Getting medical leave from work for SRS

[Carrie Liz]

I'm working toward scheduling an SRS date, and trying to figure out what I need to do in order to be able to take off the necessary recovery time from work.

My company, according to their handbook, says that any medical care which requires an inpatient stay at a hospital qualifies for a medical leave, so I'm covered on that. They also say that in order to be approved for it, a form must be supplied by the health care provider which lists what the medical condition is, and the duration of the leave.

I'm going to be getting SRS in Thailand. So getting an FMLA form from the healthcare provider isn't as simple as it is for people taking a medical leave for surgery from their local American doctor.

So, basically, those of you who took a medical leave from work for SRS, and had SRS abroad, what exactly did you need to do in order to get a medical leave from work? Was it complicated? Did you have to get something from the surgeon's office themselves, or did you get something from your psych or endo about it?

I'm just trying to prepare myself for what I need to do to get the necessary time off from work.

Technically this paperwork isn't needed until 30 days before the surgery date, and I'm still about 9 months out, so it's not a huge hurry, but I'm sort of in planning-freakout-mode and want to make absolutely sure I'm prepared for any possible hassles.

[ainsley]

I scheduled a 'chat' with our company nurse and told her what I was up to.  There is a level of confidentiality there, so I was comfortable telling her I was in the process of transition and one of the steps I was taking was gender affirming surgery.  I never told her exactly what was being done.  My Dr. is Brassard (in less than 3 weeks...w00t!) in Montreal, CA.  If you have read any of my posts about paperwork with their front office, you will understand why I skipped them entirely getting my FMLA paperwork completed.  I went straight to my primary care Dr. since she is the doc I am going to follow up with regularly after the surgery (and I did warn her well in advance of my need for her to fill out the paperwork for FMLA, to which she happily agreed).  She also filled out the paperwork for my wife to get her FMLA since she is my caregiver for a month post-op.  So, she filled out the paperwork dating my eligible and needed time of 2 months starting with my surg. date, and she and my HR told me that as a caveat, should I need more time, I just need her to send another letter stating I need more time, since FMLA allows you 12 weeks in a calendar year.

Mind you, I have been very much in touch with my HR dept and the nurse about my process.  YMMV.  I am burning vac time, sick time, pers. time, and using short term disability (some at 100% pay, and some at 60%) to cover my time off, and still may go a week or so without pay depending on how I feel and how I am healing (btw, my company sucks at allotting leave time ...ugh!).

Hope this helps!

[Carrie Liz]

Definitely! Thank you!

My primary doctor is very well-versed in trans care, as he's also my hormone-prescribing doctor, so knowing that he can do it, and it doesn't have to be the actual surgeon's office, definitely eases my mind.

[ainsley]

Awesome, glad to help! 

My primary also prescribes my hormones, too.  She has written many letters for me regarding name and gender change, and since Dr. Brassard requires a letter from your hormone prescribing physician, she happily wrote that, too.  She even asked me to break out the girls after my breast augmentation so she could check them and evaluate my incisions even though the plastic surgeon was following up with me on that.  LOL  She is a godsend, IMHO.  A good Dr. is a good thing to have!   

[lovelessheart]

I'm working toward scheduling an SRS date, and trying to figure out what I need to do in order to be able to take off the necessary recovery time from work.

My company, according to their handbook, says that any medical care which requires an inpatient stay at a hospital qualifies for a medical leave, so I'm covered on that. They also say that in order to be approved for it, a form must be supplied by the health care provider which lists what the medical condition is, and the duration of the leave.

I'm going to be getting SRS in Thailand. So getting an FMLA form from the healthcare provider isn't as simple as it is for people taking a medical leave for surgery from their local American doctor.

So, basically, those of you who took a medical leave from work for SRS, and had SRS abroad, what exactly did you need to do in order to get a medical leave from work? Was it complicated? Did you have to get something from the surgeon's office themselves, or did you get something from your psych or endo about it?

I'm just trying to prepare myself for what I need to do to get the necessary time off from work.

Technically this paperwork isn't needed until 30 days before the surgery date, and I'm still about 9 months out, so it's not a huge hurry, but I'm sort of in planning-freakout-mode and want to make absolutely sure I'm prepared for any possible hassles.

I just experienced this.

What I did was have my doctor record it has something else other than the actual srs. Just to be safe. Either way it went it was a hassle because you.have to wait on FMLA to be approved. If you have vacation days I would suggest taking some of those at least.

[ainsley]

I just experienced this.

What I did was have my doctor record it has something else other than the actual srs. Just to be safe. Either way it went it was a hassle because you.have to wait on FMLA to be approved. If you have vacation days I would suggest taking some of those at least.

Like I said, YMMV.  Mine was a breeze and I did not obfuscate what was happening.  The Dr. states the medical necessity for FMLA, not the employee.

[Zumbagirl]

I'm working toward scheduling an SRS date, and trying to figure out what I need to do in order to be able to take off the necessary recovery time from work.

My company, according to their handbook, says that any medical care which requires an inpatient stay at a hospital qualifies for a medical leave, so I'm covered on that. They also say that in order to be approved for it, a form must be supplied by the health care provider which lists what the medical condition is, and the duration of the leave.

I'm going to be getting SRS in Thailand. So getting an FMLA form from the healthcare provider isn't as simple as it is for people taking a medical leave for surgery from their local American doctor.

So, basically, those of you who took a medical leave from work for SRS, and had SRS abroad, what exactly did you need to do in order to get a medical leave from work? Was it complicated? Did you have to get something from the surgeon's office themselves, or did you get something from your psych or endo about it?

I went to my primary care physician and asked her to write a note for me stating that I needed 6 weeks off from work for female related surgery. She simply wrote the note on prescription paper, signed it, and the insurance company accepted it for short term disability, so I ended up getting 60% of my pay for 6 weeks, which is way better than 0%. I also had an additional note from my endocrinologist but in the end, my primary care doctor was all they wanted. Hope that helps!