he said after they've diagnosed me with GID I need to wait to get referred to Porter Brook Clinic in Sheffield and they make me live as a man with no hormones for 1 year.
I thought this was an old rule and they no longer make you do this?
He hasn't been in contact with the clinic he's just read the rules which I'm really hoping are out of date as I can't pass for 1 year without T and on the odd occasion I do they think I'm 12.
I've tried contacting Porter Brook Clinic but getting voicemail,
I asked him about the rules and he said it depends where you live, so basically if I lived in London I'd be on T in no time which doesnt seem fair...I'm just really upset about it all.

It took 11 months from my diagnosis of GID to get a prescription for testosterone. That's at an NHS clinic in Devon. It definitely depends on the area you are in though, every clinic seems to have different ways of doing things. Kinda like a lottery.

idk about the rules there , but on general , you just do what you have to do to get to what you really want
the whole thing needs a lot of patience
good luck

It's fine I managed to get through to them, he explained it much better than my GP

Quote from: Addison on April 14, 2010, 11:57:44 AM
It's fine I managed to get through to them, he explained it much better than my GP

What did he say?

Hi Addison,

You may find these official NHS guidance booklets of use in trying to understand the system...

http://www.gires.org.uk/dohpublications.php

I wish you the very best of luck ... 



Chrissty

Quote from: Arch on April 14, 2010, 12:08:23 PM
What did he say?

He said that 1 year living as a man is a guideline and it all depends on how my therapy goes etc. I'm aware I'll have to obviously live as a man for a period of time without hormones but its very unlikely it will be for a year as they're flexible.

Quote from: Chrissty on April 14, 2010, 12:15:24 PM
Hi Addison,

You may find these official NHS guidance booklets of use in trying to understand the system...

http://www.gires.org.uk/dohpublications.php

I wish you the very best of luck ... 



Chrissty

Thanks! :]

Wow. That's tough. It took me about 5 weeks in Boston to get diagnosed AND get T. Good luck to you. Research as much as you can.

Quote from: Addison on April 14, 2010, 12:16:56 PM
He said that 1 year living as a man is a guideline and it all depends on how my therapy goes etc. I'm aware I'll have to obviously live as a man for a period of time without hormones but its very unlikely it will be for a year as they're flexible.

Even as a general guideline, this is bogus. Unless you already "pass," you can't really live "as a man." The best you can do is live your gender identity. I've never seen much value in this requirement/guideline.

I hope your therapy goes well and your T comes quickly. Keep us updated.

Quote from: Arch on April 14, 2010, 03:24:44 PM
Even as a general guideline, this is bogus. Unless you already "pass," you can't really live "as a man." The best you can do is live your gender identity.

I agree, stick me in a shirt n tie, make me weight lift for a year and shave my head to the bone, soon as i open my mouth the games over anyways. I can understand why they think its a good idea but really unless you do already pass its just awkward and possibly dangerous.

The good thing though is that at least the balls rolling for you. I doubt they will actually make you do the full year so try not to worry mate

I was referred to Sheffield too. Unfortunately, they have a VERY long waiting list. As in, years.
I asked to be sent to London or somewhere with a shorter waiting list, but it depends on your PCT. Mine would only send me to Sheffield.
I'm pretty sure that the policy with most gender clinics is that you live as male for two years before you can get T, so if you've been told one year, that's not bad at all.

The sooner you start living as male, the better in my opinion. It'll also be less of a shock to the people around you when you do get on T and just start changing.

Quote from: Gizzy on April 14, 2010, 03:56:07 PM
I was referred to Sheffield too. Unfortunately, they have a VERY long waiting list. As in, years.
I asked to be sent to London or somewhere with a shorter waiting list, but it depends on your PCT. Mine would only send me to Sheffield.
I'm pretty sure that the policy with most gender clinics is that you live as male for two years before you can get T, so if you've been told one year, that's not bad at all.

The sooner you start living as male, the better in my opinion. It'll also be less of a shock to the people around you when you do get on T and just start changing.

I've never heard of having to live as male for 2 years without hormones, 1 year doesn't sound as bad now.

How long did you have to wait to get T with Sheffield then?

I ended up going private.
I'm still in the waiting list. It's been about 6 months I think? I've not heard anything from them apart from the standard "you're in our very long waiting list" letter.

Charring Cross are known for being the best GIC with waiting lists of around 6-9 months. I've been told that Sheffield could be upto 3 years, but that's just what I've been told by other people.

Also, the NHS Choices website does only say one year of RLE. Apologies for that.

I talked firmly to my psychiatrist, and explained that I've been "me" for years.
And I have.
And My time of "no T" was shortened for it.

Unfortunately they don't do that kind of thing here. With the NHS you need to have lived as male for a year and gone through a mental health assessment. They will not prescribe without.

I think i'll be in for this long wait too. Does anyone know why it actually takes so long to get prescribed T?

I wish i had enough cash to go private, i've had enough of waiting it seems almost insensitive that they expect you to carry on doing so for a couple more years.

Ugh, NHS sucks.

It's even more frustrating that I've been been 100% sure of this for 6 years and it's took me all this time to do anything about it because the thought of my parents knowing is so scary.

It's not that it takes so long to prescribe T, it's just the waiting lists.
From what I've gathered with Sheffield GIC, they only treat so many people at once. So you have to wait for a patient to have completed their treatment course before another person can get in.

I'm pretty sure that once you're in there, you should get T pretty quick as long as you've fulfilled all the guideline things. The NHS always has their share of losing documents and stuff though.

Quote from: Gizzy on April 15, 2010, 09:07:29 AM
It's not that it takes so long to prescribe T, it's just the waiting lists.
From what I've gathered with Sheffield GIC, they only treat so many people at once. So you have to wait for a patient to have completed their treatment course before another person can get in.

I'm pretty sure that once you're in there, you should get T pretty quick as long as you've fulfilled all the guideline things. The NHS always has their share of losing documents and stuff though.

I've decided to go private, looked at various websites saying it can even be 4 years, not waiting that long.
I watched your video about going privately with Dr Curtis and was just wondering how long until you can start injecting yourself? Because if my GP can't inject me I can't afford to go London every 2 weeks.

I haven't learnt to self inject yet. I'm sure your GP would allow the nurses to inject you locally though.
Also, I assume you plan on Sustanon from your 2 weekl comment, keep in mind that Dr Curtis REALLY does not like prescribing it.