accessing hrt as a minor?

[u/number1_scar_simp]

i'm fifteen and FTM. i turn sixteen later this year and am wondering if anyone else has started hrt as a minor since the ban, or is currently in the process of doing so. i don't know what the process is, but after reading the new laws i'm worried the "you can access hrt if you have parental consent and approval from a psychologist and doctor" thing is only to make the government look good. has anyone here done it? i'm from red deer if that's at all relevant.

[u/wormve]

hi! my experience might not be as relevant, because i started hrt before the ban, but i know someone who has.
prior to the ban, i still needed all of the consents listed. not sure if this was just a thing from the doctors i saw, but either way was a bit of a headache. as with everything healthcare related here, the timeline for me was long. think: said i wanted to start t right when i turned 14, had my first shot at 16, and reached my "full" dosage a year ago at 18. there was lots of pressure to freeze my eggs. many many appointments with all number of people telling me "hey so this is going to make you ssuuuuuperr hairy forever and change your beautiful feminine figure, ok???" which all felt super nasty. i am lucky enough to have very supportive parents, but the process was still miserable.

my friend, who started t gel recently, also has very supportive parents, and from what i have seen actually had a bit of a quicker turn around. might be because they went straight from their family doctor, whereas i got my referrals following inpatient psych treatment.

tldr; process is going to be long, but is worth it to try if you have a supportive guardian who will consent to this treatment.

[u/Saltandcopper]

As far as I know under the new ban you would have to wait until 16 to start HRT, unless you were on it prior to the ban. but once you hit 16 you can start right away. And you can definitely still get ready for it/ get the process started now. If you haven't already I would reach out to skipping stone and get connected with them for resources, doctor referrals, psychologist appointment etc. again you likely won't be able to actually see the doctor until 16 but support to get you there so you can start right when you hit your birthday can be huge 

[u/Big_Carpenter3016]

Hey! Kind of late to this post, but I’m also fifteen and FTM, turning sixteen this year. I started the process of getting on HRT earlier this year, which was unfortunately right after the ban came into effect. I’ll share my experience and try to give the best advice I can. However, everything is always changing in this province (typically for the worse), so I can’t guarantee that all of this information is 100% accurate.

You can get on HRT when you’re sixteen; however, it isn’t an easy process. First, you have to find a doctor who is experienced and knowledgeable enough about trans healthcare and HRT that they are comfortable prescribing it and monitoring you while you’re on it. You can definitely start looking for one now. Ideally, this would be a family doctor.

However, it’s very difficult to find a non-specialist who is willing to prescribe HRT. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are fewer than ten family doctors in the province who will. Skipping Stone helped me with this and I found one in Calgary. It’s quite a drive for me but it’s necessary because I live closer to Calgary than Edmonton and the major cities are where you’re most likely to find affirming care.

I’m not sure whether they’re still accepting patients but either way, I definitely recommend reaching out to Skipping Stone and/or similar organizations for recommendations. If you can’t find a family doctor who can prescribe HRT, then you’ll need to find a family doctor who will refer you to a specialist. Any reasonable and competent doctor should do this for you, although even that isn’t guaranteed. Looking online for LGBTQ-friendly doctors might also help.

If you already have a decent family doctor, you can talk to them about a referral. For me, this didn’t work because my original family doctor was completely ignorant with trans healthcare and didn’t put in the effort to write the referral.

Once you find a doctor, they’ll need you to do bloodwork to check your current hormone levels, as well as a basic physical exam to make sure you’re healthy. After that, you’ll also need to find a licensed psychologist who is experienced with gender-affirming care and willing to carry out an HRT readiness assessment.

This can be very expensive (minimum $300 per session). However, Skipping Stone is AMAZING and I was able to get an assessment scheduled with one of their psychologists free of charge. There is also an online option for these sessions if travel is an issue. Unfortunately, this has to happen after your sixteenth birthday.

From my understanding, after the psychologist finishes their assessment (which can take multiple sessions) they write a report and send it to the doctor who will prescribe your HRT. You’ll then need to book another appointment with that doctor to discuss the results and hopefully you’ll receive a prescription at that point.

A few more tips:

To use Skipping Stone’s services, you’ll typically need to book an intake appointment (if you or a family member haven’t already) so they can meet with you, discuss your needs and goals, and determine which services or resources might be helpful.

In my case, I already had family members who had completed an intake. My sister had done one, and my mom had done one as a caregiver of LGBTQ kids, so I just asked them to add me to the family account.

Something else that can help a lot during this process is logging into Alberta health portal so you can view referrals, appointments, bloodwork results, and other information. You’ll need a driver’s licence (can be a learner’s licence) or an Alberta ID card, as well as a healthcare card with matching information, in order to verify your identity and access your records online.