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Costs of Transitioning

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  • I am not interested personally in transitioning, but I know there are many on this site who are. There are also those who might be interested but are unsure.

    To help these people as well as to help me better understand, I would like to know first, what ranges of cost it takes to transition. Secondly, I would like to know how people afford to do this. Is it fully paid by the person, or are there ways to obtain assistance?

    Thanks, Sami
      October 10, 2014 3:46 AM BST
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  • Depends on the country you live in and where and which procedures are undertaken. In my case (living in Australia, surgeries performed overseas) I think the following costs will apply.

     

    Beard removal by electrolysis $25k

    FFS (brow and nose) $20k

    SRS $20k

    Speech Therapy $5k

    HRT over 5 years $3-4k

    Psychiatrist $1k

     

    I will be paying this all personally. Transitioning is not cheap!

      October 10, 2014 6:53 AM BST
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  • Here in the UK the cost of transition is mostly covered by the NHS. The cost for my hair removal from face was £1.200 = $1.924 USD at todays rate. People on low incomes get it free but only up to £1.000. Speech therapy if needed is free on the NHS . Gender therapist is free on the NHS and HRT and blockers ect are all on standard rate prescription charges which is £7.85 = $12.58c per item so just double that for one months supply (Oestradiol + Blockers). If you have a decent doctor they can give you 3 months supply on one prescription. Full GRS surgery cost is covered by the NHS.

    Of course anyone here in the UK can transition just by changing their name legally and not even bother with any of the above but , doing it the following the NHS guidelines and through the proper channels all the help is there. The NHS is paid for through our taxation system so it is not really free unless a person has never paid income tax. There is no discrimination between people who have paid tax or not or , do or do not , everyone is treated equal.

     

    Take care , Julia xx

      October 10, 2014 3:08 PM BST
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  • Yes, the UK may well be the cheapest country for getting transition-related treatments.
    If you go through the NHS, as Julia has said, SRS is free, plus voice surgery and speech therapy, some people I'm told have been able to get FFS treatments too (that's probably rare). All therapy and diagnosis and ongoing consulations are also free. 
    I believe you can get free prescriptions if you're on benefits, otherwise anyone can buy a pre-paid card which entitles you to all the prescription drugs you require, hormones and otherwise, and costs a little over £100 per year. Indeed that is now my only transition-related expense. My GP says where I am I can't get electrolysis on the NHS (I suppose I could take them to court over that...) as an alternative though I am prescribed Vaniqa, which drastically slows facial hair growth to the point where it becomes pale and downy; I just pluck a few pale hairs out every few days; I no longer get dark hairs growing.
    So all in all, it's pretty cheap here, £100 per year for me!
    xx
      October 10, 2014 5:17 PM BST
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  • We have four gender clinics here in the UK and at present all have long waiting lists. A few things that piss me off about some thick people. We have had a few articles in the news about Transgender females wanting breast implants on the NHS. As there are tens of thousands of genetic females here in the UK that would love to have breast implants they have to pay unless it is a very extreme circumstance. The local PCT has the riight to refuse and then a court battle goes ahead costing that PCT in court costs running into tens of thousands of pounds. It would be cheaper to just say yes but that would then open the flood gates for more wanting them. So being transgendered is not a licence to take the piss , it is tax payers money "All tax payers".

     

    Next , this is not one off.  I have personally known many trans girls to not turn up for appointments at the gender clinic I attend and they do not even bother to cancel the appointment. That means the appointment cannot be given to another on the waiting list.

    About a year or so ago I was at a meeting and a girl there said she could not go because she was scared. After listening to her for some time I offered to go with her "a friend said there you go Julia is up for anything" The thing was I had already figured this girl out , yes I would have went with her but here is what happened next. I cannot afford the train fare she said , another girl said you can claim it back when you get there because you are not working. Her response was but where do I get the money from to start with to claim it back? . So I said I will pay the fare then you can claim it back and give it back to me .

    It gets worse. But what about food? So there was me offering a day of my time and offering to lend her the train fare and now she wants food. I will buy you lunch I said on Fulham Palace road and you do not have to pay me back , it is on me.

    I told you it gets worse! What if I get hungry and thirsty on the train? Now I was getting really pissed off but never let on. You can take food and drink with you I said you do know that? Yeah but I can't afford to! I then said well what would you do if you were at home , starve?. This girl was attempting to use every excuse she could come up with to not go to that appointment. In the end I gave her my Email address and told her to let me know what she wanted to do.

    Next meeting a month later , she turned up and I asked did you go because you never contacted me? No I was scared. I asked did you cancel your appointment? She said no but I will get another one , will you still come when I do? You can guess my responseYell. There is a girl on this website who openly admitted flushing her appointment down the toilet without canceling it and then complained she had to wait 8 months for another one .

    I know this is a bit off topic but some trans girls in the UK do not know what we have here , the NHS is falling apart (a bit like GS currently) . It is falling apart because of people abusing it and a government that does not care if it falls 100% into private hands which will cost all tax payers more.

     

    Take care , Julia xx

      October 10, 2014 7:37 PM BST
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