How long should it take to get on T? (U.S.)

[nickm1492]

So yeah, I live in the U.S. I want to start T. I am sure of being FTM. I have given it enough thought and I guess I can't deny that I have known since I was a little kid.
I am 19, almost 20 so age isn't an issue.
I have to wait to get on health insurance so I can go see a therapist. But how long after I see a therapist will it be till I can get on T?

I go to a university that offers free psychological services. I'm wondering if THEY could give me the letter I need for a doctor to start me up on T...Any help would be HUGELY appreciated! I think I have a fairly good idea of how long it is going to take but I want to hear it from others!

[The Passage]

For a psycho-therapist that can give you a referral to start hormone treatment, it is on average three months. Many factors are involved, however, like how convincing you are (be sure to be yourself, though) and how trans-friendly your therapist is. Obviously, you need to get one that doesn't hate trans-folk or you're not going anywhere. It also depends on your area. Different places have different policies and ways about doing this.

For me, I started seeing a psychiatrist for troubled youths (ADD, LGBT problems, etc) and it took me about two months for him to really start to understand me. After that point, it was now official that I have GID or Gender Dysphoria (or whatever). The interesting part was that I didn't need to see a psychiatrist at all, as the clinic that I go to in San Francisco doesn't necessarily ask for a therapist's referral. I suppose it was clear as day that I am trans anyway, so I'm sure that helped some. Even without needing a referral to start hormone treatment, my psychiatrist definitely helps me - IMMENSELY so - anyway.

[Nygeel]

a week-10 years...somewhere in there. Depends on the way you go about it, who you are, what resources you have, etc.

[JohnAlex]

It depends on who you go to.  I think the average is 3 months.  Some doctors don't require a therapists letter.

I think you should FIRST find a doctor who is trans-friendly.  THEN find out what that doctor requires.  Does he require a therapist's letter?  real life experience?  informed consent?
And then go from there.

[Cameron James]

I went through the University of Michigan Comprehensive Gender Services Program - which was free for me since I'm a UM graduate student. I enrolled in the program at the end of August, started therapy two weeks after and am up for my T referral next Monday (Nov 7). Once I get approved I'll get my letter and get assigned a doctor - once I get in, I should be good. My timeline is that I should get my scrip right before the late December holidays.

So for me it's about 3-4 months, including therapy.

[wheat thins are delicious]

Nick, what state are you in?

For me if I could have gotten a appointment with the endo the same day as my therapy appointment or the next day I could have gotten on T, but I couldn't get an appointment for 2 months. 

[dmx]

It'll depend what the therapist requires in order to write your referral letter.

Mine only required 2 sessions (1 hour each) which were 2 weeks apart. After that, I had blood tests and then there was a 1-month waiting list to see the endo. So it took from July to Sept; 3 months.

[wheat thins are delicious]

It'll depend what the therapist requires in order to write your referral letter.

Mine only required 2 sessions (1 hour each) which were 2 weeks apart. After that, I had blood tests and then there was a 1-month waiting list to see the endo. So it took from July to Sept; 3 months.

No actually it depends on what the endo or your GP require since some do not require a therapy letter and will do it based on informed consent.

[meh]

If you do informed consent, there is no wait. Your doctor will do blood work and either give you your first shot immediately at the first appointment, or wait for your blood work to come back and then do your shot on your next appointment.

[kyril]

It took me about 3 weeks. I did informed consent, but not via a specialty clinic - just a very trans-friendly doctor.

[Felix]

My current therapist and my previous one are both offering to write me a letter, but I don't yet know of a trans-friendly physician. Strike that, my doctor is accepting. He's just scared to death of treating a transperson, and so he's useless.

I have an appointment with a general practitioner who is known in my city for having an interest in treating and guiding transmen, but she said she'd only see me once, because her patient load is so high. She agreed to advise my current doctor, but I don't know if that will be enough.

I'm on government managed care, so getting more than the first few lab tests paid for may be an issue. The testosterone will get paid for if they code it right, but I'm not sure that they will.

So there are a lot of factors for me. I imagine there are a lot of factors for anybody, and so maybe it's not easy to give a good estimate of how long it should take you.

[nickm1492]

Nick, what state are you in?

For me if I could have gotten a appointment with the endo the same day as my therapy appointment or the next day I could have gotten on T, but I couldn't get an appointment for 2 months.

I live in Florida if that helps.