So, I’ve now been waiting over 15 months to see the Gender Clinic and as it’s looking like I have a while to wait still, I’ve decided to look at the options for Private Medicare for HRT and GRS. It’s something I’ve never really considered before as I know its expensive, but in this day in age, what isnt?
Medicare for HRT and GRS
So, for those of you who haven’t been following my blog, I came out as Transgender at the end of October/ Beginning of November 2021 and have been living as a woman fulltime since then. A couple of months later in January 2022, I spoke to my GP and was referred to the Chalmers clinic in Edinburgh for Hormone Replacement therapy (HRT) and Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS).
I was actually quite surprised how swiftly that conversation went as I’ve spoken to people who have had alsorts of issues with their GP referring them. Mine was very good. He agreed to refer me straight away.
However, these things can take a while and I knew at the time that it would be a few years before I would even be seen for my first appointment at the Clinic. But figured at the time I’d have plenty to get on with in the meantime. But here I am approximately 15 months down the line and cant wait to finally get seen. Yet its looking like it’s still going to be a while yet to wait. So vie been recently considering other options. If it’s gonna be a while for NHS treatment, then maybe I should go private.
Private Medicare for HRT
The problem I’ve always had really with private medicare instead of NHS care is that it costs quite a lot of money and has always seemed to be out of my budget. Not that I’ve actually looked into it before, but it has always just struck me as expensive so put me off straight away. But I guess it’s just a case of deciding how much my health and wellbeing is worth. Afterall, in this day and age, what isnt expensive?
Private Medicare or Self medicating?
So, I guess when it comes to paying money to get started on hormones and stuff, there are two different roads I can take – Private Medicare or Self Medicating. So lets have a look at both of these methods shall we?
Self Medicating
Self medicating is one way I can go about getting my hormones that I need to transition. This might actually work out a little bit cheaper in cost than full on Private Medicare and would probably get me started on hormones a lot quicker without any questions asked.
However, without knowing what one is doing and how to read their own blood levels etc, this can actually be really dangerous because you dont know whether you are prescribing youself the correct dosage or not and could end up killing yourself. It’s certainly not a method I would recommend to anyone.
The other thing about this is that you would need to buyy hormones on the black market which can aslo be not opnly dangerous but risky to your pocket too as you dont always know whether you are going to get ripped off or not.
So although it may seem cheaper in price, it may end up more expensive in the long run if you end up paying for Estrogen that you dont receive or worse still, get ripped off with something else. Something that could potentially be harmful.
Private Medicare
Private Medicare can cost a bit more than just self medicating with tablets bought online from the Black market, but is potentially much more safer as you are going to get proper consultation with doctors and Psychiatrists etc. This will ensure that you are going to get the correct dosage of estrogen too as you will get the proper blood tests that are neccessaary to ensure the correct levels of estrogen are prescribed.
Private medicare will also cover your consulations so you can get the neccesary support and medical advice needed that you would otherwise have to source yourself if you are self medicating.
So, I think it’s safe enough to say that even though it’s a little more expensive, Private medicare from proper professionals is far better option than just self medicating.
Going for Private Medicare for HRT
So, I guess if I decide to go Private with my medicare then it’s going to cost whereas the NHS doesnt. But I guess it’s just a case of evaluating how much my health and wellbeing is worth really.
I mean, once upon a time, many years ago, I was a heavy Crack and heroin user. I’d spend about £150-£200 per day on these drugs and the addiction would kick me out of bed in the morning and push me out the door to go and make that money to fuel my habit.
So I guess if I was able to get that much money together each day to keep a drug habit going, then I should, with the will power, be able to get the money together for the Medicare that I need to give me the ultimate happiness I will get from transitioning and it’s only a fraction of the cost that pointless wastes of money like Smack n crack was.
Splitting the Costs of Medicare with the NHS
So one of the options I was looking at for Private Medicare is with a group called Your GP. I’d actually first heard of them in a couple of the Transgender support groups on Facebook that I am part of and it kinda got me interested. So I thought I’d take a look.
Their website is pretty well laid out and has an option to enter your phone number for a call back. So I did and they called me back within a minute of me submitting it and ran me through their general procedure. They also took my email address and agreed to send me a brochure that has all the prices included for what you need.
However, the main thing that got my interest with them was the fact that they allow you to team up with your own GP and have the NHS cover some of the costs including blood tests and prescriptions.
So this can be a little cheaper than paying for the lot yourself with full on private Medicare. For me, this could be a great help as I’m not currently in the best of positions financially. So any concessions I can get are a wonderful help indeed.
So what now?
What I need to do now before I can get an accurate measure of how much my treatment is going to cost, is have a word with my own GP and see what their stance is on working with Your GP. According to the advisor I spoke to on the phone and from what I’ve heard others in the support group say, all GPs can be different.
Apparently some are willing to support the NHS covering the costs of the prescriptions and blood tests, some only the blood tests, some only the prescriptions and some GPs are just not willing to work with your GP at all.
So, i need to give my doctors surgery a call tomorrow and make an appointment to sit down and talk to my GP and see how much he is willing to work with Your GP. I’m hoping that he will be helpful and give me full cooperation. When i spoke to him about being referred to the Gender clinic, he was very helpful so I’m hoping that will be a sign of him being helpful this time. But some GPs are just funny about working with any Private clinics. So here’s hoping.
Nightmare Surgery Staff
I just hope i can also get an appointment with my GP easy enough too. The surgery I’m with must be one of the most unprofessional places I know. Whenever I call in to make an appointment, the desk clerk starts asking personal questions as to what I want to speak to the doctor about. They shouldn’t be doing this as it breaches patient confidentiality.
But they are small town minds and I really dont want to have to sit and talk to someone who isn’t even a qualified GP about my own personal issues. But the last time i refused to talk anyone other than my GP, they actually refused to give me an appointment. Absolutely shocking behaviour from any public service.
But I guess if the worst comes to the worst and they are unwilling to help here, then I may need to find another GP closer to where I live and hope that they are more compliant. Fingers crossed.
Wish me luck!
How about You?
How about you? Have you ever been in a similar situation? Have you ever used Your GP or any other similar Private Medicare group for HRT and GRS? If so, I’d love to hear how you got on in the comments below.
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Have a wonderful day folks!
Karalyne
