two huge bummers

[drippin]

So shane was nice enough to tell me that the lesbian and gay center in LA can get you on hormones. I called today and unfortunately there's a waiting list until august. The woman I spoke with told me to call kaiser (my insurer) and ask what I have to do to get hormones because kaiser covers hormones. So I called kaiser and the woman was really rude and condescending and told me that they do cover hormones, but only after you've had your "surgery" I tried explaining things to her but she wasn't having it..

So now I don't really know what to do.

Considering doing things the black market way.

[Janet_Girl]

Definitely call.  Kaiser covers HRT.  I had Kaiser and it was covered.

[drippin]

Maybe my policy doesn't cover it tho? It just seems odd that it wouldn't because of the whole kaiserpride thing. Do either of you ladies know if all kaiser policies cover HRT? Or are you basing it just from experience? I think there's a good chance the lady on the phone may have been right, as much as I want her to be wrong. I told her that starting HRT after your "surgery" was basically unheard of. I also asked if she could take a second glance and make sure she was reading it correctly. She then put me on hold for about 10 minutes so she could "research" when she came back to the line, she said she was 100% positive and that she even double checked with her manager. She did sound very uninformed on the whole issue though, so maybe there's a chance she was wrong. If not, looks like I'm self medicating until august.

[rejennyrated]

Point is - if you get the hormones prescribed through a regular supplier but end up having to pay because your insurance doesn't cover it that is STILL going to be heaps cheaper than paying black market rates.

You a have delay of between 1 & 2 years for surgery whilst you do your RLE. After that you have your surgery and then you are good with insurance.

At a rough estimate - all the hormones for 2 years at official health provider rates would probably cost you about $600 tops and that is probably a bit over estimating. Yes I know that the black market costs many times that, but thats why no one should EVER use the black market.

[Korlee]

You should probably listen to Janet.  They probably do cover it but you got someone who was prejudice or trained to try to save the company money.  So they will talk down to anyone on something they can likely sweep away.  You should probably call again and ask to speak to a manager.  Which is likely to have much better results.

Also what is it you ladies refer to as the black market?  Do you mean places such as Ebay or overseas ordering?  I do not know what the term really covers for you peeps.  Which I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious as what all that covers to this community.

[jesse]

i get my meds from overseas pharmacy they are working fine for me ....
jessica

[Korlee]

i get my meds from overseas pharmacy they are working fine for me ....
jessica

That is actually what I have been doing since my doctor poofed.  She was helping me in ways that were up front on the table but still pressing the line in not having the backing of a therapist.  So thus overseas stuff for now.  Heh, cheaper anyways then what I'd spend to get a note from a broken system.

[Asfsd4214]

Point is - if you get the hormones prescribed through a regular supplier but end up having to pay because your insurance doesn't cover it that is STILL going to be heaps cheaper than paying black market rates.

You a have delay of between 1 & 2 years for surgery whilst you do your RLE. After that you have your surgery and then you are good with insurance.

At a rough estimate - all the hormones for 2 years at official health provider rates would probably cost you about $600 tops and that is probably a bit over estimating. Yes I know that the black market costs many times that, but thats why no one should EVER use the black market.

That has um... not been my experience. 

In your defense though, fundamentally I agree that getting HRT that way should only be considered as a last resort (although I refuse to lie and be a hypocrite and pretend to think you shouldn't do it under ANY circumstances...). But better reasons I would say are things like quality control and legal issues (both of which in most circumstances if you're careful are mild). And medical issues, although if you're illegally taking prescription drugs, that tends to get the attention of the doctors you tell (at least it did in my case). Who at the very least can provide medical oversight.

Anyway, just to make it clear, I agree with you that unprescribed HRT is a bad idea if there's another option.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) reality doesn't bend to the transgender 'party line' when it comes to HRT. Beyond anything else I personally would advocate that people simply use their best judgment for their particular circumstances.

[Jasmine.m]

Keep in mind that drugs bought from overseas pharmacy's are not held to the strict FDA standards we are used to seeing here in the US. Many of these so-called pharmacy's are not even operating with a license in the country they claim to be from. Random assay's performed by independent investigators have revealed that a high percentage of the drugs coming from these places have only trace amounts of active pharmaceutical ingredient, if any at all. In addition, most contain excipients not approved for human consumption. Just look at the recent Chinese acetaminophen example for a real scare.

Counterfeit drugs are *huge* money. They are also a *huge* risk. If you purchase drugs from overseas, there is a very high probability that you're getting counterfeit products.

It's a gamble... And a gamble on your life at that.

[Korlee]

That is one way to look it and it does have a basis.  However I do research in everything that I do.  Sometimes I forget the original reasons or facts behind it but I do remember the key reasons.  The site I get it from is not a counterfeit and has been around a long time.  It was around when I was young and it has a good reputation. 

Either way I could careless.  I have no intention of dealing with the American bull->-bleeped-<- hoops till I have to do so.  I could careless about being a -rebel- or some other BS.  My family has a long history of hitting walls with the government on everything from welfare to the agent orange bit with my uncle.  I hold very little respect for much of the broken system and I've jumped through enough hoops for nothing.  They can kiss my ass and I'll do it my way until then. God damn broken 1950's crappy biased system with prejudice idiots in charge.

[pebbles]

My research shows that when you buy from shady places they almost always do contain what they say and are rarely completely fake however the problem is that they aren't made to a proper standard and say a 100Mg tablet of something might actually contain anything between 70mg - 140mg of the active ingredient.

The other problem is contaminants now of course advertising campaigns will be quick to say "Rat poison" or "animal excrement" That's not usually the case or is an exaggeration These get in there not usually out of malice but usually through sloppy or sub-par chemistry. Certain drugs say Premarin available on prescription are manufactured from horse urine thus always contain traces of such even no matter where you manufacture it.

Obviously proper medical supervision is better if nothing else you have bloodwork, But if you get nothing but a boatload of despair and rejection through official channels, Then YOU need to decide what path you have to follow.

[drippin]

Although the risks are huge for doing things the black market way, there comes a point where you get fed up, I've been thinking about this next step for so long. And everyday (although its probably in my head) I feel bigger, and bulkier, and hairier, and taller, etc.. I just want to start the process already and I feel like if I don't I'm gonna lose it!

So I guess the best I can do (for now) is try and research and make myself as safe as I can be..