The VA does it all themselves in-house. If a service is not available, then they send you to a Care-in-the-Community provider and that provider is paid via insurance. In the Midwest is Optum, out West there is Tri-Care. That happens behind the scenes. You don't have to do anything. My disability rating is only 10% service-connected, but all my medical care is covered. Yours would be too. The exception is medicines. I do pay a co-pay for meds, but top-shelf name-brand meds only cost me $33 for a 90-day supply. With the higher rating, your meds might be with no copay. You would have to ask. I don't know how that works.

All of the complaints that I have heard about the VA were from people who were in large cities. Here in Rapid City, SD (pop. 75,000) I have no complaints. Everyone here is top-notch professional and very helpful with my transition. I don't know if it will make a difference, but you could try going to a smaller town's VA clinic instead of Phoenix. Like Chandler, or someplace smaller. Since I am limited here and do not have many to choose from, I can't say it would make a difference.

I would definitely check into it. Get registered as a patient, if you are not already. Make an appointment to see a Primary Care Physician. Talk to them about what you want to do. They can send a consult to Mental Health for evaluation of Gender Dysphoria. Once that is done, your Primary can then either prescribe HRT or refer you to Endocrinology or Gynecology. They will write the prescriptions and monitor hormone levels. Your Primary can also do the consults for Facial Hair Removal or Voice Training if you are interested in those. They will know what services are available there.

Every VA Clinic is supposed to have an LGBTQ+ Care Coordinator on staff. Check the Phoenix VA website and it will tell you who that person is and their contact information. They can also help you navigate the care that is available.

This is a lot of information I'm throwing out, but I hope it helps you and any other vets who are just getting started through the VA.


Hugs!

@Jessica_K

I think earrings would look nice like that. Experiment and see if you prefer hoops, pendants, or simple studs. I have studs with crystals and some with plain round metal. I wear them occasionally when it is windy and my hair is back in a ponytail.

Has anyone used any of the VA locations in az? More specifically in the Phoenix area or surrounding areas of Phoenix? I'd like to know if anyone has used any of the locations here, what their experiences has been so far, and if there is a facility or doctor(s) that are better than others.

So in my past I have moved a lot from CA to MD to PA, now I'm here in Az. And I have yet to register here for az VA health care. I know I have been putting it off and being lazy about it. I do not foresee any reason that would make me be not eligible. I do have a service connected disability rating of 100% PNT. I don't know if my rating will affect the care and treatment I will receive.

Also does anyone know if receiving transitional care if it affects your disability benefits, if so how does it affect them, or can your rating affect your eligibility for care or level of care?

I am very ignorant of the VA and I typically try to not ever use them if at all possible. I have not had the best service with the VA, and id most likely pay out of pocket for care then to deal with the VA at all. That being said of it can cover prescriptions and blood work etc then I'm thinking maybe it's worth trying to look into it.

Does any one know if I am seeing a therapist already if thr VA will use my private therapists diagnosis? Or will I have to go through the va for more therapy and diagnosis from a VA therapist to move forward?

Does this look like the appropriate road map for course of action.

1. Sign up/ determine eligibility for local VA health care.

2. Get primary care doctor.

3. Ask primary care doctor for trans/gender specific care treatment or referral to specialist for trans health care to get started on mental health diagnosis, therapy etc?

Road map may change once I get assigned and start seeing specific specialists to determine best care for my individual needs.

I did look up the VA 2013-003 document for standards of care for trans,gid, and intersex individuals. It is very informative.

I live in MN where it's legal for me to change naked with women in the all ages locker room and I do with 20 women in our swim class. We are are great friends, laugh together, change together, sauna together and hug all while being naked. Since this is an all ages women's locker room I am concerned about naked little girls surprising us ladies and see me with them. So, I am looking for a MN lawyer that can answer this question for me. I know all the women would confirm it was truly accidental. Any Ideas?

Hi Everyone

So to what extent did I express my femininity with out realising it at the time?  I have mentioned that my feelings of wanting or longing to be female kept getting stronger and stronger from 1980 to the beginning of 1989.  The last two years 1987 and 1988, were the strongest.

It was during those two years, I was wearing more female underwear, stockings, pants and a beige bralette or my first training bra that would serve me for several years with my sponge inserts when I changed my life around, in Feb 1989.  This occurred in the office where I worked.

The other things were two simple pieces of jewellery one silver ring and a necklace that were not too thin and not too thick.

The last thing that added to my repertoire was having my legs waxed, my chest and back did not have any hair.  The last year 1988, my face was waxed.  To me this was a good outcome as I was a swimmer and being hairless gave the best excuse of lessening drag on ones body, when swimming races.  Such a good excuse.

Piercing of ears, painting of nails, doing more feminine hair styles, I had long hair, see avatar.   Before doing elaborate hair styles, I just did my hair in a plain plait, pony tail, or just left out naturally, because my hair was usually wet from swimming and it allowed it to dry more quickly, again without realizing this was a feminine attribute.  Shoes and of course appropriate clothing occurred immediately from Feb 1989 onwards.

Once again I did not know that what I was doing was just being a female and the same applied even after I changed my life around.  I was just able to go the whole hog and I did not have to worry about what I had to wear anymore.

Take care and all the best everyone in your endeavors.

Love and Hugs
Sarah B
Official Greeter

Quote from: LoriDee on Today at 04:23:43 PMJessica, You can always sweep your hair back just behind your ears to show them off if you are comfortable with that.

I tried it a few months ago as in my updated avatar, i am not sure about it.. Guess to try it with earrings

LoriDee I'm glad you have had good experiences with the VA. I will have to look into the VA for possible care in the future. I do have a service connected rating of 100% PNT. however most of my experiences with the VA have not been all that great. However compared to some vets I guess my experience is no where near the horror stories of some.

I will def have to look into the VA for gender affirming care once I get set up here in Phoenix area. Do you have insurance through the VA like tri care? And if so is it covered or are you paying for it like reg insurance that one would have through their employer.

Robby,

I think you might have some misconceptions about the VA.

All of my healthcare is through the VA, including all of my transitioning. Mental Health Eval, HRT, voice training, and hair removal are all covered, but I have no one in the area who does electrolysis. My mental health eval was in 2019 and I started HRT in Jan 2020. All through the VA.

The VA covers all pre-op care, including hair removal, pre-op physical exams, surgeon letters, etc. They also cover all post-op aftercare. The only thing they will not do is the actual surgery. But everything the surgeon requires before and after surgery is covered. If there is a problem post-op and a revision is needed to correct the problem, revision surgery is covered.

The lawsuit mentioned above was filed by TAVA (Transgender American Veterans Association) to force the VA to change its regulations concerning Gender Affirming Surgery. The Secretary of the VA has been promising that he would since 2016.

The lawsuit was filed in Jan 2024. In March 2024, the VA Secretary denied the petition saying he is "not ready to change the regulations at this time". TAVA then filed a second lawsuit against the VA charging them with discrimination against transgender veterans. That lawsuit is still pending.

Quote from: Jessica_K on Today at 03:33:34 PMI currently do not have ear piercings as my current wig hides my ears. My next one I want them more exposed so then earrings.

Jessica, my wigs cover my ears too, so I wear hoop earrings. They stick out a little, just enough to be visible. But I prefer the larger hoops that show better. You can always sweep your hair back just behind your ears to show them off if you are comfortable with that.

I had an Endo tell me that a patient came to an appointment with her and announced that she was no longer transgender, and left without explanation. I assumed she meant she had completed her transition, but the Endo said sometimes people change their minds.

The whole purpose of the mental health evaluation is to determine if you are experiencing Gender Dysphoria. To what extent a transition one might pursue, is definitely a personal matter. But I don't understand how someone could be misdiagnosed and the "cause" is some other condition. How is that possible? Was the diagnoser incompetent?

I can understand someone changing their mind for a variety of reasons. Pressure from family or friends that they do not want to alienate. Or maybe, as CosmicJoke stated, maybe it is easier for them to not transition. In either case, the individual decided that any dysphoria was tolerable. Again, that is their personal decision, but does that make the diagnosis wrong?

As Chrissy stated, either way, a mental health evaluation should still be in order to determine the why behind their decision, and then to offer support to help them carry out their wishes.