Starting my journey, a few questions.

[AidenXavier]

I am 28 from Seattle and after 14 years of lacking the courage, I have decided to start.

I am going to be taking the informed consent path, and can't wait to become the girl I've always known I am.

My questions are :

1.I have been talking to a therapist about setting up an appointment, will the Informed consent letter he will give me carry the same weight among the doctors who will prescribe my hormones?

2.)If there is anyone local to the Seattle area here do they know of any trans-friendly doctors that don't cost a fortune for a consult/prescription?

3.)About the pre hormone blood work I will need how much does that run most of the time? and can the results from places like PrivateMDLab be used with my future doctor?, that's the cheapest way and was recommended to me by another girl.

I have a limited budget for the beginning of this and want to be as safe, informed and thorough as I can.

Any advice will be appreciated, my head is spinning from everything i've read.

[Aprilrain]

Not sure what the difference is between an "informed consent" letter and a recommendation for hormones letter? so I have no idea what the weight of one is over the other. You say DRs, as in plural, who will prescribe hormones, you only need one, an endo is nice but pretty much any Dr can look at blood work and see wether its in the normal ranges or not. I'm sure any blood work will do as long as it includes a lipid panel and liver function, pre HRT hormone levels aren't necessary but are nice to have so you can see if you're making progress in the right direction. Some people seem to have a difficult time getting their T under control. I have a difficult time keeping my T UP in the normal female range, it wants to go lower! Its pretty normal to be paranoid about hormones before you start, there is a lot of boogie man propaganda out there. Yes there are risks but they are very manageable. Thousands of people have taken hormones before you and lived to tell the tale! You seem to be taking the right approach by having a therapist and seeking the care of a Dr
good luck : )

[Julia_in_Pa]

Aiden,

Go to the Ingersoll Gender Center located at 1216 Pine Street Suite 300 in Seattle.
Their website address is http://www.ingersollcenter.org/
They will be able to lead you down the correct path.
I've had many friends in the Seattle area go there with excellent results concerning both mental and physical health.
They also list on their website a listing of physicians and other health practitioners within the Seattle area that are extremely trans friendly.


Julia

[Stephenie S]

Good advice from Julia.

S

[ZosKiaCultusC7]

1.I have been talking to a therapist about setting up an appointment, will the Informed consent letter he will give me carry the same weight among the doctors who will prescribe my hormones?

2.)If there is anyone local to the Seattle area here do they know of any trans-friendly doctors that don't cost a fortune for a consult/prescription?

3.)About the pre hormone blood work I will need how much does that run most of the time? and can the results from places like PrivateMDLab be used with my future doctor?, that's the cheapest way and was recommended to me by another girl

Hey, I'm 28 too!

1. As far as I understand, you will only need one letter. Of course, you will only need one doctor as far as checkups/prescriptions but if you choose to change doctors in the future, it's my understanding that you can use the initial letter. The only thing that you may need to do is sign another release form so that your therapist has consent to fax/send the letter to another doctor. For example, when I received my letter, I had to specify the doctor I was going to go to on a release form so that legally, she could fax the letter. In addition, if/when you decide to go with SRS, you will need a separate letter but it won't require any additional therapy sessions; just the cost for your therapist to write the letter. This is the way it is with my therapist, anyway.

2. Depends on where you're at, exactly. My endocrinologist (Federal Way) actually wasn't all that expensive but my insurance covered my blood work, as well as most of my prescription. I feel that it's really dependent on who you go to and to be perfectly honest, I highly suggest going to someone who knows what the hell they're doing. My doctor specializes in endocrinology, has 30+ years experience and is board certified. Your therapist may use a regular set of doctors that they refer their patients to and if is this is the case, it would be best to discuss the options with him. I went to a therapist local to the area that specializes in GID so there may have been a more solid foundation for me.

Also, what is considered to be a fortune for you? A couple hundred, few hundred, several hundred?

3. I'm not too sure how much this will cost because my insurance covered it. It's just a simple blood work order so if the doctor is willing to, he/she can order the blood work for something other than "levels for hormone treatment blah blah". I can't anticipate it costing more than a couple hundred dollars. However, I suggest doing the blood work through your doctor. In fact, doctors may require you to do this but I could be wrong: I didn't try using a third-party for my blood work.

[Jennie1975]

Aiden, I live in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle proper. I started my transition in May of last year. I started with a therapist at Seattle Counseling service and continue there. They have a sliding scale for services as well as choices between licensed Dr. and interns, interns being more than half the cost. My first therapist was a intern and after the second visit I had my hormone letter in hand.

As far as cheaper DRs. I went to Country Doctors on the corner of 20th and Roosevelt, I believe. They have a sliding scale as well. They are a community clinic and were very accommodating with my preferred name before my official change and have always treated me with respect.

Julia is spot on with Ingersoll, they have a weekly support meeting in the same building as Seattle Counseling Services every Wednesday at 7pm. Everyone there is very welcoming and some of the board members of Ingersoll attend regularly and have yrs under their belt with their transition and in all thing trans.

I would be very willing to help you further if you would like, anything, anytime. Either send me a pm or an email. I hope this helps.

Jennifer

[GirlieAmanda]

First of all I applaud you for taking the plunge. You are so lucky to be able to do this in your 20s. Such a good presence of mind to be sure of yourself at that age. That is so wonderful. I realized early but I was married by that point. Please enjoy your relatively early transition start. You have a whole lifetime to enjoy it. There is good info already here for your questions. Just make sure that you work carefully with a doctor since you are starting young. You want to do it right so you develop right. You have so many years to be beautiful. I have been running into some costs for taking blood. $450-800(fighting insurance to pay it, they paid one but not the other) It sucks but I am working through it. Its very good to get a baseline blood test before hormones. Then you always know where you were at before you start changing things. Good Luck!