From what i've been told by those who've done it, it doesn't seem to do much with the GIC referral. I would def need the GIC referral for top surgery because I cannot afford that out of my own pocket (it's like 6k!) though private scripts aren't usually that expensive depending on the drugs. I used to pay uh.. £80 for 6 months of metformin which wasn't too bad, especially given doctors wouldn't perscribe it on the NHS and if they had would only give me a month at a time.
But you are right, I believe i'd have to go private to get T sooner. The GIC wait is 2 years for the first appointment and then another year before they get around to hormones and i'm not really sure i'll survive another 3 years of the escalating nonsense my body is subjecting me to.
It's getting worse and worse, to the point i'm convinced estrogen is trying to actually kill me.
Gendergp and the others will do shared care with the gp IF your gp agrees, which means nhs scripts and nhs bloods, but you still have to pay for the private endo to look at those bloods every 3 months or so by the looks.
With me the main concern is the initial expense. I really struggle to justify such amounts of money for ME, it feels selfish and I feel like a burden. *sigh* It's annoying but I feel paralysed when it comes to making such appointments.
Also from what I understand of the NHS and NICE guidelines, if they think you ARE self medicating they're supposed to give you a bridging script to mitigate the "danger". The GIC dismissing you for having a bridging script I think would be grounds to complain through PALS as it'd be against NICE guidelines to do so and potentially be endangering the patient.
Sadly with the NHS often you're at the mercy of individual medical professionals and need to really fight on a lot of turns for adequate care and for your rights. I have a LOT of experience with the NHS sadly, i've had health problems related to my ovaries ever since I started puberty at 10. I've fought doctors for over 20 years to get help, it's ridiculous really but it also means I have a lot of experience with hormone blood tests, hormones in general, all the various scans and tests. I know my biochemistry and how it all works pretty dang well at this point, or rather, how it doesn't work. And the more i've learned about my body, the more convinced I become that I was NEVER supposed to be female and something went horribly horribly wrong in utero.
But oh top surgery sounds soooo goood. I was initially scared of it and the drains and stuff. Not so much the pain but the sponge baths. I HATE sponge baths. Which is a pretty ridiculous thing to stop you having a procedure done but there ya go. When it comes to the pain aspect, I dunno, i've had a 4th degree tear and retained stitches that had to be dug out of my lower region, i've had mastitus and engorgement, i've had regular UTIS since I was 7, i've had quincy where my throat closed and I couldn't even swallow my own spit, i've had sepsis which makes every single part of your body a burning seething sea of agony.
I mean given all the horrible stuff i've survived, chest surgery seems well, pretty minor. The pain of incisions is like "eh, whatevs"
I just don't wanna not bathe!
But ultimately the long term benefits.. oh.. oh my. No cysts, no cyclical pain so bad I can't raise my arms or stand fabric against them, being able to wander around topless! not having to wear a top swimming! clothes fitting properly! never having to wear a bra ever again and as a result not having that extra layer of hot in the summer and the itching every single evening from the straps!
YES!
yes please!
