Medical/Psychological Care
As I have mentioned, when beginning anything, please do the research about the various medical and psychological facilities that will be your constant source of care throughout your transition. Your mental and physical health is paramount prior to, during, and post surgical care for transgender individuals. Please seek out transgender friendly providers to ensure a successful outcome for you. I have been very fortunate in my own transition to have been treated exceptionally well by my own personal medical doctors and mental health professionals. The only negative medical and mental care I have received is from the US Department of Veterans Affairs here in Houston, Texas.
I firmly believe that anyone undergoing this process of transitioning, one will need to do allot of research regarding the issues surrounding the effects, both physical and mental, effects on your body throughout your journey.
While I have used many different resources in my transition to help me understand things about my own personal journey to womanhood, I have found this great internet resource for someone to read carefully so that you will be able to discuss these issues with others, especially your medical providers and counselors.
TransGender Care
http://www.transgendercare.com/default.asp
Please take the time to read and reread the current medical and psychological association's generally acceptable standards of care throughout your journey to be the real you.
Here are a few excerpts that may help you... I am also attaching the full version of each of these documents below to help you understand that while transgender medical care to include gender reassignment surgery is still an exclusion to most health plans, you are entitled to "appropriate medical and mental care" despite these discriminating exclusions.
World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) International Standards of Care, Sixth Version, which states:
"In persons diagnosed with transsexualism or profound GID, sex reassignment surgery, along with hormone therapy and real-life experience, is a treatment that has proven to be effective. Such a therapeutic regimen, when prescribed or recommended by qualified practitioners, is medically indicated and medically necessary. Sex reassignment is not "experimental," "investigational," "elective," "cosmetic," or "optional" in any meaningful sense. It constitutes very effective and appropriate treatment for transsexualism or profound GID."
American Medical Association (AMA) Resolution 122, April 18, 2008, which states:
"Whereas, GID, if left untreated, can result in clinically significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating depression and, for some people without access to appropriate medical care and treatment, suicidality and death; and..."
American Psychological Association (APA) Transgender, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Policy Statement, August 2008, which states:
"THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT APA supports the provision of adequate and necessary mental and medical health care treatment for transgender and gender variant individuals;
THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT APA recognizes the efficacy, benefit and medical necessity of gender transition treatments for appropriately evaluated individuals and calls upon public and private insurers to cover these medically necessary treatments;
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT APA supports access to appropriate treatment in institutional settings for people of all gender identities and expressions; including access to appropriate health care services including gender transition therapies"
Again, please seek out professional medical care throughout your transition...
Love,
Charlene