Outdated?

[shychristine]

I am transgender and want to transison but can not, money being one reason. But my main reason is I do not agree with everything the standard of Care states. First The Standard of Care was written in 1966, I think that this is out dated. Second I believe that it is a double standard. Any one who wants Plastic surgery to change their apperance does not have to follow any standards before. Example: Some one who is overweight does not have to get two letters from Mental Health care givers nor do they have to do anything differant for a year to make sure that having your stomach stapled is right for you even though there are some major things that could go wrong with that surgery. 35 years ago they no longer considered being gay a mental issue so insurance companies dropped paying for SRS saying it is comstic. I had skin cancer on my face a few years ago and my insurance paid for plastic surgery. They paid for comstic surgery. Double Standards!!

[Sephirah]

I don't know, using your weight example... that's kinda obvious to everyone involved, right? I mean it's easy to see when someone is overweight to the point where they could benefit from the procedure. Morbid obesity causes serious physical health problems and can be fatal.

With transgendered/transsexual issues, often the only way for anyone to know there's something wrong is for the affected person to express what's going on internally... which is a far harder thing to observe. Plus, SRS isn't reversible... you can't stick it back on if you decide you made a mistake, so there's an extra level of... safeguard involved to perhaps try and make absolutely certain that the affected person is sure and that it's the best option for them.

[Miniar]

Skin Cancer can Kill you.
Obesity can Kill you.

Genitals can not kill you by their mere presence, but they can contribute to psychological problems that are "best" fixed by alteration of the aforementioned genitals. (But that is up to a psychiatric health professional to asses as we're not all fully aware of our own inner workings or aware of how much dysphoria we actually have.)

People who want their stomach stapled aren't just people who show up at the doctors and ask for it, they have to be checked to see if that's the right thing for them to do, and in some places (like here) they do need a psych evaluation before having that surgery.
Plastic surgeons are also supposed to (in most western countries) require you to see a shrink if you display certain signs of being in pursuit of an unrealistic ideal or that you see yourself unrealistically and are having or want to have excessive surgery done.

It's not quite so cut and dry as "you can do whatever you want, except SRS, then you need a note".

On another note however, I find it grossly unfair that plastic surgeons are not allowed to point ears (in most countries) but they're allowed to give you breast implants the size of your head.

[shychristine]

I understand what you are saying Leiandra, but I have to disagree with you on some of what you said.  1st some transgenders would benfit because being a transgender it has caused some health problems such as high blood pressure front stress and yes it can be fatal to some transgenders, some commit sucide. And once your stomach is stapled I have never heard of that being reverse. Miniar you are right that if you show signs of being in pursuit of exessive surgery but I know of some one who has had mupile surgies on face breast with out seeing a shink. In this country insurance will pay for plastice surgery, I myself had insurance pay for plastice surgery on my face, my sister in law had a breast remove from cancer and insurance was going to pay for plastic surgery but more cancer was found. I didnt question why they paid for the surgery on my face, but my doctor told me it was probly for my mental well being, my face would have been badly disfigured.

[tekla]

it can be fatal to some transgenders, some commit sucide

Here is the trouble with that.  We all know it to be true.  I've heard it time after time in these boards.  But you can't prove it. Not all people with GID kill themselves.  You can't say with GID, like you can with say cancer, that you will die in such and such a manner within this time period if you are not treated. 

Which also leads to the treatments themselves.  Everything for everybody?  Who gets what, who needs what?

[Sephirah]

I understand what you are saying Leiandra, but I have to disagree with you on some of what you said.  1st some transgenders would benfit because being a transgender it has caused some health problems such as high blood pressure front stress and yes it can be fatal to some transgenders, some commit sucide. And once your stomach is stapled I have never heard of that being reverse. Miniar you are right that if you show signs of being in pursuit of exessive surgery but I know of some one who has had mupile surgies on face breast with out seeing a shink. In this country insurance will pay for plastice surgery, I myself had insurance pay for plastice surgery on my face, my sister in law had a breast remove from cancer and insurance was going to pay for plastic surgery but more cancer was found. I didnt question why they paid for the surgery on my face, but my doctor told me it was probly for my mental well being, my face would have been badly disfigured.

Okay, here's a scenario:

What if there was no need to jump through all the hoops and anyone could just go and say "I want to change my sex, please give me SRS. Here's my big wad of cash/insurance documentation."

Now, what if some people who did that, later went on to sue the surgeon saying "I was just temporarily confused, and didn't really want that, but now it's too late. Now I can't fit in to society. You should have made sure of my mental state and that my judgement wasn't impaired through depression/neurological conditions caused by other issues, instead of just agreeing to it. I thought it was what I wanted, but now my mental issues have been resolved, I can see that it wasn't what I wanted at all. So I want compensation because now I feel like a freak and it's your fault for not noticing that my mental issues weren't anything to do with being transgendered/transsexual and I didn't have sound judgement when asking for the procedure."

Surely there has to be a timeframe in place to check that the person requiring SRS is doing it for the right reasons, and not simply because they feel depressed, frustrated with the way their life is going, or socially inadequate and think they'll have an easier time making friends or getting a job as the other sex.

I agree that transgenderism/transsexuality can lead to health related concerns, but that's not my point. My point is that it has to be determined that the person in question actually is transgendered/transsexual... and that's not something that can happen in the space of a few hours or overnight. The outward physical signs aren't immediately apparent, and with mental attitudes or feelings, they are harder to ascertain, and take longer because you have to rule out everything else. Which is, I would guess, why therapists' reccomendations are necessary. They are the ones best placed to guage your mental state and spot possible signs of any other conditions (which you may not even be aware of) that could be causing the feelings of wanting to change your gender.

[Miniar]

1st some transgenders would benfit because being a transgender it has caused some health problems such as high blood pressure front stress and yes it can be fatal to some transgenders, some commit sucide.

People kill themselves due to the psychological factors of their situation which are not solely caused by their physical situation, but their physical situation can "contribute" to that.
That is to say, the presence of the genetalia alone does not lead to suicide, but it can contribute to the psychological stress.

Whereas, the presence of cancer alone, can kill you. And Obesity alone can cause your death too.

Just because there are cases where shrinks take the money and don't call the shrink doesn't mean the system is "outdated" but that people, individuals, even doctors, are flawed and manipulable.

[FairyGirl]

I am transgender and want to transison but can not, money being one reason. But my main reason is I do not agree with everything the standard of Care states.

Probably hardly anyone agrees 100% with every tenet of the SOC, but one thing is for sure- I was ready to do anything and everything it takes, jump through all the hoops necessary, stand on my head in front of the queen if necessary, to become who I truly am. Once I reached that point it really didn't matter what I had to do, I was willing and even eager to do it. Transitioning isn't for everyone, but for many of us the benefits far outweigh the hassles we have to go through. And, I do think some screening is necessary because of the reasons Leiandra and others here have mentioned.

[sd]

The S.O.C. was meant to cover everyone, which it does quite well considering it is meant as a guideline, not a set in stone set of rules. The whole waiting for S.R.S. makes sense, since some people have expressed regret, however again, the S.O.C. makes exceptions if your therapist thinks you are ready.

Overall, I think the S.O.C. works pretty well really.

As for insurance companies not paying for it, doctors have a motto, "do no harm". To a normal person, doing that is doing harm. There is nothing wrong with your genitals, they may be incorrect, but they do function. S.R.S. means taking working organs and turning them into something else.  One could argue that they are unusable in their current condition but in some ways, that really is a mental issue (they physically work). More importantly though, insurance companies are in it for money, anything they can exclude or charge you for, they will. While quick to stop paying for something, any changes as to what they will pay for is slow. Insurance is gambling and just like gambling, the house always wins.


In terms of money, you may not be able to afford to go all the way, but you may be able to get some things done to where you live a decent life. Government programs can cover some of it.