Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Today my dad and I called this endocrinologist office that contains many such doctors in order to make a date for me and T. When we made the appointment I asked for someone who could help me answer a few questions and they put on a nurse who wasn't very well equipped to answer any of my questions, which had to do with whether or not I could get any blood tests done before the appointment and what kinds of testosterone they had. I wasn't too put down that she couldn't answer anything, she said that those were things I'd have to ask the doctor when I saw him, which is true, but I was a little irked that she wasn't helpful at all. My appointment was made for February 9th, so I have to wait so very long just to find out the answers to some very essential questions. There doesn't seem to be a way to talk to the doctor without actually seeing him at the appointment which is annoying. The doctor I am going to see apparently does treat transgender patients, but that is all I could gather. I'm excited about having an appointment and everything, but the fact that I am unsure of whether or not this guy really knows his stuff kind of puts a damper on it. It would be a real let-down to go there and find out that he can't accomplish what I need done. I also don't know how much of it our insurance is going to cover as far as the actual appointments (I can handle if they won't cover the T), because I don't have a referral from a primary physician. I can get a referral from my therapist but that isn't the same thing insurance-wise. I don't know what I should do about that. I'm not sure whether or not they actually need one or not, but they asked if I had a referral, which I didn't. Should I try to get a referral from my primary physician? I wouldn't know how to go about that. What would I do, walk in and say "Hey, I'm transgendered and I need you to refer me to this doctor." Is it simple as that? It just seems kind of stupid to me because I already know where I want to be referred to and I've never had a reason to bring up my being transgendered with the primary physician before so I might have to jump through a load of hoops just to get that to go through too.

I am frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be this far. But I'm worried things aren't going to go smoothly or something of the sort. Eh. I don't really know if any of you guys can help me with this but I just want to get it out since it's been on my mind and I don't really have a lot of people to talk to about it.

I would call you insurance company and see if they cover transgender care. Of you're able to, you can change your gender on insurance fairly easily to an "M"  so you would be treated as a male with a hormone problem (at least on paper/according to insurance).

Are you in the US?  Because here in Australia, it's actually illegal for a doctor to write a referral retrospectively.  I don't mean to sound insensitive, but IMHO you seem too worked up over the questions thing.  Plenty of doctors don't answer phone calls and let their nurses deal with general questions.  But the point is that your appointment is the time to ask questions, that's what it's for.  So don't get so upset when you haven't even spoken with the doctor yet.  It will be apparent when you do whether or not he knows what he's doing.  Do your research beforehand and be equipped to judge if he's telling you things that are wrong in general or wrong for you.  Also, I don't know about the cost - it depends on your insurance company and the requirements of the specific doctor/clinic.

Ah, really? Yes I am in the US, and I suppose it is similar here. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens, since it doesn't seem like there is much I can do before then. Most of what frustrates me is the waiting, I guess. I'll have to distract myself with other things. Thank you for the insight though, I didn't know that. But it makes complete sense, since I thought it would be silly in the first place haha.

And Nygeel, I'll look into seeing if I can do that, if insurance doesn't cover it. Thanks!

No worries, mate. It's frustrating as hell having to wait. I'm using the time before my appointment to gather info and study.  Certainly helps!  And please ask questions and vent away - that's what this place is for :)

Quote from: Nygeel on December 27, 2011, 10:54:19 PMI would call you insurance company and see if they cover transgender care. Of you're able to, you can change your gender on insurance fairly easily to an "M"  so you would be treated as a male with a hormone problem (at least on paper/according to insurance).

Personally, I wouldn't do this.  I would talk to the doctor and ask them if it's covered, sometimes they know how phrase the words so that it will be covered. Changing your gender on insurance sounds like a good idea, too.

Quote from: Nygeel on December 27, 2011, 10:54:19 PM
I would call you insurance company and see if they cover transgender care. Of you're able to, you can change your gender on insurance fairly easily to an "M"  so you would be treated as a male with a hormone problem (at least on paper/according to insurance).

Rather than calling the insurance company directly, I'd just look up your insurance policy online and search on there whether they cover transgender care or not. Mine has trans related things on the exclusion list, so my doctor bills everything as sexual health. I haven't had any issues with my insurance covering my appointments and they've also covered T.

As for the referral: if your insurance requires one, get one! Else your appointments won't be covered. I forgot to get mine and luckily my insurance backdates, or else I would've racked up to over $1500 in medical bills by the first month on T. You definitely want to avoid that. Just ask your primary care doctor to write you a referral for sexual health and explain your situation to your endo/their secretary so they can (hopefully) accommodate you. That is, of course, your insurance isn't trans friendly; if they are, you can go nuts. :p