Questions for all undergoing treatment

[Raynefall]

Hey everyone. I am in the process of getting everything figured out before I start the process at all and have a few questions.

Now I have looked up surgery costs and the like so I don't need a lot more information there. I was just wondering if any of you could tell me individual costs for the things like a psychologist, therapist, HRT and the other things you can't find very easily around the internet. I know they will be different based on state and the individual doctors themselves but the more data I can gather the more I can get an average of what I am looking forward to.

I live in Colorado if there are others here who can guide me towards local resources as well. I highly appreciate any information that can be supplied. If you don't feel comfortable posting on this thread then please feel free to send me a message.

Thank you.

[Anna Lorree]

My therapist bills me for $66.00 per hourly session, which is weekly. Thank goodness for good health insurance. Also, she lists my condition as an "acceptance disorder" instead of GID, which is why my insurance will continue to pay for it.

Anna

[Jessica_Grl]

check around for a "resource center" in area you live -- for example -- in dallas they have LGBT center that offers some therapy and blood panel tests and stuff like that, TRUE they usually use students from local college or university, but they are usually well trained before they get that far -- i use my resource center for my group therapy, i go every tuesday night and its only $10 for hour and half -- i think the one-on-one therapy is sliding scale of 20-40bucks --

i combine the above group therapy with a well known therapist once a month one-on-one at a different place and she charges on sliding scale from 60-100 -- but she is not from the center

its important to know that most will do sliding scale just to track your progress and achievments -- they aint going to charge ya $100 one month and loose ya the 2nd month cause you can only afford $60

again, i am sorta lucky in dallas, they also have HRT help there for low income at the LGBT center, i believe my blood panel work is $80 there and you will need that atleast every 6months to start -- helps if ya dont have insurance
my first blood panel before i found out about the center and didnt have insurance -- was $450

hope some of this info helps, even if ya have to drive a hour or two once a month , it might be worth research

Jessica-Annette

[Kristy_K]

Both of my therapist charges $239.00 per hour or visit. My electrolysis was costing $50.00 per hour. My FFS and BA was around $21,000.

Transitioning is not cheap but worth every penny.

[RachelOKC]

Hey everyone. I am in the process of getting everything figured out before I start the process at all and have a few questions.

Now I have looked up surgery costs and the like so I don't need a lot more information there. I was just wondering if any of you could tell me individual costs for the things like a psychologist, therapist, HRT and the other things you can't find very easily around the internet. I know they will be different based on state and the individual doctors themselves but the more data I can gather the more I can get an average of what I am looking forward to.

I live in Colorado if there are others here who can guide me towards local resources as well. I highly appreciate any information that can be supplied. If you don't feel comfortable posting on this thread then please feel free to send me a message.

Thank you.

Raynefall, do you have health insurance? If so, some of your stuff like HRT and therapist visits may be covered and costs significantly reduced. I'm covered with Kaiser in Northern CA so a number of things are low cost for me.

My provider visit copay is $15, doesn't matter if that's my Primary Care Physician, Therapist, or Endocrinologist. I get to see my PhD psychologist therapist (for both depression and transition) about every two months because she's the only real TG specialist in my area so she's booked solid. Kaiser isn't a big believer in regular one on one appointments with therapists anyway, but if I was seeing a non TG specialist, I could go more frequently.

My therapist does moderate a weekly transition support group which is $7 copay. There are other groups around here for free or for donation, but I am very happy with this group. Plus with it run by my therapist I get the added advantage of someone who knows my issues.

Prescriptions such as Estradiol and Spironolactone are also covered with my copay of $10 per med.

Breast implants for MTF's are not covered but interestingly, FTM breast removal IS covered.

Depending on who your employer is, even SRS may be covered.

Dunno if this is much use for you in CO, but it's what I've got.

[sandra-leigh]

As a data point: therapy in Winnipeg Manitoba (Canada) is usually $160 per hour. Medical plans here will usually cover (a portion of) it if you have a prescription.

HRT costs vary according to the drugs being used. My experience here has been that spiro and estrogen patches are the least expensive of my medications. It is common that people considering HRT and SRS also have notable depression, and anxiety or panic are not uncommon. During HRT there is also increased risk of problems with cholesterol, so anti-cholesterol drugs may also be needed, and those tend to add up. Anti-depression costs can be fairly substantial. (I'm probably paying about 10 times as much per month for my anti-depressant as for my actual HRT medication.)

My muscle strength has changed. Not so much the strength itself, as the endurance: I have quite low endurance now. There is a medical reason for that: the primary reaction that provides "food" for muscles is based on testosterone. I haven't done anything about this yet, but I will need to do so soon. Possibly I will be able to do "cheap" things like walk or bicycle, but it could be that there will be costs associated with building my endurance up further.

[Raynefall]

Thank you very much for all of your responses. Even the costs with insurance help.

So to those who asked the question if I had insurance. I don't. I currently am not employed either. I am currently studying to get my GED to begin schooling again. But my very loving and supportive gf was asking me about all the costs the other day to see if we could possibly get the ball rolling and get me to a place where I don't feel so "out of place" if you know what I mean. Lol. But I only had a general understanding of how much it would be for the actual surgeries. Thanks to a couple messages and the posts in this thread I am quickly getting what I need though!

Once again thank you so much. Any other information anyone can give I am more than happy to receive! ^_^

[arbon]

Spirotone - $0.96 per day
Estradiol Valerate - $0.63 per day

Therapy - $75hr (reduced rate)
Doctor Office visit with blood work $260-$300

Electrolysis - $75 for 45 min sessions

[CharleneT]

There are a LOT of variables, and ways of finding a reasonable cost for some things. But that said, full transition for a MTF, ballpark = $70,000. Obviously that is spread out over some years, can be many years.