Mental health is just as important as physical health.  So,yes, while the costs are high, for some the benefits are well worth the costs.  And therapy is essential for determining whether you really need to go through all the pain and suffering to transition.

Therapy is NOT essential to going through transition. Within the passages of the DSM you will see a statement saying something like "some people dont need therapy".  THat is right out of the big book!!!!!!!!!!!

Therapy might be helpful for a LOT of people but as I said earlier I didnt need to pay someone to tell me something I already knew..............

My mistake.  I should have explained my line of thinking better.

I think many people could use someone who will suggest practical options for dealing with your dysphoria.  And talk about practical details like how to best navigate the way to pay or have the insurance company pay for it.  Discuss the risks involved with the different procedures and how useful they are in achieving your end goal.

I think this is like being tossed into a foreign country.  It is lot easier if you have a guide who knows the locals and can tell you the dangers to watch out for.

What were the direct costs to me of transition? I had to give up my acute suffering of dysphoria. I was forced to surrender toxic relationships that I used to chain myself to suffering. I gave up shaving my face. I had to stop pretending to be one of the guys. I had to give up squelching my emotions. I had to let go of my death wish and surrender suicidal depression.

It costs money to live life and take care of ourselves and our loved ones. That's the bargain we made when we came into this life. The real question is how do we choose to invest our financial resources? Do we invest in satisfying others who may be more concerned with their own comfort than with ours? Or do we invest our resources in moving steadily towards harmony within our own skins? In the long game, living life costs us everything we have to pay. Everything. Invest wisely.

Love you, Miharu

I haven´t really counted how much this has costs, but some estimation. In Euros, which is about the same as in Dollars.

SRS: 10 000€ (including flights, hotel and living)
Laser/electrolysis for face/genitals: 2 500€ (few times more and I´m done)
ID/Passport/Documentation/Certificates/Name & Birth certtificate change/etc etc: 500 €
Hormones: 80€ per month at first, now 30€ per month
Labs, taken few times: 500€
Doctor fees: 500€
Statement for SRS: 500€
Clothes: 1000€ (rough estimation)
Everything else for facial/skin care, hair, beauty etc etc: 1000€ (rough estimation)

Coming expenses:

BA: 5000€ (including flights, hotel and living)

And then I´m finally done I wont be needing FFS because I really don´t know what I would want to be done. Also every friend is telling, that dont go and have FFS. Probably few wrinkles will be ironed, perhaps botox here and there, but nothing major

Yeah, costs a lot, but wouldnt change a thing

Those costs are accumulated within a year mostly. Some laser I had previously years ago as well as hormones and one time lab.

Thank you all for sharing the costs of transitioning.

It can be more than initially expected by me, that is for sure.


Chrissy

Despite the cost in money, time, emotions, physical discomfort, friends, and relationships, being able to live as your true self, being able to finally become the person you were meant to be, is priceless.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Let me explain a little bit.  I served in the US Military for over 26 years and am now retired. Now I receive all of my medical care from the VA (Veterans Affairs) for free.  The VA will cover everything EXCEPT the actual surgery. So I am very blessed in this regard. 

For me:

Therapy $Free
Medical doctors $Free
Lab tests $Free
Mtf HRT medicine itself $Free
Hair removal $3800 starting soon
Speech Pathologist  $Free
Prosthetics  (breast/wigs)  $Free
Dietician $Free

New sensible size and quality of wardrobe and appearance:
Clothes $300 so far
Shoes $200 so far
Hair and beauty $450
Jewelry $0
Accessories $0

Legal $Free

Surgeries $ ? TBD


Total : $Math

It's been a while for me so my memory on the costs are hazy but I'll try.

$22,000 for GCS

$2,000 for a one bedroom apartment with a sofa bed in the living area for my caretaker (friends and my mom took turns) for two weeks. The apartment was only a few miles away from the hospital and it had a emergency room in it in case of complications during recovery.

$150 per appointment for therapy starts out once a week and near the end was down to twice a month for about a year and a half.

$200 per appointment with my endrocronologist starting once a month and eventually down to bi-yearly.

$45 for 90 days of estrodile.

$100 per session for voice training once a week for roughly two years. This price was discounted because I worked for GWU and was working with students.

Quote from: Katie on December 25, 2018, 05:24:51 AM
Therapy is NOT essential to going through transition. Within the passages of the DSM you will see a statement saying something like "some people dont need therapy".  THat is right out of the big book!!!!!!!!!!!

Therapy might be helpful for a LOT of people but as I said earlier I didnt need to pay someone to tell me something I already knew..............

You know what, I didn't need someone to tell me what I knew either.. What I had to do was see a therapist in order to meet legal requirements for transition in my jurisdiction. The DSM is not the leading document for treating trans people - that's the WPATH Standards of Care and it has some glaring issues.

Quote from: PurplePelican on January 02, 2019, 12:49:46 PM
You know what, I didn't need someone to tell me what I knew either.. What I had to do was see a therapist in order to meet legal requirements for transition in my jurisdiction. The DSM is not the leading document for treating trans people - that's the WPATH Standards of Care and it has some glaring issues.

Correct, and the WPATH guidelines don't require therapy, they require an assessment that you're capable of making informed decisions and don't have underlying mental health issues.

I really did not follow up very well on my costs.  I might be a little lower than most, because I do not need all the hair removal (except my thinly growing beard), and structural changes of my face.  I pay out of pocket for my psychologist ($300/month), and for the special endocrinologist ($200 per session).  I pay co-pays for estrogen.
I will see an urologist on Friday, and I hope that I can convince him that an orchidektomie is a medical indicated necessity for me, and would thus paid for by my health insurance.

As of currently, my Health insurance would pay most of the cost for SRS, as long as it is done in Florida .

I am self funded. Nice for the lack of grief and privacy factor, but obviously not an option for everyone, I won't itemize here for privacy reasons but all in,  I am very close to  the 100k mark. That doesn't include clothing, makeup, downtime, pain or any of the nonsense you can't hang a price tag on like lost (false) friendships. I justify all this with the fact that I would otherwise be dead. I am finally living my truth and managed to unload some dead weight that pretended to call themselves my friends.  A high price to take the trash out but 100k was cheap from that perspective .

Quote from: Devlyn on January 02, 2019, 01:01:14 PM
Correct, and the WPATH guidelines don't require therapy, they require an assessment that you're capable of making informed decisions and don't have underlying mental health issues.

Where did I say therapy was required? Oh, that's right, I didn't.

Where did I say you said it was? I was agreeing with you. Apparently that happens so infrequently that you can't recognise it. 

Wow! I am stunned by how much some of you guys have to pay.

And since many of you live in the US I'm very curious about how things work out there.

These health insurances that your workplace may provide. Are they usual? Do most workplaces provide these or is it only for the lucky ones? How much does a insurance usually provide?

Hugs!

Quote from: Swedishgirl96 on January 02, 2019, 03:23:14 PM
Wow! I am stunned by how much some of you guys have to pay.

And since many of you live in the US I'm very curious about how things work out there.

These health insurances that your workplace may provide. Are they usual? Do most workplaces provide these or is it only for the lucky ones? How much does a insurance usually provide?

Hugs!

I have to buy my own insurance because Obama is our saviour and gave insurance to everyone. Unless you're a single, white, working guy. Then you get nothing. So my insurance costs $720 per month just to have, and if I use it, I pay the first $7,500 before it kicks in and starts paying anything. That's why I made sure everything took place in one calendar year.

Quote from: Swedishgirl96 on January 02, 2019, 03:23:14 PM
Wow! I am stunned by how much some of you guys have to pay.

And since many of you live in the US I'm very curious about how things work out there.

These health insurances that your workplace may provide. Are they usual? Do most workplaces provide these or is it only for the lucky ones? How much does a insurance usually provide?

Hugs!

For the most case, larger employers pay a large amount for health insurance.  My employer paid for a so called "Cadillac"  plan, and my health insurance cost was about half of what it as in Germany.
My wife was on a governmental plan (she taught at a university), and so are my son and my daughter in law.  They hardly pay anything out of their pocket.
Most smaller employers have no or only minimal health insurance plans, and those people have to buy insurance in the market.  Most of who I know, who have to do this, are, unlike Devlyn, are very happy that Obama gave them insurance!

I am retired, and I am insured with the governmental run Health care e insurance for over 65 year old, called Medicare.  I have additional insurance, a Medicare advantage Plan with prescription benefits, which is free for me (Florida is good to older people)

My cost is about $150 a month with $10 copay for any doctor visit and $40 for a visit at a specialist.  All my medication iss free as long as I get it by mail and it is generics.

Very poor people have a free?? governmental plan called Medicaid.

Many Insurance Companies refuse to cover trans related issues or make you jump through so many hoops and cue up for so long and so often that they are essentially and effectively nonexistent. Others, like Kaiser Permanente in the State of California are quite accomodating but have limited skilled personnel for our particular needs. America has become a third world backwater in medical care thanks to corporate greed. The Obamacare that Devlyn mentioned is actually a catastrophic care plan since the deductibles are so ridiculously high. I live in a State where if you are a homeowner, your home could be taken from you to cover medical bills. So the $890.00 dollars I pay per month wth my 7500.00 dollar deductible is effectively there to protect my home from seizure should I have a catastrophic health issue. Our healthcare system is broken, unlike your Swedish model. Healthcare for profit is stone cold evil. That was an opinion,  by the way😁.

Quote from: Devlyn on January 02, 2019, 03:33:34 PM
I have to buy my own insurance because Obama is our saviour and gave insurance to everyone. Unless you're a single, white, working guy. Then you get nothing. So my insurance costs $720 per month just to have, and if I use it, I pay the first $7,500 before it kicks in and starts paying anything. That's why I made sure everything took place in one calendar year.

My insurance had a similar cost and deductible, and I was grateful to get it.  My pre-existing medical conditions (mostly due to being over 55), were sufficient to cause me to be denied for insurance in 2010.  I did qualify under the Affordable Care Act, and was also qualified for subsidies that reduced my net cost per month considerably due to my low income.

Some of us made it work.  It ain't great.  I prefer true universal insurance, even if it does impact profitability of some financial multinationals.  So it goes...