Congrats

If your GP is not receptive it costs like around £100 or something for 3 and a bit months worth. Just so you know, if you don't already.

Quote from: Corra on March 07, 2014, 05:49:13 PM
Ahah, yes... NHS waiting lists! This is why i had decided private may be better to 'double track' with the NHS. Aaaand it seems to have paid off** See below comment :3

yeah i know its horrible they want me to start my RLE now or nothing is going to be done about hormones i think making someone go out completely in the opposite gender wile they still look 100% there born gender without even being on hormones is wrong its like them saying go out in female clothes if you're  a male and get laughed at and abused by everyone i personally am gradually getting into going out in the opposite genders clothes by wearing a bit of both some female some male but I've been spoiling myself with loads of new clothes from new look haha i would like to go private but with tattoo removal,clothes,electrolysis,makeup and normal living bills i can't really afford it and i can't ask my mum to help because she still thinks I'm only seeing a therapist to help me learn to live like this as male i still can't bring myself to say I'm going to start my transition it would break her heart but my brother and nan know but I'm just gonna give her a book to help her understand it more

I initially went to my gp before being referred to a local psychologist for counselling and assessment. I could have requested initial referral to sandy ford gender clinic in Glasgow. Working for social work and already working professionally with workers in Glasgow I decided against this for now. Psychologist after 2 sessions has diagnosed me as transgendered. She has notified my gp and made a referral to Edinburgh gender clinic in chalmer street. My gp is sympathetic but unwilling to prescribe hormones. She compromised and did prescribe spironolactone anti androgens. I stopped them due to fears of bone density loss . I have osteo arthritis. Now have to wait on appointment with Edinburgh gic despite already having diagnosis! So frustrating. I guess I have to be patient but worry about getting effective changes and looking like a male in drag! I'm 49 and not getting any younger!!

There is a lot about the UK system that is backwards. Especially having very narrow definitions of what 'presenting' is. Depending on where you end up, you will quite possibly find they expect skirts and full make up for girls and any deviation is a sign that you are not serious and gets your RLE reset and therefore your time to hormones too.The same for having a job and being evidencibly out of the house in public all the time. So, for a year or two, before you get hormones, you should drag your 5 occlock shadow out everywhere in your best impression of a drag queen, becuase, well, if they can put you through that and you are still there, then you must be serious and they are not going to get rid of you.

Don't get me started on 'Dr.' Curtis and that lot.

Wow Kira you look fantastic in your avatar pic! You've changed so much

Dr Curtis is a GP who 'specialises' in Gender treatment. Essentially he is a GP who is ok with prescribing hormones after the standard therapy sessions and all the boxes have been ticked. Tbh i feel far more comfortable seeing an endocrinologist who specialises in transgender HRT.

And the problem with that is?
You can call him a "Dr" but the fact is that he is a doctor so that is just farcical.

Beats the GIC hoop jumping in Charring Cross.

The problem with that is that he is a gp,  not an endo,  not anyone who has done anything above bachelor degree in medicine. Outside of GP doctors,  who get the title because of tradition, not study, the title dr is reserved for those who are specialists in an area...  PhD specialists with an ability to research.  He doesn't not have this background or ability,  or any qualifications above a basic bachelor level in general practice medicine.  If you read anything he has written, you would see that is plainly obvious.  I think that,  without the proper research level and background his doctor title is misleading.  It is for that reason, if I am a doctor of technologies, I am not aloud to use my title doctor when publishing in medicine,  as it is misleading and lends undue credibility to my work.

So,  no,  I do not believe it is farcical to question his title of Dr in this area.

Quote from: castle of glass on March 09, 2014, 07:57:11 AM
Wow Kira you look fantastic in your avatar pic! You've changed so much

Dr Curtis is a GP who 'specialises' in Gender treatment. Essentially he is a GP who is ok with prescribing hormones after the standard therapy sessions and all the boxes have been ticked. Tbh i feel far more comfortable seeing an endocrinologist who specialises in transgender HRT.

Thank you! :-)

Yes it's good that we can get to it that way,  but we shouldn't have to is my point.  I don't think they are doing the service other than because they spotted a way to make money out of people who feel they have not other choice.

I see, but when I am speaking of a doctor in the medical sense I am not referring to the level of their degree as to whether or not they hold a doctorate. I mean a doctor, as in a physician, someone who practices medicine. Which he is. Maybe I am unusual in using the word doctor this way but somehow I doubt it.

I do agree though we should not have to resort to the private medical establishment for these treatments, but I am happy they are there and would rather use them than the NHS on this stuff. I got strung along by them for way too long. Maybe they are there to cash in but so is every other business in a capitalist country.

Thanks for the explanation all the same.

I know that you are not usual in your understanding of the title dr,  but that is the problem.  His title lends him credibility that his study does not warrant. His title doctor is a title from study,  none of which would have been relates to trans issues and, being highly general,  it wouldn't have been totally great level on related issues.  It's general practice...  Cuts burns,  antibiotics,  antidepressants, pain relief, etc. Yet we trust him as a qualified gender specialist when he is a GP.

I suppose it's all down to need and opportunity. For various reasons, I am unable to go the NHS route, and after speaking to Dr Curtis' office will be making an appointment to see him.
I think the fact that he has actually transitioned himself, indicates to me, that he is a little more likely to understand the hurdles.
I'll certainly pass on my feelings regarding the meeting after the appointment......
xx

I had a first meeting with Dr Curtis. I just wasn't all that confident in his ability to treat me on an individual basis. I wasn't too impressed seeing the majority of the women in the waiting room leaving with bag fulls of progynova.

Since i made the decision to privately see an endocrinologist who specialises in transgender MtF, i believe that i have come along leaps and bounds.

Quote from: Corra on March 07, 2014, 05:47:52 PM
I had heard (from personal experiences around Swindon area) that GIC was the less preferred choice over Laurels, and also that the waiting list for GIC was much longer... Which is why i chose Laurels, but to each her own, best of luck babes

This is a bit old, but I'm very confused by what you're trying to say in this.  The Laurels is a GIC (presuming you're meaning Gender Identity Clinic), so unless you mean Charing Cross by GIC I have no idea what you're meaning.

Quote from: lxndr on March 09, 2014, 04:13:28 PM
This is a bit old, but I'm very confused by what you're trying to say in this.  The Laurels is a GIC (presuming you're meaning Gender Identity Clinic), so unless you mean Charing Cross by GIC I have no idea what you're meaning.

Hey, sorry! Yes, i meant Charing Cross when i referred to 'GIC' sorry for being confusing! 

Ok, so update:

Dr. Curtis has written a letter for my GP with recommendation to start HRT. Failing my GP's support, he is happy to provide Estradot patches whenever i'm ready!

The NHS may be slow, but they do it right. They care about your well being even when you are vulnerable and prone to making poor decisions.
I saw psychologist about my depression, where I talked for the first time. Then GP, then local psychiatrist then referral to gender clinic (charing cross). First appointment was a disappointment And i felt worse after it, but I was honest and did not answer with what I guessed they wanted to here from reading forums, etc. The nurse made me fell much better after that first appt. I also attended a positively trans workshop.
An appointment with the endocrinologist was arranged before my second appointment for a few weeks after the appointment.
2nd appt was around 6 months later, and was much better, and psychiatrist said he would recommend hormones. Endocrinologist recommended hormones on a low dose, and the letter to my GP took a frustrating month.
I have been on estrogen gel for one week now and I am deluding myself that i can notice changes already.
The most surprising fact in all this for most of you will be that I do not present as female, and did not present as female at the clinic. And have not been asked to do RLE. I am not even clean shaven.

Bottom line - be honest with the doctors. They can help.

So I presume you did not have to go to Charring Cross GIC.

Quote from: discovery on March 12, 2014, 07:01:40 PM
The NHS may be slow, but they do it right.

I have had to fight to get the NHS to do anything. I think you will find that is not unusual. I was chatting to another trans person on here who had to wait nearly two years for hormones, after their first GIC referral, not including all the local psych and GP and what have you before you get there. They were full time before the GIC visit too with name change and everything. From others I have spoken to that is not that unusual.  No wonder most the trans people I have met in the UK at the various support groups and the like have self medicated until the GIC started scripts.

Generally, the GIC sees you for a total of three hours over 9-12 months and that is the full extent of your 'therapy' and their appraisal. We discussed very little of any meaning during the sessions I went to. I spent my first meeting having my choice of name questioned as it wasn't obviously female enough (look at my skirt and make up and big ass dangly earrings - do I look I am trying to be male?), and almost all of the second one discussing the merits of progesterone. I don't feel that they have done anything for me other than make me wait around to prove that I am not going to go away. Also, their archaic notions of transsexuals and how we are supposed to present, that I was warned about, were clear. Luckily for me am a very girly girl, but still it left a very bad taste in my mouth.

I am sure some people think that its fine, hell, I have got what I needed from it and the gnrh scripts are much better than than other countries, and some of the surgeries are free, but I wouldn't say they do it right. There are some basic, basic changes that they could make that would make things go a lot better, most specifically a move to the informed consent model and I don't think a monthly therapist visit would be too much to require.

The saga of my 3 yr NHS battle has been posted many times on this forum so i'll try to keep it brief so as not to bore everyone 

Due to severe eczema I cannot wear makeup or have laser to remove facial hair, I had been advised to wait until HRT started before starting electrolysis to reduce the amount of sessions required & therefore reduce the risk of aggravating my skin.
In spite of wearing female clothes to the GIC appointments my HRT was held up for 2 yrs due to me not presenting as female (as we know every single woman in the world wears loads of makeup!!).

Late last year the protocols for HRT on the NHS were relaxed so THEY CAN NO LONGER EXPECT YOU TO PRESENT AS YOUR NEW GENDER TO GET HRT (sorry about the caps lock but I wanted to make sure everyone saw that), as soon as the rules changed I was prescribed E.

A request went in last September for funding for electrolysis, the new rules state that you are entitled to 8 electrolysis sessions on the NHS but over 6 months later i'm still waiting for the fundoing to be approved, my GP is not happy about this & 2 weeks ago she said she is going to do everything in her power to get this pushed through asap, I have an appointment to speak to her about this again in 2 weeks. I also have a blood test next week as she believes that my HRT should be altered as i'm still on a low dose.

If you are going through the NHS route you will need to be patient, pushy & polite at the same time, it's not easy to be a patient patient, the speed & quality of treatment often depends on your GP & their staff, some surgeries that i've dealt with have been awfull but my latest surgery have pulled out all of the stops & I couldn't rate them high enough for their efforts.