I went to the Informed Consent clinic Saturday morning for my appointment. They were very professional and the whole process was relatively painless. Except for my blood pressure which was high (135/78) on first take because my anxiety level was through the roof. Checked again 10 minutes later (after I calmed down some) and it was 122/75 which is still high for me. My norm is closer to 96/66.
After talking things over with the clinician I was given a physical and had blood drawn. They don't deal with my insurance company so it cost me about $275.00. In hindsight I could have had the physical at my doc and saved some money, but it still would have been $150.00 for the initial deductible plus the hassle of delaying the whole thing.
She stated the blood work should be back Tuesday and she will contact me with the results. After loosing 100lbs over the last 2 years and eating a vegan whole food diet for over a year I expect the results to be fine. With any luck she will fax the prescription to my insurance plan's mail-in pharmacy. A 90 day supply of either generic (estradiol or spironolactone) is $0 dollars. The ins. plan states that each drug is cleared for my use with no need for added paperwork justifying the same. So in the long run it should be much cheaper than herbs and I needed the new blood work to compare to previous levels from years back.
Since I expressed a desire to start out slow and I am in my mid-fifties I will be taking .5mg of estradiol twice a day sublingually (under the tongue) per her directions and I believe 50mg of spironolactone twice a day orally. She said we will slowly progress up to a maximum of 6mg a day of estradiol if I wish to progress to that level. The decision (obviously) is completely up to me.
She understands that at this point I have no plans to socially transition to female. I, however, have no objection to taking on a more female like presentation. That said I hate shaving and usually only shave my face every 4-6 weeks. So presenting as male should rarely be a problem. Then again in 7-9 years when I retire I may feel differently.
After talking things over with the clinician I was given a physical and had blood drawn. They don't deal with my insurance company so it cost me about $275.00. In hindsight I could have had the physical at my doc and saved some money, but it still would have been $150.00 for the initial deductible plus the hassle of delaying the whole thing.
She stated the blood work should be back Tuesday and she will contact me with the results. After loosing 100lbs over the last 2 years and eating a vegan whole food diet for over a year I expect the results to be fine. With any luck she will fax the prescription to my insurance plan's mail-in pharmacy. A 90 day supply of either generic (estradiol or spironolactone) is $0 dollars. The ins. plan states that each drug is cleared for my use with no need for added paperwork justifying the same. So in the long run it should be much cheaper than herbs and I needed the new blood work to compare to previous levels from years back.
Since I expressed a desire to start out slow and I am in my mid-fifties I will be taking .5mg of estradiol twice a day sublingually (under the tongue) per her directions and I believe 50mg of spironolactone twice a day orally. She said we will slowly progress up to a maximum of 6mg a day of estradiol if I wish to progress to that level. The decision (obviously) is completely up to me.
She understands that at this point I have no plans to socially transition to female. I, however, have no objection to taking on a more female like presentation. That said I hate shaving and usually only shave my face every 4-6 weeks. So presenting as male should rarely be a problem. Then again in 7-9 years when I retire I may feel differently.
hope it works out well!
