did your doctor tell you that finasteride/dutasteride is a testosterone blocker? it is not, you were lied to, they do virtually nothing to block testosterone.
I'm sorry that this is so common, if you're using Folx (or an equivalent) they all have some kind of "request a new provider" (say this phrase to the customer service representative) process. I know that starting with a new person is hard, but this is a huge red flag. I want you to have someone that doesn't make you read tumblr posts and evaluate the color of their flag.
the short explanation is that those drugs lower your levels of dihydrotestosterone. your doctor thinks that, since DHT is (genuinely true, deeply oversimplified) responsible for a lot of masculinization, blocking DHT will be enough.
the primary problem here is that your doctor is trying to alleviate your gender dysphoria, not help you more closely resemble the woman you want to be.
the secondary problem is that your doctor thinks medicine is a solved science. the longer explanation is that 5-alpha reductase inhibitors are poorly-understood despite the fact that they're the most common form of gender-affirming medication prescribed to cis people.
how much research do you think exists on their efficacy for trans women? yep.
your estrogen and testosterone levels matter. it's not as simple as "more E is good, less T is also good", but if your doctor made you feel like the numbers don't matter and you should let them worry about it? you need a new doctor.
I won't describe the different ways I've felt at different estrogen/testosterone levels, but I can. the difference is large. will your doctor let you find out for yourself?
if not: they work for you. you pay them. fire your doctor
I worry that I made too fine a point when I said "your doctor is trying to alleviate your gender dysphoria, not help you more closely resemble the woman you want to be"
bluntly, your doctor is trying to help you become Diet Man. a "feminine man". find someone who can help you become the woman you were always meant to be.
at the absolute maximum, $80 will buy you a vial that equates to 2 years of effective HRT
trans men get prescribed testosterone and (if they bring it up, doctors fail the boys slightly less but still fail them deeply) finasteride/dutasteride to prevent Male Pattern Baldness.
princess, why is your doctor telling you that the same drug they give trans men to prevent baldness is a T blocker? do they tell that to trans men?
Folx costs $300/year.
