<p>how do you begin biological therapy? (I mean I only committed psychologically a while ago, but I’ve been thinking about the issues for 14 years.) </p>
<p>Admittedly, as a first or second year I didn’t really care about LGBT activism, even as a second year when I hooked up a lot. But now I guess I really do care. And most people know me as an effeminate guy who dresses rather weird (I love asian retro/historical clothing) and my friends in first year would often tell me “we forget that you’re a boy” [this was before I identified]. So now as someone who always ignored these resources, I feel kind of lost. Where do I start? I mean it feels pretty awkward to try to just waltz into a random center and start seeking guidance. </p>
<p>also is there any way for a poor student on mostly grant-based financial aid to seek biological therapy? </p>
<p>I mean this is besides the whole issue of coming out gradually to wider friends and family.</p>
<p>I guess I’m asking CC because googling queries that are along of “okay made the decision. now what do I do?” [not literally of course] don’t really get me a lot of info.</p>
<p>I know when my friend started, his was partially covered by insurance. He lived fully as a boy, with a legal male name and everything, for a few years before insurance covered anything.</p>
<p>Right now, I highly doubt there’s much of any funding for this. And it is very expensive. Go to an LGBT center for more info.</p>
<p>Well…try waltzing into the LGBT center and asking for help. I know it’s scary at first, but especially starting out it’s probably your best option. The people there should be able to direct you to local resources and you might find other people at a similar stage in their transition, or people who’ve done it and can help guide you.</p>
<p>One random thing I will advise is to check with your local Planned Parenthood. We have a few clinics here in California that actually have a trans clinic. I get my bloodwork and hormone prescriptions through them. If it wasn’t for that clinic I wouldn’t have been able to start HRT at all.</p>
<p>How is it sad that insurance covers a procedure that allows an individual to feel like they belong in their own body? I would say it’s the opposite of sad.</p>
<p>Also, insurance often does not cover such a procedure. It really depends on what insurance one has.</p>
<p>^You should ignore Mathemagician, he’s virulently anti-LGBT. OP, go to the LGBT center and see what resources they suggest, they might be able to put you in touch with a counselor/psychologist who can provide further info. I know you’re already committed psychologically so transgendered counseling might not be necessary, but the counselor can put you in touch with some doctors who can perform the reassignment surgery. </p>
<p>I would also personally suggest joining the website Fundies Say The Darndest Things, you don’t have to be particularly liberal or irked off at Fundies, but there are a fair number of Pre-op transgendered individuals who can provide a sense of community for you on the internet and give advice when you might not know who to ask.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, one of the reasons why some of the insurance companies cover it is because it’s considered a mental illness or some other mental disorder (I can’t remember the exact terminology).</p>
<p>^Well you know what’s nice about medicine? It’s not about someone’s opinions, it’s about verifiable facts. It doesn’t matter that it’s “as far as you’re concerned” your opinion dosn’t count. It’s hardly a cosmetic surgery anymore than it would be to get medical to cover braces for me to fix my TMJ - or surgery to remove neurofibromas from my body. Potentially harmful/fatal to the body? Got some studies to back that up? Because beyond the normal risks of surgery that would be present across any, I haven’t read any information about people dying from sexual reassignment surgery. Without those studies, I call b.s. fearmongering.</p>
<p>@romanigypsyeyes - It still falls under Gender Identity Disorder I think, but they’re taking it out of the DSM-V because it was largely only added to appease the anti-LGBT bigots. The treatment outlined by the DSM is essentially counseling so that they’re comfortable with their gender identity and help making the transition if they feel it’s necessary.</p>
<p>Yep. It is an actual medical condition with an actual treatment. That treatment is transitioning. Which means, depending on what the individual is comfortable with, taking hormones, laser hair removal (for MtFs anyway), surgery, etc.</p>
<p>And it’s actually very rare to find an insurance policy that covers any of it. Most of them specifically exclude any “transsexual treatments”. Pretty discriminatory, IMO.</p>
<p>And antipacifist, I’d love to hear more about the fatal side effects of transitioning.</p>
<p>The insurance issue is tricky. To be sure, insurance companies are filled with greedy mother****ers just watching out for their bottom line (as with most companies). It makes sense from a business perspective that many don’t cover reassignment surgery. For those that do, I would expect transsexuals to flock to them, raising their costs, which would be responded to with higher prices. If there are companies that pay for this type of treatment, they likely have higher premiums to offset expected costs.</p>
<p>I’m sorry I don’t have much constructive advice, but I wish you the best of luck in your search.</p>
<p>I’m Asian…I mean other than being slightly tall (I do sports) I often basically look like a flat-chested Asian girl. Well…when I want to.</p>
<p>It’s the social advice too, because I’ve built up a social life around a certain identity…I mean it helps that I’ve somewhat always played up my androgynous side.</p>
<p>When you consider that LGBTs have their feelings/ attractions due to hormonal imbalances and genetic defects, plus the circumstances of their upbringing can play a role in their condition, I wouldn’t consider the surgery a necessary medical procedure.</p>
<p>And yeah, you could argue that LGBT is “naturally” occurring, but so are plenty of medical disorders, Autism, Down Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, and all sorts of conditions that are not normal.</p>
<p>also…I’m a student biochemistry and neuropsychology [not soft psych!] and linguistics. I know my **** </p>
<p>I’m not talking about major surgery (I don’t want that yet). </p>
<p>my father (who is no longer in my life) also had the same condition. and the wife of his father before him wore the pants in the relationship. So…while I haven’t done any genetic testing I quite suspect my traits are Y-linked if not also linked autosomally. I have analysed my psychology and physiology inside out haha.</p>
<p>You know what’s funny about reality, is the second you stop believing in it, it doesn’t go away. Reality is that LGBT people are people too and they deserve love and respect just like any other person, homophobia notwithstanding.</p>
<p>No one said they aren’t people. I only stated a simple fact about the causes of their condition. </p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with realistically analyzing a situation instead of just saying, “Let’s give them whatever they want, because they are people too.”</p>
<p>Want and need are entirely separate. </p>
<p>Why does a transsexual person get a surgery to get “changed”? They think the problem they have is the body they are born with. The issue is honestly psychological though, since the issue isn’t really with their body which functions normally, but their perception of their body. Getting the surgery does not address the psychological issue, and therefore does not treat the problem.</p>
<p>When you have many, many trans* people suffering from depression primarily because of their gender dysphoria, I’d argue that yes, surgery is, in fact, needed to help balance out their mental state.</p>
<p>Of course, not all surgeries are “needed”. You have trans* people who refuse to transition for reasons of their own, but to make a blanket statement such as the one you made is ridiculous.</p>
<p>ETA:</p>
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<p>Actually, you know what? You just don’t get it, do you?</p>
<p>The issue isn’t psychological. I have a best friend who is a transman. As he’s explained it, it really is as though he’s been trapped inside the wrong body his entire life. Science has proven that transpeople do tend to have what would be considered “male” or “female” minds in the wrong bodies. My best friend tried to commit suicide several times in his life, but now that he’s on the way to getting surgery and hormone treatment, he’s for once happy with his life. If he’s happy and not harming anyone (and transpeople getting surgery does not harm anyone else, don’t delude yourself) why should you care? What you’ve got is just some good ol’ transphobia.</p>
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