This is not a guide. Just my thoughts, my timeline, my luck. I also won’t go into how I figured out I’m trans. That’s… too personal and too messy to put online.

When I read about estrogen, about its effects, I felt this… need. Not urgency. Not desperation. Just a pull. Like, “Okay, I want this. Now.”

How it Works

In Germany (legally), you don’t need to check any boxes, letters or assessments. Technically, you walk into an endocrinologist say “I want HRT” and you get your prescription. Paid by your health insurance.

But… there’s a “but”.

There is no officially approved estrogen or testosterone HRT. So doctors need informed consent to use drugs off-label. Most endocrinologists though—they still want an (psychological) indication letter (stating “Person XYZ is diagnosed with F64.0 Transexualism, HRT is indicated.”). Gyn or urological report.

Which means you need a therapist.

If you don’t have one, you have to wait (1 - 2 years is normal). And most therapists want ten sessions before you get that magical letter.

Let’s do the math:

  1.5 years  # to get therapy appointment
+ 140 days   # (10 sessions every 14 days)
+ 0.5 years  # to get an endocrinologist appointment (reddit says so)
≈ ~2  years

Two years of waiting, thinking, doubting.

My Path

I’m not patient. I hate waiting.

So I thought: maybe I’m not sure I’m trans yet. Maybe it’s a phase. But if I start now… therapy and everything… I’ll have enough time to figure it out while things are happening.

I contacted around 80 therapists. And got nowhere. Frustration hit.

So I paid one out of pocket. I found a therapist I could actually see. One day later I had a video call and paid them. A few days later I had my indication letter in my mailbox.

I wasn’t even sure I’m trans, but got diagnosed anyway.

Endocrinologists next. I contacted a university clinic-department for trans health. I got an appointment one and a half years later. I said yes, but kept looking.

Then I found another endocrinologist, with a free slot on the same day. They stole some blood (for some testing), and a few days later, I had to check in and had my prescription in hand.

I speed-ran that lol.

Thinking back, I’ve been ridiculously lucky. Everything lined up in a way that could have gone very wrong.

This could have been one of the most impulsive, barely thought-out decisions of my life. But somehow it worked and it has been the best decision for me.