Endocrinologist
An endocrinologist is a doctor who specialises in hormones and the glands that make them: the thyroid, the pituitary, the adrenals, the ovaries and testes. Some gender clinics have them on staff, and in some countries they are the people who prescribe gender-affirming hormones.
Where you'll meet it
At gender clinics, in hospital systems where hormones have to be started by a specialist, and in referral letters when a GP or nurse prescriber wants a second opinion on something unusual.
Do you need one
Often not. In many places gender-affirming hormones are started and managed by GPs, nurse practitioners, sexual health clinics or informed-consent clinics, and routine monitoring is well within what they do. An endocrinologist becomes more useful when something is out of the ordinary: a prolactin level that keeps climbing, a thyroid problem, diabetes, a history of clots, or levels that will not settle however the dose is changed.
Not all are the same
Endocrinology is a broad specialty, and plenty of endocrinologists see few or no trans patients. If you are referred to one, it is fair to ask whether they have experience with gender-affirming hormones. Gender clinics covers who does what.
Related pages
Not sure where to begin?
The Start Here guide covers what hormones change, how people get a prescription, what the blood tests are for and what it costs.
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