What The DIY HRT Directory 2.0 Says About Blood Testing for T and E Levels

Updated

The DIY HRT Directory 2.0 lists Blood Testing as one of its core information sections, alongside the Transfem Guide, Transmasc Guide, and Informed Consent/Telehealth Guide. The site's stated purpose is to teach transgender people how to perform DIY hormone replacement therapy "safely," and blood testing is presented as part of that safety framework rather than as an optional extra. The directory itself does not sell products or services, and it does not host testing services — it points readers toward information about monitoring testosterone (T) and estradiol (E) levels.

Why blood testing appears in the directory at all

The site frames DIY HRT as something people turn to when cost, family issues, or other barriers make formal HRT inaccessible. Within that context, the directory's own caution is explicit: readers should "always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen."

Blood testing fits into that picture as the objective check on what a hormone regimen is actually doing. Because DIY HRT is self-directed, there is no prescribing clinician ordering labs on a schedule, so the directory treats level monitoring as something the user has to arrange and interpret themselves.

What the directory covers on this topic

The Blood Testing section is described as covering "Blood Testing for T and E levels" — that is, testosterone and estradiol. This applies to both directions of hormone therapy:

  • Transfem regimens typically aim to lower testosterone and raise estradiol, so both values matter.
  • Transmasc regimens typically aim to raise testosterone, so T levels are the primary marker, with E relevant in some cases.

The directory does not present blood testing as a standalone topic; it sits next to the Transfem Guide, Transmasc Guide, and the Informed Consent/Telehealth Guide, which suggests the intended reading path is to combine regimen information with monitoring information.

How to actually use the blood testing section

The directory is a reference site, not a lab service. A practical way to work with it:

  1. Read the relevant guide first. Open the Transfem Guide or Transmasc Guide depending on your regimen, so you know which hormones and levels apply to you.
  2. Then read the Blood Testing section to understand what T and E testing involves and what the directory says about interpreting levels.
  3. Check the Informed Consent/Telehealth Guide if you want to know how formal or remote care pathways handle testing — this is the directory's route for people who can access a clinician.
  4. Use the Safe injection supplies page if your regimen involves injections, since supply safety and testing are separate but related concerns.
  5. Verify anything time-sensitive. The site maintains a Changelog and a Noticeboard, which are the places to check whether guidance has been updated.

What the directory does not do

  • It does not sell testing kits, hormones, or any other product or service.
  • It does not take responsibility for what readers do with the information, or for content on external sites it links to.
  • It does not replace a clinician. Its own caution directs readers to a physician or qualified healthcare provider before starting a new health regimen, and to emergency services in a medical emergency.

Where to go next

If your question is specifically about how to monitor T and E during DIY HRT, the Blood Testing page is the directory's dedicated resource. If your question is about whether to pursue DIY at all versus a formal pathway, the Informed Consent/Telehealth Guide is the more relevant section. For regimen-specific detail, use the Transfem or Transmasc Guide. Questions or concerns can be sent to the contact address listed on the site.