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I'm inclined to make an appointment with Planned Parenthood for MTF HRT. My understanding is that I don't need a therapists letter, although my therapist, who has now relocated, was willing to provide my letter. PP apparently uses an informed consent model? Has anyone else gone this route?
Has anyone recently been successful in getting their MTF HRT prescriptions filled through the VA?
Lori
I started at planned parenthood and then transferred to a large medical facility and have an Endo doing the monitoring of the meds . and the medical facility did not ask any letters.
Our local PP offers this. Be aware it does not involve any blood work, and they hand them out pretty freely, even to people with contraindications. If you are able to, you really should work with a doctor for your safety. Sadly, many people don't have access to health care and this is their only option.
I have used them in the past. I use an LGBTQ+ clinic in San Francisco, Lyon Martin part of Healthright 360, which basically operates on the Informed Consent approach. They have therapists, Nurse Practitioners with a Doctor overseeing things. I started my hormones with them, much as you probably can do at your local Planned Parenthood - PP. They probably have someone/Nurse Practitioner or Doctor who can authorize blood work. Call and ask. They are there to help you. Plus, you need to keep you family Doctor involved too in order to avoid any future health issues. My appointments were with qualified Nurse Practitioners. I also did my therapy with a therapist and then psychologist to get the correct letters for potential surgeries. All very professional. If you have doubts about starting hormones or have medical issues that hormones may negatively impact, then you probably should go the doctor only approach. My family doctor now monitors my hormone levels as well as my overall health very diligently. So, I feel very safe and medically watched over.
PS: I also had a friend who used the VA somewhere in the South SF Bay area to get her medical work done and was prescribed hormones by them.
PPS: PM me if you need any additional info or have questions.
Hi, Lori! I don't know about the VA but my Medicare part D is giving me a hard time about the patches! They cover the Spiro with no problems but rather than 2 a week, they will only pay for the once a week patch! I go to an Endo for mine and it is covered by Medicare and my supplement! That way I am sure the proper blood work gets done and I am doing alright! Hugs Lana Mae
Planned Parenthood for HRT?
You learn something new every day.
Lea, I am not sure if all clinics provide that service. I actually went to them when I was starting to have support issues with Lyon-Martin. I had one meeting with a Nurse Practitioner who wrote me a prescription for progesterone, which I could not get approved by my insurance. At the same time I was fighting my last dosage increase for estradiol with my insurance company. When I finally got my issues with Lyon Martin straightened out for the increased dosage (the problem was with the insurance company and not them) I decided not to fight for the progesterone prescription and to not use PP for the moment. However, if I need them for whatever reason, I would go back to them to see what they could do.
Not all PP offer it. Only a small number do for the time being. Our local one was the first I believe.
I haven't had to take them up on it, but my local VA hospital made it clear that if I wanted to shift my care to them, they'd be happy to provide hormones and psychiatry services. Also they'd be happy to provide post-surgical after-care (follow-up appointments, meds, etc.) they just are forbidden from doing the surgery. I did take about a year of Speech Pathology to try to feminize my voice. In general they will extend themselves to help trans veterans. Your local VA hospital should have folks on staff that will help you access the program. I'll also note that I have never had any problems at a VA facility -- the doctors and the other vets have been very supportive.
I checked the state and local PP’s in this area. Local isn’t doing HRT yet, but a couple of others in the state are. Not a need for me at this time as I get mine through my doctor and Blue Cross, but it was interesting to find out about it.
My VA hospital has been great, providing hormones, speech therapy and psychologist for therapy. Depending on the state PP may cover meds, NY does.
I started my hrt.with p/ p a year ago.using the informed consent module it went very.smoothly i started by using estriodol only no blockers and have done well .but being new to the game they were a little clumsy on monitoring levels, so when I came out to my dr I suggested we change over to the clinic endo to keep things more consistent.the new endo has also hooked me up with a pretty much non gatekeeping gender counselor.planned parenthood was a good start and iwould reccomend them anytime for new people
I can't comment on Planned Parenthood, but I can comment on the VA. I have been in the VA system since 1986. In 2000, they first began providing me with HRT, but at that time there was no one in the mental health department of my local facility that really had a clue about being a gender therapist. That first attempt to transition did not go well. Fast forward to 2016, and a lot has changed. The VA is once again providing my HRT, and I am also seeing a psychologist there who specializes in working with LGBTQ veterans. The care I have received this time has been top notch. Another benefit I have found with being treated at the VA, is that since all of my providers are in the same place, there is a lot of communication between them, which in my opinion, leads to improved care. The staff at my local VA Hospital has been fully supporting of my transition (everyone from surgeons, nurses, doctors, nursing students....). I have never had a problem with getting any of my HRT prescriptions filled. They also provide speech therapy, and have provided me with a high quality wig through the prosthetics department (I'm an older, half-bald chic). They have also mentioned the possibility of providing breast prosthesis if the HRT does not result in adequate breast tissue growth.
If you have access to VA care, I would urge you to explore it. They don't provide any type of gender affirming surgery, but the care they do offer has bee exemplary in my opinion.