One thing I want everyone to note: Canada’s healthcare system is NOT strained because it’s single-payer. It’s easy to fall into the logical hole of assuming that it is and thinking the strain would be lessened if it were privatized, but that isn’t true. Businesses have just as much motive to keep their systems strained and overloaded, as they’re easier to maintain, same as just-in-time delivery and the various other purposefully fragile things about the private sector. This is a strategy that’s being done in the UK as well; conservative politicians gut healthcare funding, making the system low-quality and barely functional, blame that on accessibility, and raise support for healthcare privatization. Canada’s system being government funded is one of its virtues, not vices.
It doesn't even matter. We pay in the US and the circumstances are still worse. I am a type 1 diabetic and my endocrinologist is booking 11 months out. I would love a 6 month wait.
im 15 and i've been waiting 3 years for hrt. its horrible. i get there has to be bureaucratic steps in order to make sure the client whos going onto HRT doesn't affect their life forever, but goodness its painful. the constant dysphoria, waking up, knowing that even if I'm on the strongest blockers, my body and bones will grow, that i could possibly turn into a man within a span of months, its horrible and its a dread i constantly have to fight. im glad i managed to get into therapy early, but when there are permanent changes on the line, and that they are irreversible unless you go under cosmetic surgery, (which is extremely expensive in my country). i dont know. its hard and i feel like my body is just a ticking time bomb.
I was in exactly the same situation on you, starting hrt at 15 after 3 years of waiting. Let me assure you, it gets better ❤️. P.S. If you're on blockers don't worry about your body continuing to develop male physiological secondary sex characteristics, in the off chance your body increases T production while on blockers any changes will be incredibly slow, and it'll get picked up in the routine monitoring that's (or should probably be) part of the treatment.
As the person above me stated, hormone blockers are incredibly easy to get and, shockingly, super cheap even without insurance! If you need it, console your primary physician and tell them. Hormone blockers are given to cis men (and cis women) to prevent hair loss, but it's the same stuff given to trans women, so that can be an easy excuse if you need one (it's also a valid excuse because hair loss is a real risk for people in your position, just in case you don't like to lie).
I understand you completely, but your body won't grow masculine features without testosterone, probably only just general height if you're on blockers, someday you'll just be a free woman right now take care of the body you got, it sustains you, and you are a precious life
You know you can treat dysphoria without transitioning, right? That's what therapists are for. At 15, you'll become a patient for life, putting your body through permanent changes that can't be undone. I'm not saying you should never transition but your body (all of us, trans or not) will go through changes regardless. Maybe treating that fear is more important than getting hrt. Mental health first, always.
being a trans person is inherently stressful. but the already stressful factors of the social dynamics of school and being bound to family homes have their stressfulness are intensified due to transness :( I'm a trans young person in the UK and getting trans related healthcare here is a nightmare. I just wish that all trans people but especially the trans youth of the future have it easier and have more accessible healthcare. being trans is a stressful and ostracizing experience, it has been a rollercoaster already and I'm only just beginning.
yuppp, its not good at all here in the uk, heard the nhs waiting lists for hormones are over 15 years minimum, over 11k people are on the waiting list, and like i think 5-6x more people are applying every month than getting offered first appointment, where you dont even get hrt. im going private for hrt once i get out of my transphobic household with controlling parents, im using gendergp, id recommend checking it out if you can afford, and remember to ask for student prices. if youre lucky youll be able to do shared care with the nhs, but its not always the case and can take a while, someone i know online said it took them 2 years, ive heard some have never gotten it at all, its rough, but i hope it gets better for the trans youth of the future, but i got little to no doubt with the political landscape rn of the uk also yeah its super stressful, especially seeing all the bad shit in the media when we literally just want to feel comfortable in our bodies, we are not harming anyone but we are made to seem like we cause everything to be wrong in the world, i dont understand it, ive met probs 100-200 trans people online, and only 1 was a dickhead (invalidated me and bragged about having accepting parents when i dont), we are nice people who just want to live life and be happy, i dont understand it, and with how hard it is for us to get this stuff, its only getting worse and worse the stress its rough, so rough, but good luck with your transition and i hope it goes well!!
i think another major point that a lot of people miss out on when discussing how hard it is for trans youth to transition is having transphobic parents. im 16 and neither of my parents are particularly fond of trans people (one of whom openly mocks us) but if they were supportive of us then there would be absolutely 0 barriers for me deciding to socially transition and id at least have something of a shot at getting hormones if i desired them.
Yes and so many if us go from transphobic home to a college or workplace that is transphobic. There's a huge way we are financially abused in a systematic manner that delays or blocks transition.
My dad just straight up will not let me get hormones despite me being 17 and it being very obvious I'm trans. His reasoning is that he doesn't want to be responsible for an permanent changes to my body. PERMANENT CHANGES TO MY BODY YOU SAY???? OH YOU MEAN THE WRONG PUBERTY IM GOING THROUGH THATS ACTIVELY MAKING ME HATE MYSELF MORE THAN I ALREADY DO THAT YOU, MY DAD, ARE ACTIVELY FORCING UPON ME BY NOT LETTING ME GET TREATMENT FOR MY VERY REAL CONDITION. God I hate my dad so much.
Yeah, i was about to comment this, ive been out for 9 months, and have unaccepting parents, who wont even let me do anything to transition, like even wearing feminine clothing or growing my hair as they always force me to get haircuts, if they were accepting i probs would be like 7 months on estrogen, and it just sucks knowing my parents prevented that, im 18 but cant risk doing anything to lessen my dysphoria or get some euphoria as im in danger of being kicked out and i cant afford housing and stuff Hope youre able to get out of your house and get on hormones soon :3
I really enjoyed this video. Its so frustrating being trans and under 18. It's sad to say that It was easier to get access to hormones in the states years ago. In my state (Arkansas) it's been illegal for minors to be prescribed blockers or hormones for a year. Edit: the law also said that most people that identify as trans transition back. It didn't cite a specific number or study it just said most
the fuck do they do for those kids that end up developing precocious puberty for whom hormone blockers were initially made for? 😬 why are politicians so shortsighted about these things? this isn't the only problem with medications that are used for multiple things being banned/scrutinized somewhere either. it's almost like they shouldn't be allowed to even look at healthcare Anything unless they have A Fucking Medical License or a board on unbiased doctors they can defer to god
@@private-local-enemy I read the bill when it was being passed through the house and it was rediculous. It said that most trans youth that identify as trans transition back (it didn't even cite a specific number it just said most). It was only 10 pages and somehow none of those pages had any citations on it.
I'm a 35 year old trans woman is South Africa and getting the medical stuff I need in my country is a frustrating experience as well. Government assisted healthcare is a thing here too and in practice that's meant I can get my HRT effectively for free if I can't afford it, but when it comes to GRS that has a 25 "year" waiting list and then doesn't even cost much less than getting it done privately so if you can't afford your HRT you certainly can't afford your GRS. Addition: There are also only two facilities in the entire country which are equipped to deal with trans healthcare and neither of them consider it a priority. HRT clinics only run on a couple days per year and are chock full of people waiting to see an endocrinologist as a result. On the surgery front, both facilities only earmark a surgery room for use in GRS one or two sessions a year and can and do cancel those sessions at literally the last moment. I've heard of people being put under for their surgery only to wake up 8 hours later with their surgery having been cancelled before it started. Hence the 25 year waiting list, I suppose -_-
I'm a transmasc teenager in BC, and in March I spoke to my doctor about getting an appointment at a gender clinic for testosterone. He said he'd call them, and the clinic should get back to us in a couple weeks. They still haven't contacted us as of august 1st. This is just the first step of dozens in order to get testosterone, and it's already taken 5 months. :|
transfem teenager in BC here, just replying to say that there’s a good chance you can go through a shorter process by calling Transcare BC and asking for a new family doctor who can directly prescribe HRT. I went through that route in a different province and it was so much faster than waiting for the gender clinics.
so excited for this series ! i think it's really important to have discussions like this in a time when trans youth are often spoken over or the subject of fearmongering rather than spoken to themselves. i appreciate the content and the dialogue this might start !!
Amazing video! I'm a 22 year old American transfem, and I one thousand percent know how difficult it is to get access to transgender hormone therapy. It makes me sad that even in Canada, a country with ostensibly 'universal' healthcare, we face so many barriers towards getting adequate care. It is SO true that many doctors who provide trans healthcare aren't properly trained on how to support trans patients, I had a doctor at a walk in who cancelled an appointment on me, but tried to refuse to renew my hormones for the short two week period before my rescheduled appointment date. I was literally facing two weeks of intense withdrawal, and the only thing between that and proper care was a doctor who thought it would be okay for me to just go off hormones every now and then.
@@x999uuu1 Ever heard of hot flashes? That's one of the symptoms. The others are also unpleasant, and probably worse than in menopausal cis women (IIRC).
I had the same issue, my prescriber hasn't had a trans patient before and I missed two appointments cause of unrelated mental health issues and I barely managed to convince her to renew the prescription until a new rescheduled appointment, mainly thanks to my psychiatrist who is experienced with trans patients
I’m an intersex trans man and I keep deciding If I need testosterone or not, I look fairly masculine, but then again I am afraid. I live in North Carolina which has an okay governer but anything can happen at any time that can affect people like me. I’ve learned to expect the worse :(
What breaks my heart about doctors over-referring is that they literally have the Sherbourne protocol. The doc could literally just read it off their screen and know exactly how to prescribe hormones, schedule blood tests and refer only patients with more complex needs to an endocrinologist. Sadly, many doctors prefer to pass the buck rather than risk a treatment they're not familiar with...which is understandable, but still puts unneeded stress on the system.
I think too they don't want to open themselves up to liability. If you pass the buck and something goes wrong then it was the endocrinologist's fault. I just know I once asked the nurse practitioner (in a rural conservative community) for a referral to a WPATH certified doctor. I was pleasantly, surprised that she said all it took from her was a few pen strokes and that she saw it as no different than if I had heart issues and needed to see a cardiologist. I managed to get my diagnosis in 2017 but actually getting hormones is a different story all together. It's been 5 years and no progress has been made at all it seems. In fact from a non-medical perspective (a legal one) our government made it harder on trans people wanting to change their name. Now in Saskatchewan we need a criminal record check (that of course comes at an additional cost) and we have to get it all our paperwork down to Regina within 14 days of issuance. With the way Canada Post is (my Mum once sent a registered letter to Edmonton from Saskatchewan and it ended up stuck in Winnipeg) I would be scared it wouldn't get there within a fortnight.
@@BBC600 Yeah, my father's a doctor and he's certainly talked about the fear of malpractice suits influencing those kinds of decisions. Another regrettable factor that needs addressing, though preferably without compromising accountability. I'm dealing with name change paperwork too, and...it's a lot. At least in Ontario, the criminal records check isn't necessary if your record is clean (and no time limit was mentioned that I can recall). I'm sorry Saskatchewan is putting more barriers in front of name changes. They really are quite necessary, and way too difficult to complete as it is. I've heard stories of forms answered honestly and diligently being sent back and rejected because the answer was outside expected bounds, needing slight corrections that are unintuitive. Not sure why they can't just do that themselves, but it can cost a lot of time...and if you're having to do timed criminal record checks, possibly money. 🙁
I love these kinds of projects. In New Zealand there was the Counting Ourselves survey in 2019 which recorded a lot of very unfun statistics regarding healthcare and discrimination for our transgender whānau. What was special about this survey is it has never been done before. There will be another survey soon this month. I hope the last 3 years of work has improved outcomes.
As a trans kid, I feel like everyone is against me, family, parents, friends, school, sports they all hate me with a passion, I've never met someone who was accepting and I was always thinking about moving to Canada from the us when I get older but after seeing this I feel like there is really just no winning in my life.
People can love you without accepting your trans identity. Keep in mind that these people (especially your parents) are probably "against" you because they want what's best for you and they disagree with what you're doing. That's love, even though you might not like it.
@@xa1551 Whats BEST for any trans child is a supportive household, the bare minimum is just allowing your child to socially transition, it doesn't even have to be outside of the house, just allowing a child to be themselves around you is the bare, fucking, minimum. The only "love" they have if they can't allow their kid the simple privilege of existing, is for themselves.
@@Dickbooster No. You're flat-out wrong. If someone you love is doing something you KNOW is harmful, what would you do? If you love them, you'll tell them to stop because that's what's best for them.,
hearing about the conditional ''universal'' healthcare is just what it's like here in australia. trying to get trans healthcare especially has been a nightmare. i grew up in a rural town where there were basically no psychologists or doctors, let alone ones with training in trans healthcare. the first psychologist i saw thought i was a confused lesbian (i am a trans man) and the best my gp could do was put me on non-stop birth control so i wouldn't have periods. when i turned 18, i was referred to a trans-specialist private psychologist in a city three hours away where i would have to take a bus to see the psychologist for a discounted rate of $150 because i was on a concession card (as well as filling out a mental health care plan, a gov scheme to get 10 sessions at a reduced price). there was a two month wait between visits bc of how busy he was, and he required three before i could be referred for hormones. when i eventually was referred for hormones, i had to drive to another place in the same city 3 hours away from home and see a private gp there for $100 a pop. she just gave me paperwork the first time, and the second time she yelled at me for not making a 40 min long session and refused to give me the prescription. the third time i saw her i finally received the prescription and got the injection after a year of red tape and shit to go through. this was all with discount rates because i had a low income concession card, i hate to think of how much more expensive it all would have been if i hadn't had that. while my testosterone prescription is covered under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, my state's equivalent of the reduced prescription scheme, it is still $90 a pop (it is currently $7, but my low income concession will expire in august) and i have to see a gp for injections. and while i have a consistent gp, he is one of the only lgbt+ doctors in the city and works in a clinic primarily for indigenous people, so he is very much overworked and i have to make appointments months in advance to guarantee that i can see him. in my attempts to get top surgery i have to have approval from a psychiatrist, which has been another pain in the ass. every psychiatrist in my city has a waiting list of up to next year, provided they accept you as a client when you give them a doctor's referral. i eventually spoke with a psychiatrist via telehealth after waiting only two months, but the guy was a terf and was just straight up talking about a secret cabal of rich transwomen who want to oppress everyone else. i don't even have words for that. my roommates have had even worse times trying to get a proper gp so they can regularly access adhd medication and their own hormones, but the only ones taking new clients have been walk-ins, which are normally entirely booked out by 9am. that isn't even to mention the private healthcare that we have here, imported from the usa, where you can pay premium prices to get cheaper healthcare and access to specific specialists. i don't understand how a country that supposedly has universal healthcare can still have private healthcare system. the entirety of the system needs to be reformed, because there's no way it'll manage to stay afloat the way it is post-covid
I fist contacted a doctor about transitioning when I was fourteen, but only got on puberty blockers when I was sixteen. For me it didn’t change too much since I went through puberty early, but that could’ve been devastating to somebody else
I really think ageism helped me get hrt. I was 38 when I got the ability to get it. I found in my 20's people cared a lot more about controlling my choices. Being ftm and white to has something to do with it as well.
I’m 15 and a month on T today. I’ve been socially transitioned for 5 years, and I’ve known I’m trans for 7. This is the first time I’ve ever felt that I have a chance for a future, this is the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been.
Wow!! Trans youth talking about trans issues!! So good to see, from an American trans girl who can’t get healthcare 🙃🙃 Edit: oh no you’re from Quebec? Get better soon honey!!
30 years old, been trans for almost 4 years, and because my insurance explicitely excludes trans care, I've been at a standstill all this time. In fact, I'm still trying to pay off medical debt from the time I _tried_ to get HRT, got a blood test, and then insurance said no and stuck me with a $1400 bill that has ballooned to $5000 with other medical complications and after I was homeless for a month during covid. Sincerely, I wish everyone the best out there.
i think it would also benefit the conversation by talking about medical fatphobia and barriers to surgery. im not sure how it is in canda but here in the US fat trans people are VERY likely to be denied surgery because of their weight
Same thing in France, one of the trans women in our group had been denied SRS twice before she was reffered to surgeon in Paris. The thing is, she wasn't obese to the point were complications that could relate to the surgery appeared, she is just overweight, and that cost her like a year and a half of not being in a waiting list. Same thing with hormones two doctors told her to "loose weight before she could start" one adding "it would be unlady like" ugh.
The risks of surgery increase exponentially the more overweight you are. It's not fatphobia; it's smart healthcare. This is a very well-known fact: general anesthesia is not nearly as safe for obese people as it is for people of a healthy weight.
I've been trying to get an hormones since I was 16. I live in the UK and it's really tough to do that here. I just turned 18 a few days ago and it's still no luck. I remember one of the appointments I had to go to with a doctor, to do with me being trans. for some reason they needed my heart rate. when they lifted my shirt they saw my stretch marks and just instantly assumed they were s*lf harm scars and I was c*tting myself, the fact that they jumped to this conclusion really upsets me. the treatment of trans youth is shocking. surprisingly tho, the biggest hurdles for HRT has been my parents. I would consider my parents great with my transition, they use my correct name and pronouns. but they just don't understand hormones. there needs to be way more resources for parents so that they can understand their kids.
I'm really sorry it's been like that. Doctors making assumptions like that is so frustrating. About getting information for parents, there are some charities which do work on that. Mermaids does a lot to help educate and support families with trans children, but I'm not sure what their upper age range is. FFLAG has resources and support groups to help parents accept and understand lgbt+ children. FFLAG isn't a child-specific charity, they support queer people of all ages. The Naz and Matt Foundation works on challenging homophobia and transphobia related to religion. They support lgbt+ people of faith to accept themselves, and build acceptance and understanding in their families. The Naz and Matt Foundation supports queer people of all ages and all religions. There may be smaller charities specific to your local area which can help. In my local area there was a charity running lgbt+ youth groups and other support for lgbt+ people aged 12-25, and they offered to help me with coming out to my parents.
Months???? I read an article from my country where they were stating in shock and horror how in Germany you need to wait for *multiple weeks* to see a specialist, since over here you get to see them within a couple days tops. Months sounds absolutely mental to me. What if it's some really serious disease which needs immediate attention? It feels demented to even imagine such a stupid wait time. What do you even do during that half a year? You just, keep having a disease which gets worse and worse until you either end up in the ER or it goes away but you have permanent damage?
In the UK we have to wait years. It's awful. They try to see people "in order of need", so if you would die without care, and they know that, they will try to treat you before you die. There are specific waiting time targets for people with cancer. But if you have a condition that isn't likely to kill you but is very painful and may cause disability while you wait for it to be treated, you may have to wait years to be treated. Gender dysphoria is in that category. Elderly people who need hip replacements also wait for years in pain before they are treated. How bad the waiting times are depends on what specialist you need, how sick you are, and where you live in the country. There are also people with rarer conditions, where their family doctor doesn't recognise what is wrong with them, so tells them they are fine when they are not. Those people have to wait until they are sick enough to be very obviously sick. Sometimes that involves emergencies in the ER, and then by chance there is a doctor in the ER who is able to recognise what is wrong with them.
@@SomeoneBeginingWithI that's wild. People are rushing to get out of this country and go to the UK and US when it could very well be a death sentence if they can't go back to see a specialist. Over here people sometimes cry about going to many different specialists for months only for the last one to actually solve their problem, which often happens only because they have the data from the previous specialists. My childhood best friend was appalled at how they charged her 200 for procedures (yes multiple) and thought that was way too high. Now she lives in the US and has 2 kids. Here she could afford to be a hypochondriac with little to no cost of neither time nor money, idk how she is over there. For reference, she went to my mom (a GP) once because her hands looked too big and she read somewhere that it's a symptom of a specific illness, even though if there's no other symptoms it's impossible to have it. Our hospitals might be falling apart and the capital might have overpriced and overglorified doctors, but the mere fact you can hop on the train or bus for a few hours and get to see a specialist within days at most and go to another if you don't like that one while more advanced countries don't have that is demented. I've been so angry at people about how they take advantage of the system and take up doctor attention for dumb shit, but now knowing this might very well happen under extreme conditions such as taking up spots before someone who needs it way more and sending them months back, it's sickening. Given it will deter many from going to the doctor for something idiotic and pointless, the types who do this are really audacious and think the world has to cater to them without even having hypochondria, just mere entitlement. Just like people go to Korea and Turkey for plastic surgery, it should be normalized to go to a different country to get approved for hormone replacement and start getting your fills. People have such a skewed idea of what their health should cost that they imagine they'd have to pay thousands to the doctors alone, especially if they want to see a competent doctor, when in reality that's really, really far from the truth. The most expensive doctors are usually just clout doctors who would actually do way worse than someone decent at a medium size city.
For all the failures of the NHS, one really good thing is that prescriptions are only about £9 per script. And they are free for anyone receiving unemployment or disability benefits. Which, if you are able to get your HRT from the NHS, makes it pretty afordable
You can also apply for free prescriptions even if you aren't on benefits, if your income is low. You have to re-apply every year which is annoying but it is worth doing if you think you might qualify.
I’m glad that you are not only making these videos, but making them as digestible, informative, and accessible as possible. Anyone can learn a lot of very helpful and relevant information whether it be because they’re subscribed to you or are searching for it: thanks for making them split into multiple parts as well.
I'm a fifteen year old trans guy that only recently got on T in March, I'm officially four months on T, and going through the system just to get here was such a grueling stressful process, and even worse knowing that i was *LUCKY* to have gone through that fast I live in a very progressive state, and even then, I was the *first* trans person to go through the system through my primary care clinic. When they told me I was just shocked, and stressed. We had scheduled dates missed time and time again, we had to keep staying on top of them to make sure that we were going anywhere, we had six months of radio silence for a while before it was broken, and before that six months trying to just get into the place. It was scary, and I felt really insecure with how unorganized it all felt, it felt like they were building the process as I was going, for a while i thought they actually forgot about me. I'm very happy and thankful for all the changes i've gotten, and that i've finally gotten the medical process rolling. I self administer my own shots and it's the only part of my week I really look forward to at all anymore. Transitioning saved my life and made everything easier to bare the weight of. And after realizing that this is how the Trans healthcare system is in such a forward pro-LGBTQ state, my heart dropped imagining what it was like everywhere else.
oml i am so jealous, congrats on being able to get hrt so early!!! i just turned 17 and my parents won't let me get testosterone blockers so i am gonna have to wait another year probably which i am not looking forward to 😞
@@penguinlover22 I got my gender affirming care in Oregon at OHSU, One year for testosterone is unfortunately the norm, however, you can ask to be put on a waitlist, so that if someone cancels, you can move up in their place
@@coral3397 thank you! i hope you can get on T soon too, i think depending on the state you live in you can actually get medical treatment without the consent of your parents legally, it takes a while for T to start becoming noticeable
oh hchdb i guess i didnt specify that i actually want E not T but i unfortunately live in texas where, even if my parents were okay with me getting hormones, it is considered "child abuse" to have hormone blockers/supplements prescribed to minors soo :/ but it's okay! i am pretty sure my dysphoria levels are overall less than most trans people? and like my parents dont mind me "exploring my feminine side" like painting my nails or growing my hair out, theyre just not big on the idea that i am actually a girl yk
I’m a 15 y/o trans girl and I’ve been on a waiting list for the McMaster gender clinic in Hamilton for over 8 months even though I have a referral 😭😭 I’m at a point where I really need blockers and I cannot get them or even see someone who can help me, blockers are crucial because of the puberty I’m currently going through but I can’t even get into the clinic T-T
I went specifically to a LGBTQ+ center to get a family dr because I'd recently moved to the city and had so many problems with rural doctors just. Not knowing anything about trans people. The Dr. At the LGBTQ center is so good and competent for all my care, shes the one that prescribed and handles my hormones and I'm officially on the waitlist for top surgery! In one appointment :D
When I went to pick up my T for the first time the pharmacist gave me such a hard time about not having an id. I’ve picked up controlled substances before (Percocet) and I didn’t need an id so I was extremely confused. In the state i live in you don’t even need an id to pick up prescriptions. I still don’t know why they denied me but once my mother went with me to pick it up they were suddenly okay with it. It’s been such a hassle to get any sort of healthcare and I’m thankful that my doctor worked really hard to make it easier for me, but unfortunately not everyone is like her.
Y’know what’s sad? There used to be this clinic where people could get lgbtq+ healthcare pretty quickly, but recently the owner of the clinic has passed on and nobody else was able to take over the clinic causing it to be closed down. I’m sad that someone has passed on but many of us lost our chance to get care when we needed it. But I could add on that, I’m pretty lucky I’m able to still get care from a different place, the waiting list was at least 3 months but I just have to wait 1 more month until I can hopefully start testosterone (since I’m a trans guy). I’m also super lucky my town has healthcare for indigenous peoples since I am indigenous myself.
as someone who didn't transition during my childhood, and at 21 I'm still not in hrt, I wish that I knew about hormone blockers and felt that I could access them. I wept when I realized I was going through amab puberty and it was hell. Hrt is in many ways permanent but so is the lack of it. I may never have the body I truly want.
yup same. my life is essentially permanently fucked now thanks to the irreversible destruction puberty gifted me, and the fact that the government is actively trying to force other trans people into my same situation by LAW has proved that we're in hell. gotta love that sweet sweet dunning-krueger effect.
actually really interesting how most of this is extremely similar to the situation here in the netherlands. the only big differences are that we do have insurance for prescriptions, and we don't have an informed consent model at all. the rest is almost exactly spot-on
I'm looking forward to your next video. I've got a friend who has unserved mental health issues, but he won't chance the ER after staff there misgendered him constantly and even suggested his depression might be caused by his transition. 😒 Our area has always been understaffed by mental health workers and psychiatrists (who will drop you if you miss a single appointment), but it's even worse after 2 years of the pandemic. I want to help him, but I have no options. All I've got to offer is emotional support, but he needs more than that. He needs professional help. Even with a doctor (retired) father who knows the system, I can't find any way to get him in. So uh...if your next video has any ideas, I'm open. Will literally try anything at this point.
Are there any options for him getting talking therapy from a therapist? Maybe he needs medication, but even without medication, talking therapy with a professional can help in ways emotional support from friends doesn't.
@@SomeoneBeginingWithI He's getting that, but he definitely needs meds as well, some of which your average family doctor won't prescribe. He has as yet undiagnosed conditions that (if we're right about what they are) talk therapy wouldn't address, and family docs don't diagnose those either.
informed consent is so important. I was looking at a long wait and many barriers, but informed an informed consent clinic allowed me to just... start hormones. great work as always.
Trans masc individual who's 19. I've been denied trans healthcare by my parents in the fear of I'll regret it [no longer with mom it took 5 years to educate her completely]. I've also dealt with the medical establishment rejecting those need under the false notion of as an autistic person I know nothing. I am completely miserable within my own body, my body isn't really mine it's owned by the trauma and the dysphoria I have.
Ahh I can relate to a lot of that. The main reason I waited on seeking diagnosis for my ASD was because I wanted to make sure I had already medically transitioned to a point first to avoid that treatment. I'm so sorry you've gone through that. If it helps, I waited until I was 20 to start physically transitioning, didn't have hormone blockers, and I'm really happy in my body at this point. I know how you feel, but it can really improve, and you can reclaim it.
In Victoria BC. At 45 I started to transition. Within 4 months I was accepted by a sexual health clinic that serves the majority of trans adults in my city. Using the informed consent model (and starting with an endocrinologist) I got on testosterone after a total of 4 appointments. After a few months my hormone monitoring was transferred over to my GP who had received training. The 4 appointments were: 1. General health intake 2. Trans specific intake 3. Meeting with endo to go over bloodwork and general hormone stuff 4. Prescription and informed consent. . It was a very similar process with top surgery. 3 total appointments and then surgery and follow up. This is a model that should work for everyone. With knowledgeable nurses, GP's and specialists there should be no need for psychological referral letters and other gatekeeping. We need to start treating trans health care as just health care. It's not exceptional or extreme.
Ftm living in Quebec, farther from the big cities... Life is hard. Mental health workers mostly don't have the tools to deal with us. I had to explain to a psychologist that my gf/bf was non-binary, a social worker (specialised in SA) that the abuse I've dealt with was with a female body (because they said that if I was really a male, I had to go to an other place specialised with male SA). I feel horrified with other males, how do you want me to talk ? Hospitals are the worst. If you don't look like a male enough, they don't even bother trying. I feel like mentionning the fact that I am trans would sign my end. I hope health care providers will change their ways with time as we fight for the rights of the next generation. There's still a long way to go.
We have a similar "universal" health care system in Australia and all these issues exist here as well. In my community, we are having to do fund raisers for people's transition surgeries, which as you'd be aware is prohibitively expensive. Transition surgeries are partly covered by the public health system, but still for something like bottom surgeries it runs into thousands of dollars oit of pocket. There are so many gate keepers here as well in the medical system to trans affirming care, we also have medical racism for first nations people. Basically if you need trans affirming care and surgeries, depending on where you are, you either need to be in a capitol city, and even then youay have to fly to a totally different state to get surgery. The similarities are starkly the same. Thanks again for this series its informative, and so well presented. 👏
I live in Germany and there’s a shortage of doctors here as well. I think the biggest cause of this is that there are too few med schools. When you have a constant number of med students graduating every year while the population keeps growing, you’re bound to run into problems. I guess the government doesn’t want to spend its precious tax euros on opening and financing more med schools. My partner who is trans has to travel 1 hr for every endocrinologist appointment. If we had more doctors the waiting times wouldn’t be so long and trans people would get better care as well.
We have the same problem in the UK, it effects all of healthcare. We don't have enough places in medical schools so the medical schools have to turn away good applicants who could be good doctors if they were trained, and then we don't have enough doctors.
This is making me feel lucky that I only had to wait 3 months from deciding I wanted HRT to actually getting it. Deciding you want hrt is so hard and took a while for me to come to terms with and face any concerns I had on it, would hate to be rushed in that decision by a system that’s going to take months or years to even get you the care you need. I was upset with myself for not getting on hrt sooner at the time but now I see its just out of our control sometimes. Keep hanging in there yall.
My wait from making an appt to actually being seen by a dentist here in the States is 4 months. Don’t even talk about the finances of anything non-basic. Always in the four-digits I did laugh so hard for you to apologize about that hot- take. So hard I had a coughing fit for several minutes. So funny and worth it
I'm from Finland with supposedly free health care and yea, these are all same problems here, my current transition progress has been going on for over 4 years now..
As an Albertan, I gotta add a funny trans story about transitioning in AB, as everybody in Canada already knows we are one of the most conservative provinces, and so as you would expect we have like zero funding for healthcare, none of that pharmaceutical insurance, mental health is stripped to shit, it's all awful. The one thing that is a byproduct of this that is somewhat humourous though is that there is only a single endrochronologist for all of AB. This is a bad thing absolutely, and is just a sign of a broken system, but it means that every trans person in AB has the seen the same doctor. Growing up going to GSA meetings, pride events etc, if you asked any single trans person there who prescribed them T or E, they would all say Doctor Ted Jablonski. Everyone, hundreds, possibly a thousand trans people, all sharing a single endro. Dude was super chill for what it's worth, but insane waitlists as you would expect lol.
i have an appointment to talk to my doctor about hrt scheduled for next week in ontario, it's really comforting to know im not alone. as sucky as it is. i know to expect months of waiting and redirects now, lol.
i really appreciate the coverage focused on canada-i haven’t sought hrt, but i’ve spent over half of my undergrad (currently in year 5) waiting to see a psychiatrist . it’s such a mess
This sounds very similar to the Irish healthcare system! A letter arrived from our public health authority addressed to the previous tenant of our house telling him he finally had an appointment to get an endoscopy. He's been dead for 2 years. Waiting lists for everything are horrific and trans healthcare is hit particularly hard.
I'm in NS, and getting my prescription for testosterone was rough. I've been out as trans since I was 11/12, and only got my prescription last year at 17 years old. It was a mix of not knowing where to find information to get my first appointment, 5 hour long drives to get to the nearest hrt clinic, and a nearly 3 year wait list to get that first appointment. I almost aged out of the children's clinic I was referred to, if they waited a couple more months they wouldn't have been able to treat me. Now I pay 200 dollars every 2 months for my testosterone gel, because we don't have insurance. If I want top surgery, I'll need to wait months and find a doctor (don't have a family doctor, we did at one point after being on a wait list for 10 years but after seeing him once he was fired and we weren't even informed) who will write a couple of letters, a psychologist, and wait even longer for them to send letters to see if I can get surgery covered. And then, if it is covered and the surgery is free, I'll have to go to Montreal. The nearest clinic that is covered that can do trans surgeries. It's really baffling, especially when I know that NS isn't the worst place for trans healthcare. Anyway, it's good to see a video about trans youth in Canada. Most are centred around America, it's nice to see one that understands Canadians specific struggles with healthcare
Your voice is so calming, you can be talking about the most depressing shit about how the systems don't treat trans people respectfully but I'll still feel ultimately soothed by your videos.
amazing series already! i’ve been following transpulse for a while now and i’m so glad you can spread the results. can’t wait for the third video, especially about more ways of approaching this grounded in community. i was stuck on waiting lists for two years until i came across a post on how to get HRT in my province by another trans person, and then it only took me a month. being isolated and trans often puts people at the whims of the medical system, but community knowledge is the best antidote that i’ve seen.
i'm stuck on 'most trans youth live in low income households' - do most youth, generally? Is this a factor of disowned and homeless youth playing a role? Is it a housing stability from being trans thing? It seems unlikely that poverty somehow results in transness, but I'm curious why the data looks that way. The statement on its own without context is weird.
I'd say it's more so the disowned and homeless youth angle. I'd also say it's just society being shitty to trans people and looking over them for jobs and stuff unless you really pass. So even if you're a trans youth over 18 (the survey goes to 25 year olds) it could count
Also frankly I think just most people in the early to mid 20s unless they still live with their parents just kind of count as "low income". Just comes with the territory of being new enough to the workforce that you get the worse paying jobs/ even if you have a high paying one having ti pay debt
That's a good question. I think the most likely reason is that the survey age range is 14-24, so it would include people in their late teens and early 20s who have moved away from their parents and are living alone or with a partner or friends. A lot of people in their early 20s now stay in the same household as their parents for financial reasons, but for trans people that may not be an option because of rejection or conflict related to transition. So there would be some trans people who are now in a low income household because they live away from their parents, where a cis person from a similar economic background would still be living with their parents in a high or middle-income household.
If you're cut off from family, that cuts you off from generational wealth. Heck, even just being alienated from them can limit that access. Mommy and Daddy might ask you to pause your hormones in exchange for the money you need urgently 'just so you see what it's like when you're off them', as if a trial run at menopause might convince you this trans thing was just a phase. I have a friend with transphobic parents who has to live with them because he cannot afford to live on his own. If I could afford to have him move in with me, I would, but even though I come from a well-off and supportive family, I don't have a job and am on disability (and fighting dysphoria means I can't hold down a job, but for me it's not as simple as starting hormones). And if you're on disability, well, let's just say my entire monthly stipend wouldn't even cover rent in my area, much less food (thankfully, meds are covered, but only those on an approved list). I don't even live in one of the Big Cities of Canada! Housing and rent prices are red hot, and they've only recently started to cool. Affordable housing is a nationwide issue, with low income rentals disappearing faster than they're being generated. It's rough out here for low income households.
@@SomeoneBeginingWithI that makes a lot more sense. I had forgotten the age range was well over half over 18, and was thinking specifically high school age. But factoring in the young adults, of course most would be poor - getting enough money to live when not facing discrimination and family abandonment in your 20s is hard enough.
Cis gay guy here! Just want to say thank you for making all of these videos and for how much they do to educate me about other members of our queer community and the struggles they face. I end up sharing your videos with any of my friends who I think will watch, because the subject matter is so important and you do such a good job of discussing it from a well-researched point of view. Keep up the good work
hey, lily !! this series has been wonderful so far and represents a lot of my experiences,, thank you! also I have a video suggestion: you should do a follow up to the mogai video, seeing as the community is definitely coming back into mainstream queer communities, even if it's not under that name, and I'd like to hear you talk about that!
Also we are still very weary of the q word and are also suspicious about the spread of the "reclaimation" narratives and if also subconciously giving us any internalized ist and/or isms and/or any discriminations and if it just keeps it alive and want nationalism and divisions, too, go ASAP?
@@TheSapphireLeo I understand and respect that viewpoint but imo the word has been so separated from that that it's not really doing anything,, i know not everyone identifies with the word but it's a decent shorthand in the sense that people know who you're talking about when you say it, which is why i use it. if someone doesnt want me to use it for them as an individual, i totally respect that, but i genuinely dont see the harm in it at this point anymore,, a lot of terms in the community used to be used as slurs and nobody bats an eye at those
I got GRS in 2018 and developed complications requiring further surgery during the early recovery phase. I STILL have yet to receive a reparative surgery despite consistent efforts throughout the years. I’m so close to threatening a lawsuit. But, you know, despite the quality of life issues I’ve had due to this problem I have no regrets. If there is a single positive thing to be gleaned from this awful situation it’s that I know beyond any doubts that I made the right choice for myself. One day things will be fixed… I hope.
I'm a cis father to a trans daughter in the USA. Even though our medical systems are very different, learning about other people's experiences helps me to know how to talk to her doctors. I'm always looking for better ways to support my children. Thank you for your thoughtful and informative videos.
The 6 months to 1 year wait didnt surprise me. Waits are awful. It can be 6 years in Northern Ireland. 4 years+ in England just to get the 1st appointment. Although i waited 6 years for Rheumatology in NI. Its ridiculous
When we went to our family doctor about my transition, they referred me to someplace else. But that place, after being on a waitlist for months, said they were too full. So I got a referral to a different place. That also took months as well but at least I eventually got in. It took about a year. I'm also glad you mention indigenous people because as a native person I realise how uncommon it is for us to be mentioned... ever lol. Racism toward us especially in the medical system is CRAZY. Nurses turned my mom away when she was in labour multiple times, even though the doctor wanted her to come in immediately since she was WAY overdue. Don't worry, the doctor eventually found out and gave them hell, but it sucks that was even allowed to happen in the first place??
@@UniverseHole Yeah I have they saying there's nothing they can do and the only way to skip the wait is to pay alot of money to go to private gender clinic 🙄
Where I'm from doctors are required by the doctors chamber to attend a fixed number of seminars/conferences to remain up to date on research etc. A friend of mine constantly brings up similar issues in regards to depression. Not enough research or training, waiting lists... I think this will be tough to fix, because becoming a doctor is just really tough and time intensive as is, not many people can do it, and there is a sheer infinite number of health concerns to know about and specialise in. The insurance issues however just sound like laws lagging behind modern times. That's probably a lot easier to fix.
Getting care in the U.S. sucks arse too. There are a few programs here in Indiana that can help, but I've never been good at asking for help. Especially living with parents, costs, and lack of transportafion. Planned Parenthood is finally doing HRT here, but I dont have insurance (or insurance that ever covered hrt). I've probably been waiting for 5-6 years now. I've been doing my best to keep my mind off it, but its debilitating. Its always in the corner. Hoping I qualify for Medicare. Because I'm tired of waiting.
And one of these gender clinic programs I did sign up for an appointment and got told to wait until December. Maybe the wait is worth it, maybe its not. But I still need healthcare.
Truly, I am not certain if I can even afford it at all without being stuck in the service insustry full time fr the rest of my life. I want to go back to school eventually, but my mental health and dysphoria has hit critical conditions.
I'm an 18 year old in California and I'm definitely lucky to have Planned Parenthood and medicaid because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get on HRT last year and as such I probably wouldn't be here.
This video might be a good occasion to share that the ISMH has a list of all trans-affirmative health care professionals in Quebec's province (and they also train professionals). You might want to consider adding them to your links! It might be similarly relevant to mention that the helpline Interligne offers a 24/7 helpline for any trans person (or any other lgbtq+ person) who needs to talk from all over Canada, and they can generally help you find local ressources. They also have a chat service that is not limited to Canada and can be used by basically anyone anywhere in the world, and is also 24/7.
I live in the netherlands and since everything is free here and there's no private/informed consent options waiting list are insane here, it should take 3 years total for me to get my first appointment.
Ah yeah, Healthcare I love how it's accessible in French campaign It's not like I found a single hospital that got a psychiatry service for minors, which accepts to diagnose transidentity, which was 200km away from my house And it's not like they waited 8 months before fixing an appointment And then they absolutely didn't randomly call us 2 months later to tell us that we just almost lost a whole year and had to restart everything from zero, because they no longer accept to see people from my region Yeah, for sure, expecting to have puberty blockers before TURNING 17, and before finishing your puberty, is like, fun stuff
i'm a couple minutes in and i'm not gonna be able to finish this video, bc as messed up as the canadian system is, it's still millions of miles ahead of the irish system and thinking about how i was treated and how long i waited to get seen only to not get any prescription at all makes me feel like shit for days. i would kill to have access to the care that's available in canada. our waiting times for adult services here is a minimum a 5 years now and when you finally get seen you get asked extremely pervy questions and can be denied hrt for being autistic, for your sexual orientation or even for the way you dress. and that's the adult service, there is no service for minors anymore. when the service did exist it functioned very similarly to the adult service. but now the only option is to wait years for public system funding to go the uk or to just go abroad. i was with the adolescent system and honestly i think it traumatised me. there are far too many people who have died on our waiting lists and i was very nearly one of them.
This video was very informative about the burdens that trans people face when trying to receive healthcare. I really enjoyed that the author used a lot of statistics to help put it in the perspective in terms of unmet healthcare needs, health outcomes, and mental health statistics. With this being said, I think the author did a very good job of addressing some of the major problems in Canada’s healthcare system that ultimately lead to some of the discrimination in trans healthcare. One thing I was very interested in that the video mentioned was the fact that the greater healthcare system is also feeding into this discrimination. I had never really considered the high cost of hormone drugs being a limiting factor because most of my medications are covered by healthcare. With only a couple provinces covering any for of hormonal drugs, it sounds almost impossible to create equal accessibility to the proper care that trans patient needs in order to continue treatment. This is not just with medication either, top and bottom surgeries can cost upward of $35,000 combined with many insurances refusing to cover them according to the Oregon Health and Science University. Since it is seen as an elective, non-required surgery, it is easily overlooked as a necessary treatment for the diagnosis of gender dysmorphia. Another system flaw the author mentioned was the idea of gender-affirming care can be very time sensitive. I have never really thought about this and how it affects the trans population before, so I found this very interesting because it all comes back to unequal access to healthcare and injustice. This most likely doesn’t happen as much in the United States due to different healthcare systems, but in Canada wait time can be astronomical especially with the shortage of doctors that are knowledgeable in this area of medicine. I know this can greatly affect the younger populations trying to transition, but I wonder if it affects the adult populations as much. I know that lack of access to hormonal therapy can cause issues during treatment, but does that affect an adult trying to seek out starting therapy as well?
i live in quebec, my doctor is in british columbia, and until recently, have been picking up my prescriptions in ontario because it was cheaper. moving provinces in this country when medically transitioning can be a bureaucratic nightmare. honestly, if it weren't for friends lending me hormones here and there, my hrt would have been a dizzying sequence of starts and stops.
Honestly a lot of what you're saying about general state of healthcare in Canada sounds like from where I'm from - Poland. Only the trans-care is absolutely shite if you can't spend a lot of cash on it :/
20 years old and been waiting for an initial appointment with a gender clinic for almost 5 years now :( pushes me to looking at illegal sources for hrt as it was wayy cheaper and easier than going private
I haven’t watched the video yet but for me, even though I got on HRT before I became 18, the wait and everything was hell as I got a prescription once that was just straight up using dangerous medication. I’m in a proper clinic now but still the wait and all the loops where I had to go through months of therapy were hell. But in the end it was worth it. Funny thing is that I’m in Ohio, so the laws here that are trying to be passed aren’t exactly calming.
as a trans person (trans man) im 15 turning 16 in october and ive been trying to get on T since 13- i went to my family docotr and got "i dont do trans health care" then i got reffered to a waitlist for a doctor that took until march of this year and then i went on puberty blockers at the end of march and im still waiting for t- and idk how my family will afford it- but i start t at the end of sepetmeber (hopefully unless the fact that i have to see a new psychartrist for hallucinations that im still on a waitlsit for that i have to see first even though i alreadt see a psychologist? the waitlsits are so long the doctor wants to make sure my hallucnations that are stress caused arent "making me make the decision to transtion" which makes no fucking sense)
In england, there used to be 2 gender clinics and just one for children. Recently, it shut down. They plan to reinvent the system and create more gender clinics, however at the moment every single trans child in the country cannot access trans healthcare for at least two years. And that's a very optimistic assumption. "There are no employees signed up to move, there is no training for wider NHS staff, and our waiting lists are paused. The reality is that we have to accept there is currently no NHS service for transgender young people, and there is unlikely to be any service made available to them in the near future" I'm sure a substantial amount of kids died. Their last becaon of hope being on the waiting list taken away. Plans haven't even started. There's a good chance that this entire generation of trans teens are gonna have to wait till they're 18. If they can make it that far.
One thing I want everyone to note: Canada’s healthcare system is NOT strained because it’s single-payer. It’s easy to fall into the logical hole of assuming that it is and thinking the strain would be lessened if it were privatized, but that isn’t true. Businesses have just as much motive to keep their systems strained and overloaded, as they’re easier to maintain, same as just-in-time delivery and the various other purposefully fragile things about the private sector. This is a strategy that’s being done in the UK as well; conservative politicians gut healthcare funding, making the system low-quality and barely functional, blame that on accessibility, and raise support for healthcare privatization. Canada’s system being government funded is one of its virtues, not vices.
Absolutely! Good analysis, thanks for pointing this out :)
It doesn't even matter. We pay in the US and the circumstances are still worse. I am a type 1 diabetic and my endocrinologist is booking 11 months out. I would love a 6 month wait.
"Trans youth" = young terminally online autistic people that were convinced of lies
Healthcare should be stuff that's actually necessary, not to indulge in fetishes
im 15 and i've been waiting 3 years for hrt. its horrible. i get there has to be bureaucratic steps in order to make sure the client whos going onto HRT doesn't affect their life forever, but goodness its painful. the constant dysphoria, waking up, knowing that even if I'm on the strongest blockers, my body and bones will grow, that i could possibly turn into a man within a span of months, its horrible and its a dread i constantly have to fight. im glad i managed to get into therapy early, but when there are permanent changes on the line, and that they are irreversible unless you go under cosmetic surgery, (which is extremely expensive in my country). i dont know. its hard and i feel like my body is just a ticking time bomb.
I was in exactly the same situation on you, starting hrt at 15 after 3 years of waiting. Let me assure you, it gets better ❤️.
P.S. If you're on blockers don't worry about your body continuing to develop male physiological secondary sex characteristics, in the off chance your body increases T production while on blockers any changes will be incredibly slow, and it'll get picked up in the routine monitoring that's (or should probably be) part of the treatment.
As the person above me stated, hormone blockers are incredibly easy to get and, shockingly, super cheap even without insurance! If you need it, console your primary physician and tell them. Hormone blockers are given to cis men (and cis women) to prevent hair loss, but it's the same stuff given to trans women, so that can be an easy excuse if you need one (it's also a valid excuse because hair loss is a real risk for people in your position, just in case you don't like to lie).
I understand you completely, but your body won't grow masculine features without testosterone, probably only just general height if you're on blockers, someday you'll just be a free woman right now take care of the body you got, it sustains you, and you are a precious life
In my country im not even sure I'll get the hormones i need by the time I'm a fully grown adult, it's really frustrating
You know you can treat dysphoria without transitioning, right? That's what therapists are for. At 15, you'll become a patient for life, putting your body through permanent changes that can't be undone. I'm not saying you should never transition but your body (all of us, trans or not) will go through changes regardless. Maybe treating that fear is more important than getting hrt. Mental health first, always.
being a trans person is inherently stressful. but the already stressful factors of the social dynamics of school and being bound to family homes have their stressfulness are intensified due to transness :( I'm a trans young person in the UK and getting trans related healthcare here is a nightmare. I just wish that all trans people but especially the trans youth of the future have it easier and have more accessible healthcare. being trans is a stressful and ostracizing experience, it has been a rollercoaster already and I'm only just beginning.
yuppp, its not good at all here in the uk, heard the nhs waiting lists for hormones are over 15 years minimum, over 11k people are on the waiting list, and like i think 5-6x more people are applying every month than getting offered first appointment, where you dont even get hrt.
im going private for hrt once i get out of my transphobic household with controlling parents, im using gendergp, id recommend checking it out if you can afford, and remember to ask for student prices. if youre lucky youll be able to do shared care with the nhs, but its not always the case and can take a while, someone i know online said it took them 2 years, ive heard some have never gotten it at all, its rough, but i hope it gets better for the trans youth of the future, but i got little to no doubt with the political landscape rn of the uk
also yeah its super stressful, especially seeing all the bad shit in the media when we literally just want to feel comfortable in our bodies, we are not harming anyone but we are made to seem like we cause everything to be wrong in the world, i dont understand it, ive met probs 100-200 trans people online, and only 1 was a dickhead (invalidated me and bragged about having accepting parents when i dont), we are nice people who just want to live life and be happy, i dont understand it, and with how hard it is for us to get this stuff, its only getting worse and worse the stress
its rough, so rough, but good luck with your transition and i hope it goes well!!
"Trans youth" = young terminally online autistic people that were convinced of lies
Healthcare should be stuff that's actually necessary, not to indulge in fetishes
i think another major point that a lot of people miss out on when discussing how hard it is for trans youth to transition is having transphobic parents. im 16 and neither of my parents are particularly fond of trans people (one of whom openly mocks us) but if they were supportive of us then there would be absolutely 0 barriers for me deciding to socially transition and id at least have something of a shot at getting hormones if i desired them.
Yeah. I'm unable to get on testosterone until I'm 18. People are significantly less accepting of trans people when it's their own kid.
Yes and so many if us go from transphobic home to a college or workplace that is transphobic. There's a huge way we are financially abused in a systematic manner that delays or blocks transition.
My dad just straight up will not let me get hormones despite me being 17 and it being very obvious I'm trans. His reasoning is that he doesn't want to be responsible for an permanent changes to my body. PERMANENT CHANGES TO MY BODY YOU SAY???? OH YOU MEAN THE WRONG PUBERTY IM GOING THROUGH THATS ACTIVELY MAKING ME HATE MYSELF MORE THAN I ALREADY DO THAT YOU, MY DAD, ARE ACTIVELY FORCING UPON ME BY NOT LETTING ME GET TREATMENT FOR MY VERY REAL CONDITION.
God I hate my dad so much.
Yeah, i was about to comment this, ive been out for 9 months, and have unaccepting parents, who wont even let me do anything to transition, like even wearing feminine clothing or growing my hair as they always force me to get haircuts, if they were accepting i probs would be like 7 months on estrogen, and it just sucks knowing my parents prevented that, im 18 but cant risk doing anything to lessen my dysphoria or get some euphoria as im in danger of being kicked out and i cant afford housing and stuff
Hope youre able to get out of your house and get on hormones soon :3
@@bobbobington2268 yupp, like i think my dad is fine with trans people, but wont accept me as his trans child :((
I really enjoyed this video. Its so frustrating being trans and under 18. It's sad to say that It was easier to get access to hormones in the states years ago. In my state (Arkansas) it's been illegal for minors to be prescribed blockers or hormones for a year.
Edit: the law also said that most people that identify as trans transition back. It didn't cite a specific number or study it just said most
the fuck do they do for those kids that end up developing precocious puberty for whom hormone blockers were initially made for? 😬 why are politicians so shortsighted about these things? this isn't the only problem with medications that are used for multiple things being banned/scrutinized somewhere either. it's almost like they shouldn't be allowed to even look at healthcare Anything unless they have A Fucking Medical License or a board on unbiased doctors they can defer to god
@@private-local-enemy I read the bill when it was being passed through the house and it was rediculous. It said that most trans youth that identify as trans transition back (it didn't even cite a specific number it just said most). It was only 10 pages and somehow none of those pages had any citations on it.
that law is jsut so wrong its actually very rare they would
since when are laws supposed to provide facts or statistics? what
I'm a 35 year old trans woman is South Africa and getting the medical stuff I need in my country is a frustrating experience as well. Government assisted healthcare is a thing here too and in practice that's meant I can get my HRT effectively for free if I can't afford it, but when it comes to GRS that has a 25 "year" waiting list and then doesn't even cost much less than getting it done privately so if you can't afford your HRT you certainly can't afford your GRS.
Addition: There are also only two facilities in the entire country which are equipped to deal with trans healthcare and neither of them consider it a priority. HRT clinics only run on a couple days per year and are chock full of people waiting to see an endocrinologist as a result. On the surgery front, both facilities only earmark a surgery room for use in GRS one or two sessions a year and can and do cancel those sessions at literally the last moment. I've heard of people being put under for their surgery only to wake up 8 hours later with their surgery having been cancelled before it started. Hence the 25 year waiting list, I suppose -_-
I'm a transmasc teenager in BC, and in March I spoke to my doctor about getting an appointment at a gender clinic for testosterone. He said he'd call them, and the clinic should get back to us in a couple weeks. They still haven't contacted us as of august 1st.
This is just the first step of dozens in order to get testosterone, and it's already taken 5 months.
:|
transfem teenager in BC here, just replying to say that there’s a good chance you can go through a shorter process by calling Transcare BC and asking for a new family doctor who can directly prescribe HRT. I went through that route in a different province and it was so much faster than waiting for the gender clinics.
@@___-me4iq Oh thank you! I will try this.
so excited for this series ! i think it's really important to have discussions like this in a time when trans youth are often spoken over or the subject of fearmongering rather than spoken to themselves. i appreciate the content and the dialogue this might start !!
Thanks so much
Amazing video! I'm a 22 year old American transfem, and I one thousand percent know how difficult it is to get access to transgender hormone therapy. It makes me sad that even in Canada, a country with ostensibly 'universal' healthcare, we face so many barriers towards getting adequate care. It is SO true that many doctors who provide trans healthcare aren't properly trained on how to support trans patients, I had a doctor at a walk in who cancelled an appointment on me, but tried to refuse to renew my hormones for the short two week period before my rescheduled appointment date. I was literally facing two weeks of intense withdrawal, and the only thing between that and proper care was a doctor who thought it would be okay for me to just go off hormones every now and then.
What is hormone withdrawal like?
@@x999uuu1 Ever heard of hot flashes? That's one of the symptoms. The others are also unpleasant, and probably worse than in menopausal cis women (IIRC).
I had the same issue, my prescriber hasn't had a trans patient before and I missed two appointments cause of unrelated mental health issues and I barely managed to convince her to renew the prescription until a new rescheduled appointment, mainly thanks to my psychiatrist who is experienced with trans patients
@@markoz673bajen8 lol "hopemotions."
I’m an intersex trans man and I keep deciding If I need testosterone or not, I look fairly masculine, but then again I am afraid. I live in North Carolina which has an okay governer but anything can happen at any time that can affect people like me. I’ve learned to expect the worse :(
Fellow transman, you matter and many people are happy you exist. I hope you have joy and peace in your life.
@@mitcharendt2253 thank you
Try non-hormone-related ways to look more masculine, see if that works instead of HRT (if you're not doing so already)
What breaks my heart about doctors over-referring is that they literally have the Sherbourne protocol. The doc could literally just read it off their screen and know exactly how to prescribe hormones, schedule blood tests and refer only patients with more complex needs to an endocrinologist. Sadly, many doctors prefer to pass the buck rather than risk a treatment they're not familiar with...which is understandable, but still puts unneeded stress on the system.
I think too they don't want to open themselves up to liability. If you pass the buck and something goes wrong then it was the endocrinologist's fault. I just know I once asked the nurse practitioner (in a rural conservative community) for a referral to a WPATH certified doctor. I was pleasantly, surprised that she said all it took from her was a few pen strokes and that she saw it as no different than if I had heart issues and needed to see a cardiologist. I managed to get my diagnosis in 2017 but actually getting hormones is a different story all together. It's been 5 years and no progress has been made at all it seems. In fact from a non-medical perspective (a legal one) our government made it harder on trans people wanting to change their name. Now in Saskatchewan we need a criminal record check (that of course comes at an additional cost) and we have to get it all our paperwork down to Regina within 14 days of issuance. With the way Canada Post is (my Mum once sent a registered letter to Edmonton from Saskatchewan and it ended up stuck in Winnipeg) I would be scared it wouldn't get there within a fortnight.
@@BBC600 Yeah, my father's a doctor and he's certainly talked about the fear of malpractice suits influencing those kinds of decisions. Another regrettable factor that needs addressing, though preferably without compromising accountability.
I'm dealing with name change paperwork too, and...it's a lot. At least in Ontario, the criminal records check isn't necessary if your record is clean (and no time limit was mentioned that I can recall).
I'm sorry Saskatchewan is putting more barriers in front of name changes. They really are quite necessary, and way too difficult to complete as it is. I've heard stories of forms answered honestly and diligently being sent back and rejected because the answer was outside expected bounds, needing slight corrections that are unintuitive. Not sure why they can't just do that themselves, but it can cost a lot of time...and if you're having to do timed criminal record checks, possibly money. 🙁
I love these kinds of projects. In New Zealand there was the Counting Ourselves survey in 2019 which recorded a lot of very unfun statistics regarding healthcare and discrimination for our transgender whānau. What was special about this survey is it has never been done before. There will be another survey soon this month. I hope the last 3 years of work has improved outcomes.
I hope so too, and I want PATHA to get government funding so that they're able to more directly influence the healthcare system.
As a trans kid, I feel like everyone is against me, family, parents, friends, school, sports they all hate me with a passion, I've never met someone who was accepting and I was always thinking about moving to Canada from the us when I get older but after seeing this I feel like there is really just no winning in my life.
People can love you without accepting your trans identity. Keep in mind that these people (especially your parents) are probably "against" you because they want what's best for you and they disagree with what you're doing. That's love, even though you might not like it.
@@xa1551 Whats BEST for any trans child is a supportive household, the bare minimum is just allowing your child to socially transition, it doesn't even have to be outside of the house, just allowing a child to be themselves around you is the bare, fucking, minimum. The only "love" they have if they can't allow their kid the simple privilege of existing, is for themselves.
@@xa1551 You cannot love someone without supporing ALL of them. Thats what love is. Unconditional support and acceptance.
@@Dickbooster No. You're flat-out wrong. If someone you love is doing something you KNOW is harmful, what would you do? If you love them, you'll tell them to stop because that's what's best for them.,
@@tanner3806 No. If you think a parent should approve of any and all of their child's actions, then I can only hope that you never have kids.
hearing about the conditional ''universal'' healthcare is just what it's like here in australia. trying to get trans healthcare especially has been a nightmare.
i grew up in a rural town where there were basically no psychologists or doctors, let alone ones with training in trans healthcare. the first psychologist i saw thought i was a confused lesbian (i am a trans man) and the best my gp could do was put me on non-stop birth control so i wouldn't have periods. when i turned 18, i was referred to a trans-specialist private psychologist in a city three hours away where i would have to take a bus to see the psychologist for a discounted rate of $150 because i was on a concession card (as well as filling out a mental health care plan, a gov scheme to get 10 sessions at a reduced price). there was a two month wait between visits bc of how busy he was, and he required three before i could be referred for hormones. when i eventually was referred for hormones, i had to drive to another place in the same city 3 hours away from home and see a private gp there for $100 a pop. she just gave me paperwork the first time, and the second time she yelled at me for not making a 40 min long session and refused to give me the prescription. the third time i saw her i finally received the prescription and got the injection after a year of red tape and shit to go through. this was all with discount rates because i had a low income concession card, i hate to think of how much more expensive it all would have been if i hadn't had that. while my testosterone prescription is covered under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, my state's equivalent of the reduced prescription scheme, it is still $90 a pop (it is currently $7, but my low income concession will expire in august) and i have to see a gp for injections. and while i have a consistent gp, he is one of the only lgbt+ doctors in the city and works in a clinic primarily for indigenous people, so he is very much overworked and i have to make appointments months in advance to guarantee that i can see him.
in my attempts to get top surgery i have to have approval from a psychiatrist, which has been another pain in the ass. every psychiatrist in my city has a waiting list of up to next year, provided they accept you as a client when you give them a doctor's referral. i eventually spoke with a psychiatrist via telehealth after waiting only two months, but the guy was a terf and was just straight up talking about a secret cabal of rich transwomen who want to oppress everyone else. i don't even have words for that.
my roommates have had even worse times trying to get a proper gp so they can regularly access adhd medication and their own hormones, but the only ones taking new clients have been walk-ins, which are normally entirely booked out by 9am.
that isn't even to mention the private healthcare that we have here, imported from the usa, where you can pay premium prices to get cheaper healthcare and access to specific specialists. i don't understand how a country that supposedly has universal healthcare can still have private healthcare system. the entirety of the system needs to be reformed, because there's no way it'll manage to stay afloat the way it is post-covid
I fist contacted a doctor about transitioning when I was fourteen, but only got on puberty blockers when I was sixteen. For me it didn’t change too much since I went through puberty early, but that could’ve been devastating to somebody else
I really think ageism helped me get hrt. I was 38 when I got the ability to get it. I found in my 20's people cared a lot more about controlling my choices. Being ftm and white to has something to do with it as well.
I’m 15 and a month on T today. I’ve been socially transitioned for 5 years, and I’ve known I’m trans for 7. This is the first time I’ve ever felt that I have a chance for a future, this is the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been.
cis man here, I do in fact watch your videos
Wow!! Trans youth talking about trans issues!! So good to see, from an American trans girl who can’t get healthcare 🙃🙃
Edit: oh no you’re from Quebec? Get better soon honey!!
30 years old, been trans for almost 4 years, and because my insurance explicitely excludes trans care, I've been at a standstill all this time. In fact, I'm still trying to pay off medical debt from the time I _tried_ to get HRT, got a blood test, and then insurance said no and stuck me with a $1400 bill that has ballooned to $5000 with other medical complications and after I was homeless for a month during covid. Sincerely, I wish everyone the best out there.
hats off for the utterly incredible title 👏👏
As a 16 year old transfem living in the united states, you can probably assume how scared I am
saaame :D
Public single Healthcare doesn't mean "well funded" and "better"
I REALLY LOVE provincially funded Healthcare as opposed to one national healthcare
Have you tried NOT being young, trans, and canadian?
i think it would also benefit the conversation by talking about medical fatphobia and barriers to surgery. im not sure how it is in canda but here in the US fat trans people are VERY likely to be denied surgery because of their weight
It’s the same here, you’re right! 😠
Same thing in France, one of the trans women in our group had been denied SRS twice before she was reffered to surgeon in Paris. The thing is, she wasn't obese to the point were complications that could relate to the surgery appeared, she is just overweight, and that cost her like a year and a half of not being in a waiting list. Same thing with hormones two doctors told her to "loose weight before she could start" one adding "it would be unlady like" ugh.
The risks of surgery increase exponentially the more overweight you are. It's not fatphobia; it's smart healthcare.
This is a very well-known fact: general anesthesia is not nearly as safe for obese people as it is for people of a healthy weight.
@@xa1551 Wow, Its Almost Like We Should Have Health Care Access For People Of All Sizes Instead Of Refusing Them Surgery Which Could Be Lifesaving!
@@xa1551 so the solution is to just...not do it? since when has that been the norm
I've been trying to get an hormones since I was 16. I live in the UK and it's really tough to do that here. I just turned 18 a few days ago and it's still no luck.
I remember one of the appointments I had to go to with a doctor, to do with me being trans. for some reason they needed my heart rate. when they lifted my shirt they saw my stretch marks and just instantly assumed they were s*lf harm scars and I was c*tting myself, the fact that they jumped to this conclusion really upsets me. the treatment of trans youth is shocking.
surprisingly tho, the biggest hurdles for HRT has been my parents. I would consider my parents great with my transition, they use my correct name and pronouns. but they just don't understand hormones. there needs to be way more resources for parents so that they can understand their kids.
I'm really sorry it's been like that. Doctors making assumptions like that is so frustrating.
About getting information for parents, there are some charities which do work on that. Mermaids does a lot to help educate and support families with trans children, but I'm not sure what their upper age range is.
FFLAG has resources and support groups to help parents accept and understand lgbt+ children. FFLAG isn't a child-specific charity, they support queer people of all ages.
The Naz and Matt Foundation works on challenging homophobia and transphobia related to religion. They support lgbt+ people of faith to accept themselves, and build acceptance and understanding in their families. The Naz and Matt Foundation supports queer people of all ages and all religions.
There may be smaller charities specific to your local area which can help. In my local area there was a charity running lgbt+ youth groups and other support for lgbt+ people aged 12-25, and they offered to help me with coming out to my parents.
As a british trans person I’d recommend gendergp :)
@@drwilsonstoenailpolish3194 going through gendergp at the minute. hope I manage to get hormones by the end of the year 🤞🤞
Months???? I read an article from my country where they were stating in shock and horror how in Germany you need to wait for *multiple weeks* to see a specialist, since over here you get to see them within a couple days tops. Months sounds absolutely mental to me. What if it's some really serious disease which needs immediate attention? It feels demented to even imagine such a stupid wait time. What do you even do during that half a year? You just, keep having a disease which gets worse and worse until you either end up in the ER or it goes away but you have permanent damage?
In the UK we have to wait years. It's awful.
They try to see people "in order of need", so if you would die without care, and they know that, they will try to treat you before you die. There are specific waiting time targets for people with cancer. But if you have a condition that isn't likely to kill you but is very painful and may cause disability while you wait for it to be treated, you may have to wait years to be treated. Gender dysphoria is in that category. Elderly people who need hip replacements also wait for years in pain before they are treated. How bad the waiting times are depends on what specialist you need, how sick you are, and where you live in the country.
There are also people with rarer conditions, where their family doctor doesn't recognise what is wrong with them, so tells them they are fine when they are not. Those people have to wait until they are sick enough to be very obviously sick. Sometimes that involves emergencies in the ER, and then by chance there is a doctor in the ER who is able to recognise what is wrong with them.
@@SomeoneBeginingWithI that's wild. People are rushing to get out of this country and go to the UK and US when it could very well be a death sentence if they can't go back to see a specialist. Over here people sometimes cry about going to many different specialists for months only for the last one to actually solve their problem, which often happens only because they have the data from the previous specialists. My childhood best friend was appalled at how they charged her 200 for procedures (yes multiple) and thought that was way too high. Now she lives in the US and has 2 kids. Here she could afford to be a hypochondriac with little to no cost of neither time nor money, idk how she is over there. For reference, she went to my mom (a GP) once because her hands looked too big and she read somewhere that it's a symptom of a specific illness, even though if there's no other symptoms it's impossible to have it.
Our hospitals might be falling apart and the capital might have overpriced and overglorified doctors, but the mere fact you can hop on the train or bus for a few hours and get to see a specialist within days at most and go to another if you don't like that one while more advanced countries don't have that is demented.
I've been so angry at people about how they take advantage of the system and take up doctor attention for dumb shit, but now knowing this might very well happen under extreme conditions such as taking up spots before someone who needs it way more and sending them months back, it's sickening. Given it will deter many from going to the doctor for something idiotic and pointless, the types who do this are really audacious and think the world has to cater to them without even having hypochondria, just mere entitlement.
Just like people go to Korea and Turkey for plastic surgery, it should be normalized to go to a different country to get approved for hormone replacement and start getting your fills. People have such a skewed idea of what their health should cost that they imagine they'd have to pay thousands to the doctors alone, especially if they want to see a competent doctor, when in reality that's really, really far from the truth. The most expensive doctors are usually just clout doctors who would actually do way worse than someone decent at a medium size city.
What country do you live in and how can I move there (also the waiting times here are up to 5 years and that’s just for the first appointment)
@@drwilsonstoenailpolish3194 if you're fine with everything else being shit you can come to eastern europe.
For all the failures of the NHS, one really good thing is that prescriptions are only about £9 per script. And they are free for anyone receiving unemployment or disability benefits. Which, if you are able to get your HRT from the NHS, makes it pretty afordable
You can also apply for free prescriptions even if you aren't on benefits, if your income is low. You have to re-apply every year which is annoying but it is worth doing if you think you might qualify.
I’m glad that you are not only making these videos, but making them as digestible, informative, and accessible as possible. Anyone can learn a lot of very helpful and relevant information whether it be because they’re subscribed to you or are searching for it: thanks for making them split into multiple parts as well.
Thank you so much!
I'm a fifteen year old trans guy that only recently got on T in March, I'm officially four months on T, and going through the system just to get here was such a grueling stressful process, and even worse knowing that i was *LUCKY* to have gone through that fast
I live in a very progressive state, and even then, I was the *first* trans person to go through the system through my primary care clinic. When they told me I was just shocked, and stressed.
We had scheduled dates missed time and time again, we had to keep staying on top of them to make sure that we were going anywhere, we had six months of radio silence for a while before it was broken, and before that six months trying to just get into the place.
It was scary, and I felt really insecure with how unorganized it all felt, it felt like they were building the process as I was going, for a while i thought they actually forgot about me.
I'm very happy and thankful for all the changes i've gotten, and that i've finally gotten the medical process rolling. I self administer my own shots and it's the only part of my week I really look forward to at all anymore. Transitioning saved my life and made everything easier to bare the weight of.
And after realizing that this is how the Trans healthcare system is in such a forward pro-LGBTQ state, my heart dropped imagining what it was like everywhere else.
oml i am so jealous, congrats on being able to get hrt so early!!! i just turned 17 and my parents won't let me get testosterone blockers so i am gonna have to wait another year probably which i am not looking forward to 😞
@@penguinlover22 I got my gender affirming care in Oregon at OHSU, One year for testosterone is unfortunately the norm, however, you can ask to be put on a waitlist, so that if someone cancels, you can move up in their place
@@coral3397 thank you! i hope you can get on T soon too, i think depending on the state you live in you can actually get medical treatment without the consent of your parents legally, it takes a while for T to start becoming noticeable
oh hchdb i guess i didnt specify that i actually want E not T but i unfortunately live in texas where, even if my parents were okay with me getting hormones, it is considered "child abuse" to have hormone blockers/supplements prescribed to minors soo :/
but it's okay! i am pretty sure my dysphoria levels are overall less than most trans people? and like my parents dont mind me "exploring my feminine side" like painting my nails or growing my hair out, theyre just not big on the idea that i am actually a girl yk
i paused this video when she reminded me of the changes that you undergo in the early 20s to finally order some DIY hrt online
I’m a 15 y/o trans girl and I’ve been on a waiting list for the McMaster gender clinic in Hamilton for over 8 months even though I have a referral 😭😭
I’m at a point where I really need blockers and I cannot get them or even see someone who can help me, blockers are crucial because of the puberty I’m currently going through but I can’t even get into the clinic T-T
I went specifically to a LGBTQ+ center to get a family dr because I'd recently moved to the city and had so many problems with rural doctors just. Not knowing anything about trans people. The Dr. At the LGBTQ center is so good and competent for all my care, shes the one that prescribed and handles my hormones and I'm officially on the waitlist for top surgery! In one appointment :D
That rules! Congrats!
When I went to pick up my T for the first time the pharmacist gave me such a hard time about not having an id. I’ve picked up controlled substances before (Percocet) and I didn’t need an id so I was extremely confused. In the state i live in you don’t even need an id to pick up prescriptions. I still don’t know why they denied me but once my mother went with me to pick it up they were suddenly okay with it. It’s been such a hassle to get any sort of healthcare and I’m thankful that my doctor worked really hard to make it easier for me, but unfortunately not everyone is like her.
Y’know what’s sad? There used to be this clinic where people could get lgbtq+ healthcare pretty quickly, but recently the owner of the clinic has passed on and nobody else was able to take over the clinic causing it to be closed down. I’m sad that someone has passed on but many of us lost our chance to get care when we needed it. But I could add on that, I’m pretty lucky I’m able to still get care from a different place, the waiting list was at least 3 months but I just have to wait 1 more month until I can hopefully start testosterone (since I’m a trans guy). I’m also super lucky my town has healthcare for indigenous peoples since I am indigenous myself.
as someone who didn't transition during my childhood, and at 21 I'm still not in hrt, I wish that I knew about hormone blockers and felt that I could access them. I wept when I realized I was going through amab puberty and it was hell. Hrt is in many ways permanent but so is the lack of it. I may never have the body I truly want.
yup same. my life is essentially permanently fucked now thanks to the irreversible destruction puberty gifted me, and the fact that the government is actively trying to force other trans people into my same situation by LAW has proved that we're in hell. gotta love that sweet sweet dunning-krueger effect.
actually really interesting how most of this is extremely similar to the situation here in the netherlands. the only big differences are that we do have insurance for prescriptions, and we don't have an informed consent model at all. the rest is almost exactly spot-on
I like how this dosnt just focus on transitioning, but includes other issues as well.
I'm looking forward to your next video. I've got a friend who has unserved mental health issues, but he won't chance the ER after staff there misgendered him constantly and even suggested his depression might be caused by his transition. 😒 Our area has always been understaffed by mental health workers and psychiatrists (who will drop you if you miss a single appointment), but it's even worse after 2 years of the pandemic.
I want to help him, but I have no options. All I've got to offer is emotional support, but he needs more than that. He needs professional help. Even with a doctor (retired) father who knows the system, I can't find any way to get him in.
So uh...if your next video has any ideas, I'm open. Will literally try anything at this point.
Are there any options for him getting talking therapy from a therapist? Maybe he needs medication, but even without medication, talking therapy with a professional can help in ways emotional support from friends doesn't.
@@SomeoneBeginingWithI He's getting that, but he definitely needs meds as well, some of which your average family doctor won't prescribe. He has as yet undiagnosed conditions that (if we're right about what they are) talk therapy wouldn't address, and family docs don't diagnose those either.
My doctor told me he was too old to learn how to treat trans people. Made me so sad. I didn't learn I was trans till after puberty either.
informed consent is so important. I was looking at a long wait and many barriers, but informed an informed consent clinic allowed me to just... start hormones. great work as always.
Trans masc individual who's 19. I've been denied trans healthcare by my parents in the fear of I'll regret it [no longer with mom it took 5 years to educate her completely]. I've also dealt with the medical establishment rejecting those need under the false notion of as an autistic person I know nothing. I am completely miserable within my own body, my body isn't really mine it's owned by the trauma and the dysphoria I have.
Ahh I can relate to a lot of that. The main reason I waited on seeking diagnosis for my ASD was because I wanted to make sure I had already medically transitioned to a point first to avoid that treatment. I'm so sorry you've gone through that. If it helps, I waited until I was 20 to start physically transitioning, didn't have hormone blockers, and I'm really happy in my body at this point. I know how you feel, but it can really improve, and you can reclaim it.
In Victoria BC. At 45 I started to transition. Within 4 months I was accepted by a sexual health clinic that serves the majority of trans adults in my city. Using the informed consent model (and starting with an endocrinologist) I got on testosterone after a total of 4 appointments. After a few months my hormone monitoring was transferred over to my GP who had received training.
The 4 appointments were: 1. General health intake 2. Trans specific intake 3. Meeting with endo to go over bloodwork and general hormone stuff 4. Prescription and informed consent. .
It was a very similar process with top surgery. 3 total appointments and then surgery and follow up.
This is a model that should work for everyone. With knowledgeable nurses, GP's and specialists there should be no need for psychological referral letters and other gatekeeping. We need to start treating trans health care as just health care. It's not exceptional or extreme.
Ftm living in Quebec, farther from the big cities... Life is hard.
Mental health workers mostly don't have the tools to deal with us. I had to explain to a psychologist that my gf/bf was non-binary, a social worker (specialised in SA) that the abuse I've dealt with was with a female body (because they said that if I was really a male, I had to go to an other place specialised with male SA). I feel horrified with other males, how do you want me to talk ?
Hospitals are the worst. If you don't look like a male enough, they don't even bother trying. I feel like mentionning the fact that I am trans would sign my end.
I hope health care providers will change their ways with time as we fight for the rights of the next generation. There's still a long way to go.
We have a similar "universal" health care system in Australia and all these issues exist here as well. In my community, we are having to do fund raisers for people's transition surgeries, which as you'd be aware is prohibitively expensive. Transition surgeries are partly covered by the public health system, but still for something like bottom surgeries it runs into thousands of dollars oit of pocket. There are so many gate keepers here as well in the medical system to trans affirming care, we also have medical racism for first nations people. Basically if you need trans affirming care and surgeries, depending on where you are, you either need to be in a capitol city, and even then youay have to fly to a totally different state to get surgery. The similarities are starkly the same. Thanks again for this series its informative, and so well presented. 👏
I live in Germany and there’s a shortage of doctors here as well. I think the biggest cause of this is that there are too few med schools. When you have a constant number of med students graduating every year while the population keeps growing, you’re bound to run into problems. I guess the government doesn’t want to spend its precious tax euros on opening and financing more med schools.
My partner who is trans has to travel 1 hr for every endocrinologist appointment. If we had more doctors the waiting times wouldn’t be so long and trans people would get better care as well.
We have the same problem in the UK, it effects all of healthcare. We don't have enough places in medical schools so the medical schools have to turn away good applicants who could be good doctors if they were trained, and then we don't have enough doctors.
This is making me feel lucky that I only had to wait 3 months from deciding I wanted HRT to actually getting it. Deciding you want hrt is so hard and took a while for me to come to terms with and face any concerns I had on it, would hate to be rushed in that decision by a system that’s going to take months or years to even get you the care you need. I was upset with myself for not getting on hrt sooner at the time but now I see its just out of our control sometimes.
Keep hanging in there yall.
My wait from making an appt to actually being seen by a dentist here in the States is 4 months. Don’t even talk about the finances of anything non-basic. Always in the four-digits
I did laugh so hard for you to apologize about that hot- take. So hard I had a coughing fit for several minutes. So funny and worth it
I'm from Finland with supposedly free health care and yea, these are all same problems here, my current transition progress has been going on for over 4 years now..
As an Albertan, I gotta add a funny trans story about transitioning in AB, as everybody in Canada already knows we are one of the most conservative provinces, and so as you would expect we have like zero funding for healthcare, none of that pharmaceutical insurance, mental health is stripped to shit, it's all awful. The one thing that is a byproduct of this that is somewhat humourous though is that there is only a single endrochronologist for all of AB. This is a bad thing absolutely, and is just a sign of a broken system, but it means that every trans person in AB has the seen the same doctor. Growing up going to GSA meetings, pride events etc, if you asked any single trans person there who prescribed them T or E, they would all say Doctor Ted Jablonski. Everyone, hundreds, possibly a thousand trans people, all sharing a single endro. Dude was super chill for what it's worth, but insane waitlists as you would expect lol.
0:38
When I popped this up to a former CBC journalist, I was rudely interrupted and told "we live in a universal health-care system"
I'm in BC and lucky enough to have insurance from my (public) employer. It covers 0% of my HRT. I pay out of pocket every time.
i have an appointment to talk to my doctor about hrt scheduled for next week in ontario, it's really comforting to know im not alone. as sucky as it is. i know to expect months of waiting and redirects now, lol.
Good luck! Some doctors are great about this stuff, I hope yours is :)
i really appreciate the coverage focused on canada-i haven’t sought hrt, but i’ve spent over half of my undergrad (currently in year 5) waiting to see a psychiatrist . it’s such a mess
This sounds very similar to the Irish healthcare system! A letter arrived from our public health authority addressed to the previous tenant of our house telling him he finally had an appointment to get an endoscopy. He's been dead for 2 years. Waiting lists for everything are horrific and trans healthcare is hit particularly hard.
Wonderful video! We have similar problems in Australia especially with our medical system being very strained.
I really hope things will get better.
WHY IS IT ALWAYS STRAINED
WE DONT WE CARE ABOUT OUR FELLOW HUMANS
WHY
I'm in NS, and getting my prescription for testosterone was rough. I've been out as trans since I was 11/12, and only got my prescription last year at 17 years old. It was a mix of not knowing where to find information to get my first appointment, 5 hour long drives to get to the nearest hrt clinic, and a nearly 3 year wait list to get that first appointment. I almost aged out of the children's clinic I was referred to, if they waited a couple more months they wouldn't have been able to treat me. Now I pay 200 dollars every 2 months for my testosterone gel, because we don't have insurance. If I want top surgery, I'll need to wait months and find a doctor (don't have a family doctor, we did at one point after being on a wait list for 10 years but after seeing him once he was fired and we weren't even informed) who will write a couple of letters, a psychologist, and wait even longer for them to send letters to see if I can get surgery covered. And then, if it is covered and the surgery is free, I'll have to go to Montreal. The nearest clinic that is covered that can do trans surgeries.
It's really baffling, especially when I know that NS isn't the worst place for trans healthcare.
Anyway, it's good to see a video about trans youth in Canada. Most are centred around America, it's nice to see one that understands Canadians specific struggles with healthcare
Your voice is so calming, you can be talking about the most depressing shit about how the systems don't treat trans people respectfully but I'll still feel ultimately soothed by your videos.
amazing series already! i’ve been following transpulse for a while now and i’m so glad you can spread the results. can’t wait for the third video, especially about more ways of approaching this grounded in community. i was stuck on waiting lists for two years until i came across a post on how to get HRT in my province by another trans person, and then it only took me a month. being isolated and trans often puts people at the whims of the medical system, but community knowledge is the best antidote that i’ve seen.
i'm stuck on 'most trans youth live in low income households' - do most youth, generally? Is this a factor of disowned and homeless youth playing a role? Is it a housing stability from being trans thing? It seems unlikely that poverty somehow results in transness, but I'm curious why the data looks that way. The statement on its own without context is weird.
I'd say it's more so the disowned and homeless youth angle. I'd also say it's just society being shitty to trans people and looking over them for jobs and stuff unless you really pass. So even if you're a trans youth over 18 (the survey goes to 25 year olds) it could count
Also frankly I think just most people in the early to mid 20s unless they still live with their parents just kind of count as "low income". Just comes with the territory of being new enough to the workforce that you get the worse paying jobs/ even if you have a high paying one having ti pay debt
That's a good question. I think the most likely reason is that the survey age range is 14-24, so it would include people in their late teens and early 20s who have moved away from their parents and are living alone or with a partner or friends.
A lot of people in their early 20s now stay in the same household as their parents for financial reasons, but for trans people that may not be an option because of rejection or conflict related to transition. So there would be some trans people who are now in a low income household because they live away from their parents, where a cis person from a similar economic background would still be living with their parents in a high or middle-income household.
If you're cut off from family, that cuts you off from generational wealth. Heck, even just being alienated from them can limit that access. Mommy and Daddy might ask you to pause your hormones in exchange for the money you need urgently 'just so you see what it's like when you're off them', as if a trial run at menopause might convince you this trans thing was just a phase.
I have a friend with transphobic parents who has to live with them because he cannot afford to live on his own. If I could afford to have him move in with me, I would, but even though I come from a well-off and supportive family, I don't have a job and am on disability (and fighting dysphoria means I can't hold down a job, but for me it's not as simple as starting hormones).
And if you're on disability, well, let's just say my entire monthly stipend wouldn't even cover rent in my area, much less food (thankfully, meds are covered, but only those on an approved list). I don't even live in one of the Big Cities of Canada! Housing and rent prices are red hot, and they've only recently started to cool. Affordable housing is a nationwide issue, with low income rentals disappearing faster than they're being generated. It's rough out here for low income households.
@@SomeoneBeginingWithI that makes a lot more sense. I had forgotten the age range was well over half over 18, and was thinking specifically high school age. But factoring in the young adults, of course most would be poor - getting enough money to live when not facing discrimination and family abandonment in your 20s is hard enough.
Cis gay guy here! Just want to say thank you for making all of these videos and for how much they do to educate me about other members of our queer community and the struggles they face. I end up sharing your videos with any of my friends who I think will watch, because the subject matter is so important and you do such a good job of discussing it from a well-researched point of view. Keep up the good work
new brunswick's family doctor waitlist is now at 63000 by the way 🙂
hey, lily !! this series has been wonderful so far and represents a lot of my experiences,, thank you!
also I have a video suggestion: you should do a follow up to the mogai video, seeing as the community is definitely coming back into mainstream queer communities, even if it's not under that name, and I'd like to hear you talk about that!
Also we are still very weary of the q word and are also suspicious about the spread of the "reclaimation" narratives and if also subconciously giving us any internalized ist and/or isms and/or any discriminations and if it just keeps it alive and want nationalism and divisions, too, go ASAP?
@@TheSapphireLeo I understand and respect that viewpoint but imo the word has been so separated from that that it's not really doing anything,, i know not everyone identifies with the word but it's a decent shorthand in the sense that people know who you're talking about when you say it, which is why i use it. if someone doesnt want me to use it for them as an individual, i totally respect that, but i genuinely dont see the harm in it at this point anymore,, a lot of terms in the community used to be used as slurs and nobody bats an eye at those
I got GRS in 2018 and developed complications requiring further surgery during the early recovery phase. I STILL have yet to receive a reparative surgery despite consistent efforts throughout the years. I’m so close to threatening a lawsuit.
But, you know, despite the quality of life issues I’ve had due to this problem I have no regrets. If there is a single positive thing to be gleaned from this awful situation it’s that I know beyond any doubts that I made the right choice for myself. One day things will be fixed… I hope.
Love the video, about the first point about healthcare not covering dental. Soon it will actually!
Yep. That's exactly my experience in Qc.. Got denied services because being trans was very complex for my family doctor...
I'm a cis father to a trans daughter in the USA. Even though our medical systems are very different, learning about other people's experiences helps me to know how to talk to her doctors. I'm always looking for better ways to support my children. Thank you for your thoughtful and informative videos.
Dealing with the same problems here in the United States, as a trans woman...😔😔
I have been waiting for HRT for 6 years and had to fight so hard and I finally got on the wait list back in January
The 6 months to 1 year wait didnt surprise me. Waits are awful. It can be 6 years in Northern Ireland. 4 years+ in England just to get the 1st appointment. Although i waited 6 years for Rheumatology in NI. Its ridiculous
When we went to our family doctor about my transition, they referred me to someplace else. But that place, after being on a waitlist for months, said they were too full. So I got a referral to a different place. That also took months as well but at least I eventually got in. It took about a year.
I'm also glad you mention indigenous people because as a native person I realise how uncommon it is for us to be mentioned... ever lol. Racism toward us especially in the medical system is CRAZY. Nurses turned my mom away when she was in labour multiple times, even though the doctor wanted her to come in immediately since she was WAY overdue.
Don't worry, the doctor eventually found out and gave them hell, but it sucks that was even allowed to happen in the first place??
I've been on a wait-list for a gender clinic for 1 year now and they won't see me for another 12 months making it two years on a wait-list wtf
@@chloebradlington1965 WHAT??? That's so messed up wtf. Have you called the clinc yourself to talk about the wait?
@@UniverseHole Yeah I have they saying there's nothing they can do and the only way to skip the wait is to pay alot of money to go to private gender clinic 🙄
As someone from Quebec, I am glad to learn more about the reality of trans youth in Canada. Glad I am subscribe to your channel.
Where I'm from doctors are required by the doctors chamber to attend a fixed number of seminars/conferences to remain up to date on research etc.
A friend of mine constantly brings up similar issues in regards to depression. Not enough research or training, waiting lists... I think this will be tough to fix, because becoming a doctor is just really tough and time intensive as is, not many people can do it, and there is a sheer infinite number of health concerns to know about and specialise in.
The insurance issues however just sound like laws lagging behind modern times. That's probably a lot easier to fix.
Getting care in the U.S. sucks arse too. There are a few programs here in Indiana that can help, but I've never been good at asking for help. Especially living with parents, costs, and lack of transportafion. Planned Parenthood is finally doing HRT here, but I dont have insurance (or insurance that ever covered hrt). I've probably been waiting for 5-6 years now. I've been doing my best to keep my mind off it, but its debilitating. Its always in the corner. Hoping I qualify for Medicare. Because I'm tired of waiting.
And one of these gender clinic programs I did sign up for an appointment and got told to wait until December. Maybe the wait is worth it, maybe its not. But I still need healthcare.
Truly, I am not certain if I can even afford it at all without being stuck in the service insustry full time fr the rest of my life. I want to go back to school eventually, but my mental health and dysphoria has hit critical conditions.
Apologies for venting. I hope this atleast emphazises how shit trans healthcare is in America in general.
The hardest known speed running category
Damn i got a heart, even after 4 months
I'm an 18 year old in California and I'm definitely lucky to have Planned Parenthood and medicaid because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get on HRT last year and as such I probably wouldn't be here.
This video might be a good occasion to share that the ISMH has a list of all trans-affirmative health care professionals in Quebec's province (and they also train professionals). You might want to consider adding them to your links!
It might be similarly relevant to mention that the helpline Interligne offers a 24/7 helpline for any trans person (or any other lgbtq+ person) who needs to talk from all over Canada, and they can generally help you find local ressources. They also have a chat service that is not limited to Canada and can be used by basically anyone anywhere in the world, and is also 24/7.
lily just wanted you to know i love you so much, i hope you keep making your amazing content for a long time
Hey, I didn't know you also were from Quebec! Hi from Lévis from a fellow trans girl, and keep it up, I love the insight you have to offer! :)
I live in the netherlands and since everything is free here and there's no private/informed consent options waiting list are insane here, it should take 3 years total for me to get my first appointment.
love this series so far. thank you for doing it!
Ah yeah, Healthcare
I love how it's accessible in French campaign
It's not like I found a single hospital that got a psychiatry service for minors, which accepts to diagnose transidentity, which was 200km away from my house
And it's not like they waited 8 months before fixing an appointment
And then they absolutely didn't randomly call us 2 months later to tell us that we just almost lost a whole year and had to restart everything from zero, because they no longer accept to see people from my region
Yeah, for sure, expecting to have puberty blockers before TURNING 17, and before finishing your puberty, is like, fun stuff
i'm a couple minutes in and i'm not gonna be able to finish this video, bc as messed up as the canadian system is, it's still millions of miles ahead of the irish system and thinking about how i was treated and how long i waited to get seen only to not get any prescription at all makes me feel like shit for days. i would kill to have access to the care that's available in canada. our waiting times for adult services here is a minimum a 5 years now and when you finally get seen you get asked extremely pervy questions and can be denied hrt for being autistic, for your sexual orientation or even for the way you dress. and that's the adult service, there is no service for minors anymore. when the service did exist it functioned very similarly to the adult service. but now the only option is to wait years for public system funding to go the uk or to just go abroad. i was with the adolescent system and honestly i think it traumatised me. there are far too many people who have died on our waiting lists and i was very nearly one of them.
This video was very informative about the burdens that trans people face when trying to receive healthcare. I really enjoyed that the author used a lot of statistics to help put it in the perspective in terms of unmet healthcare needs, health outcomes, and mental health statistics. With this being said, I think the author did a very good job of addressing some of the major problems in Canada’s healthcare system that ultimately lead to some of the discrimination in trans healthcare.
One thing I was very interested in that the video mentioned was the fact that the greater healthcare system is also feeding into this discrimination. I had never really considered the high cost of hormone drugs being a limiting factor because most of my medications are covered by healthcare. With only a couple provinces covering any for of hormonal drugs, it sounds almost impossible to create equal accessibility to the proper care that trans patient needs in order to continue treatment. This is not just with medication either, top and bottom surgeries can cost upward of $35,000 combined with many insurances refusing to cover them according to the Oregon Health and Science University. Since it is seen as an elective, non-required surgery, it is easily overlooked as a necessary treatment for the diagnosis of gender dysmorphia.
Another system flaw the author mentioned was the idea of gender-affirming care can be very time sensitive. I have never really thought about this and how it affects the trans population before, so I found this very interesting because it all comes back to unequal access to healthcare and injustice. This most likely doesn’t happen as much in the United States due to different healthcare systems, but in Canada wait time can be astronomical especially with the shortage of doctors that are knowledgeable in this area of medicine. I know this can greatly affect the younger populations trying to transition, but I wonder if it affects the adult populations as much. I know that lack of access to hormonal therapy can cause issues during treatment, but does that affect an adult trying to seek out starting therapy as well?
i live in quebec, my doctor is in british columbia, and until recently, have been picking up my prescriptions in ontario because it was cheaper. moving provinces in this country when medically transitioning can be a bureaucratic nightmare. honestly, if it weren't for friends lending me hormones here and there, my hrt would have been a dizzying sequence of starts and stops.
Also, cis person here, and yes I watch your videos 👍
Honestly a lot of what you're saying about general state of healthcare in Canada sounds like from where I'm from - Poland. Only the trans-care is absolutely shite if you can't spend a lot of cash on it :/
12:00 I'm cis and I watch your videos
I'm a cis person who watches your videos. Trans rights matter to me because they're human rights.
20 years old and been waiting for an initial appointment with a gender clinic for almost 5 years now :( pushes me to looking at illegal sources for hrt as it was wayy cheaper and easier than going private
I'm a cis person that watches ur vids idk it's very informative and you're rly nice
I don’t think I’m okay I thought the title said “trans youth get heather chandler”
I'm a huge fan of the editing style you make your videos with! Adds a lot of character and something dynamic to look at !!!!
Aw, I put a lot of effort into the editing so that's really nice to hear! Thanks!
im just over a year into the transition%, so I think Im having a decent go at this speedrun thing
I haven’t watched the video yet but for me, even though I got on HRT before I became 18, the wait and everything was hell as I got a prescription once that was just straight up using dangerous medication. I’m in a proper clinic now but still the wait and all the loops where I had to go through months of therapy were hell. But in the end it was worth it. Funny thing is that I’m in Ohio, so the laws here that are trying to be passed aren’t exactly calming.
I’m literally moving to Canada tomorrow lol🇨🇦
as a trans person (trans man) im 15 turning 16 in october and ive been trying to get on T since 13- i went to my family docotr and got "i dont do trans health care" then i got reffered to a waitlist for a doctor that took until march of this year and then i went on puberty blockers at the end of march and im still waiting for t- and idk how my family will afford it- but i start t at the end of sepetmeber (hopefully unless the fact that i have to see a new psychartrist for hallucinations that im still on a waitlsit for that i have to see first even though i alreadt see a psychologist? the waitlsits are so long the doctor wants to make sure my hallucnations that are stress caused arent "making me make the decision to transtion" which makes no fucking sense)
Thumbs up for calling out Canada's passive aggression!!! So annoying.
In england, there used to be 2 gender clinics and just one for children. Recently, it shut down. They plan to reinvent the system and create more gender clinics, however at the moment every single trans child in the country cannot access trans healthcare for at least two years. And that's a very optimistic assumption.
"There are no employees signed up to move, there is no training for wider NHS staff, and our waiting lists are paused. The reality is that we have to accept there is currently no NHS service for transgender young people, and there is unlikely to be any service made available to them in the near future"
I'm sure a substantial amount of kids died. Their last becaon of hope being on the waiting list taken away. Plans haven't even started. There's a good chance that this entire generation of trans teens are gonna have to wait till they're 18. If they can make it that far.
Also, I'm a cisoid and I watch you, I promise
Don't use "oids" on the end of anything, if a n*zi dogwhistle?