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Why self-medication of hormones is a growing concern among transpersons
Updated On: 07 July, 2023 06:24 PM IST | Mumbai | Arpika Bhosale
A society that shuns hijras and is cautious of trans persons is pushing them to self inject hormones without prescriptions. Their desperation to transition quickly to their gender of choice with no access to cost-effective medical advice means their lives are at risk
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Goregaon resident and trans man Saif, who prefers to be identified by his first name only, has been undergoing Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT) since 2020. Finding an endocrinologist he can afford has been his biggest challenge. Pic/Ashish Raje
Twenty four-year-old Nalasopara resident Manas Kulshrestha has been on Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT) for the last three months. The therapy, which involves taking hormone injections or oral medication, helps align the characteristics of the individual with their gender identity. Kulshrestha, who identifies as transmasculine, says that when he decided to begin GAHT, he first consulted an endocrinologist at the civic-run Sion Hospital. “The doctor told me to start with 50 mg of testosterone [primary male sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males] every 15 days.”
His friend, on the other hand, wanted to hasten the transition. “Without consulting a specialist, he decide to inject himself with 250 mg every 15 days,” he says. “That is 500 mg of testosterone per month. He did this for five months and eventually, his kidneys began to shut down. He was admitted to a local hospital, and the doctor had to take him off hormones completely. He can’t take the injections until his kidney values improve,” says Kulshrestha, adding that his friend will now have to restart GAHT all over again.
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