How long to wait for SRS?

[bethanyjadefowell]

To cut a long story short my dad is still the same, however, he has said he will pay for my FFS. But that was when I wasn't even ready for SRS.

Now that I have changed a lot and don't feel like 'Simon' or 'male' anymore, really need SRS. What I see downstairs is driving me mad and it needs to go.

As I am still waiting for my dad to reply to my email about him giving the money for SRS instead of FFS, I was wondering how long are the waiting lists on the NHS, in the UK?

I am not sure my dad will pay at all (for SRS), as he thinks that I don't need SRS and if I get a boyfriend, he said they won't even notice that I am male down there!!!

[E-Brennan]

Sounds like you want to get moving with the SRS as soon as possible.  Can I offer a few words of caution:

Therapy will help you get a transition plan set up, and your therapist can help you get to where you need to be.  If you're not seeing a therapist, please do.

SRS if often the last piece of the puzzle  If it's the main part of your dysphoria, then by all means get it done, but some of the smaller tasks (FFS etc.) are far cheaper and far more effective when it comes to people seeing you as a female.  Unless you plan on flashing the contents of your underwear, very few people are going to ever see that aspect of your identity.

I guess I'm just sensing a little "hurry up" in your post.  Rushing through leads to poor results.  Take it slow, speak to a therapist, take hormones, then start to look at the more irreversible tasks.   

[Jessica Merriman]

I guess I'm just sensing a little "hurry up" in your post.  Rushing through leads to poor results.  Take it slow, speak to a therapist, take hormones, then start to look at the more irreversible tasks.   

Definitly this /\! Something of this magnitude deserves a lot of thought and consideration. I want it badly as well, but I am using my one year RLE to make sure I know what to expect afterward and just how much it will change my life. Use the time to prepare and you will not have any regret later.

[Vicky]

I have no idea about the NHS waiting period, but most of the Thai and U.S. and Canadian private surgeons are going 10 months to a year+ from the day you put down a deposit.  Jessica M has put it very well about the need for some RLE before SRS.  SRS does not change a whole heckuva lot for you when you get right down to it as I am learning the hard way.  Too many issues are going to cross the line with you and be there to deal with while you cannot even pull a chair up to the table to eat comfortably. If you have not been out and living in your preferred gender before Surgery day, you will find reasons not to go out that way after the surgery.  I know a person on another Site who is doing just that.  Get thee into RLE while you are waiting for the cash cow to come into your stable, and by the time it gets there you will be ready.

[nikkit72]

In the UK, on the NHS, it is not so much how long is the waiting list, but how long is the waiting list to get onto another waiting list etc... If you want this done quickly, better save up and go private as the NHS is full of nasty goblins with axes and pointy sticks performing gatekeeping tasks making something that should be straightforward a very lengthy task. That is not to say the treatment provided by the NHS is poor, just that the admin and everything that surrounds the treatment is substandard. By this I mean that if you were to compare the NHS to a race horse, sure, it can carry the jockey, but it would be sooo sloooow, the owner would have sold some of it off to the Belgians and the remainder turned into glue long ago.

Better start saving some money...

[Allyda]

Definitly this /\! Something of this magnitude deserves a lot of thought and consideration. I want it badly as well, but I am using my one year RLE to make sure I know what to expect afterward and just how much it will change my life. Use the time to prepare and you will not have any regret later.

I agree with Jess on this one. I myself desperately need SRS because I can't stand to touch that repulsive discusting evil thing that doesn't belong there. However like many here I've started my hrt 4 months ago and my Endo and my therapist a long with myself have prepared a plan for my SRS after I've been on hrt for a reasonable amount of time which is usually from one and a half, to two years on hrt. In addition, I've been living full time for well over 5 years now. SRS is a huge decision to which there's no coming back from. In fact, There are even different levels of being trans. Some girls are very happy after hrt and decide a full transition isn't for them. A lot will depend on your particular situation. Just remember in the end, the decisions you make should be made based on your particular needs and what needs to be done so you can live a full and happy life.

Hugs,

Ally

[@Diana]

agreed with all above replies .. and to me,SRS is the biggest operation in my life and is also one of the best decision I made in my entire life ..

in order to do SRS, I think you have to be, at least 1 year, full-time living as a girl .. and talked to your gynecologist & psychologist before you decide to do it .. because once you do SRS , you cant go back ..

[bethanyjadefowell]

Four people who don't know. I am four months away, to being on HRT for 2 years. I've done my RLE (first year), so in four months time I can start looking at SRS.

Since my post, my dad has said its too long to wait for NHS, so he is paying for me to have it done.

I am seeing my GP next week. But, once I have a letter from my Psychiatrist, I can then see someone about SRS.

Understand that, I will have to see my Psychiatrist in London, also.

I have found out how much it will cost, from my Psychiatrist (if I have it done at the hospital he recommends) and he recommends, three.

And thanks for all the replies.

[bethanyjadefowell]

I have an appointment on the 29th of June to see Dr Stuart Lorimer, who is going to decide if I am ready for SRS.

I changed my name in August 2012 and started my RLE September of that year. I've had treatment since that time and I have changed a lot - I have the hips, the legs, the bum, boobs and I am changing in looks and as a person.

So, its now been 20 months.

Do you think Dr Lorimer will think I am ready for SRS and what other things will he be looking at to make sure I am ready?

I will be going private to have SRS.

Thanks for any replies.

[Apples Mk.II]

but some of the smaller tasks (FFS etc.) are far cheaper and far more effective when it comes to people seeing you as a female.

Actually, FFS can be far more expensive than SRS. In my case, doing just the upper and middle face (not enough money for the lower so just the basics to achieve passability) are going to be twice the cost of having SRS with Chett, so I am considering SRS first, for the reasons of a)genital dysphoria getting very worse and b) It will leave with more money left for emergencies, revisions, studying, fixing bad issues if I end unemployed (what scares me most). Also, no matter how much I change, and if SS would pay for SRS in a few year... The damn dick is not helping me with feeling female.

[bethanyjadefowell]

You might say FFS is far more effective when it comes to people seeing you as a female, but soon as someone sees what you have down there, then no matter what your face is like, they will know you are not female.

Unless you don't want a 'straight' guy or meet guys who want straight sex, you'll be fine with FFS, but if you want a boyfriend or sex then you won't.

I for one will not live my life with having to try my best to hide it away.

FFS is no more than £15,000 (at the clinics I looked a) and SRS is just under £12,000.

[Goldfish]

I'm assuming you were looking at SRS in the UK? I was under the impression it was quite a bit more than that. Although I haven't seriously researched it that much as it's still a way off for me.

[Jill F]

I am waiting until I go from 98% sure to 100% sure. I have my letter already, but if I can get away with just the orchi like so many of us did, then all the better.  I hate the junk with a passion, but I feel  this test is necessary in order to erase all doubts.  All my cis guy friends could call theirs "Mr. Happy", but I never could without cringing. 

[TaoRaven]

I've been 100% sure since the beginning..But I personally intend to go three years on HRT before I have it done. I figure I will focus on the rest of me during this time, and then that will be the "icing on the cake".

Although I would LOVE for it to be done ASAP....I just don't think that it's something that should be rushed, but rather done "when it's time".

As for "RLE"...well I call that "life"

[Goldfish]

I've been 100% sure since the beginning..But I personally intend to go three years on HRT before I have it done. I figure I will focus on the rest of me during this time, and then that will be the "icing on the cake".

Although I would LOVE for it to be done ASAP....I just don't think that it's something that should be rushed, but rather done "when it's time".

As for "RLE"...well I call that "life"

Same. Though I am waiting to see if I change my view as I build my life. But atm, I'm certain that even if, for whatever reason, I decided to do something else I would always feel incomplete and sort of broken. That would certainly stop me from being as happy as I could be.

[Allyda]

If you've been on hrt for nearly two years, and have lived full time as female for at least one year yes, if SRS is a need you have to be whole you should be ready for it. In your Original Post you left out that you've been on hrt for nearly two years, and have been living full time as female (your RLE) for at least 1 year. I wish you all the best wishes for a successful outcome.

As for myself after living my entire life in between genders knowing all the while I am a gir,l I've never been more certain about anything in my life as I am about my need for SRS. Without it, I'll never be whole nor will I ever be able to have any kind of true intimacy with my current SO whom I love dearly and so far has been very supportive and patient, or anyone. Without SRS, I'm sentenced to a life alone without intimacy and without closeness. I've lived far too long this way already. As of the moment My Endo and my PC are working with me to have me scheduled for my consult then the surgery in December 2015. What a lovely Christmas that one will be. I'll also be only days shy of 2 years of hrt at that time, and, I'll have lived full time for almost 6 and a half to 7 years. In the meantime, I'll sit back and let the hormones do their thing while I work on my voice and getting VFS hopefully, and some form of FFS I know I'll probably need (at least for my nose-I hate my nose, lol!). I see my new therapist this coming month on the 11th which it will be nice to have her on board as well.

I apologize for the length. I'm just much more relieved that I actually have a plan in place for my SRS supported by my Doctors. It helps my transition go along much more smooth and efficiently while helping me maintain a positive outlook, also giving me a future to look forward to.

Best Wishes!

Ally