Seriously? Taking the advice from my doctor, im supposed to trash after 4th shot. He says there will be a bit left, but because of contamination(???) he wants me to switch vials every 4th shot.
Like, is that the real reason? Because it physically hurts to throw this away, knowing how much i and others have worked to get this stuff in the first place, and how many sisters cant access it 😭
Also really seems like a waste of time and resources. Like people had to make this, and that required time effort and money. Are we cool with throwing away the results of so much progress and effort?
Idk, its hitting me now that i have to toss one, these are all questions i have that my doctor will probly hear next time i go in 😂😂
PS. My nails look bad, its been a really rough month, dont talk about it 😂
This is why most trans people learn to take what their doctors say with a huge grain of salt. "Trust your doctor" is shit advice when it comes to trans medicine. It's not just bad advice, it's Stockholm Syndrome.
I'm assuming you're on weekly shots? If so, the 4 week guideline comes from hospital settings. In hospitals, they'll have vials of medication shared between many patients. They're discarded after a month. But those vials aren't being used for a single injection once per week. They're often being used many times by many different patients. It makes sense to be more cautious due to the number of times the stopper is being pierced over a short period of time.
But for individual use? It's completely unnecessary. As long as your vial isn't visibly cloudy, has visible debris in it, etc., as long as everything is fine? Use it til it's empty.
As far as what to tell the doctor, simply don't tell him. If he asks, lie and say you threw it out after a month. Again, "trust your doctor" is shit advice in trans medicine. Your doc just learned in his training "throw out vials after a month" and never bothered looking in to where those rules came from.
Instead, use this as a means of building up a stockpile. Yes, there's no actual shortage of estrogen, but if you're in the US, do not assume your access to E is safe. All it would take is one illegal executive order stating that "it's against FDA policy to prescribe trans HRT," and all the insurance companies would stop covering it immediately, complying in advance with the illegal directive. Same thing with big hospitals and doctor networks. In 2026, it is nothing less a form a self-harm to be a trans person not stockpiling when you have the option to do so.
If unopened, those vials will last a decade if kept in a cool dry place. You can use what you're observing here to build a stockpile. Keep using the vial until it runs out. But actually fill your prescription every four injections as your doctor is prescribing.
Again, do not simply rely on your doctor. If trans care is severely affected, he'll simply stop seeing trans patients and be otherwise unaffected. You will be left high and dry without life-saving medication. Keep stockpiling until you have a decade or so of vials saved up. Always draw from the oldest vials first. Once you reach the maximum practical stockpile size, either only fill the rx every few months, or fill the rx monthly and give away your excess vials to local trans people in need.
This is exactly the advice ive been hearing and feels the best to me
Like, deep down in my soul i know not to just trust doctors, theres obviously horrible doctors everywhere. I just dont know enough about anything like this and im just generally doing what im told.
Plus, if im being completely honest, medical settings are my safe space and im kinda terrified that might change. I know this is not MANY peoples experience but for me, with alot of pain and struggle in almost every other aspect of my life, doctors always seemed to be doing their best to make me feel better. White "male" privilege is probly a factor, and its probly going to be a hard lesson for me overall
So much information on this thread is also just wrong. Like the comment or above said you can keep your vials and my doctor told me to as well. In my experience, Estradiol doesn’t go bad very quickly if you keep it sterile (you look at the color and throw it away if it gets cloudy or changes color). Keep it out of sunlight and follow the package instructions for a cool and dry place.
As for it being sterile, it is important that you do the drawing out of the vial properly. Make sure it is a sterile needle, and that you use a small enough needle gauge (I have had the best of luck between 23g and 25g) so that you do not core your vial (little rubber pieces that fall in). Putting the needle in at an angle also helps. When you pull it out the rubber stopper is supposed to be self sealing. As another comment said you can also wipe the top with an alcohol wipe before drawing. If you are having issues with the process I would see if you can get an appointment for someone at planned parenthood to show you.
Also the month expiration is just what was tested as safe, they didn’t actually test what the maximum is as it is for the manufacturers liability, so at the end of the day it’s your decision
Yeah, it's hard. Especially if you're used to a doctor's office being a safe space. And often the docs aren't even being bigoted. Overtly bigoted docs don't tend to get involved in trans care at all. But even well-meaning ones can be ignorant. A few common doctor issues, even among well-meaning docs:
Not realizing that modern bioidentical estradiol is nothing like the premarin of decades past. It doesn't have the liver and kidney risks that premarin did.
Prescribing estradiol valerate on two week intervals (resulting in a week of menopausal E levels.)
Demanding patients stop estrogen for weeks prior to surgery. (This came out of the premarin days.)
Prescribing massive doses of T blockers with minimal estrogen doses.
Etc. And if you're just starting this, another thing to keep in mind is to always see your own blood work levels. So many trans folks end up getting screwed over by their doctors. The doc will say, "your levels are fine!" while you're actually in the menopausal levels of estrogen. Not all docs are like this, but plenty are. Do NOT simply rely on your doc telling you your levels are good. Insist on seeing the levels yourself.
I do this! Im happy that im in a network that makes it super easy to see the results of tests, they send it straight to my account! Havent had my level test yet, but i will absolutely keep this in mind.
Honestly after hearing everyones dosage .25ml does seem minimal but i am just starting basically so idk lol
I feel like this kind of thing falls more within a pharmacist's knowledge than a doctor's. But you can also try reading that tiny writing in the mini-book that might have come in the box that held the vial, see if there's anything about it and any reason for it. Otherwise you can follow the advice of isleepinahammock.