11/10/2023 0 Comments Televisit doctor![]() ![]() ![]() The purchase cost him just $4.15, which was lucky because, he said, he has only $9 in his pocket until his next disability check comes in. The medication was even covered by his insurance. 28, he had just gotten his testosterone prescription refilled. When we spoke over the phone for the second time, on Aug. Recognizing the rise of DIY medications, groups like Hope & Help, an STI- and HIV-focused clinic in Winter Park, have offered to help trans people self-manage their medication as safely as possible through their syringe exchange program.įor now, Addams fortunately won’t have to take that risk. “If you’re on trans masculine hormone therapy, a lot of times you’re just basically shit out of luck unless you’re willing to resort to criminal behavior to get some controlled substances.” “I know a friend who literally has vials and vials of bathtub estrogen that they distribute to friends,” Márquez said. ![]() But sources cautioned that approach: May Márquez, a trans activist based in Florida, stressed that this option “isn’t strictly legal or safe.” But she added that LGBTQ+ people in the state are being forced to practice harm reduction because many feel as if they have nowhere else to turn but to each other.Īymann Ismail I Taught the AP Class Ron DeSantis Gutted. Although testosterone is tough to compound, LGBTQ+ advocates claim that the basic ingredients used to create feminizing hormone medications are widely available at most major drug stores. If the state plans to keep increasing barriers to trans people getting their health care from a licensed professional, some might turn to potentially risky solutions like self-medication. The documents claim that gender-affirming care is purely “speculative” and is based upon “limited, poor-quality research,” despite the fact that leading groups like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics support gender-affirming medicine for both trans youth and adults. In late July, the Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine finalized new consent forms that patients, even those who are currently accessing medication, will be required to sign in order to continue receiving medical treatment. While organizations scramble to help, many fear that some trans Floridians will slip through the cracks as the state continues to tighten restrictions on trans health care. In order to access medication, many trans people have responded by traveling out of state, such as driving to neighboring Georgia, where the state’s trans medical care ban does not include restrictions on health care for trans adults. The wait for an appointment is commonly monthslong for doctors who are still treating trans patients, due to the overwhelming demand. Every LGBTQ+ person I spoke to for this story claimed that only a handful of providers in the entire state are currently administering transition treatment, as many doctors have stopped providing trans health care altogether out of fear of being targeted by state officials. The law has had a chilling effect on the kinds of care that are still allowed. It’s made a lot of things really difficult.”Ĭountless other trans Floridians are similarly finding themselves with few good options now that SB 254 has decimated access to gender-affirming medical treatments in their state. ![]() I’ve got a son that turns 9 in a couple of days, and I can’t run around and keep up with him like I could when I had my testosterone. “Now I’ve got the muscle tone of maybe a 50-year-old guy. “I had the muscle tone of a 25-to-30-year-old guy,” he said. He said the severe reduction in his medication has resulted in fatigue and intense headaches, during which it feels as if “half my head’s being squeezed in a vise and something’s being stabbed into my eye.” He has also noticed a rapid decrease in muscle mass and lies awake at night in fear that his health could deteriorate further if he runs out of testosterone entirely. Rather than taking his normal dose of 0.6 milliliters of testosterone every week, Addams has been taking 0.3 milliliters every two or three weeks. At the time of our first interview, he still hadn’t received the medication due to a series of delays, which have included testosterone being out of stock at his pharmacy. He had to be referred to a new doctor in his network and couldn’t get an in-person appointment until Aug. Addams had been hoping to avoid that scenario, but due to a miscommunication between his pharmacy and his former medical provider, he wasn’t able to get his prescription refilled before DeSantis signed the bill. ![]()
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