So I went to the Gender Orientation that Socal Kaiser requires all transgender patients to attend. It was basically a bunch of people in a room talking about what transgender is, hrt, and other services. We also talked about fertility and how kaiser doesn't cover storage of eggs and sperm. There requirements for gender transition, which vary depending on what services you are seeking. Any minors do need parental consent.
For me to have top surgery, I have to go to a gender assessment appointment and a consultation recommendation, and might have to be my full time gender for a year. Although I don't feel like the full time gender does not apply to me since I'm genderfluid. The employee this orientation said that they are to keep all the surgeries in Socal, so it would be preformed at the West LA kaiser hospital. I also don't need to be on hormones since I'm over 18.
If have any questions about other procedures then just respond. I can take photos of the packet they passed out. Granted, the cost of all of this will depend on your plan and you have to contact members services. If you have online access then you can log on to your account and find it there. I will post again when I've made more progress since now I'm just waiting for kaiser to call me to make an appointment.
So I went to what is part 1 of the gender assessment. 1 hour was not enough to complete it, so I have wait another 6 weeks to go back to finish it. I guess some people can finish it in the one session. One issue I found is that the questions are for transmen and transwomen. So if you are non-binary like me then answering the questions becomes tricky and the therapist doesn't want to put down the wrong so it takes me longer to get services that require the gender assessment. The therapist agreed that it's annoying and that transgender care in socal needs a lot of work. They also agreed that there needs to be more nurse coordinators and more communication between the psych department and the medical department since patients keep coming in with questions about who certain doctors and surgeons are. Then we both agreed that the packet given at gender orientation should be put on the website.
The employee that started the department at the Los Angeles location went to the West Los Angeles location. So that explains the disorganization. There doesn't seem to be enough employees to do the gender assessments either. I understand why someone suggested to me to go to an informed consent clinic, but the cost of that is much higher then my co-payment so i guess I'm stuck with Kaiser.
I finished the gender assessment today. Was still rough since I had to recount a traumatic incident to the gender therapist. Still don't know who the top surgeon for the West LA location. But I'm getting a letter of rec for top surgery and the nurse coordinators should contact me in 2 days to schedule the surgery consultation. I have to go to follow up for my gender therapist in September though. Still on the fence about T which is ok. I might get a name and gender marker change in the future. I'm not sure if I can waive the court fees right now so I'm just gonna wait till after I graduate to address that. Transgender care could be a lot better here in Socal Kaiser.
I ended up having to call transgender care because they didn't contact me for a week. I was good that I did because my letter was on my chart and not in the system. The nurse coordinator was pretty nice about helping me. So she had to contact my pcp and gender therapist so she could get the ok to to forward with my case. I got a call from her later in the day to inform that that my pcp didn't sign off because I didn't discuss that with her. I actually tried to being it up back in may when I saw her for something else, but she didn't try to listen so I ended switching to a new pcp. The only issue is that I would have to have another physical, which makes sense. The next available time to have one is on Halloween. I'm not the most happy about it, but it's more important that I have a pcp being willing to listen to me since the last time a pcp didn't listen to me, I almost died from kidney failure. I think the reason that the wait was so long is that this doctor openly stated that they treat LGBT patients. Hopefully this doesn't block me from having the surgery during the time I want.
So I went to get my physical and it wasn't horrible. New pcp is super nice, although a student worker was in the room as well which was awkward. I let them be in the room, I just wasn't expecting that to happen. I had to have blood test done twice because the first time wasn't full bloodwork. Apparently for surgery they need full bloodwork to make sure organs like the liver and kidneys are functioning properly. On Monday, the transgender coordinator will be submitting my case for top surgery. Although I did run into an issue with a referral for T because this wasn't mentioned to me at the gender orientation. My gender therapist couldn't put the referral through because they needed to add a note that i requested hrt and answered the informed consent questions. We didn't have the time for it today so now I have to wait until right after Xmas to answer those questions and have the referral put through. Had I known that tidbit of information then I would have mentioned that before. Also the gender assessment is only good for a year, which baffles me a bit. Basically, if I had waited until next August to request hormones then I would need to do another gender assessment, which is bull>-bleeped-<.
Kaiser is still very much gatekeeping regardless of what they tell their patients. I'm going to be calling the LA LGBT center and planned parenthood in Walnut Creek and see if I can make an intake appointment and get an idea of the costs to get a T prescription. I'm fairly sure Kaiser will not cover visits to either of these places so I will be paying out o pocket, which is depressing because my copayment at Kaiser is so low. At the same time, I don't think I can wait another 2 months like my therapist wants me to.
Supposedly, Socal Kaiser is working to improve the packet that's given out at the gender orientation. Although I wish they would make more of an effort to train and educate ALL of their employees about transgender patients. The more bull>-bleeped-< I have to deal with, the less I can recommend Kaiser for transgender care.
So my case for top surgery was submitted 11/6/17 and was approved on 11/10/17. I wasn't told until 11/13/17 because the nurse coordinator wasn't in on Friday. I was referred to the West LA location because that's within my area. Although, if I don't like the surgeons at West LA then I can ask to be referred to Dr. Tuchler in Irvine. So progress has been made and the hardest part is over.
Had my top surgery consult with Dr. Carre at the West LA location. They were nice for the most part. It was clear that they were not used to trans patients, so they treated me like how they saw me. They also forgot photos of their previous results in their car so I just found that unprofessional because I have been asked multiple times about my knowledge of this procedure. They also misgendered a previous patient before correcting themselves. They called me "dear" at the end of the appointment and that just made my skin crawl. I will be making an appointment with Dr. Tuchler on Monday and go from there. They also provide a binder for my chest while I'm post-op, but I can also buy a compression vest if I want. Otherwise, all I have left is my pro-op my appointments and the surgery itself.
I also go the same Kaiser facility. You are not alone in some of your frustrations. When Joey was there it was better and I actually felt like somebody cared about me at Kaiser. Now without him, it's run by Robert Diaz who I find to be cold and contrary. He doesn't face you or even look at you during your sessions. He stares at the computer screen and only comments when he disagrees with something you said. Can't speak if he's this way with everyone but I tend to leave his sessions feeling worse about my life then when I went in. I used to go to the group sessions but I don't anymore because the woman who is heading the group doesn't bring the same empathy that Joey did. Kaiser makes you jump through hoops including having to redo your letters every year. That alone doesn't make sense. I don't have to recertify that I'm asthmatic every year, I'm not under 18, I'm middle-aged. The survey you have to do with the therapist for the letter seemed to me to be geared towards those under 18. It just didn't feel applicable and I am transmasculine. Honestly, you should be able to fill out online ahead of time and then discuss the answers with the therapist during the session rather than speaking and waiting for the therapist to transcribe everything you are saying. I went to the top surgery consult and a typical story of I don't want to do surgery unless you lose a million pounds but in the same breath tells me to get bariatric surgery. So it's a risk to do a non-invasive breast removal but cutting me open and taking 3/4 of an organ is less of a risk? Sometimes I think they are convinced all patients are idiots.
Quote from: RavenMad13 on January 17, 2018, 06:05:07 PM
I also go the same Kaiser facility. You are not alone in some of your frustrations. When Joey was there it was better and I actually felt like somebody cared about me at Kaiser. Now without him, it's run by Robert Diaz who I find to be cold and contrary. He doesn't face you or even look at you during your sessions. He stares at the computer screen and only comments when he disagrees with something you said. Can't speak if he's this way with everyone but I tend to leave his sessions feeling worse about my life then when I went in. I used to go to the group sessions but I don't anymore because the woman who is heading the group doesn't bring the same empathy that Joey did. Kaiser makes you jump through hoops including having to redo your letters every year. That alone doesn't make sense. I don't have to recertify that I'm asthmatic every year, I'm not under 18, I'm middle-aged. The survey you have to do with the therapist for the letter seemed to me to be geared towards those under 18. It just didn't feel applicable and I am transmasculine. Honestly, you should be able to fill out online ahead of time and then discuss the answers with the therapist during the session rather than speaking and waiting for the therapist to transcribe everything you are saying. I went to the top surgery consult and a typical story of I don't want to do surgery unless you lose a million pounds but in the same breath tells me to get bariatric surgery. So it's a risk to do a non-invasive breast removal but cutting me open and taking 3/4 of an organ is less of a risk? Sometimes I think they are convinced all patients are idiots.
RavenMad13,
I am sorry you have not been officially welcomed. I guess better late than never. We like to share some links with newly posting members. They cover welcome info, a caution and the rules of the site.
Things that you should read
Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,2.0.html) | Standard Terms & Definitions (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,54369.0.html) | Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar) (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,114.0.html.) | Cautionary Note (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,82221.0.html) |
Reputation rules (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,18960.0.html) | News posting & quoting guidelines (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,174951.0.html) | Photo, avatars, & signature images policy (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,59974.msg383866.html#msg383866) | Membership Agreement (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,216851.0.html) |
Once again, welcome to Susan's. Look around, ask questions and join in.
With warmth,
Jacqui
SoCal Kaiser must have a different routine. NorCal Kaiser gave me no hoops to jump through.
Told my GP, referred to Phycologist, sent to endo, viola! Had meds within 2 weeks. No requirements, other than informed consent.
I literally just switched to KP and wanted to learn more about their transgender services. As a NB person looking to get top surgery living in the Socal area this is really helpful. Though it is making me weary...
They are so behind on trans health in a lot of areas here in socal. The therapist aren't sure what to do with NB peeps. They just denied me bottom surgery because I didn't have friends and because me having two jobs wasn't enough financial support for them. All my doctors gave me the green light and Joey richard stanley is the reason why I was denied. He was the one that wanted me to make more friends and prove financial stability. Oh and the endos gate keep all the time.
I have socal Kaiser also, thank you so much, my husband and I are both looking for info on transitionary aid. I am not sure how full-time gender would work for me either as I am non-binary and would like to mostly keep my female body but want certain changes (smaller breasts, less curve, if at all possible I would love male secondary genitalia)... but my husband will be able to use a lot of their services for sure. Thank you again!!
Quote from: Jessica on February 14, 2018, 10:24:17 AM
SoCal Kaiser must have a different routine. NorCal Kaiser gave me no hoops to jump through.
Told my GP, referred to Phycologist, sent to endo, viola! Had meds within 2 weeks. No requirements, other than informed consent.
Jessica this is encouraging since I am at Kaiser San Jose, took me a bit to get to the gender specialist because regular LMFT just confirmed what I was stressed about was normal and acceptable. We talked about sensual sexual and fetish issues I have had all my life. Yes it helped but my new guy is asking me more questions and I feel comfortable with him and did not connect with the other. I am not sure what the next step is like some others in the group but hope to try some sort of ADT or HRT and see if I feel less anxious.