Military healthcare and HRT...

[Monica_Cobblestone]

I strongly believe the two don't mix very well haha. I would like to start a HRT program with a doctor under supervision because knowing my luck, I would start an unsupervised program and face all possible problems imagined :heehee:. Since I'm in the Armed Forces and my health care is paid for by them, how can I get on a low-dosage program without risking my career? I'm 19 going on twenty (in January :D) I feel this is the prime time to start my transition into womenhood. I've been giving herbals some research and think I might take that route...self medicating was another option that I was leaning toward also since I do work at a hospital. I've given this idea very careful thought and I think its time to take some action. Anyone have any ideas or in/overcome the situation?

Double Kisses,
Monica

[Priss]

I strongly believe the two don't mix very well haha. I would like to start a HRT program with a doctor under supervision because knowing my luck, I would start an unsupervised program and face all possible problems imagined :heehee:. Since I'm in the Armed Forces and my health care is paid for by them, how can I get on a low-dosage program without risking my career? I'm 19 going on twenty (in January :D) I feel this is the prime time to start my transition into womenhood. I've been giving herbals some research and think I might take that route...self medicating was another option that I was leaning toward also since I do work at a hospital. I've given this idea very careful thought and I think its time to take some action. Anyone have any ideas or in/overcome the situation?

Double Kisses,
Monica

Hi Monica.

You say that you've given this very careful thought, and yet you also mention career...? Just what are your intentions where the military is concerned? If you want to go farther than an initial enlistment period, starting this now may not mix so well. One's transition into womanhood very quickly takes on a life of it's own. What with gays not even being allowed to serve openly and the don't ask don't tell policy firmly in place, a sudden unexpected outting to your employer can put you in a wee bit of a pickle. You may be able to hide things for the remainder of your current enlistment, but to try and go longer may be more than you can stand... HRT involves physical and emotional changes, that you won't always be able to hide. For example here, what if you have to spend the night or several in a group berthing with others and have to hide breast growth?

If you intend to do it anyway, I recommend going with supervision. Just because the military covers your general health care, does not mean that you cannot have a private civilian physician on the side. Find one who is either discrete who you can tell everything to, or one whom you can tell nothing to, who will just monitor you as you are and write you prescriptions which of course you will have to have filled at a civilian pharmacy. Going without supervision can be done, however no one including myself will recommend it to you. There are just too many things that can go wrong, and things that need to be kept an eye on.

[Niya W]

From what I've seen its 50/50 chance on weather or not the military will cover HRT. It comes down to weather or not the Doc will work with you. I've seen girls get it covered and some were told its not. But I dont think they would give it to you will you are active.

[StaceyJane]

I'm former military and now I work at a miltary hospital. Your right that starting earlier would have the best results but you really cannot start now. HRT will have noticable results in a few months. The military will not let you transition and stay in. If you were retired that would be a different matter. Tricare would cover psychologists visited and hormone prescriptions but Not SRS.

[Kimberley]

Should be in Canada. Our military FULLY supports trans and will even pay for SRS. I have an acquaintance who went through this. She went through the prejudices of course but today is an officer and well respected.

Canada's military sees the advantages of keeping people who are good at their jobs instead of letting tens of thousands of dollars in training and esperience more than SRS walk out the door. For them it is a matter of supporting their workforce and keeping good people.

A lot of other major employers in Canada have the same attitude. Still our governments resist putting Gender Identity into the Human Rights Codes both federally and provincially. I guess they figure it is less hassle to let the private sector deal with us.

Of course I have a real problem with this attitude because it is costing governments one hell of a lot more in subsidized ongoing healthcare, legal, housing, welfare etc than a one time SRS does. Combine that with human rights guarantees and suddenly a lot of drain on the social systems can be removed. But who ever said government made sense; or had any brains for that matter?

:hugs:
Kimberley

[melimelo]

Should be in Canada. Our military FULLY supports trans and will even pay for SRS. I have an acquaintance who went through this. She went through the prejudices of course but today is an officer and well respected.

Canada's military sees the advantages of keeping people who are good at their jobs instead of letting tens of thousands of dollars in training and esperience more than SRS walk out the door. For them it is a matter of supporting their workforce and keeping good people.

A lot of other major employers in Canada have the same attitude. Still our governments resist putting Gender Identity into the Human Rights Codes both federally and provincially. I guess they figure it is less hassle to let the private sector deal with us.

Of course I have a real problem with this attitude because it is costing governments one hell of a lot more in subsidized ongoing healthcare, legal, housing, welfare etc than a one time SRS does. Combine that with human rights guarantees and suddenly a lot of drain on the social systems can be removed. But who ever said government made sense; or had any brains for that matter?

:hugs:
Kimberley

Sorry to get a bit off topic...

Kim, what are your thoughts about how Canadians are accepting of trans? I was born in Canada, and moved 3 years ago to California. But in all my years in Canada, I never acknowledged my GID, and thus am not so much aware of the attitude of the Canadians vs trans people. It took my 40th birthday to rattle me enough to finally open my eyes.

I'm just curious...

[Monica_Cobblestone]

Hi Monica.

You say that you've given this very careful thought, and yet you also mention career...? Just what are your intentions where the military is concerned?...
You may be able to hide things for the remainder of your current enlistment, but to try and go longer may be more than you can stand... HRT involves physical and emotional changes, that you won't always be able to hide. For example here, what if you have to spend the night or several in a group berthing with others and have to hide breast growth?
If you intend to do it anyway, I recommend going with supervision. Just because the military covers your general health care, does not mean that you cannot have a private civilian physician on the side. Find one who is either discrete who you can tell everything to, or one whom you can tell nothing to, who will just monitor you as you are and write you prescriptions which of course you will have to have filled at a civilian pharmacy. Going without supervision can be done, however no one including myself will recommend it to you. There are just too many things that can go wrong, and things that need to be kept an eye on.
I used the word "career" because at this time it is my career. I do only plan to stay active for current enlistment period and leave. The military really isn't for me even though they provide so much to its member and I will miss all the benefits haha. I've been reading up on HRT for about a month and a half now and I'm thinking a low dose of hormones over a course of my remaining years in the military will give me the building blocks I need for when I'm out for my full blown transition as Monica Journey Cobblestone. As far as breast development I can ask my lesbian friends who do a fantastic job at hiding their breast or blame it on a physical condition that I have haha...right?

From what I've seen its 50/50 chance on weather or not the military will cover HRT. It comes down to weather or not the Doc will work with you. I've seen girls get it covered and some were told its not. But I dont think they would give it to you will you are active.
It goes against the UCMJ as well as the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy...I checked haha.


I'm former military and now I work at a miltary hospital. Your right that starting earlier would have the best results but you really cannot start now. HRT will have noticable results in a few months. The military will not let you transition and stay in. If you were retired that would be a different matter. Tricare would cover psychologists visited and hormone prescriptions but Not SRS.
I'm looking to do a very slow transition...like very very slow for now.

Should be in Canada. Our military FULLY supports trans and will even pay for SRS. I have an acquaintance who went through this. She went through the prejudices of course but today is an officer and well respected.

Canada's military sees the advantages of keeping people who are good at their jobs instead of letting tens of thousands of dollars in training and esperience more than SRS walk out the door. For them it is a matter of supporting their workforce and keeping good people.

A lot of other major employers in Canada have the same attitude. Still our governments resist putting Gender Identity into the Human Rights Codes both federally and provincially. I guess they figure it is less hassle to let the private sector deal with us.

Of course I have a real problem with this attitude because it is costing governments one hell of a lot more in subsidized ongoing healthcare, legal, housing, welfare etc than a one time SRS does. Combine that with human rights guarantees and suddenly a lot of drain on the social systems can be removed. But who ever said government made sense; or had any brains for that matter?

:hugs:
Kimberley
Damn I should have become a citizen of Canada when I had the chance haha

[Kimberley]

Sorry to get a bit off topic...

Kim, what are your thoughts about how Canadians are accepting of trans? I was born in Canada, and moved 3 years ago to California. But in all my years in Canada, I never acknowledged my GID, and thus am not so much aware of the attitude of the Canadians vs trans people. It took my 40th birthday to rattle me enough to finally open my eyes.

I'm just curious...

**********
Not at all off topic really. while the differences between Canada and the US are basically on the social scale (we are generally a little left of center) we also have many commonalities. First our media is very American influenced. Like the US I think a lot of where you live has as much to do with acceptance as anything and equally important how you live.

For instance, a girl in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, St. Johns etc who is living "under the radar" holding a job etc. is likely to be accepted fairly easily. I have friends in just that kind of situation. However move to one of the seedier areas and she could be a victim very quickly.

Gender Identity is still not a part of any Human Rights Code either provincially or federally. The courts have ruled that sex covers gender however that very argument has also been used to rule against us. The case in point was in 1998 when the Ontario government argued that sex and gender are separate and gender is not covered in the code so SRS funding was removed. It comes down to narrow interpretation of law rather than broad interpretation.

That said, the large banks and accounting firms as well as the military are very strong on diversity policies. As I said the military is really adamant about it and TD-Canada Trust announced earlier this year they would fully fund SRS for any of its employees. (I am sure there are strings attached but that isnt the point.) My one GF actually does contract diversity training for TD as well as KPMG.

People are people. Most could care less or look the other way but of course the bible belt extends north into Alberta, Saskatchewan and some of Manitoba. Same problems. Just as there, everyone in the community knows someone who has suffered discrimination or violence. Everyone also knows successful transitions.

So, in many ways the US has a leg up on us. We are fighting to change it of course and probably our Human Rights champion has to be EGALE particularly at the federal level. PFLAG are good support systems as far as they go. Still our community is so small and so scattered we arent that visible. We also have a leg up on same sex marriage when the Supreme Court upheld it and parliament voted to retain the laws. (The SOC actually sent it back to Parliament for clarification and opened up the debate. The Cons later tried to reverse it and failed. Still they would love to outlaw Human Rights Commissions, the Supreme Court and the Senate.)

One of our favourite targets of course is CAMH including our favourite so-called pdocs Blanchard and Zucker. Even our medical community think they are idiots. (You should hear my psychiatrist on that subject... can we put medical and going postal in the same sentence?)

So, tolerance yes; to a degree. Just be good Canucks and be polite and everything will be fine. We dont ascribe to that line of course and are now starting to kick doors... after knocking politely...:heehee:

How bout those Leafs???:eek:

:hugs:
Kimmie

ps. And my employers? 2 of the 3 are supportive beyond belief. The third one (the college) is where I am not out. There is a history of ... let's say intolerance towards trans even though the faculty and staff has a very large LGB population. We'll see how their new diversity program goes first.

[robyn1114]

And seeking a Dr. outside of military channels to get hormones also goes against the UCMJ.

[geri]

staceyjane,

are you saying that the VA will cover you with your hrt and consultations?
i'm ex-military and if i could get my precriptions thru them, holy s#$t. sorry........

let me know and if you want a private conversation about this, post it to me.

hugs,
geri

[Caitlintgsd]

I know people who are DOD retired that are getting hrt and psych via the VA. Check into it, they cover it. Although the hormone of choice with the VA is Premarin.

[Monica_Cobblestone]

And seeking a Dr. outside of military channels to get hormones also goes against the UCMJ.

This I already know. Let me give it to you like this, if I were to go to my military primary care manager and say "I think I want to go on HRT." She would be in the wrong for not going to her chain of command to start an investigation on me since I've just broken a clause in the don't ask, don't tell policy. In the military perception is everything (seriously I've gone down this road quite recently) and even though cross-dressing or HRT for men isn't really considered a homosexual conduct, it can be perceived as such and will go against article 134 and another article. It also goes against military professionalism or some crap like that. Hence why going with my PCM isn't an option. I understand it will easier to do this once I'm out, but I'll be wasting prime transitioning years away. Its been done before, I read about a woman who went on low doses until her 4 year contract was up. She self medicated however and though she is fine I personally don't want to go that route.

[Darlene Rochelle]

I am retired Navy and use Tricare for my Insurance. They DO NOT cover counseling and therapy for trans or sexuality issues,at least that is what I was told by the Behavior Health people.:2c:

[Monica_Cobblestone]

I guess what I'm asking is how can I get on a supervised low dosage HRT program for the reminder of my contract without using my military medical insurance? Also I wanted to know how expensive its going to be? Has anyone used herbals for their slow effects and had any luck? I was looking at the Evanesce and Feminol combo and its actually quite cheap.

[Stephanie-L]

Monica, you have two choices here. I am a nurse in the USNR and did a bit of looking into this and here is my opinion.
1. Pay for the Drs and meds out of pocket, and risk getting caught when you get your annual health eval, or even earlier if you have noticable growth. If you are caught you will probably be discharged, definatly not an honorable discharge, and you will most likely lose your veterans benefits. If you have less than a certain amount of time in service (it varies) you wouldn't even need a hearing, your CO can discharge you as unfit for service. At worst you could go as high as a BCD, I don't think they would hit you with a DD for this, but if you get a really homophobic CO or JAG officer, who knows.
2. Talk to your military care provider. Again you will probably be discharged, after counselling, but it would be more likely to be favorable to you, and you may be able to keep your benefits.
3. (I know, I said two). Is to keep quiet and do nothing until you are either out of the military or much closer to the end. I know that there are reasons you don't want to do this, but it is the safest way if you can handle it. You said you have researched hormones for 1 1/2 months, most of the girls here have done research for 2 or more years before they commited to this very permanent step. Also, you did not say which branch of the service you are in. The "Corporate culture" is very different from one to another, so you might have much better luck in the Air Force than you would in the Marines.

I guess my advice boils down to this.....Think more about it, lots more. And then I wouldn't try to hide it if you really feel you need to start transitioning. Ask yourself if it is better to finish your enlistment or do you need to start RIGHT NOW. Good luck and let us know what happens........Stephanie

[Kimberley]

As I am reading these I am astounded that the US military who will put GG's in fighting units are so homophobic (and by extension transphobic) that they will throw away tens of thousands of dollars of training and years of experience because of it. I guess I just dont see how sexual orientation or gender identity makes one more or less devoted to serving what most consider a higher and nobler calling.

It really is fascinating because as I said, Canada's military paid for my friend's transition.

:hugs:
Kimberley

[Jessicaparkson]

I'll throw in my 2 cents. My entire family has been military for as long as we can remember and has a very proud history etc etc (read: blah blah). Anyways. I'm obviously not in the military nor will I be, but my father is currently active duty and my grandfather is a retired commander. I've been having Tricare pay for my psych visits (found a psych up here who is on their list but has a specialty in gender issues). As far as hormones they are still debating. I know our cases aren't the same, as I'm not active duty, but if you did go to a base psych they would indeed have to go the chain of command way, which would lead to a discharge (something you really don't want). As much as it sucks I'm afraid the safest way to go is to wait out your tour and get your benefits (when you're transitioning you'll appreciate them).