a few questions about docs and hormones.....

[mickie88]

my current nurse practitioner is trying to find an endo to refer me to that accepts my insurance, as the one everybody that did take my insurance was being referred to, no longer accepts it. sounds confusing. but at the moment i am not having any luck on finding an endo anywhere near driveable where i live and accepts my insurance. bless, these ladies hearts tho, they're not giving up. i do appreciate that. i knew i was in good hands so to speak, when i filled out the mediacl paperwork for once and it asked for your spouses name or your significant other, first time i ever ever seen both on any piece of medical paperwork in ohio. but anyways, on to the questions i was going to ask:

has anyone been blood tested for hormone replacement therapy, by lets say going to a lab and have the lab results sent back to the GP?

has anyone been prescribed hormones by someone other than an endo?

and if so who? please be specific(could care less about spelling as long as i get the idea...lol)

if i can't find anyone who will accept my insurance, i am asking if anyone has had to pay for it out of pocket to please PM me and let me know how much each treatment(?) i guess you could say costs?


i'm getting kind of desperate, i do want the hormones, tbh, i need them now, i will be 25 soon and want to end any further maleness that would possibly develop. i'm quite lucky that i have sparse facial hair, and i want to keep it that way as i feel i may never need laser or electrolysis, if i get this taken care of soon enough. if anyone has any questions about my questions please, please ask!!1

Warrior Princess
Mickie

[Sarah Louise]

Any Doctor can prescribe HRT and any Doctor can send you for blood tests.

My insurance will not pay for the hormones, but to them I am just seeing a doctor, so they pay for that.

Sarah L.

[mickie88]

what about my certified nurse practitioner or isn't she qualified to prescribe anything?



Warrior Princess Mickie

[tekla]

That varies state by state.

[lisagurl]

Do not call or code it "hormone replacement therapy" code it "hormone imbalance".

Yes a GP can test for hormones and prescribe hormones. Most prefer a letter from a Therapist to protect from malpractice claims.

[jenny_]

If you have a hrt letter from your gender therapist then any doctor can prescribe hormones.  I have blood tests sorted by my gp and he prescribes as well.

[mickie88]

well, the internet says that in Ohio that they can, maybe she doesn't feel comfortable with it? maybe i should have another appointment with her and see about other options?



Warrior Princess Mickie

[lisagurl]

Doctors in private practice can refuse to do things on moral and ethical grounds. Those who work for a business have the business rules to follow. It will be very difficult to get a doctor to give you hormones without a letter to protect them.

[April221]

My hormone prescription is written by an internist at a LGBT clinic. At the clinic, all bloodwork is taken care of, I was taught to self-inject, and I receive my regular physical exams as well as prescriptions written. The prescriptions are paid for out of pocket since my health plan won't cover them.

Have you asked your therapist for a referral? When I asked for the letter referring me to the doctor for HRT, the letter was mailed by the therapist to the doctor. I wasn't handed a letter to bring to the doctor with me. Other therapists may, of course, handle it differently, but I would think that regardless of how the therapist issues the letter, she would know who receives it.

You could also contact your local LGBT center/clinic/support group for referrals from them. Some doctors can turn out to be very expensive owing to the way that they run their practice. Some doctors are known to prescribe, but aren't taking health insurance.

[mickie88]

no, unfortunately i do not have a therapist at this time, they all either don't take my insurance or don't work on the sliding scale, isn't that pitiful. i mean come on, 150 an hour for each patient you see isn't enough to try and work with one? and unfortunatley the local lgbt community is 2 and half hours away. i live close to a somewhat decent sized city but anything important for me is just out of reach. it's driving me nuts!!!!




Warrior Princess Mickie

[April221]

no, unfortunately i do not have a therapist at this time, they all either don't take my insurance or don't work on the sliding scale, isn't that pitiful. i mean come on, 150 an hour for each patient you see isn't enough to try and work with one? and unfortunatley the local lgbt community is 2 and half hours away. i live close to a somewhat decent sized city but anything important for me is just out of reach. it's driving me nuts!!!!




Warrior Princess Mickie

It may be worth the drive. $150/session in a bit high. Many therapists will come down a bit in their fee for a client who will be visiting frequently, and if the therapist is a LCSW the fee should be less than for a therapist with a phd. 

The letter is important to most experienced prescribing physicians, as it's recommended by the Standards of Care. You really do want an experienced physician too, since routine care often is bloodwork every 3 months or so for the first year, and the doctor needs to know which tests to perform, what is important, and what isn't.   I am very much in favor of a strong, working relationship with an experienced gender-specific therapist. A good therapist can be of great help during transition, helping with many areas of your life as well as your transition.

One of the great challenges for anyone who is looking at transition, unfortunately, is the cost. The costs of therapy, HRT with doctors and prescriptions, lab fees, electrolysis, clothing, if needed, and eventually GRS is considerable. This is why some people need many years for completion of their transition. Transition is both difficult and expensive, but it has to be done. Think of the alternative.

[lisagurl]

they all either don't take my insurance

Does your insurance cover therapy? If so they can give you a list of subscribing Therapists.

Posted on: June 13, 2008, 05:21:58 PMWarrior Princess Mickie

How serious and determined are you wanting to transition?

My doc is 120 miles away,My therapist is 2000 miles away, FFS was 2000 miles away, SRS was 12000 miles away, electro 400 miles away. Total cost of transition about 100k. Insurance only paid 80% of GP and drugs. I suggest you find a well paying job in a place that has all the services you need. If you want to succeed you need to put transition as the number 1 thing in your life.

[mickie88]

How serious and determined are you wanting to transition?

My doc is 120 miles away,My therapist is 2000 miles away, FFS was 2000 miles away, SRS was 12000 miles away, electro 400 miles away. Total cost of transition about 100k. Insurance only paid 80% of GP and drugs. I suggest you find a well paying job in a place that has all the services you need. If you want to succeed you need to put transition as the number 1 thing in your life.

i'm trying to put it first, but this is rather extreme for me, a well paying job around here is a factory and she would have to quit working and i can't do that to her, she likes  her job too much plus she's preggers, even that takes precedence over this in my case, and my case alone. i'm going to talk to them monday and see how they are trying to refer me to these endos and if it's the hrt instead of hormonal imbalance i will see if they will reword it. i will still be working on a therapist, one therapist told me to try this one, but i really don't like either one of them in that office they both creep me out, not to mention i would prefer having a female therapist but yeah around here they are all totally outrageous on their hourly rates. if i could do a payment plan it would be so bad, but half of them won't even consider it and the other half don't even deal with gid, it's a very crappy dilemma.

i'm going to call a few places today even thought they aren't open that way they can call me back on Monday. the CNP, i went to said they are trying to get me in to a one which is somewhat close but they won't hear anything back until Monday.

Wishing anyone who considers themselves a father...
Happy Father's Day
Warrior Princess Mickie

[Purple Pimp]

Do you have a liberal-leaning clinic nearby, like a Planned Parenthood or something?  I got a prescription from a Women's Health Clinic that often sees FtMs.  The ability to get a prescription just really depends on the individual that you see.  The Women's Health Clinic gave me a scrip in the name of a harm reduction model for those already self-medicating (an allowed provision in the SOC).  Three other doctors I've seen wouldn't do a damn thing without a psy's letter (typical for the deep South), one even going so far as to tell me that there was a "Harry Benjamin Act" passed into law that made it illegal to prescribe without a psy's note.  Can you believe it?

Lia

[mickie88]

i don't know, i'm guessing the closest thing to that around here is the Lutheran Social Services, but the last thing i really want to do, is involve religious people. and everyone on here knows why. there is a grads program my wife went through in high school, but i'm not sure it is the same as most going through it were teen parents, i'll have to look into it. any and all ideas are welcome at this point, please keep them coming if you can.


Warrior Princess Mickie