Care that respects and affirms your gender

Planned Parenthood Keystone (PPKey) understands that sexual health care includes having access to gender affirming services. As the most trusted provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare, PPKey's vision is to provide non-judgmental, inclusive, evidence-based health care to transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary individuals, and to empower them on their journey in becoming the healthiest, most authentic version of themselves. 

Hormone therapy is one way for transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals to feel more like the gender they identify with. Some folks may feel like their body does not reflect their gender identity. Hormone therapy is one of many options folks can use to assist them in their gender journey . It is almost like a second puberty where your body will undergo changes to your primary and secondary sex characteristics. It is important to note that not all transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming folks will want to undergo hormone therapy, and that is ok. Their identities are valid. 

At this time, we can only see patients who are 18+ years or older. If you or someone you know is under 18 and is interested in learning more about hormone therapy, you can contact our Patient Navigators at 267-688-3570. They can help find resources. 

We have both “feminizing” and “masculinizing” hormone treatments available with our services. That includes testosterone, estrogen, and anti-androgens. Your clinician will talk to you about what options would feel right for you. 

Before your appointment, please review the materials on our website. This will help prepare you to answer the questions our team will ask during your visit.  Your initial appointment will cover informed consent, health background check, as well as well as instructions on medication and treatment.  We then ask patients to come back at 3, 6, and 12 months, and once a year after, if you choose to continue hormone treatment through us. At those appointments, we'll do routine lab work and check how the medication is working, and we'll refill your prescription. If you feel like you need to come in sooner, feel free to book an appointment or check in with a Patient Navigator.  

At your first visit, we'll teach you how to do the injections yourself, but if you really aren’t comfortable with that, you can always schedule appointments with our team so that they can do the injections for you.   

That depends on what prescription you're given. We have estrogen and anti-androgen medications at our health centers, but for testosterone, you'll have to take your prescription to a pharmacy.

We have pharmacies close by that you can visit and will have hormones and supplies in stock, and sometimes the prescription can even be sent to your home (talk to the clinician and Patient Navigator for more information about that).

We also recommend GoodRX. They will provide you with what you need to bring to the pharmacy to get their discounted rates. 

Please do not buy or sell hormones online or from other people. It is very dangerous to use hormones without a doctor to help monitor your progress.

Testosterone - Hormones don't affect everybody in the same way, but for folks taking testosterone, there is a potential risk of infertility. However, it's important to know that some people continue to ovulate, so there is still a risk of pregnancy — especially in the early months of starting testosterone. Because of this, you should always use birth control if you want to prevent pregnancy. 

Estrogen - The risk of infertility also comes with taking estrogen. Although changes from hormones are theoretically reversible, not enough research has been done on fertility after someone stops taking estrogen. One effect of taking estrogen and anti-androgens is that they make it harder to produce sperm.  

If you're worried about fertility problems and are thinking of having children in the future, you can talk with our Patient Navigators and clinician about the possibility of egg/sperm banking.   

It's also really important to note that hormones do not protect against STIs/STDs and HIV, so you should still be using things like condoms to prevent STIs/STDs and HIV. 

Everyone’s bodies may react differently to taking hormones. Some people notice changes faster than others, and some people say their changes are slower than others. Some people see more changes occurring than most people and others see different changes then they were expecting. These differences are a combination of the hormone medications and genetics of each person.

Also, it's common for transfeminine folks who have not yet had an orchiectomy (removal of the testicles) to take anti-androgens. Anti-androgens help block the effects of testosterone in the body so that estrogen medications can work better to develop feminine secondary sex characteristics.  

For people taking estrogen and anti-androgens, some changes to expect can include breast growth, testicular atrophy, lowered sex drive, changes in mood, and changes to where your body stores fat.  

We also have a separate chart of possible changes if you would like to learn more. Ask our clinicians or Patient Navigators about it.

Like we just mentioned, everyone’s bodies may react differently to taking hormones. Some folks say they see faster changes that others, or that the changes they were expecting to happen didn’t. It's good to check in with your clinician at your checkups to ask about these changes.

With testosterone, some common changes reported were oily skin, more facial/body hair, scalp hair loss, increased muscle mass, and changes to where your body stores fat. You could also see clitoral enlargement, deepening of the voice, higher sex drive, and no more periods.

We also have a separate chart of possible changes if you would like to learn more. Ask our clinicians or Patient Navigators about it.

Different health insurance plans cover different things, and that includes gender affirming hormone therapy. You can talk with our Patient Navigators at 267-688-3570 for more information on your coverage and fees. 

PPKey provides these services on a sliding fee scale. How much you pay is based on your family size and income. We can also provide you with information on how to apply for Medicaid. 

In addition to commercial insurance, we also accept State Medicaid (Pennsylvania only) and cash, check, credit card, or debit card.

Our gender affirming care includes hormone therapy and wrap around services. Our Patient Navigator can help connect you to other services in the community. To talk to a Patient Navigator, you can give them a call at 267-688-3570. 

All of our other services are open to everyone along the gender spectrum as well. That includes birth control, STD/STI testing & treatment, HIV testing, PrEP & PEP, breast/chest & cervical cancer screening, colposcopy & LEEP procedures, HPV vaccine, emergency contraception, pregnancy testing, abortion services, and more.