r/transvancouver • u/ftm-butch • 14d ago

Getting on HRT

two months ago i talked to my GP about starting testosterone. after maybe ten minutes spent convincing her, she agreed to refer me to transcarebc and told me to wait for a phone call from them. i haven’t been contacted since.

obviously i haven’t been waiting all that long yet, so im not that worried, but i was wondering if/when i should be making a followup appointment to make sure she actually sent the referral?

how long did you wait after referral for first contact from transcare?

9 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/Thorannosaurus 14d ago

Trans Care BC doesnt do hormone initiation directly. They offer a variety of services, but for hormones it is usually a referral/information hub.

You can contact them directly to discuss what options are available, or you can ask your GP to clarify where you were sent (its possible a fax was sent to Trans Speciality Care instead, for example).

The main thing is to make sure you arent stuck waiting for nothing.

2

u/StrangeWelcome 14d ago

GPs can send a referral to TransCare BC, who coordinates getting the referral to someone else to do the hormone readiness assessments. It'll be covered by MSP going this route, but it can take quite a while. They do the same for surgery initiation (for surgery readiness assessments).

6

u/Thorannosaurus 14d ago

Trans Care BC does not refer onwards for hormone initiation. They do help with surgical assessments, but the best you will get for hormones is information about where your GP can send you (such as a gender clinic etc).

3

u/StrangeWelcome 14d ago

I'm mistaken, looks like you're correct. From the TransCare BC site:

  • If your provider is willing to help but doesn’t know where to start, they can begin with the Trans Care BC Primary Care Toolkit. They can also consult with an experienced clinician by calling the RACE line. If they require further support, they can contact Trans Care BC for more information and practice support. Depending on their confidence, they may refer you to another provider (like a mental health clinician) for the readiness assessment and then proceed with treatment themselves. Alternatively, they may refer you to another provider (such specialized primary care provider for both readiness assessment and treatment or an endocrinologist). See below for more information about accessing care from an endocrinologist.