Howdy from Michigan

[waj1993]

Missed out on the other forums and their iterations (EA). Losing the grapes has been on my radar for over 30 years. If everything lines up they maybe gone in the next year.

I know the impacts, short and long term for the most part, but rooting through the posts to see what else I've missed.

Glad to have found this site and the folks adding to the knowledge base.

[WheelyFixed]

Welcome, glad to see you found us!

Certainly feel free to ask any questions that you aren't sure about, many of us have been down this road and are happy to share our experiences and knowledge.

Are you working with a TG center and going through the SOCv8 process, or are you looking at medical tourism?

WheelyFixed

[mounds_dont]

Wheely didn't say, but we have people here that are in all stages of the journey. From ideation to pre-op, post-op and living the dream. Please ask questions. I know I did, when I first got here (first and second EA). I played what I called 'stump the experts'.

MD

[waj1993]

WheelyFixed: investigating medical tourism as it is less restrictive, with navigating the American medical system as a secondary. Kids are grown, this isn't a sudden rash decision: wish things would be easier here stateside.

My testosterone is avg 258 over 6 tests (total), free is right around 12, so its not like the little things are super productive.

[WheelyFixed]

WheelyFixed: investigating medical tourism as it is less restrictive, with navigating the American medical system as a secondary. Kids are grown, this isn't a sudden rash decision: wish things would be easier here stateside.

My testosterone is avg 258 over 6 tests (total), free is right around 12, so its not like the little things are super productive.

That level is low, but not terrible - after I got hurt, I was at around 150, and they put me on gel to get me up to around 300 for a few years, and then I started this journey...

We have had several members that got their surgery done by Dr. Aguilar down in Mexico, and everyone has said he did a good job, and that the facilities and care before and after were great. He does "informed consent" but I'm told will want to be sure you are really certain about it, so will want to either talk about why you want to be fixed, or see some psych eval or equivalent... (IMHO this is not unreasonable for a non-reversible procedure...)

I was one of the early people to go through the SOCv8 process at the TG center that is part of MGH, the hospital system I get most of my care through. I was initially terrified by the idea of coming out to the medical community but it has turned out to be a total non-issue. I found it was a bit of a pain to jump through all the hoops, like getting psych letters, and especially waiting for appointments but overall it was surprisingly easy, though slow...

IMHO the biggest advantages of going through the system are that it lets you stay local (travel w/ a disability can be a major challenge) and it was also covered by my insurance, in my case 100%.... (Others have reported getting hit w/ copays that were sometimes almost as much as Dr. A. charges, so you need to investigate your coverage. The TG center will probably have a really good idea about this from other patients experiences)

WheelyFixed