Self medication amid lack of transgender health care in PH a challenge, says LoveYourself founder

This Pride Month, Kapuso news anchor Nelson Canlas spoke with Doc Vinn Pagtakhan, the executive director and founder of LoveYourself and an HIV awareness advocate, for an episode of "Updated with Nelson Canlas."

LoveYourself is a non-government organization that offers free HIV testing, counseling, peer education, and referral for treatment through community clinics nationwide.

In the interview, Nelson and Doc Vinn talked about the issues concerning the LGBTQIA+ community, such as the rising cases of new HIV infections in the Philippines, the SOGIE Bill, and access to health care, among others.

Doc Vinn, a registered nurse, a medical doctor, and a degree holder of a Doctor of Philosophy in Education, also tackled the challenges that transgender Filipinos experience, such as the absence of transgender-specific health care in the Philippines.

"One of the challenges namin sa trans community is that walang trans-specific health care dito sa Pilipinas..." he said. "So, one of the biggest challenges is that they do self medications. Kasi pag pumunta ka sa mga shopping pages at tsaka even sa TikTok ay talagang available naman talaga 'yung mga hormones. Kaya lang ang problema is that they do take hormones before or [without] even getting consultation."

He clarified that buying hormones is a gray area and that what he is advocating for is for transgender Filipinos to undergo medical consultation first before undergoing hormone therapy.

"Ang problema minsan inom sila nang inom o turok sila nang turok ng hormones ang nangyayari tuloy sa kanila, nasasabaw sila," he said.

Doc Vinn told Nelson that what transgender men and women must first do is to lower the hormones that they want to remove before replacing them with the hormones that would help them transition.

"For example, sa trans woman, iinom ka muna ng anti-androgen para bumaba 'yung level ng testosterone mo or androgen level mo tsaka ka magpapalit. E 'yung ibang ginagawa nila, inom na agad ng pills para babae agad," he said.

He added that taking hormones also affects brain function and can impact one's mental clarity. He thus advocates for his transgender brothers and sisters to seek medical consultation first and foremost.

LoveYourself, he said, offers free medical consultations and will issue the appropriate prescriptions needed for hormone therapy.

Doc Vinn also told Nelson that he hopes these consultations help LoveYourself scale up its operations  and encourage more transgender Filipinos to undergo HIV testing.

Early this month, the Quezon City government introduced the Strategic Trans* Health Access to Resources and Services Program (QC STARS), which aims to improve health care access and services for transgender Filipinos. According to QC Mayor Joy Belmonte, the program will provide free hormone counseling, assessment, and management to the transgender community.

— CDC, GMA Integrated News