12 Months Rlt With No Hormones

[Guest jazz92]

hi all

this has been on my mind since i got back from seeing a psychiatrist earlier how has any mtf coped with RLT with out hormones the NHS

i would go private but i'm tiny bit broke

xoxo

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Some do - I think there is someone for every combination of transitioning. Look up Joanna Phipps here in the membership - she had to go RTL without HRT for quite a while.

Lizzy

[Guest Donna Jean]

I have no idea why that would be required...cruel....

Donna Jean

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

the NHS sucks with this stuff, the rules for FTMs are even more cruel, 2 years RLT before they'll give you T.

Today I actually got my appointment letter for Charing X, which is kinda a reason to celebrate but at the same time, my appointment is January 6th, so 13 months after I first asked my doctor for a referral. And that's just to see someone to get started on treatment, I don't even know how long they'd expect me to wait after that, perhaps from what you're saying, 12 months. Except I'll be able to prove i've been in RLT, since, I am just out and full time now, I'm just waiting to go back to college to start on something that qualifies.

Anyway, it doesn't matter too much to me, I wasn't willing to wait, and am doing this on my own terms, (i'm pretty limited in what I can say about my personal journey on here) it'd be nice if eventually my hormones could be free, (my diabetes means free prescriptions for life) and I need to follow the process through because I eventually need referral letters for surgery even if I am hoping to self fund for it private, but if I get desperate I may have to go NHS, which considering some of the stuff the conservatives wanted to do, may not be too bad, there was talk of basically being able to get NHS funding for private treatment, that would be great, if it ever happens in time to help us, who knows.

wow I went off on a tangent there a little.

Anyway I dunno, while I understand some of the point of RLT it largely to me seems like a test of if you can cope with being hated and an outcast, rather than if you can cope in your correct gender, and that doesn't really seem right, and personally I think the NHS use it as an excuse to slow things down because they don't want to spend any money, hence why they're still following outdated guidelines.

[Guest jazz92]

wow that is bad poor fellas coping with that, congratulations on getting your appointment, long time waiting then poor you, i've been told i should get my charing cross appointment in 2-3 months just hope its longer so i can settle in to college and my sister to settle with her baby.

i think that is probably the best thing to do just go at your own speed, i could get mine for free as well as i've leidens factor 5 and if it goes like my fathers if they even let me have them because of it. hope they do that with the NHS

don't worry about going off topic i'll never say no to extra info

harsh ***** for make people go through that but with most of the people i know and hang out they're mostly in to glam and openly crossdress for parties and no one seems to say anything about so when i start it shouldn't be that bad i couldn't cope. i agree with you on that they never like the quick and easy route

xx

[Flint]

the NHS sucks with this stuff, the rules for FTMs are even more cruel, 2 years RLT before they'll give you T.

[Carolyn Marie]

What he said.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest angie]

I was in RLE/RLT for six months before HRT.

I knew that my time was NOW and with or without

hormones,I was NOT putting on the clothes that

no longer belonged on my body.It isn't easy,but

for some the drive to take our place among women,

supercedes the need to wait.If that is what NHS

wants,do it.That way by the time you do get granted

the gift of hormone therapy,you will be quite acclimated

to the role you will be living the rest of your life.

HRT will be a true coming home then.

Hugs Sweety,

Angelique

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

GD under the NHS is deprioritised as being elective, so that they can spend considerably less money on it and not provide the proper resources. As a result, we receive a poor standard of care, huge waiting lists, often have to travel right across the country for treatment, it's blatent discrimination. We pay for the NHS we have the right to use it whether we can afford private healthcare or not, but most of us can't, and as a result so many of our brothers and sisters either get into debt, or take less safe options.

Bullying people into RLT is plain not fair, in fact it's dangerous, obviously it's more dangerous to be presenting if you don't adequately pass, and some of us aren't fortunate enough to look great without hormones, but beyond that.

Your 1 year clock starts ticking from the day you start your documented RLT (that is you have to be able to prove it) so if you're desprate to get the medication you need, you're going to do anything to start already.

So say you have a job, and ideally, you want to start on HRT, laser/electro etc. and over the next 6 - 9 months, gradually change your appearance, how you dress, act, talk around your boss and your co-workers, ease them in so that they'll be more comfortable with your transition, and hopefully see that you aren't going to suddenly become an entirely different person. Well great but you can't do that, for RLT if you have a job, you have to work as your correct gender, so that means just instantly outing yourself to your boss, your coworkers if you want to get that clock ticking, and if that gets you fired well tough, it doesn't count as RLT until you've got another job/are studying / voluntary position.

So yeah i'm not best pleased with the way it's handled.

[Flint]

What he said.

Carolyn Marie

I'm really hoping it aint true for EVERY UK clinic.

Cause honestly....

Soz hijacking a post. I'll stop now

[Guest Jay_son]

[Flint]

Yup, UK has no hope. lol

I've been out now since 2006....I've been seeing a psychologist who specialises in gender for the last I dunno how long! Then some referral got mixed up (This psychologist mainly works with kids. I stayed with him longer than usual, it's a long complicated story as it always is with the NHS) but the clinic I'm being referred to seem to have no knowledge of this psychologist I have been seeing. so that means another like...2 years for me to prove it to these people now. I don't think they'll take phoning up the psych i've been seeing as enough proof. Ugh I hate the UK. So I'll join you Jay_son:

[Guest karl636]

Yeah I also had to do the RLT from scratch, even though I had been living as Karl 6 months prior to the appointment. Thankfully im in college and had started the year as Karl so didn't have to come out. That meant the gender specialist looked more favourably on it. Still a ridiculous system though.

[Guest Donna Jean]

Bullying people into RLT is plain not fair, in fact it's dangerous, obviously it's more dangerous to be presenting if you don't adequately pass, and some of us aren't fortunate enough to look great without hormones, but beyond that.

I totally agree, Sam...

I DO NOT understand the logic behind that (if there is any)..

How is making you go full time without HRT a test of your resolve?

It's plain ludicrous!

Here In The USA the therapist will get you straight on HRT in 12 weeks or less...

I got my letter on a Friday and by the next Tuesday I was taking my first Estrogen in a K Mart parking lot with a warm Diet Pepsi!

What is wrong with the UK system...totally unfair...and in my opinion...CRUEL!

Donna Jean

[JenniferB]

I totally agree, Sam...

I DO NOT understand the logic behind that (if there is any)..

How is making you go full time without HRT a test of your resolve?

It's plain ludicrous!

Here In The USA the therapist will get you straight on HRT in 12 weeks or less...

I got my letter on a Friday and by the next Tuesday I was taking my first Estrogen in a K Mart parking lot with a warm Diet Pepsi!

What is wrong with the UK system...totally unfair...and in my opinion...CRUEL!

Donna Jean

Yes Dee Jay, what is happening in the UK is cruel. I think it's done to make the cisgenders feel better. The same thing happened in the US about 30 years ago. I'm glad that has changed here. I am glad I'm not living in the UK right now. I'd be going crazy.

Jenny

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

it's not a conspiracy tho it is discrimination. the NHS is just massively under funded, and we aren't considered important. Mental health in general in the NHS is a joke, except one that isn't funny, I mean, I just cannot go into explaining what it's like, I don't have the emotional energy. Gender Dysphoria, or as it's still officially called Gender Identity Disorder, is under the remit of mental health, and so gets a tiny slice of the budget of what is already the most godawful mess of the NHS. Now we have certain rights under the NHS and as such they cannot simply refuse to treat us, but they have targets to meet, so they'll try their best to find any reason to not diagnose you, or not treat you. Once you've gotten past that, every sub-department will try and make sure that funding comes from a different department, so your GP won't want to refer you, because it comes from them, so they'll refer you to the local psychiatric dept so that they can refer you. Ugh it's a mess and complicated, and I don't understand it all, but the upshot is that the NHS is split up into local departments called your Primary Care Trust, they each receive a portion of the overall NHS funding, to cover your local area, now the UK govt has rules for the NHS regarding treating patients etc. such as the right to see a specialist within X amount of time, the right to choose hospitals, the right to a second opinion etc. but the PCT never has enough money, they can't refuse to treat us but they can downgrade any type of treatment or condition to that of being 'elective' which means they can greatly increase waiting times without breaking targets, and a bunch of other things. Since almost everyone in the UK gets referred to only 1 clinic in London (which is outside the local area for most people, thus it costs the PCT more to refer out of area) and SRS is expensive as is a life time of hormones, well we get the short end of the stick, we're a small group and aren't well represented, we mostly want to stay hidden, we don't have the same power as the rest of the GBLs do so we're an easy target.

wow i'm going on a bit.

The clinic doesn't have the funding it needs either, there's only like 6 doctors there or something, for practically the whole country. They use outdated techniques and systems, probably because they don't know any better, and because it allows them to slow the process down, slowing it down means they treat fewer people a year so it costs less, and many people are driven to seek private treatment, so then it saves a lot more money.

Our law isn't backwards tho, in fact since 2004 it's very trans progressive, there's a system for us to get full rights and a full legal change to our new gender, we have legal protections from discrimination, legal gay partnerships (tho not marriage by name), and If people do go private, then we can get treated under the same modern version of the standards as the rest of you, it's just that not many people can afford private, nobody has insurance here, it doesn't come with jobs, only rich people get private treatment, not normal people.

I should just add that in other ways the NHS is great, I mean if you have a heart attack, an ambulance will come get you within a few minutes, you'll get rushed to hospital where you'll receive world class treatment, and you won't have to remortgage your house to pay for it.

I could never imagine wanting to live in a country where at any moment, you could get into an accident and then be forever in debt and never be able to send your kids to college.

[Guest Donna Jean]

I could never imagine wanting to live in a country where at any moment, you could get into an accident and then be forever in debt and never be able to send your kids to college.

Oh....You mean ...like where I live, Hon?

HUGGS!

Donna Jean

[Guest Patsy]

"Elective"....*Sigh*

Donna has basically said what I intended to....mindlessly stupid, and dangerous, on so many levels!

Hugs,

Patsy

[Guest KatieT]

I could never imagine wanting to live in a country where at any moment, you could get into an accident and then be forever in debt and never be able to send your kids to college.

It's always up and down... for the longest time, I thought that there couldn't BE a downside to a health care system like the UK has... it's hailed in the world as simply one of the best in the world. But I guess when a government takes over something like that, the downside is that anything considered 'unimportant' by the mass will effectively not be treated or be treated poorly.

[JJ]

But the truth is you have to pay for everything here. Or jump through hoops for months and years and still maybe not be able to afford what you nee,

Government health care is better than no health care-and actually cheaper in the long run because people can get treatment for relatively minor problems before they get massive and then the system has to pick up the bill and pass it on to everyone else.

Cheaper in lots of other ways too-like less lost production. Better pre-natal care and childhood care for the working poor who fall between the cracks and end up with children with health problems which will burden the system forever.

Barbaric not to have universal health care. I'd forgo a lot of other government benefits to have that.

[Guest Lizzie McTrucker]

I haven't been on HRT for several years but I've only been full time for one or two. For me it's all about knowing how to do makeup, dressing the part, great breast forms and a fabulous foundation garment. On the other hand, I have to limit my time out in public. Longer than 8-10 hours and the beard shadow starts showing again.

It's similar to being Cinderella, except I have to get back home before I turn into a pumpkin!

[Guest viv]

I totally agree, Sam...

I DO NOT understand the logic behind that (if there is any)..

How is making you go full time without HRT a test of your resolve?

It's plain ludicrous!

Here In The USA the therapist will get you straight on HRT in 12 weeks or less...

I got my letter on a Friday and by the next Tuesday I was taking my first Estrogen in a K Mart parking lot with a warm Diet Pepsi!

What is wrong with the UK system...totally unfair...and in my opinion...CRUEL!

Donna Jean

Donna Jean,,if you think the UK is cruel let me tell you there are Trans Women leaving

Ireland to go to there for treatment cos of our callous torturing of Transsexuals . In

general the HRT dosage is as much as 50 times LESS than is used in the rest of the free

and civilised world . I know women 2 years in with no visible signs of breast development .

This is not " sour grapes viv" , I know my problem -NOT related to this reply . Re the

low HRT dosages,, the result is there is little or no feminising taking place and this

puts the Trans woman in great danger ,,absolutely no chance of passing . Sickens me .

luv,viv ((very angry)) !!!!!

[Guest jennifer normal]

I didn't even bother to read all. I'm so fortionate to find the help I desperately needed. I really truly don't. There is nothing I could say to the staff of the clinic to express my thanks. Maybe funds down the pike. They have helped me and so many more. So you so much SBFS Jennifer

[Guest angie]

I did six months of RLT/RLE without HRT just because I could

not stand to wear the clothes that I knew didn't belong on me

any longer.I didn't care that I didn't pass,and was very out and

insistent that everyone recognise my gender choice.Gee was I nieve,

but it was my time and I was ready.It was funny,that eighteen months

later,the warehouse manager where I was working came up and told

me that when I first started insisting on being called Angie and

by female pronouns,she was like,"OK,whatever you say." Then she

told me that now she could see a woman.Given time HRT works wonderous

things,and by the time you are awarded the pleasure of starting your

physical journey you will be MORE Than Ready and chopping at the bit.

Your reward will be experiencing the physical changes and awakening

female emotions.

Patience is a virtue all trans folk learn.

Hugs Sweetie,

Angelique