The waiting game.

[Emma Beth]

I'm in the process of taking a big step.

Back in March, I had an appointment to be evaluated for informed consent and all that; so I could set up an appointment with the Endocrinology department at the VA Hospital where I receive my primary care from to begin HRT.

I honestly expected to have the appointment by now, but it looks like there's no telling how much longer I will have to wait.

Why am I waiting? Well, apparently the Endocrinology department is waiting on the "Detailed Report" from my evaluation.

I cant help but wonder, "How long does it take to write a 'detailed' report?" It's been two months already, and still nothing.

This waiting is so taxing. Doubts and fear have begun to creep in and making this really hard. To top it off, recent legislative events have added to the fears on a different level as to why this is taking so long.

Most likely the fears and doubts are unfounded, but they're still there for the time being.

[KellyTG]

Emma Beth,

I would suggest that you go to the VA website and sign up for "My HealtheVet". I have used this feature for about a year and I can access all of my labs, VA notes from visits, pharmacy, appointments.....etc. I generally get my lab results the same day the doctor does. On the VA notes there is a three day waiting period after the doctor has posted them.

KellyTG

- - - Updated - - -

One other thing Emma Beth......... If you are talking about Mississippi that is not the case at the Sonny Montgomery VA in Jackson. The endocrinology department there is great! They make you feel welcome and my doctor even calls me to go over my lab results and soon as he has them. It takes about a week to get my estradiol, testosterone, and prolactin results because they have to send them out to another VA for testing. And at my appointments they make me feel welcome and at ease.

[Emma Beth]

Kelly, I am indeed talking about Sonny Montgomery. I have had nothing but great care through them, when I'm not wading through the quagmire of bureaucracy.

I do have a premium account with My HealteVet. I have sent a couple of secured messages and haven't gotten any replies to my inquiries about this.

However, the time issue is hard to deal with. I don't think it's the Endocrinology department that is my hold up. I think it's the Dr. that performed my Evaluation that I'm waiting for.

This isn't the first time I have had to deal with this kind of thing. I had my finger broken back last August and by the time I got to the proper Doctor, amputation was one of the few possible treatment options open to me simply because someone made a simple mistake on my paper work and it took me nearly three months to get it fixed so I could get to a specialist from outside the VA system to have a look at it.

Now I have a very fat knuckle that doesn't fully function that will give me problems for the rest of my life as a final result. Because of how slow things take more often than not, I tried to get some physical therapy for my hand and ended up telling them never mind because my first physical therapy appointment for my hand would have been next September. I needed it back in December/January.