What are hormone blockers?
These drugs keep your body from making hormones. If you take them, you can slow or stop puberty from happening. They are also called puberty blockers.
- These drugs have been safely used for a long time to control puberty in youth who are not gender diverse.
- They are used for the same purpose in gender diverse youth. This allows youth to avoid an unwanted puberty and to delay decisions on further medical steps.
What is puberty?
Puberty is the time in life when many people become sexually mature. After puberty, your body can often make children. Puberty often happens between ages 10 and 16, but it can happen before or after those ages.
Some young people have puberty when they are 4 or 5 years old. Doctors call this precocious puberty. In many places, doctors give these young people drugs to slow or stop their puberty until they are older. This is called puberty blockade. These drugs are often called hormone blockers because they stop your body from making hormones. They can also slow or stop changes from hormones by blocking their effects.
Puberty can be very hard for gender diverse people. It can cause changes to our bodies that we do not want.
How to get them
The easiest and safest option is coming out to a supportive parent or guardian who will help. You may have to see a therapist or a doctor for a while before you are allowed to take them.
I strongly urge you to take these steps with parental consent and with medical supervision. You may have a hard time finding a healthcare professional who will help you without parental consent.
If you do not believe your parent or guardian will support you, there are other ways.
Note: This page is for young people ages 13 and above.
Disclaimer: This is medical talk, not medical advice. Some of this may not apply to you. It is presented without warranty. It may contain errors or omissions. You must do your own research.