Greetings everyone! I hope you are doing well. I want to apologize I promised that I would post yesterday but unfortunately I was not able to see my doctor that day. However I saw him today and let me tell you, I have some great news.
I woke up at 8 in the morning on pins and needles not knowing if I would begin HRT today or if I would have to wait for blood results and red tape. After I took my adipex and finished all the boring morning routine stuff. I went to my car and got on my way at promptly 9 o'clock. It was the longest car ride I have ever had, not because of distance but because of all the thoughts racing through my head. I arrived at his office at exactly 10:30.
It was a very small office run by three nurses and my doctor. Tiny waiting room, old tv, old magazines; the classic doctors office. I signed my name and began filling out the paperwork when the nurse pulled me aside and asked what I was being seen for today. I thought oh no what happens if I tell her and they say they will not see me. But I forced all that down and told her that I was there for Hormone Replacement Therapy and to my surprise she was the nurse that I had spoken to on the phone. She was really supportive and told me that she had checked and found my insurance will not cover my doctors visits do to the medical code being transgender. After a few laughs I sat back down and started finishing up the paperwork. That was when another nurse had arrived and pulled me into her office.
She was an older lady and very kind. She asked me the usual questions: When did realize you were transgender? Are you out yet? What made you want to start hormones? Do you have anyone this will directly affect: wife or husband, children, etc. After all that was said and done I was kind of getting the feeling I was being interrogated. Evidently she realized I was feeling that way and said to not worry. She and my doctor had been treating transgender patients for 40 years! I was shocked and amazed. We got to talking about all sorts of things from religion to politics. It really made me seem at ease and welcomed. We finally got to her paperwork and the first thing she asked was what was my name so I gave my birth name and my new name, Gwen. She asked which I preferred and I said Gwen and she put that down and through out the rest of my appointment refereed to me as Gwen and with proper pronouns. Then the doctor arrived.
He was a very nice older gentleman, he told me he has had several male-to-female patients over the years and asked me a couple of questions. He was really friendly to lots of jokes, we had to stop several times to laugh, even though I only saw him for about 10 minutes about 6 of that was laughing. Before he left he told the nurse to go ahead and contact the pharmacy and set up my prescriptions for Estradiol (Estrogen) and Spironolactone (Anti-Androgen). At this point I was ecstatic I was actually getting the hormones, I didn't even realize that the doctor had left until his nurse had started talking to me again.
She went over the medicines protocols with me, when to take them and so on. She also informed me that they will take blood work on my next visit and that the visit will cost $100 for today and future visits will only cost $50. The last thing she told me was that once I go full time to not worry at all, the staff is very supportive and the other patients are ok with it too. After I paid the nurse at the front desk I quickly rushed over to the pharmacy where I found out my insurance will not pay for my Estradiol (which I already knew) but would pay for my "Spiro" and it only cost me $13. So I finally started my hormone replacement therapy and are on the path for full reassignment.
Needless to say, I am quite excited that not only did I find a doctor with years of experience with an awesome nursing staff but also a pharmacy that is just as welcoming. I cannot wait to see them all again for my next appointment. I go to see them again in 4-6 weeks. So I am planning on going back around June 8th. I am so glad to finally be on the path to being who I truly am, but now I find that my wardrobe is kind of lonely with only one dress, guess it is time to start expanding but that is for another time. I will be sure to post at least once a week about how my HRT is going and to keep you all updated about how the rest of the transition is going. So be sure to check back soon.
Till then,
~Gwen
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