Went to my first endo appointment yesterday. Nice place. It was a 4 hour drive from my parents house (it's 6-7 hours from where I live). The endo seemed alright--she's nice, definitely professional & down-to-business which is a good thing. Her nurse is awesome; more personable, but still professional. It seems this endo treats quite a lot of trans patients, with FtMs in the majority (I was surprised).
I had made the appointment with instructions from my therapist to notify them that I am a part of the 'M---- Transgender Program,' I think that's the name, close enough. So the endo & nurse were, uh, expecting me. Kind of a nice way to go about things. First thing the nurse did was ask me my preferred name.
For the most part, the appointment was fairly standard stuff--family history, personal medical history, etc. I was expecting to get blood tests taken yesterday, but found out that they'd cost $400 and would not be insured because I was not in my home state, and my insurance covers home-state docs only. Thankfully the endo wasn't anal about wanting the blood tests at her healthcare center only, so I'm back at my parents place and getting the blood tests done locally, then having them faxed to the endo. Wish there was an endo that could treat me within my state, but they're actually all farther away (looking at a 9-10 hour drive) than this out-of-state one. Oh well. At least the people I'm working with are sensitive about this distance issue.
What I wasn't expecting was to be handed a T prescription, along with a prescription for needles & syringes. I also got injection instructions & practice from the ever-patient nurse. However, I'm under strict instructions to not use the T 'till my baseline blood test results are in. Strange thing is, I didn't have a therapist's letter giving me the go-ahead to get T. I was under the impression that she was going to give me a carry letter (which she still hasn't gotten to me...), but no actual recommendation just yet. She said she wanted me to go to the endo & get blood tests first. The endo asked whether I had gotten a definitive 'yes, you have GID' diagnosis from my therapist. I said 'No,' and reiterated what my therapist had said to me: 'I can't make that diagnosis, only you can.' Which I know is technically true, since there is no empirical test for GID, but... still I thought she had to make that call in writing to make it legit. Seems like kind of an odd way to do things. Anyways.
So close yet so far away, eh? Now all I have to do is break the news to my roommate...
