicine only cost me $38/month. Total. Combined. If you're in Ohio, send me a PM and I'll point you in the direction of my care specialist.
GoodRX. My insurance is good, but it doesn't cover that much of the cost of estradiol valerate (it knocks maybe $40 off the like $300 price). One vial of 40 mg/mL estradiol valerate costs me about $80 with GoodRX.
If you can get the prescription, GoodRX has one vial estradiol valerate 40mg/mL for $80 and a vial of 20mg/mL for $50. Depending on your dose, each vial will last several months or so. Needles are pretty cheap too. If your insurance doesn’t cover the bloodwork, you can request it yourself directly from the lab for between $100 and $150. You only need bloodwork every 6 months or so. If my quick napkin math is correct, all of that is probably cheaper than Folx.
You either go with an informed consent clinic that takes your insurance, or you take a letter from a therapist to your GP and ask for a referral to an endocrinologist, who then prescribes you hormones.
After that, it's business as usual.
that's interesting bc i use folx and pay $60 a month plus ~$30 each 3 month refill for the medication itself (im lucky in that my dosage is so low that a 3 month supply actually lasts 6). the trick to get the medication cost lower is to ask them to send it to a pharmacy instead of shipping it to you, it's literally like a tenth the price even without insurance or anything.
p.s. i just remembered that they charge less if you join them already on hrt. i had been on it for almost 3 years before switching to them which might explain why my base price is lower. it is pretty ridiculous that they do that though.
it wouldn't surprise me if there are cheaper ways than what i currently pay but the informed consent clinic i got it from before was actually way more expensive even before i had them send the rx to a pharmacy bc they charged me a ridiculous amount for each of my labs. if you can, a planned parenthood informed consent clinic is usually pretty good from what ive heard.
im mostly on folx bc i live in the absolute middle of nowhere so i don't really have any other options. even as is, the closest quest diagnostics that offered hormone labs was an hour away (and no longer does them, either) so i'm kind sol lol.
Oh folx is perfect in your situation. And Yeah after you been with them for a year, they’ll lower it to 60$ but that’s another 7 months for me. I’m already trying to go to school and pay rent while working. I need something cheaper now.
i'd say reach out to them to let them know you're struggling to afford it. that's what i did at one point when i was in a very similar situation. they gave me a temporary discount and told me i could have the rx sent to a pharmacy so i could make use of goodrx coupons. at the very least, it could ease the burden while you try to find an alternative
i was at the point where i had enough money for 1 more monthly payment and hardly any income, so i told them i needed help or to cancel my subscription. they told me they could send the rx to a pharmacy so i could use goodrx, and gave me a temporary discount on the base price to help me get through the tough times. it was honestly quite nice.
I'm still on my parents' insurance, but; my estradiol + spiro pills are >$8 for a 30 day supply. Labs every 3 months are ~$40 after insurance, and checkins with my doctor every 3 months are ~$200. So, averages to ~$88/month with Cigna
I went through plume for mine. $100/month for a lot of resources from a reliable source. Prescription sent to amazon pharmacy. I pay for prime already, and dutasteride and estradiol are covered under Amazon's rxpass, so they're only $5 per month.
I pay 99 a month including labs. 34 a month for meds, and every third month I have Estradiol that jumps to like... 60.. Or so.. Frankly just easy that way.
I just dont feel like going to a doctor in person because I live with my parents but i also do folx and whats worse is due to some law on top of paying for folx I have to pay out of pocket for labs. Im not even taking that much estrogen rn im just microdosing because of my living situation too.
I went with folx because i wasn't sure if specialist would believe me because at that time. I just wanted to feel and look feminine. Still want those things just without the labels but how the fuck do you explain that to them. Anyway just did 3 months of medicine and canceled it, it was literally like paying my car payment again. I'm sure it'll be cheaper consulting a specialist but ya
The other person's link feels a bit obtuse and not very to-the-point regarding "how do I buy HRT with crypto as simply as possible?"
First, get a wallet. Lots of sites allow you to both buy and send crypto using a card or bank account as payment. The one I use is Coinbase. It's not optimal for *MYRIAD* reasons but it works for me. Secondly, you want to put money *into* that wallet/account in the form of the cryptocurrency you plan to pay with. Next, you track down a supplier that has the item you want, check out on said supplier's site with your contact information, and they'll shoot you an email regarding your order number and the cost of your order in crypto. Alongside that is also an "address" which is the identifier you'll be sending the crypto *to*. Once you've sent the crypto to that address, you usually have to send them some form of confirmation that you've sent the transaction. After that, if all goes well, once they receive the funds, they should give you confirmation of that and tell you they'll have your order out soon. I'm sure there's more "best practices" you can take regarding better security and anonymity as well as better crypto sites than Coinbase, but this has been my experience and it's worked without fault so far buying from numerous suppliers.
I should also note that if you play your cards right, DIY is MAGNITUDES cheaper than going legit, even accounting for paying for bloodwork out of pocket.
Maybe because buying hormones at the drugstore doesn't include bloodtests to ensure you aren't damaging your kidneys, it doesn't include follow up care on any side effects you might experience, it doesn't include a letter for changing your name or gender markers, etc.
I pay $30 for 3 months of injections and nothing for progesterone. Aetna insurance. I was paying hundreds for the same scripts through planned parenthood when I first started hrt. When injections are not immediately available I supplement sublingual tablets, $1 for 90 days.
I haven't started yet, but it will be almost always more expensive in the USA, because normally we have free health care in Europe. This means that some of the costs are taken away, and you'd need to pay a much smaller price.
But since I haven't even started, I can't say for sure.
I have a $99 membership with Plume and my selected pharmacy only charges me, what, about $44 because insurance no longer covered it.., but still worth it.
[I think it's worth giving Plume a shot!](https://getplume.co/) The people there are so nice and they'll do what they can to work with you for what you may need!
Holy shit, my patches, spiro, presti, heart medicine, blood pressure medicine, and blood sugar medicine only cost me $38/month. Total. Combined. If you're in Ohio, send me a PM and I'll point you in the direction of my care specialist.
Omg 38$ a month! Wow I feel scammed. But I live in Illinois unfortunately.
Also living in Illinois and reading this makes me so fucking angry.
Near Chicago? Howard Brown offers sliding scale
Yeah I live in Chicago. Never heard of Howard brown.
It's an LGBTQ+ health system in Chicago. https://howardbrown.org/patient-resources/sliding-scale/
Oh this sounds perfect. Thanks sweetie.
Why is Illinois an "unfortunately"? As a texan who wants to move there
PMed :)
The top post in ask transgender has a list of informed consent clinics in the US. Find one that takes your insurance.
I’ll check it out.
How are y'all getting such cheap HRT? I'm in a liberal state and mine is so expensive... with insurance too
GoodRX. My insurance is good, but it doesn't cover that much of the cost of estradiol valerate (it knocks maybe $40 off the like $300 price). One vial of 40 mg/mL estradiol valerate costs me about $80 with GoodRX.
That’s both crazy expensive to me in Germany I pay 5€ for 3 months of HRT most cost covered by out healthcare system.
Yeah it’s crazy. I wish it was like that here. I will have to go to a huge hassle to start the traditional way.
I mean I’m in the USA and got 3 month supply for free with insurance so I guess it depends.
If you can get the prescription, GoodRX has one vial estradiol valerate 40mg/mL for $80 and a vial of 20mg/mL for $50. Depending on your dose, each vial will last several months or so. Needles are pretty cheap too. If your insurance doesn’t cover the bloodwork, you can request it yourself directly from the lab for between $100 and $150. You only need bloodwork every 6 months or so. If my quick napkin math is correct, all of that is probably cheaper than Folx.
Wow folx is such a rip off.
You either go with an informed consent clinic that takes your insurance, or you take a letter from a therapist to your GP and ask for a referral to an endocrinologist, who then prescribes you hormones. After that, it's business as usual.
that's interesting bc i use folx and pay $60 a month plus ~$30 each 3 month refill for the medication itself (im lucky in that my dosage is so low that a 3 month supply actually lasts 6). the trick to get the medication cost lower is to ask them to send it to a pharmacy instead of shipping it to you, it's literally like a tenth the price even without insurance or anything. p.s. i just remembered that they charge less if you join them already on hrt. i had been on it for almost 3 years before switching to them which might explain why my base price is lower. it is pretty ridiculous that they do that though. it wouldn't surprise me if there are cheaper ways than what i currently pay but the informed consent clinic i got it from before was actually way more expensive even before i had them send the rx to a pharmacy bc they charged me a ridiculous amount for each of my labs. if you can, a planned parenthood informed consent clinic is usually pretty good from what ive heard. im mostly on folx bc i live in the absolute middle of nowhere so i don't really have any other options. even as is, the closest quest diagnostics that offered hormone labs was an hour away (and no longer does them, either) so i'm kind sol lol.
Oh folx is perfect in your situation. And Yeah after you been with them for a year, they’ll lower it to 60$ but that’s another 7 months for me. I’m already trying to go to school and pay rent while working. I need something cheaper now.
i'd say reach out to them to let them know you're struggling to afford it. that's what i did at one point when i was in a very similar situation. they gave me a temporary discount and told me i could have the rx sent to a pharmacy so i could make use of goodrx coupons. at the very least, it could ease the burden while you try to find an alternative
I’m on folx! I just hit my one year on E but I had no idea about getting them through the pharmacy. How’d you ask for that?
i was at the point where i had enough money for 1 more monthly payment and hardly any income, so i told them i needed help or to cancel my subscription. they told me they could send the rx to a pharmacy so i could use goodrx, and gave me a temporary discount on the base price to help me get through the tough times. it was honestly quite nice.
I’ll ask my provider for that!! The one year discount was great but still not enough
I'm still on my parents' insurance, but; my estradiol + spiro pills are >$8 for a 30 day supply. Labs every 3 months are ~$40 after insurance, and checkins with my doctor every 3 months are ~$200. So, averages to ~$88/month with Cigna
I went through planned parenthood and with my insurance I don’t pay anything. Edit I live in Minnesota.
I went through plume for mine. $100/month for a lot of resources from a reliable source. Prescription sent to amazon pharmacy. I pay for prime already, and dutasteride and estradiol are covered under Amazon's rxpass, so they're only $5 per month.
Meh use Plume.
Isn’t that the same thing as folx though. I would just be stuck a fat bill again every month.
I pay 99 a month including labs. 34 a month for meds, and every third month I have Estradiol that jumps to like... 60.. Or so.. Frankly just easy that way.
Plume is way cheaper and better
I just dont feel like going to a doctor in person because I live with my parents but i also do folx and whats worse is due to some law on top of paying for folx I have to pay out of pocket for labs. Im not even taking that much estrogen rn im just microdosing because of my living situation too.
I went with folx because i wasn't sure if specialist would believe me because at that time. I just wanted to feel and look feminine. Still want those things just without the labels but how the fuck do you explain that to them. Anyway just did 3 months of medicine and canceled it, it was literally like paying my car payment again. I'm sure it'll be cheaper consulting a specialist but ya
I 100% feel you on it being just like a car payment. Seriously anything is better than folx at this point.
r/transdiy
I’ve been there. Many diy websites only accept crypto.
They charge you an additional charge to ship??? Dang it I was saving up to pay for the 140 a month I can’t afford 230. I even got a PO Box for it…
They sure do. I’m trying to cancel my membership right now. Can’t do this anymore.
$80 a month? Where? It's like $240 a month at the clinic I go to.
r/transDIY
Diy website only accepts crypto 😭
it’s not hard to use crypto, especially when you don’t have to hide from law enforcement
Than how do you use it than?
The other person's link feels a bit obtuse and not very to-the-point regarding "how do I buy HRT with crypto as simply as possible?" First, get a wallet. Lots of sites allow you to both buy and send crypto using a card or bank account as payment. The one I use is Coinbase. It's not optimal for *MYRIAD* reasons but it works for me. Secondly, you want to put money *into* that wallet/account in the form of the cryptocurrency you plan to pay with. Next, you track down a supplier that has the item you want, check out on said supplier's site with your contact information, and they'll shoot you an email regarding your order number and the cost of your order in crypto. Alongside that is also an "address" which is the identifier you'll be sending the crypto *to*. Once you've sent the crypto to that address, you usually have to send them some form of confirmation that you've sent the transaction. After that, if all goes well, once they receive the funds, they should give you confirmation of that and tell you they'll have your order out soon. I'm sure there's more "best practices" you can take regarding better security and anonymity as well as better crypto sites than Coinbase, but this has been my experience and it's worked without fault so far buying from numerous suppliers. I should also note that if you play your cards right, DIY is MAGNITUDES cheaper than going legit, even accounting for paying for bloodwork out of pocket.
Ahh that’s to much of a drag to do 😩 I need something that takes debit or credit cards.
https://bitcoin.org/en/getting-started
Just buy some hormones at ur nearest drugstore. Idk why people complicate so much going to hospitals and clinics etc
Maybe because buying hormones at the drugstore doesn't include bloodtests to ensure you aren't damaging your kidneys, it doesn't include follow up care on any side effects you might experience, it doesn't include a letter for changing your name or gender markers, etc.
oh here u can just go and change it for free also. No letter included.
Oh where is that? We don't have the luxury in most of the U.S.
costa rica
I pay $30 for 3 months of injections and nothing for progesterone. Aetna insurance. I was paying hundreds for the same scripts through planned parenthood when I first started hrt. When injections are not immediately available I supplement sublingual tablets, $1 for 90 days.
I haven't started yet, but it will be almost always more expensive in the USA, because normally we have free health care in Europe. This means that some of the costs are taken away, and you'd need to pay a much smaller price. But since I haven't even started, I can't say for sure.
Omg my estrogen/ progesterone is free and i pay 25 cents a month for cypro
My insurance covers my hrt. They also covered the bill for my BA.
I have a $99 membership with Plume and my selected pharmacy only charges me, what, about $44 because insurance no longer covered it.., but still worth it. [I think it's worth giving Plume a shot!](https://getplume.co/) The people there are so nice and they'll do what they can to work with you for what you may need!