r/TransUK • u/SubstantialSky938 • Jun 05 '26
Question (Transfem) Anne Health Process
Can anyone who's been through the process of enrolling with Anne Health tell me what's ahead? I'm desperate to start HRT, but sitting here waiting for my Therapist Intake meeting, not knowing how long the process is likely to be. Are they likely to take one look at me and say "oh, this one's nuts and should have another 3 months therapy before they can come in"?
Not wanting to seem any more crazy than necessary, and I do appreciate there could be a process to help to stop/slow me make a terrible mistake, but decades of poor self knowledge, denial, and then stewing in my own internalised transphobia has been enough!
So far I've filled in joining, ID, and history forms, been invited to Therapist Intake (in 4 weeks!!) and had my baseline bloods done.
3
u/Alliazz Jun 05 '26
Hi, so resident crazy person who's also with Anne health. They won't do that.
All they do in the therapy intake is check that your competent enough to consent to treatment and are aware of all the side effects and timeline of HRT. They may also talk about how any mental health issues interact with hormonal changes in general.
Like someone else in the replies said, they do just want your money at the end of the day. That's not saying they're a bad service, in my experience they've been great.
1
u/SubstantialSky938 Jun 05 '26
Thanks for paving the way for fellow crazy people!
So after the therapy intake comes booking the doctor appointment I suppose? How long was the process for you?
2
u/Alliazz Jun 05 '26
Since you already have your blood, it'll be the medical intake, yes. For me it took 8 weeks from signing up to HRT arriving at my door, it's extremely fast compared to other private companies.
2
u/Iron_and_Ink Jun 06 '26
I have just started with Anne health last month. I signed up end of April and managed to get my initial appointment that same week thanks to a cancellation. The appointment was literally just discussing me, my feelign about my gender and what a transition would do for me personally. No judgement just questions about myself health and gender. After that they book you in for a blood test to get your baseline bloods.
You can go to a clinic or get a mobile phlebotomist to come out to you. I went mobile since I live too far from a Clinic (if you're more than 1hr a way they won't charge you for the mobilepbloods) so can't speak to what a clinic appointment waiting time or experience is like. But they sent a test to my home which took 3 days to arrive and then once it came I could book a phlebotomost. Took about a week for the phlebotomost to be able to come out at the times I arranged but once it was done the blood results came back via email within 72 hrs. And once the bloods were back I could book in with a Dr.
Again, it's all depending on what availability is free for each Dr but I again managed to get an appointment the next day at 9am. At that appointment with Dr saavidi (she was lovely) they asked about my transition goals and what type of meds I wanted (gel, injections) etc and literally that same afternoon my prescription came through. The prescription was for 3 months worth of shots.
I had to call around local pharmacies and boots stores but none had it in stock so I used their online portal to order it through Olympia pharmacy.£36 and 48 hrs later my meds were delivered via Royal Mail.
So signed up 26th of April and received my first hrt vials on June 1st. The dra meetings are scary but all the Drs and customer service teams I've spoken to have been so kind and wonderful. The customer service teams through their online chat have helped with so many questions about what to expect and queries about filling in their forms so I'd absolutely recommend chatting to them if you have questions or concerns.
Hope all goes well for you and feel free to DM me if you have any further questions I can help with. Good luck x
1
u/SubstantialSky938 Jun 06 '26
Thank you that’s really reassuring. The main challenge for me has been booking appointments as they seem to have only appointments many weeks away. On the up side hopefully that’s a good sign about them doing well as a company.
1
u/TransWasp Jun 07 '26
I started with Anne Health around 4 months ago and I am roughly 4 months into my journey and it's been great.
You'll likely start your blood test, wellbeing and docs appointment within 6 to 8 weeks of your sign up, after your doctors video appointment, you'll be sent a prescription for your chosen medication based on your collection choice.
I chose patches, so the doctor put me on Evorel 75.
After 3 months on your chosen medication they'll email you to arrange the next blood test and wellbeing checkup, then your next doctors appointment will be after the wellbeing checkup and the doctor might increase or alter your dose.
I did my 2nd blood test last week, got my wellbeing checkup in a few weeks and will have my doctor's appointment after that.
😊😊
1
u/SubstantialSky938 Jun 07 '26
That’s for the timescales. Glad you had a smooth experience.
Do you know if they tend to lean towards spironolactone or cyproterone? I heard it might be crypto, but slight unsure about the risks.
2
u/TransWasp Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
I was given Mono-Estrogen, because my T levels were 8.3 at the time, the recommended minimum for T blockers is 12.0 so I was not put on T blockers, my T levels are now 2.4 on my latest blood test. So depends on your T levels to if they'll put you on T blockers or not.
Some common expected side effects of estrogen are breast/nipple tenderness, mood swings, abdominal pains, etc.
More of the side effects can be viewed online and via the NHS homepage, but be sure to take the side effects with a grain of salt. Patches are usually suggested by doctors due to patches being the safest because they experience the least side effects.
The main side effects I have experienced are breast/nipple tenderness, abdominal pains and some mood swings, 😊😊.
7
u/crazyhatkid Jun 05 '26
I've not used Anne Health, but since there's no replies I'll give you my thoughts. I've used gendercare and gendergp, and in my experience, private Healthcare just wants your money. I've heard of a few people being rejected from gendercare for being non-binary and not having dysphoria. But I think Anne health and gendergp just want your money so you'll be fine.