Saving money for surgical hair transplants

[Galyo]

Hello girls!

I've been in transition (HRT) for a little over six months now and everything is coming along wonderfully! I'm really glad with all the positive changes I've made and it's turning me into a much more uplifting and positive person.

Of course there are still things that I'm moving towards, one of which is SRS further down the road. Another thing that is bothering me is my hairline; thanks to many years of finasteride I've kept a rather full head of hair, but it's undeniable that testosterone took its toll on my hairline. To fix my giant forehead, I'm looking to do a surgical hair transplant. A few years back I've had a consult regarding this with a specialist, and he told me that it will cost me 2500 Euros (covering fringes and a part of my forehead).

2500 Euros isn't *too* bad, but here's the kicker: I have no job, and I don't have any chance of ever getting one. The reason for this is that I'm completely rejected because of my mental disorder (autism). I'm from Europe, but I've been told by my psychologist at the genderteam in Amsterdam that hair transplants are not covered by any insurance. Instead, insurance typically only covers wigs and hairpieces. This is a bit frustrating to me.

My question to you is rather simple: can any of you give me any advice on how to save money for this? I receive social security funds because of my autism, but this only covers the most basic things which leaves me with very little (if any) savings. I just figured I'd ask here, since I know I'm probably not the only one with hair problems.

Thanks!

[Galyo]

Anybody?

[Harley Quinn]

I wish I knew.  I don't have much knowledge of european healthcare.  I would have figured that someone might have posted on this by now.  The only things that come to mind that may hold true in Amsterdam that is here in the US, would be:

1). selling plasma (unsure if there are any disqualifying meds for that, but you can ask and find out)
2). Banking Certificates of Deposit to gain some minor dividends (but seeing how it'll be slow savings anyway, I feel it will pay off to reaching your goals)
3). selling hair to wig makers (If you're looking into transplants anyway, they're going to take a bit of time to grow out to any real length, and it may be an option to start it all out at the same length.  When they do transplants, they will shave down the donor area and surrounding area to the graft site to make the implants so it may not be a big deal having it short).

[alex82]

Unless The Netherlands is very different from the UK - and it won't be because it's governed by the same human rights legislation/directives (long may that continue), it is illegal to sell blood, blood products, body parts, or bodily functions, for extremely sound ethical reasons. We don't want an American situation where the poor (and it's always the poor) are flogging blood products or renting their wombs out to survive. These services are provided for in law, as long as the motivation is altruism and not profit. Selling plasma, or anything else, will not be an option.

As I say, the ethical reasons behind this are pretty sound. Just as European societies don't want that situation to develop, neither do we want the consequences or the implications of healthcare being bought and sold - with people paying out of pocket for costs and life expectancy being reduced, or American rates of HIV infection which are frankly quite frightening and would be at risk of increasing if blood was sold privately.

I am always astonished by the percentages infected over there. I recall seeing a figure of 1 in 25 people in Washington DC. The rates in Western European cities don't extend beyond more than half of 1%, and that includes cities with very substantial sub Saharan populations.

I can understand how frustrating it is to have no money, but your options will be limited to whatever credit or bank loans you can raise when your income (presumably state benefits) is weighed up. Or you could look for a charity/some other source of funding. I have recently been working with an FtM and finding him alternative sources of funding for things that are desirable but that healthcare doesn't cover.

I don't know how your autism affects you and to what extent, but there are presumably some jobs you could do, and some employers who would not be prejudiced. In the worst case scenario, couldn't you get an interview and then claim compensation for not being given a fair chance at doing the job? There must be provision in The Netherlands for application forms to include details of your autism (along with a legal requirement under legislation surrounding protected characteristics) that would guarantee that you get through to at least the interview stage. What you do there is then up to you.

[Harley Quinn]

American rates of HIV infection which are frankly quite frightening and would be at risk of increasing if blood was sold privately.

I am always astonished by the percentages infected over there. I recall seeing a figure of 1 in 25 people in Washington DC. The rates in Western European cities don't extend beyond more than half of 1%, and that includes cities with very substantial sub Saharan populations.

I appreciate the concern (although quite off topic), but you're referring to Washington DC.  A very small district with a very large homeless population, where drug abuse is rampant, located in a small state in a very large country.  The numbers are pretty askew as a reflection of the country as a whole.

[alex82]

I appreciate the concern (although quite off topic), but you're referring to Washington DC.  A very small district with a very large homeless population, where drug abuse is rampant, located in a small state in a very large country.  The numbers are pretty askew as a reflection of the country as a whole.

Yes I am, but there are equivalent cities or sections of. Inner London where I am from but no longer live, has a very large and especially transient population of both homeless people and recently arrived migrants from areas of the world where rates are far higher, notably sub Saharan Africa, as well as a very large proportion of LGBT people (with the G of that of course being affected by higher infection rates). As well as easy access to every drug that's ever existed.

There are others across Europe likewise. The rates are nowhere near as high in any area because the social conditions that make subsections of populations vulnerable were never exacerbated by policy. And of course the rates drop off outside those cities, but are still nowhere near comparable in terms of national v national populations.

Well, I find it interesting but as you say, it's a tangent, although not hugely off topic. The OP as a European Union citizen will not be able to sell blood products and that's basically why. She will have to look to other sources of income.

[Galyo]

Unless The Netherlands is very different from the UK - and it won't be because it's governed by the same human rights legislation/directives (long may that continue), it is illegal to sell blood, blood products, body parts, or bodily functions, for extremely sound ethical reasons. We don't want an American situation where the poor (and it's always the poor) are flogging blood products or renting their wombs out to survive. These services are provided for in law, as long as the motivation is altruism and not profit. Selling plasma, or anything else, will not be an option.

As I say, the ethical reasons behind this are pretty sound. Just as European societies don't want that situation to develop, neither do we want the consequences or the implications of healthcare being bought and sold - with people paying out of pocket for costs and life expectancy being reduced, or American rates of HIV infection which are frankly quite frightening and would be at risk of increasing if blood was sold privately.

I am always astonished by the percentages infected over there. I recall seeing a figure of 1 in 25 people in Washington DC. The rates in Western European cities don't extend beyond more than half of 1%, and that includes cities with very substantial sub Saharan populations.

I can understand how frustrating it is to have no money, but your options will be limited to whatever credit or bank loans you can raise when your income (presumably state benefits) is weighed up. Or you could look for a charity/some other source of funding. I have recently been working with an FtM and finding him alternative sources of funding for things that are desirable but that healthcare doesn't cover.

I don't know how your autism affects you and to what extent, but there are presumably some jobs you could do, and some employers who would not be prejudiced. In the worst case scenario, couldn't you get an interview and then claim compensation for not being given a fair chance at doing the job? There must be provision in The Netherlands for application forms to include details of your autism (along with a legal requirement under legislation surrounding protected characteristics) that would guarantee that you get through to at least the interview stage. What you do there is then up to you.

The problem with opting for a paid job is that the negatives outweigh the positives (at least for now). If I go for a "real" job interview (a paid job), I will lose *all* of my benefits (such as my social security funds), which also includes any help I receive with my autism today (I receive help with social anxiety, depression, personal struggles, finances, etc.). So in other words: applying for a job means I will be completely on my own from that moment on, and I simply can't afford that with how my mental health is nowadays. I'm not completely ruling out that I will never get a paid job, but seeing as 1) I will lose more than I gain, and 2) I have no real marketable skills, this is not the right thing to do for me at this point. But maybe whenever these laws become a little less strict in my country.

The (not so) funny part is: I just got out of a volunteer's job (which is the only type of job I can do while on social security), and even there I felt like most people there could not deal with the (mostly social) limitations that come with my autism...

Some sort of donation-drive sounds nice, but would people really like to donate to some trans-person they don't know? I don't know how feasible this is. Thanks for your answer.

[alex82]

Worth looking for what's available re: other sources of funding.

I understand exactly what you mean re benefits v job. It does tend to be a steep drop off in terms of lost most entitlements for a low pay. But, low pay doesn't have to be forever. It's easier to get a job (and start climbing up or moving to higher paid roles) when you've already got a job, any job.

If you're managing to volunteer, then hopefully that might lead to something. You must have marketable skills (you can obviously write, make a case for something clearly, and commit to times and schedules for volunteering - they are skills) and if not, perhaps volunteering will help you develop some, It will certainly look decent on your CV. Then yes, you might need to start working for relatively low pay, but generally we all have to do that at some point, and it doesn't need to be forever.