Arlington

Access to Hormone Therapy Increases for Transgender North Texans

There's a local push to address the medical needs of transgender North Texans.

At the Planned Parenthood location in Arlington, Stephanie, a nurse practitioner, said she sees six to 12 transgender patients a week, many of whom are seeking hormone therapy to help with their transition.

"Most of my patients go five to 10 years without hormone therapy. Most of them feel it early on in life, but most of them will turn 18 and look for years to come to find someone who can provide that service for them," she said.

She said demand has soared since the spring of 2017, when Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas expanded healthcare services for transgender patients to include Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy services.

The number of LGBT people, and transgender people in particular, face disproportionately high rates of mental illness, HIV, unemployment, poverty, and harassment, according to Healthy People 2020, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Stephanie said those reasons are why she has had some patients admit to going online or out of the country to buy hormone therapy.

She warned against it, as she said hormone therapy should be under the guidance of a medical professional.

"There are some things that can put you at risk. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, we can monitor those things to get you on the right amount."

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