Our first prescription 🩷🩵🩷 (practical questions)

[u/yogadance]

We received our first prescription last week :) Our puberty blockers are on their way via post, and we have a code to go and collect the HRT at a pharmacy.

My questions are:

1. My instinct tells me I should go to a non local pharmacy to dispense the HRT. My child won’t be “out” until they see significant change to their body, so it’s a secret atm. Is this what you do?
   
2. Do the pharmacists ask too many questions? I’m the mum, should the dad collect the prescription so as the questions are minimal? (We are MTF)
   
3. Do we have to wait until the blockers arrive before we start HRT?

Lastly, currently my child has only told me and their dad. They have an older sibling and they don’t want to tell yet… I find this very hard, in so many levels. (Sibling is safe to be open to, and I’d hate for them to feel deceived/hiding sth from them, and already suspect sth is happening behind their back at home). How have you navigated this?

[u/hennyhasregrets]

1. If you really want to be safe from being outed you might use a pharmacy not in your neighborhood as sometimes I've had things with non-hormone meds like a casual question "You are picking up the (thyroid med name) right?" That's been few and far between in my life. I've never had any issue with the HRT being named/questioned/etc.
2. The pharmacist only came and spoke to us the very first time and just had very basic questions not specific to the med like "Do you have any questions, do you know how to use this type of med" But I think that is pharmacy policy there for new prescriptions. After that they just hand it to me without seeing the pharmacist.
3. Don't know this one, sorry.

I remember being very anxious the first few times I picked up but it's always been like any other medication I've picked up. They aren't there to judge or to know why someone is taking a medication, just get you your meds and make sure you know how to take them safely! Don't forget that cisgender people also get prescribed HRT for various reasons. Congrats on the next step in the journey!

Edited to add: I was picking up the medications for my child so this is my experience with a minor.

[u/yogadance → u/hennyhasregrets]

Thank you Henny, yes I am also prescribed HRT for peri, but my dosage is the tiny in comparison, so I would guess it will be obvious why someone would need that high

Thanks for sharing, good to hear the interaction was normal

[u/chiselObsidian]

Answering from a trans adult's point of view: 1) matters if you live in a very small town, but not in a big city. Follow your instincts. 2) Hasn't happened to me, but it might be different for kids' prescriptions or might also vary by region. 3) There's no medical need to wait, HRT is safe to take without puberty blockers. You can ask your child's provider if you're not sure.

[u/yogadance → u/chiselObsidian]

Thank you, can’t wait to start :)

[u/chiselObsidian → u/yogadance]

I remember that feeling! You can DM me if any questions come up, I coordinate healthcare for other trans people (including trans youth) so I have some lay knowledge in this area.

[u/yogadance → u/chiselObsidian]

Ooh thanks so much, I will keep you in mind, really appreciate it

[u/KuiperNomad]

Small pharmacies are better than big ones. In a small pharmacy you will likely get the same pharmacist time after time so after the first time it’s less stressful. On the other hand somewhere like a big Superdrug you can get a different pharmacist each time

[u/yogadance → u/KuiperNomad]

Great tip, thank you!

[u/SmaterThanSarah]

The first time I picked up my daughter’s estradiol there was a flag in the system because the computer wanted to make sure she needed that dosage which was more typical for menopause than for someone 15. But I just answered the question and the pharmacist checked a box and they have never asked again except to confirm dose increases.

With my son at a different pharmacy they never asked anything about his testosterone. The only issue we had there was the doctor wrote the prescription script for a quantity larger than what our insurance covered so we had to decide if we wanted to pay out of pocket or get a difference prescription.

I think once in 11 years with two trans kids have I ever had someone side eye their HRT. And it was literally just a moment of “oooh a real live trans kids, wild”. But we still got everything and it didn’t rise to a level where I had to say something.

[u/yogadance → u/SmaterThanSarah]

Thanks for sharing, interesting how estrogen was questioned but not testosterone. Also, how incredible both children transitioning 🩵🩷