Hello all,
I have a few questions that can only be answered for me here. I've been looking into what all I'll have to do to start HRT. It appears that my state requires patients to go to a therapist to get their approval first before they can start HRT. The thing I don't know though is do I have to go to my regular doctor first to get a referral to a therapist, or do I just find my own therapist and go there first? I'm not exactly sure how that works.
On a side note, if I have to go to my regular doctor first that's kind of scary for me. He's the very best doctor on the planet and I've been going to him for 30 years. However I know that he's pretty religious and I HATE the thought of losing him as my doctor if he's not open to trans people. In my honest opinion I don't think it would bother him, after all, he is a man of science. But the thought of taking that chance is causing me some concern.
I've learned that some therapists refuse to recommend HRT if the patient isn't living as a female full-time. I haven't come out to anyone yet but you lovely ladies here at Susan's so far, and I don't think I'm ready to come out publicly yet. (In fact I know I'm not because I have to protect my daughter for the time being.) Do any of you know if living the full-time female requirement is true? If it is, what are my best options?
Should I just take the leap and go into the therapist's office dressed as a woman even though that would be extremely uncomfortable for me right now? Or should I search for therapists who don't require that step? Or is that requirement part of the law? I just don't know.
This is all pretty confusing for me. Supposedly most states are getting away from discriminating against those in the LBGTQ community, but having that requirement is discrimination in my book. To top all that off, I live in the state of Indiana and I'm sure you've heard how anti-LBGTQ the government is in this state. There are two other states I can get to with a fairly short drive, so I don't know if maybe I should try one of them first. Sadly both of those states are very conservative too, so it might not be any better in one of them either. Then there's the fact that if I go to another state I'd be pretty far away from my doctor.
Anyway any help you all can give me would be greatly appreciated!!
Lexxi