As the title suggests what do I need to look for? I've tried calling doctors, endocrinologists, and even those providers boasting "hormone replacement therapy" (which appears to be more of a "hormone balance therapy" than a replacement).

I'm in IL and it's been very frustrating. Maybe I've been approaching it from the wrong angle - I've been calling to verify they would do it. Whenever I call I naturally never talk to the doctor (why is this a thing?) but rather the receptionist and asking a loaded question of if they do HRT. Of course every single one says no - but should I just schedule an appointment casually with the receptionist  then when I do finally meet the doctor them bring out the letter? The one thing I don't want is my time wasted (or theirs).

I've looked at planned parenthood and they don't appear to be taking in any new transgender patients - and traveling to downtown Chicago is not just a huge drive out of the way but I work full time plus even more.

@DotSlashNatalie
Hello DotSlashNatalie,  I am not trying to hijack your very first posting here....
... but first things first,  since your are brand new here I am going to give you a warm welcome.. 
Thank you for coming to the Forums.  Please also allow me to give you my warm Welcome.

I am glad that you have taken the step to become a member of Susan's Place and that you have shared your  thoughts with other members that may read your posting.
I am thinking that you may lots more questions and concerns, this is the right place for you to be to find out what others have done that may have been in your circumstances.
 
Be aware that there are a lot of members here that can identify with what you may be going through.

WELCOME you to Susan's Place.  You will find this a safe and friendly place to share with others  and to read about others similar trials, tribulations, and successes.
It is nice that you had signed up so you can share with others and involve yourself with some give and take with other members.
When frustrated or if you have successes you can share it here if you wish and receive support from others and offer support to others. ....

***It's a very good chance that you might find that you will make some new friends here. 

Please come in and continue to be involved at your own pace. 

Below I have included Important LINKS that will tell you about Susan's Place.  Included there is information about the site that will help you navigate around and best utilize the features here.   
Please look closely at the LINKS in RED, there are answers to many questions that new members ask... .... please read them over..
Again, Welcome.
Danielle

Here are some links to the site rules and stuff that all new members should be familiar with:

Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By	Standard Terms & Definitions	Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar)	Cautionary Note
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@DotSlashNatalie 
Oh, and another thing DotSlashNatalie  ... to let more members here on the Forums know of your arrival and therefore you will receive more involvement in sharing information of interest with you ...
...and other like-minded  members reading it will be more apt to share their thoughts with you.

If you would, please go to the  Introductions Forum  to tell the members about yourself!  You should include a summary of the key information that you wrote in your first posting here.

Again, Welcome to Susan's Place,
Danielle

Quote from: DotSlashNatalie on July 13, 2018, 05:14:14 PM
As the title suggests what do I need to look for? I've tried calling doctors, endocrinologists, and even those providers boasting "hormone replacement therapy" (which appears to be more of a "hormone balance therapy" than a replacement).

I'm in IL and it's been very frustrating. Maybe I've been approaching it from the wrong angle - I've been calling to verify they would do it. Whenever I call I naturally never talk to the doctor (why is this a thing?) but rather the receptionist and asking a loaded question of if they do HRT. Of course every single one says no - but should I just schedule an appointment casually with the receptionist  then when I do finally meet the doctor them bring out the letter? The one thing I don't want is my time wasted (or theirs).


I've looked at planned parenthood and they don't appear to be taking in any new transgender patients - and traveling to downtown Chicago is not just a huge drive out of the way but I work full time plus even more.

Hi Natalie,

I would first like to ask you if your primary care physician (PCP) knows of your needs. If so, I would start by asking for  a referral. Would he or she be supportive? Do you have insurance? If not, then informed consent providers may be the way to go.

If you are truly without options, then let me know. My FFS surgeon is in your area. I can call their office and ask for a recommendation.  They may say they don't know, but it's worth a shot.

With kindness,

Terri

Quote from: Maybebaby56 on July 13, 2018, 06:22:43 PM
Hi Natalie,

I would first like to ask you if your primary care physician (PCP) knows of your needs. If so, I would start by asking for  a referral. Would he or she be supportive? Do you have insurance? If not, then informed consent providers may be the way to go.

If you are truly without options, then let me know. My FFS surgeon is in your area. I can call their office and ask for a recommendation.  They may say they don't know, but it's worth a shot.

With kindness,

Terri

I do not have a PCP. I do have insurance - it's a PPO so I don't think I need a PCP and I can really go anywhere I want. While "in network" would be preferred - I am ok with paying a little extra for out of network. It's just trying to find someone who I have confidence in is very challenging. The last time I saw a doctor - it was because I had the flu and needed a note for work. The doctor seemed rather annoyed I even came in and prescribed tamiflu - which only made the flu worse. So hopefully you can understand why I'm hoping to find someone a little bit better.

When I did make some calls to doctors there was one (receptionist not the doctor) who said they would have to make a referral - and I asked if there was someone in the area she could refer me to they said yes. But the fact that she was very quick to respond made me very very skeptical. I mean this doctor may see other transgender patients and the receptionist may have had to setup that referral before but I have a bit of a skeptical nature.

My therapist is ready to write a referral letter but I don't know who I can present it to.

The thing that is really frustrating to me is that there are at least 3 dozen doctors in my general area - I can't believe that not one would be at least willing to discuss my health and HRT. But, I don't know how to filter that list to find the one that would be the best. Like should I just randomly select one, schedule an appointment, and hope for the best?

Welcome to Susan's Place. You didn't give a city so when I ran a test search, the best I could do was "Illinois transgender hrt" which  returned many hits. If you were to replace the state with your city, it would probably reduce the number of hits you need to weed out. Good luck with your search.

Quote from: DotSlashNatalie on July 13, 2018, 06:54:53 PM
I do not have a PCP. ...

My therapist is ready to write a referral letter but I don't know who I can present it to...

Like should I just randomly select one, schedule an appointment, and hope for the best?

Since you have insurance, you really need to find a Primary Care Provider. Family Practice Physicians do many jobs very nicely. In my experience, younger female doctors may be more accepting of people like us.

While some prescribers will write HRT prescriptions without the letter, many do not. Just get the letter and take it to a PCP who is open minded about transgender issues. Many therapists keep a list of Endocrinologists in their area who have seen transgender patients in the past. 

You may be greatly disappointed with the results of a random selection. Many hospitals have a web site listing their services and a brief description of the physicians who have admitting privileges at that hospital. Look at where they went to medical school and where they did their residency. I found a Family Practice Physician who just recently did med school  here in Florida and did her residency in San Francisco. She is just now starting her private practice and is accepting new patients. Although treating transgender patients are not her specialty, she is familiar with our health issues and, most importantly, she is open minded about transgender people.

One last thing to try is support groups. Often people you meet there taking HRT will be happy to tell you who their doctor is.

If your within driving distance of Chicago Google Howard Brown health center, They do it all pcp and hrt.

Hi Natalie,

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time finding a provider to get you started on HRT

I had a very hard time finding a provider myself, and it can be so frustrating and demoralizing!  I actually gave up twice before finally finding one earlier this year, but in my case at least, it was worth all the effort and more!  So don't give up!

One great thing you already have going for you is a supportive therapist who's willing to write a recommendation letter/referral for you.  That's a huge step in the right direction!  Some providers will offer HRT on an 'informed consent' basis (no letter required), but many providers do require a letter, so having one gives you a lot more options.

I'm not in the Illinois area, so I can't offer any specific provider recommendations, but I can give you some general advice based on my own experiences with it.  Dani had a great post that covered much of this already, but I'll add some of my own thoughts as well:

Quote from: Dani on July 14, 2018, 11:03:13 PM
Since you have insurance, you really need to find a Primary Care Provider. Family Practice Physicians do many jobs very nicely. In my experience, younger female doctors may be more accepting of people like us.

Great advice!  I've found that having a supportive primary care provider who has experience with transgender patients is super helpful.  A pcp with transgender healthcare experience might prescribe and monitor the HRT on their own (mine does), but if not they will likely have a long list of endocrinologists in the area, and they may have an easier time convincing one who is otherwise 'full' to take you as a referral anyway.  A trans-friendly pcp can also help with any other health concerns, and gives you one more source of support in what can sometimes be a difficult journey.

Quote from: Dani on July 14, 2018, 11:03:13 PM
You may be greatly disappointed with the results of a random selection.

If anything, I'd call this an understatement.  The first two times I tried to find a provider that would prescribe HRT, I started with a list of referrals from my previous pcp + other known HRT providers in the area, but I just got the same answer over and over again:  'sorry but we're not currently accepting new patients / new referrals'.  I was already depressed and low on hope from years of dysphoria, and each 'no' just eroded away what little determination I had left, till I finally just gave up.  I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if I'd been calling doctors at random!

As far as getting an initial set of providers to try, I'd start with all 3 of these:

• Internet search for 'transgender healthcare' or 'transgender hrt' or something like that in your area.
• Try to find any local transgender support groups.  Some support groups maintain online lists of health providers in the area, which gives you a good starting list in a single place.  Otherwise any members who are on HRT can likely provide recommendations.
• Ask your therapist if they have any specific recommendations, or if they can help you find someone.

Quote from: Dani on July 14, 2018, 11:03:13 PM
Many hospitals have a web site listing their services and a brief description of the physicians who have admitting privileges at that hospital.

I'll add that these sites will often turn up with the searches I suggested above, and if you see one that lists 'transgender care' or something like that, they're worth checking out.  These sites may also list whether or not they are currently taking new patients.  You could start with those that say they are, but even if a site says 'no new patients', it may be worth a call anyway - sometimes the sites can be out of date, or you might be able to convince someone to get you started on the HRT initially while you try to find a more long-term provider.

Depending on how your search is going, you might also need to consider expanding it to providers a little farther away, or getting on a few waiting lists if all of the local providers are currently booked.  If you can't find any now after an exhaustive search, try again later - sometimes things open up!

Hopefully we've managed to give you some good advice to get you started.   Many of us here have been through similar struggles before, and aside from the advice, we're also here if you need moral support.  Let us know how things go!