So I'm super excited about my endo referral,  but I was wondering if there's anything I can do to speed up the process.  As in, getting bloodwork done before the appointment?

I already have to get a test done to see whether I can donate blood (used to be anemic) and my gp knows I'm trans and does my referrals anyway so he'd be able to whack other ones on there if I asked. 

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The endo can do all your bloodwork and that. My first appointment he talked to me about my dysphoria and other things then he took me to his exam room. He did a basic physical exam, checked for lumps in my boobs, and then took blood. He gave me my prescription for T on my second appointment.

I'm not sure if you are using insurance or not but if your endo isn't covered under your insurance you could probably just have him write a referral for the blood tests and then you can take them to your GP. The bloodwork can be extremely expensive. I couldn't find an endo in my area under my insurance so I pay about $600 every 6months on my visits to him. I can make a claim but I've already noticed it's becoming a pain in the ass (which they do on purpose so they don't have to pay you lol).

Quote from: RaptorChops on July 14, 2015, 09:48:17 AM
The endo can do all your bloodwork and that. My first appointment he talked to me about my dysphoria and other things then he took me to his exam room. He did a basic physical exam, checked for lumps in my boobs, and then took blood. He gave me my prescription for T on my second appointment.

I'm not sure if you are using insurance or not but if your endo isn't covered under your insurance you could probably just have him write a referral for the blood tests and then you can take them to your GP. The bloodwork can be extremely expensive. I couldn't find an endo in my area under my insurance so I pay about $600 every 6months on my visits to him. I can make a claim but I've already noticed it's becoming a pain in the ass (which they do on purpose so they don't have to pay you lol).

How much did your first two appointments cost. I'm not sure if an endo is covered on Medicare.  I'll probably ask the costs when I call up and book an appointment but I'm so worried it'll cost more than I have in my account haha

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not trying to scare you but it cost me around $580 :/ but that's because of the labwork they do.

Quote from: RaptorChops on July 14, 2015, 03:04:08 PM
not trying to scare you but it cost me around $580 :/ but that's because of the labwork they do.

Dear god lol I'm hoping in Australia we get some of that back via Medicare. 

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Hey everyone.  Just an update as to where I'm at .  So in July I had an appointment with my gp at a normal practice in Sydney,  he gave me a referral to Catherine Wilson and also said to go to Taylor Square Clinic to discuss getting on testosterone through informed consent. 

At the moment I'm still on Catherine Wilson's waiting list (it's like 3 months long at the moment) .  My appt at Taylor Square was around the 16th of July ish I believe.  My Dr there is super nice too.  But just some advice,  the reception guy is rude as hell haha, like he is just a very dull unfriendly person in general.

My gp gave me a referral to Dr Michael Scott in Neutral Bay who from what I've heard from others isn't well known around here, even though he should be.  he's a psychiatrist / psychotherapist and does have experience with Trans patients.  It only took me 4 weeks to get an appointment with him,  which is far less than other gender therapists in Sydney .  He is an absolute gem and is really welcoming and easy to talk to .  After our appointment he was able to determine that testosterone treatment would be the best for me and that I'm mentally stable enough for it,  so he wrote me my approval letter and sent it to me to double check facts before he sent it to my gp at Taylor square. 

A week after that I got my blood taken and another appt to go over the informed consent forms and sign them. Then, last week I had an appt with a Dr Vlahakis who is more knowledgeable in hormone replacement therapy than the other doctors (basically what the website says is "He also has a special interest in the medical management of transgender issues").  We discussed the different types and their advantages / disadvantages before he was able to write me a script for primoteston < mainly because I brought up that the other type sometimes has unavailability issues.  Anddd I got my shot the same afternoon    

From my experience I'd definitely recommend Taylor square private clinic for those who are taking the informed consent route,  as endocrinologists take much longer to get into than sexual health physicians. 

And I highly recommend Dr Scott for anyone in Sydney who is willing to travel over the bridge to Neutral Bay. 

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