*zap*..ow..*zap*..ow..*zap*..ow

[ardilla-parda.livejournal.com]

I just made reservations for my first electrolysis appointment.

I'm going to electrology 2000 this December for an initial 30 hour session, well, 15 hours with two electrologists zapping me at the same time. I've been saving up for this for a long, long time, now it's going to happen. I'm gonna break my chair here from bouncing around I'm so excited.

I hear that my face is probably going to swell up like a watermelon for a few days afterwards. Has anyone here had any experience with them?

Here's what my head looks like at the moment, ftm or mtf, you decide.. seriously though, I have to keep my hair short due to work, fair trade if I can finance other things, like electrolysis and college..nose job?, by having a job :)

I'll post about my experience at E2k here, sometime this December.

-Hazel

One Quick Post...Then Errands

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

Well, I sent my doctor a PDF about H.R.T. and self-medication.
Good news....Bad News
The bad news is, he did point out that experts say therapy is very important when it comes to H.R.T. and he is not 100% happy about me doing things this way.
The good news is, he will see to it that my blood and kidney functions are properly monitored anyway. Yes, he knows there is nothing that will stop me. He admires the fact that I have come out at my age and wish to do something about it.
So basically, I get some of what I want.
I was hoping for inject-ables, but I will be settling for patches.
Next week, I place my order.
Hopefully about a week after that I start another leg of my journey.
The girl is happy.
Now, I've got to stop at a sporting goods store and get a snake bite kit.


Love,


Shelley

(no subject)

[double--edged.livejournal.com]

I know I've posted about this several times, but I don't have anywhere else to go about it. I'm sitting in my university's computer lab, and I'm really thinking that I'm going to start crying over everything, which is weird since I haven't cried since I was 8 years old (grew up with that whole stigma of boys aren't supposed to cry and so I taught myself not to.) I've been living full time for over a year now, with no T or anything. It's just gotten to where it's so hard I almost feel like completely giving up on everything if you guys get my drift.

I live in Nashville and I can't find a decent therapist to save my life. I've been to two and one screwed me and the other one I can't for the life of me keep contact with. I just feel like I can't do this anymore; I don't think it's asking for so much just to be normal. I'm trying so hard to still have hope after twenty phone calls and at least 6 e-mails desperately trying to just get an appointment..but to no avail. If anyone knows anyone in Tennessee around Nashville that can help me in any way possible, please tell me, otherwise I just might not be able to keep this up anymore.

(cross posted to ftm

Medical Insurance Issues to Consider

[minding-maura.livejournal.com]

Everyone keeps talking about medical insurance in here, but no one is looking at the other side of using insurance. Sure it helps to defray costs, which is important, but there is another big consideration that is far more reaching than you think.

MEDICAL INFORMATION BUREAU - "MIB"

The MIB is a non-profit organization owned by the insurance companies. The MIB collects all medical information about everyone. All insurance companies have access to this information. That is ALL insurance companies.

So consider this, every medical treatment you get is listed there, everything. You might ask, so how does this affect you? Well, in a huge way. When you apply for life or health insurance the underwriters use this information to determine what "class" you belong to for acceptance and rating purposes.

So you say, well I work for a big company so I don't have to worry about that - yes you do!!! If you lose your job your health insurance is portable through COBRA but the rates that are charged will be based upon your then assigned "class". If you run out your COBRA then you have to get individual insurance which is then again determined by your "class". Transgender is "high-risk" which means you will probably be referred to your state risk pool, in many cases is the Blues (Blue Cross/Blue Shield). Now this is not regular Blues in that you are being assigned to the high risk which means your rates are astronomical. A transgender of 35 can as a single expect to be paying up to $700 per month easily.

So you ask, well what are my rights. You have the right to see everything in your medical records with the MIB but it must be done through your doctor. The reason for this is that it is all coded and must be translated by a medical professional. They will not release the information to you directly. This can be worse than a credit record in that information never expires, it follows you for life.

If you have encountered it before, you may say, well I have the right to refuse access to my personal medical records, which is correct. The double edged sword here though is that if you don't grant permission to the insurance companies to review the data they will simply not issue you an insurance policy. So much for your rights huh.

MY SUGGESTIONS:

1. Forget using insurance
2. Do not EVER reveal your real name to a doctor or therapist treating you.
3. Tell your therapist why you will use a fake name or your chosen name.
4. Realize that even if your doctor or therapist says they will not divulge information, the simple action of refusing to divulge will stop the insurance company from approving your application.

You need to protect yourself. If you can afford it forget about insurance. If you do need to use it remember that you will pay the price in very high insurance rates for the rest of your life.