Doctor visit - SCORE!

[FolkFanatic]

how did you get your doctor to do that? is it just a doctor you go to for general checkups? did you just tell her about wanting to transition and that's it?

Yup. I went in to my general practitioner (my usual doctor) for a pelvic exam (yuck yuck yuck). Before she started i pretty much did what was suggested in one of my other posts. I told her that i did some research and i identified as a transsexual.

She got this shocked look on her face for about a second, then shot off a few questions. Namely "how long have you known", "did you always feel this way", what are you hoping for", etc etc. She even asked if i would be attracted to males/females (pure curiosity i think on her part lol). She had done a bit of work with an endo in the area so she knew enough about it to be helpful.

She was VERY nice about it and once i got past the initial hurdle and saw she wasn't going to shun me or laugh.... it was VERY easy.

She said i sounded sure of myself and very comfortable with it - and that a few others she helped hadn't. She said she would do research to find a therapist closer to home (the only one she knew off the top of her head was one i had found about 40 minutes away.) She would set me up with an appointment with the therapist AND with an endocrinologist.

Now it's a waiting game. I'm not expecting much until after holidays but that's okay. The balls rolling, so to speak!

[mL]

wow so do you have to be 18 for the therapist and endocrinologist? and are you going to be paying for them or does insurance cover any?

[LordKAT]

18 for hormones usually and therapy at any age. hormone blockers can begin before 18

[Mark]

i told my doctor last week from advice my therapist gave me, and im not really sure my doctor knew what transgendered really meant, i told her i had GID, and she said generalized anxiexy disorder?, which i had to correct her(maybe she misunderstood what i said or assumed i said it wrong). She seemed completely shocked and asked me to explain more to her about it.

[Luc]

Congrats, man! For me, the only waiting part for T was deciding whether I really wanted to do it. Once I had decided, I went to the doctor, she wrote the scrip, I picked up the vial that day, then went back to the doc's office the next day so she could show me how to properly inject. I don't, however, have my name or gender marker changed yet. In California I was able to change both with just a letter from the doctor to the DMV, which is supposed to be the way they do it in Colorado, but my doctor here was a little less than intelligent, so my CO ID says F. It sucks. But good for you, dude... you're well on your way, it seems!

SD

[jmaxley]

The main thing keeping me from getting T at the moment is wondering about others reactions.  I live in a VERY conservative area of the Bible belt (one day I will move but don't have the funds right now).  Also, I'm not out to my family yet.  I'm trying to break it slowly to my mom by dropping hints (I'm sure at this point she suspects something) but she's reacted badly to me wearing masculine clothes and cutting my hair.

[FolkFanatic]

wow so do you have to be 18 for the therapist and endocrinologist? and are you going to be paying for them or does insurance cover any?

Under 18 i think has to have parent permission to start anything like that (or there are other options depending on HOW young.) I'm 21 so the age issue never comes up. You would have to ask the doctor involved.

I'm pretty sure my insurance covers most of it - i KNOW it will cover the initial visits but not sure about continual visits or the T itself. I was in therapy before (my pediatrician at the time thought i had an eating disorder - which i did not) and insurance covered it THEN.

That is something i will have to talk about with the endo and therapist, though. Each insurance is different, after all. If my insurance doesn't cover it my parents will (part of our deal is i pay small rent and help out, they do my "needs" like food and medical coverage.)

i told my doctor last week from advice my therapist gave me, and im not really sure my doctor knew what transgendered really meant, i told her i had GID, and she said generalized anxiexy disorder?, which i had to correct her(maybe she misunderstood what i said or assumed i said it wrong). She seemed completely shocked and asked me to explain more to her about it.

At least she asked for an explanation and didn't outright say anything "unprofessional."

The main thing keeping me from getting T at the moment is wondering about others reactions.  I live in a VERY conservative area of the Bible belt (one day I will move but don't have the funds right now).  Also, I'm not out to my family yet.  I'm trying to break it slowly to my mom by dropping hints (I'm sure at this point she suspects something) but she's reacted badly to me wearing masculine clothes and cutting my hair.

I hear you, i do. My parents are both pretty strict about that too. I have another thread about clothes on here - basically my parents think "mens clothes" are for men, "womens clothes" are for women... and should not be swapped around. I duke it out with them OFTEN (sometimes in the middle of the store) since they pay my way lmao. And my dad actually CRIED when i first cut my hair (used to be mid-back, cut it to shoulders... now it's "guy short".)

Congrats, man! For me, the only waiting part for T was deciding whether I really wanted to do it. Once I had decided, I went to the doctor, she wrote the scrip, I picked up the vial that day, then went back to the doc's office the next day so she could show me how to properly inject. I don't, however, have my name or gender marker changed yet. In California I was able to change both with just a letter from the doctor to the DMV, which is supposed to be the way they do it in Colorado, but my doctor here was a little less than intelligent, so my CO ID says F. It sucks. But good for you, dude... you're well on your way, it seems!

SD

You're lucky you got it that fast! When i asked she said i had to talk to an endocrinologist and probably a therapist letter depending on who i go to. Which is fine by me - gives me time to tell my parents.

Yup, i'm getting there. ^_^

[JakeDenver]

Well I am from Ohio and I just had to pay 165 dollars and go to court to have my name changed. Once my name was changed my therapist filled out a paper from the Ohio DMV and I am just waiting on a response and my gender marker on my license will be changed. Plus after court I went to the social security office to get a new card and the lady was like oh this is cool and asked if I wanted my gender marker there changed to male. I was real excited because of how smooth it worked. So when my paper comes back from the state DMV I will get my license with my new name and marker. However Ohio is picky about thier firth certificates. Not sure the rules yet but I was born in Colorado so I need to find thier laws on tha.