I'm 5 weeks on T. Was wondering when I should get a hysto? How long until a doctor will actually do it? I know I don't want to physically have children and I'm okay with the idea of being on T forever. I don't want to deal with pain from atrophy or the possibility of randomly having a cycle. Any info on this topic is welcome as I am going to see if my insurance will cover it. I am still registered as Female with them (insurance). Thank You

You can pretty much do it whenever you like. A lot of surgeons who don't deal with trans patients will be reluctant to do hysto on a young person, though. If you get a letter from a therapist, you might have an easier time getting the procedure, but you would need to find out what your insurance covers and under what circumstances.

Does your insurance specifically exclude trans surgeries?

Quote from: Arch on December 14, 2014, 11:58:38 PM
You can pretty much do it whenever you like. A lot of surgeons who don't deal with trans patients will be reluctant to do hysto on a young person, though. If you get a letter from a therapist, you might have an easier time getting the procedure, but you would need to find out what your insurance covers and under what circumstances.

Does your insurance specifically exclude trans surgeries?

I think it does, I currently have United Health Care and they don't usually cover Trans stuff. I did know of a endo that said that if I had a pre-existing condition that he would bill the insurance differently. I'm hoping that it's the same with hysto.

Quote from: 2fish on December 15, 2014, 12:04:07 AM
I think it does, I currently have United Health Care and they don't usually cover Trans stuff. I did know of a endo that said that if I had a pre-existing condition that he would bill the insurance differently. I'm hoping that it's the same with hysto.

Your ob-gyn will probably do the same thing, bill your insurance for the hysto, saying that it was medically necessary.  Like, you have ghosts in there or something, so it has to be taken out or they'll eat your toes.  I don't know.  They'll make something up, you'll get your hysto, and the uterus ghosts will be busted.

If your surgeon follows WPATH, you will need to be on T for a year to hysto.
You will want to talk to your primary care providers and/or your T prescriber about your plan for hysto. So they can look for surgeons for you.
It is not too early to start looking now. There was no trans-experienced obgyn surgeons in my area and my doctor had to call the surgeon for months before he agreed to meet me and operate on me.

Let me clarify: If you get non-trans hysto, you obviously don't need to be on T at all.

If you get specifically trans hysto but pay for it out of pocket, some surgeons will do it without your being on T for a year as long as you have one or two therapist letters.

If you get trans hysto through insurance, you need to find out what your insurance company requires. The insurance companies I've heard other people talk about require at least the WPATH minimum requirements, and some require more than the minimum.

If you are not going to go on T at all (and I know that you've already started) but want those organs gone, you can still get the procedure done, but you would be expected to go on HRT to maintain typical female hormone levels. I don't think that insurance companies are really on board with people who don't fit into the 100% binary category, so this would be a tough sell.

Try to have it while you are still insured as F, unless your insurance specifically covers surgical procedures for transgender individuals.  The longer you are on T, the more 'unhealthy' those organs can become, usually giving a surgeon reasonable cause to bill the insurance for a medically necessary procedure.  If you are insured as M, it will be a struggle to get the procedure covered.  I had mine done a year ago, at 3 years on T... due to erratic bleeding, polycystic ovaries, and a gigantic fibroid...then changed my health insurance to M.  Definitely a big relief for me to have it all removed, though it is not something everybody needs or chooses.