Lee says:

If a Planned Parenthood near you prescribes testosterone, then yes, you can do the whole process there. I did and so did my partner.

More info:

Lee says:

The  Here is how to get hormones in the US post has this link:

That post explains how complicated it was for me to get my hormone prescription.

Ryn says:

Depending on state laws, your doctor/whoever is prescribing may be able to send your HRT to a pharmacy near your new place of residence. Since you won’t be able to do follow-up appointments, they likely won’t want to do this indefinitely, but probably could until you can find a new doctor in your area, especially if you’ve been on the medications for greater than like 4 months. Another option is to wait until you get out there and try to make an appointment with a provider in the area for basically right when you arrive. A last option is to try and get HRT through Planned Parenthood if you’re in the US. Look up planned parenthoods around you and around where you’re moving to, and hopefully you’ll be able to get HRT at both locations. Good luck!

Lee says:

I paid the copay listed on my insurance card for the appointment, which was $40 at the time- this will vary by your insurance and your need, so you can talk to the people at the counter about it when you get there, or call them and ask before your appointment.

The copay I paid for picking up my testosterone prescription at CVS was $20, and when I switched to weekly injections the copay for 5 weeks of T and needles was $7. Again, this varies depending on your insurance.

How many months of testosterone you get prescribed depends on the individual doctor you see at Planned Parenthood. It often is 3 months of T, but I think I was prescribed 6 months initially while a friend who went to a different PP was prescribed 2 months before a follow-up.

Again, as we wrote in our faq “Cost of hormones all depends on your insurance, location, doctor, and what pharmacy you go to. You’ll have to look into all of these personally. We cannot give price estimates because of the high variance.”

I wrote about my experience with getting testosterone through Planned Parenthood here.

Lee says:

If you have their permission because they’ve signed the forms saying they consent for you to start HRT, then you can legally start testosterone.

But the particular doctor you’re going to see may require you to be accompanied by an adult as proof that you didn’t forge their signature and that you have their support.

So you might be able to start HRT as a minor without your parent ever interacting with the testosterone prescriber in person, and you might be required to drag them to at least one appointment. It all depends on who you see.

More info with the process of getting HRT through PP is here.

Lee says:

It depends on your insurance and your financial status.

I went to Planned Parenthood for my pre-T blood work, for example, and it cost me $40 per appointment because that’s the copay my insurance has for PCP appointments. Then the insurance rate went up to $60 per appointment for me, but a friend who has different insurance was only paying $30 per appointment.

If you can’t afford to pay or you don’t have insurance, they can accommodate you with a discount fee scale. You should talk to them about it when you go in for your first appointment! They can help you figure it out, especially if you’re younger and not used to navigating your own healthcare.

This is what the PP website for NY says, for example:

“We welcome most major health insurance carriers for billing for reproductive health services (GYN). You will be asked to present your insurance card and pay your co-pay at the time of visit.

If you do not have health insurance, we can offer you services based on our discount fee scale. To qualify, we ask all patients seeking services at Planned Parenthood present the most recent four week snapshot of your income (such as recent pay stubs or, if you are unemployed, proof of your unemployment benefits or inability to work).”

Lee says:

Yes, this is answered in our faq!

The Here is how to get hormones in the US post linked in the FAQ has a link at the end with locations of Planned Parenthoods that prescribe HRT, and info on the process. 

I’ll tell you that Arizona isn’t on their list of places that prescribe HRT, but you can call your local Planned Parenthoods and ask for a referral to someone who will prescribe HRT because many Planned Parenthoods do HRT even though they aren’t on the official list- I started T at a Planned Parenthood in a state not listed on their website’s official list.

And check out the links in aforementioned post for info on the process of getting testosterone prescribed.

Lee says:

I don’t know if PP does injections, so you should call them and ask, but I do suspect that you’ll have a copay for each appointment. 

So if you have to pay say $20 per appointment (this is just an example, your insurance may have a higher or lower copay) and you have to do an injection every week, you’re going to end up paying a pretty penny.

Say you’re doing your injection once a week, like I do, and paying $20 for your copay each appointment. That adds up to $1,040 dollars per year, for every year of your life (or as long as you stay on T). That plus the cost of your regular endo appointments, blood work, and the copay for the testosterone and needles itself.

So while you can totally call Planned Parenthood and ask them about whether they can do your shot every week, I would honestly suggest that you should try to get comfortable doing it yourself since it’s going to save you a lot of money and time, and give you more independence like if you’re going to travel anywhere in the future you’ll probably need to do it yourself. This post has more info on overcoming injection anxiety, if you do decide you want to learn how to do it yourself.

If you can afford to pay for someone to do your injection consistently but you’re too anxious to do it yourself, then I’d suggest just calling your endocrinologist and switching to another form of testosterone like the gel which may be slightly more expensive than injections upfront (my gel copay per month was $20) but it’s probably cheaper long term compared to paying for getting your injection done for you.

More info on the different forms of T are in the Testosterone FAQ- there’s gel, patches, pellets, a nasal spray and more! So check out that link.

Additionally, Planned Parenthood doesn’t usually fill prescriptions because it isn’t a pharmacy, so you should transfer your prescription from the current CVS to a CVS that’s closer to where you’re moving to. Just talk to the people at CVS about it, or do it online.

Followers, does anyone have info on having your shot done for you?

Lee says:

Maybe- you can get HRT from a doctor who isn’t in your state, but you have to be able to go back to their office for appointments. 

So you can’t just get a prescription for HRT that lasts forever and then never go back to the office again since it’s too far.

Endocrine Society guidelines recommend monitoring of hormone levels every 3 months, but in practice this is not realistic and not likely to add value once a stable dosing has been achieved.

For example, you may have to go there for your initial appointment, go back for an appointment at 3 months on HRT, an appointment at 6 months on HRT, an appointment at 1 year on HRT, an appointment at 1.5 years on HRT, an appointment at 2 years on HRT, then one appointment per year from 2 years on.

If you’re able to do all of that, then it’s possible to go out of state for a hormone prescription. 

You just have to convince the prescriber, and make sure your insurance will cover the cost of the appointments since out-of-state providers may be out-of-network and cost more.

Lee says:

I personally started testosterone at Planned Parenthood at a very low dose, 12 mg, because I requested to be on low-dose T.

The average starting dose prescribed probably depends on which provider you see- I don’t think all of the individual doctors at all the Planned Parenthoods in the country are collectively following guidelines that are radically different than standard practices.

So I’d say it depends on which clinic you go to, because some PP hormone providers may have more experience and knowledge than others, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The same is true with private endocrinologists- there are some out there who don’t adjust your dose like they should based on your lab work. 

If you’re uncomfortable with the care you’re receiving anywhere, whether it’s at a Planned Parenthood or with a private endocrinologist, speak up and talk to that provider about it- If you want to be on a higher or lower dose, ask them! 

If their response seems like they aren’t willing to listen to your needs or aren’t aware of current medical guidelines, then it’s time to switch to another provider.

Lee says:

It’s hard to say, since every individual PP clinic is different and there’s even more variety in private practitioners. 

Some private endocrinologists will take longer to prescribe hormones than others will, so that means sometimes you’ll have to wait and sometimes you can start almost immediately.

In my personal experience, I was able to start T quicker at Planned Parenthood than at a private endocrinologist, but not because of how quickly they were willing to prescribe it. There was just a six-month waiting period just to get a new patient appointment with the private endo, and less time to get an appointment at PP. So even if both providers would be willing to prescribe T after 2 appointments, it’s the amount of time before that appointment that determined things for me.

It’s worth checking into multiple providers and seeing who can see you soonest, and also who has a good reputation in the community.

Callie says:

Unfortunately Canada doesn’t have the large numbers of Planned Parenthoods and that the states have and many of our clinics are not actually called Planned Parenthood, even if they’re in the Planned Parenthood network.

Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights has a list of providers, but unfortunately the number of clinics nationwide is not that large.

https://www.actioncanadashr.org/find-service-provider/

This list can help you find your nearest provider and inquire as to whether they provide informed consent HRT services, or call 1-888-642-2725 for the ACSHR general line for clinics near you.

 Harper says:Hey there!So I actually had to look up what Planned Parenthood was just to double check I was on the right lines. Everything offered at Planned Parenthood is available for free on the NHS in the UK. As a guideline, you can speak to your GP about all of the issues surrounding Planned Parenthood. You may be referred to a separate clinic, such as a sexual health clinic, a contraception clinic, or a family planning clinic, and you may be able to go there directly too.To check for Sexually Transmitted Infections/Diseases you can hop along to a Sexual Health Clinic to get checked out confidentially and for free.For birth control and contraception, you can get all your contraceptive methods from the NHS. For example, if you’re looking to go on the pill, book an appointment with your GP and you’ll be able to sort something out and get it for free. You can also visit a contraception clinic for more information and resources.For emergency contraception, you can pick up the pill for free from sexual health clinics, contraception clinics, most NHS walk in centres. You can also buy the morning after pill over the counter at pharmacies for around £25 to £35 pounds, although I’ve seen ones much more expensive than these. For information about the IUD please refer to the link as it is a little more complicated.For abortions, you can visit your GP, a contraception clinic, a sexual health clinic, or a family planning clinic (amongst others), and ask for a referral to an abortion service. You can also contact an abortion service directly: “the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Marie Stopes UK and the National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service (NUPAS) can tell you about eligibility and services in your area.”Please note that these services (especially abortion services) are not going to be consistent in all territories in the UK. For example, abortion is still illegal in Northern Ireland.

Lee says:

I personally started testosterone at Planned Parenthood at a very low dose, 12 mg, so I don’t think that’s true.

The average starting dose prescribed probably depends on which provider you see- I don’t think all of the individual doctors at all the Planned Parenthoods in the country are collectively following guidelines that are radically different than standard practices.

If you’re uncomfortable with the care you’re receiving anywhere, whether it’s at a Planned Parenthood or with a private endocrinologist, speak up and talk to that provider about it- If you want to be on a lower dose, ask them! If their response seems like they aren’t willing to listen to your needs or aren’t aware of current medical guidelines, then it’s time to switch to another provider.