Getting Started
These are good resources to get started learning about HRT and endocrinology.
General
Transmasculine
Hudson's FtM Guide Testosterone Therapy Basics
Trans Care Project - Hormones: A Guide for FTMs
Rainbow Health Transmasculine HRT guidelines
Transmasculine HRT Wikipedia Page
Transfeminine
Transfeminine Science (transfemscience.org)
Intro to Hormone Therapy for Transfeminine People by Transfeminine Science
Approximate equivalent doses of different estradiol routes/forms by Transfeminine Science
Trans Care Project - Hormones: A Guide for MTFs
Rainbow Health Transfeminine HRT guidelines
Transfeminine HRT Wikipedia Page
Kuhl (2005)—an amazing review about the pharmacology of estrogens and progestogens
General Resources
Resources to get a doctor
Getting HRT in Auckland New Zealand
Finding a doctor in the UK
List of trans friendly general practitioners
Mascara and Hope: A guide for trans women navigating the NHS and transition in the UK
Finding a doctor in the US
List of informed consent clinics in the US (direct link)
Trans in the South: guide and interactive map for finding quality trans providers in the southern US
GALAP: a group of therapists who write letters for surgery/HRT based on informed consent
Online
hrt.cafe diyhrt.cafe hrtcafe.net
Blood Tests
Reference ranges to help interpret blood test results (if these ranges are different than the ones printed on your test results, then trust the ones you got from your lab; every lab has different equipment and different reference ranges)
Dr. Powers: Why drawing your blood for hormone labs any time other than right before your next dose is pointless (but a rebuttal by Transfeminine Science)
US blood tests
UK blood tests
List of trans friendly GPs (can provide blood tests even if they don't prescribe your HRT)
Finland Blood Tests
Private blood work guide/experience (Finland)
Bone Density Tests
dexascan.com provides tests for osteoporosis that don't require a prescription. They also do muscle/fat composition scans if you want to track muscle growth/atrophy.
Medical Guidelines
Standards, guidelines, or explainers made by healthcare professionals.
A full list of guidelines is maintained by Transfeminine Science
Major Guidelines
WPATH Standards of Care
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care (SOC) (2022, currently version 8 and known as SOC8) are considered by many to be the go-to international guidelines and best practices for trans healthcare.
There is a free download in many languages here:
https://www.wpath.org/publications/soc
Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline
The Endocrine Society guidelines (2017) are the major consulted international guidelines on transgender hormone therapy:
https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2017-01658
UCSF Guidelines
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) trans health guidelines (2016) are quality and thorough:
https://transcare.ucsf.edu/guidelines
Overview of masculinizing hormone therapy
Overview of feminizing hormone therapy
Minor Guidelines
Rainbow Health Ontario Trans Health Guide
These are a beautiful overview of trans HRT.
Link to the full site homepage: https://www.rainbowhealthontario.ca/TransHealthGuide/index.html
Trans Care Project
This is an easy to understand explanation of HRT for trans people:
Royal College of Psychiatry Good Practice Guidelines
http://www.tgmeds.org.uk/downloads/CR181_Nov15.pdf
Others
- NHS explainer for trans patients
- The Fenway Institute guidelines for trans medical care
- Endocrine Therapy for Transgender Adults in British Columbia: Suggested Guidelines
- Sherbourne Health Center Guidelines
- International Medical Advisory Panel Statement on hormone therapy for transgender people
Crash Course
Crash course anatomy and physiology is a YouTube video series covering a college level introduction to human biology.
It's a great way to gain a basic general understanding of the human body, which is a great thing to have for self medicating.
The episodes on the endocrine system and reproductive system are especially relevant.
Wikipedia Pages
Here are Wikipedia pages about relevant topics in trans HRT.
If you don't understand something, click through on the links or google it separately. Don't be afraid to look at the sources that are cited either. Use Sci-Hub to view paywalled papers (check the Wikipedia page if that link doesn't work). Use LibGen to download paywalled books (also check the Wikipedia page if that link doesn't work).
Trans-specific
Endocrinology
Hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis
Effects/Traits
Sex differences in human physiology
Sexual motivation and hormones
Male-Pattern Scalp Hair Loss
Transgender Scientific Studies
A massive repository of transgender related scientific studies
A guide for searching and getting access to raw medical research on Transfeminine Science
Searching Reddit
Reddit search is pretty terrible, so it's better to use google. You can search only specific sites using Google's advanced search. For example, put reddit.com/r/TransDIY in the "site or domain" field to only search this subreddit.
Another more advanced way to search Reddit is using https://camas.unddit.com/
Be very skeptical about things you see posted on reddit. It's very useful as a starting point to find what exactly to research in the first place, but be sure to verify everything, especially if it seems obvious or common knowledge.
Injection resources
in-depth and trans-specific guide on subcutaneous oil injections
Video: "How to do a testosterone or estrogen injection – LGBTQ Clinic"
Video: "Dr. John Crisler, SubQ Injection Demonstration"
Video by planned parenthood: "How to perform an intramuscular (IM) self-injection."
Video by planned parenthood: "How to perform a subcutaneous self-injection."
Fenway Health trans health injection guide
Video: "painless self [IM] injections"
Guide website for intramuscular injections
Buying needles and syringes online
https://westendmedicalsupplies.com/
Non-binary Resources
Guides from this community
An excellent overview of HRT for transfeminine non-binary people (AMAB) on Transfeminine Science
Guide for transmasculine (FtM/non-binary) DIY
https://reddit.com/r/TransDIY/comments/aha94v/intergender_hrt_options/
Other non-binary HRT resources
https://madgenderscience.miraheze.org/wiki/Experimental_non-binary_HRT
Transfeminine regimen without breast growth using bicalutamide and raloxifene (only that section)
Chest binders sized for AMAB people (originally intended for men dealing with gynecomastia)
Transmasculine Resources
http://www.ftmguide.org/ (everything under the "testosterone" section)
Information about various androgen medications
Guides from this community
Guide for transmasculine (FtM/non-binary) DIY
https://reddit.com/r/TransDIY/comments/cerjjj/a_sortof_guide_on_t_from_my_personal_experience/
Wikipedia pages
Transmasculine-specific
Testosterone medication
Pharmacokinetics of testosterone
Stopping menstrual cycle
Other Resources
10 Ways to Make Intramuscular Testosterone Injections Less Painful
Transfeminine Resources
Other Communities
Discord
- TransDIY Discord (not affiliated with us even with the name overlap, but a very good place)
Others
Guides from this community
An amazing in-depth overview of all the science behind transfeminine HRT on Transfeminine Science
https://reddit.com/r/asktransgender/comments/1p6eqs/how_to_diy_hrt_mtf/cczaimy/
https://reddit.com/r/asktransgender/comments/1bypmj/self_medication_looking_for_advice/c9bogx8/
Relevant Wikipedia Pages
Transfeminine-specific
Relevant Endocrinology
Testosterone Blockers
Estradiol Medication
Progesterone Medication
Pharmacodynamics of progesterone
Pharmacokinetics of progesterone
Other Transfeminine HRT Resources
A comparison between oral administration of estradiol and sublingual administration
A huge scientific literature review on estrogens and progestogens
Other
Body Measurements
This isn't HRT specific, but it might help with dysphoria by allowing you to get an objective idea of your bone sizes compared to the male/female average for your height. Keep in mind that HRT can change your height by a couple inches.
Simulators
Injectable Estradiol Simulator by Transfeminine Science
https://transfemscience.org/misc/injectable-e2-simulator/
A simulator for estradiol levels with injectable estradiol esters like estradiol valerate
Steroid Plotter
https://www.steroidplotter.com/
For testosterone and other anabolic steroids. Calculates and plots dose eliminated (not drug levels) based on literature-reported half-lives. It's extremely rough, so take with a large grain of salt.
Half-Life Calculator
http://com.hemiola.com/half-life/
This is useful for understanding and reasoning about half-lives and drug accumulation.
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revision by shrouded_reflection— view source
