RLE and brassard

[PrincessPatience]

I've been on hormones since nov and was wondering about RLE. I've just started full time and wanted to know is it possible I could get SRS this year as well?  I wanted to get it before 2015 which is gonna be a busy year for me. I was looking at October or November but I don't know how strict brassard is with RLE time. Any brassard girls or anyone here have experience with brassard checking on RLE rule etc?

[eli77]

Brassard requires 1 year on HRT, one letter from a therapist saying you are ready for SRS, and another letter from a different therapist confirming the diagnosis. One year of RLE is not strictly required, but it can be difficult to fulfill the other requirements without it.

[Jenna Marie]

I believe he requires that you have completed the one year before you have surgery - but NOT before you schedule. So you might, if you fudge things a little, get him to go for December 2014...

I went with Brassard, and the key is, he took my therapist's word for it in the letter she wrote for me. So he's not going to be checking up on you himself (how could he and still have time to perform surgeries ) but that relies on you finding a therapist willing to write a letter stating that you'd have one year done by the time you arrived at his doorstep. You might be able to; I know my own therapist was OK with signing off on people a little early and writing the letter stating it had been one year regardless (I didn't need it, b/c saving up the money took way longer than a year, but she has done it for others).

Good luck!


Oh, and Sarah, the letter I got from him in August 2011 stated explicitly that he required "successful continuous real-life experience for 12 months." Other friends of mine who went to him in summer 2013 have confirmed that requirement still stood at the time they went?

[eli77]

Oh, and Sarah, the letter I got from him in August 2011 stated explicitly that he required "successful continuous real-life experience for 12 months." Other friends of mine who went to him in summer 2013 have confirmed that requirement still stood at the time they went?

My surgery with him was in February of 2012. I had been full time for about 8 months by then. My appointment was booked directly by my therapist in Ottawa--she waved my RLE requirement. And, yes, I know where it says that on the form, and, yes, he knew I hadn't done a full year. It wasn't an issue. Don't know what else to say. *Shrug*

[Jenna Marie]

Sarah7 : No, actually, that's great to know! It wouldn't be the first thing on that form that was presented as set in stone and it turns out he doesn't care that much. Maybe the exceptions are primarily for Canadian citizens... but others can always hope, right?

[Agent_J]

The key factor is having the letter. I had the reverse situation - my therapist refused to write the letter until I had completed an additional six months of RLE (for a total of 18) and I had no idea when the letter would be written until the moment I received word from Suzanne that they'd received it, so actually scheduling was impossible before that point.

[PrincessPatience]

Thank you everyone for taking the time out to answer my question. Sorry for the late reply. I think can get my therapist to write my letter early and swayed her a little bit.  I'm gonna start working on my legal name change asap then.