I wouldn't be surprised if there is one or several in the northeast who will do the surgery with the right paperwork. IIRC Boston has a transgender clinic, I'm sure transgender people don't need to go far from the northeast or even leave it. There used to be Dr. Kimber, in Philadelphia, if I remember his name correctly, though I know he's been done snipping balls for years now. Oh well.

I do see a non-typical transgender person (androgynous, male to eunuch, etc) having difficulty, that's for sure. Cis people are too intolerant while believing they are tolerant, and doctors think attending a few trainings makes them an expert on trans people. It's a shame. Body sovereignty should be a right, doctors do not own our bodies but they love to think they have some right to dictate what we do with them.

Arnkoff is proof any of them could do the same thing he does. Yet they don't because they are spineless power-tripping slime. Put a degree in someones hand and most of the time they go through life thinking they know everything and are always right.

I appreciate your bluntness, I really do. If Dr. Arknoff is the best and only option (which from my reading and this thread seems to be the case) then I will make it work. I could make the trip work now but could not previously. What I was trying to get at with my original post, and I apologize that this was not clearer, was wishing to know if there are any reputable Drs nearer than him as I have not been able to find anything. The answer appears to be that Dr. Arnkoff is not only the best option but perhaps the only one. If that is the case then I am sure I can make it work with proper planning.

On a related note, would you recommend speaking with my doctor about this? My regional hospital has a well renowned transgender clinic but I have been reticent to peruse that path for the reasons stated by Tibergrace.

Tibergrace (imported) wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2018 6:13 pm I wouldn't be surprised if there is one or several in the northeast who will do the surgery with the right paperwork.

Tibergrace has it exactly right. There are many surgeons in places scattered across North America who are willing to perform an orchiectomy WITH A LETTER from a psychiatrist or psychologist. The surgeon wants assurance that you are sane and that you fully understand what you are asking for and its consequences. Dr. Arnkoff is the only surgeon in the United States willing to take the risk of operating without such a letter.

To find a cooperating psychiatrist/psychologist, the place to start is the web site of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (www.WPATH.org) (http://www.WPATH.org)). There is a drop-down link from their front page for <Find a Provider>. You should then telephone and ask if the provider is using version 7 of the WPATH Standards of Care and if he or she is willing to work with someone who is “non-binary.” That should set you on your path. It may even get you insurance coverage.

It may even get you insurance coverage.

I'm on Medicaid and a lot of stuff in my state isn't covered for transgender people. I'm very new to it so I still need to look deeper, but I suspect I will find little to no coverage for trans related things.

It all depends on the state and/or insurance coverage.

Alaska is a very red state, and we only got easy ID gender change (just a letter) because of our rather awesome constitution and its privacy clause. For birth certificate change, surgery is required and I don't see that changing any time soon. I know just from existing as an androgynous person, that trans people are very hated by the public here, though I will say their banter is rather entry level at best, and complimentary at worst. I even was fired for being trans when that was still legal in Anchorage. There is a whole lot of opposition to my kind here. I'm sure many other places in the country are like that.

A little irony: I present androgynous because I only have male clothes, and I can't buy female clothes because I can't work. This is because my abuser forced me to only have such clothing. Now I can't get cis professionals to work with me very easily, because they need me to make an ass of myself and rub the fact I am transgender in their face to get any help. I'm going off on a tangent, but my point is: trans care in this country is an absolute joke.

So much less cost than the nearly $12,000 paid by my health insurance twice for my nuts to be removed, with the same result!

Losethem (imported) wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:33 am When I made the post, he had referenced Dr. Arnkoff. That was the point of my making the comment I did. Arnkoff's services seemed to have been considered, and dismissed. Hyperion is actually much closer to Arnkoff than a great many folks in the USA. As others have noted elsewhere, where there is a will, there is a way. Assuming a surgery cost of $4000, the following is an actual cost, for a surgery occurring in February. I'm going to calculate travel from Manchester, NH.

Surgery - $4000

Air Travel - $187 (assuming Feb 2 to Feb 5)

Hotel Stay at the nearby Embassy Suites (can choose cheaper hotel, others in the area) - $140 per night - Total $420

Basic Rental Car - $56 for a Toyota Corolla (probably twice that if you get the insurance)

And a guy has gotta eat, plus other miscellaneous sundries needed for aftercare, I'm guessing not too expensive to obtain.

Now if the patient has to stay longer, of course that cost will go up. If Arnkoff is able to release a patient to the care of the local doctor for the follow up, then this is possible. If you calculate, the total cost is about $4500. The vast majority of that is the surgery fee, and that's not going to change much if you find a local doctor.

Now you can see why I get a little grouchy when folks insist on the help being local. The surgery is often a lot more cost than everything else combined. So while Hyperion wasn't insistent on the help being local, it is often an artificial impediment people place to obtaining their goal.

Tibergrace (imported) wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2018 6:13 pm Arnkoff is proof any of them could do the same thing he does. Yet they don't because they are spineless power-tripping slime. Put a degree in someones hand and most of the time they go through life thinking they know everything and are always right.

It has less to do with their being power tripping slime and more with the propensity of people to sue for hangnails and split ends in their hair. Doctors protect their licenses as best they can. Get rid of this propensity to sue because a doctor is mistaken for God, you'd probably see doctors more willing to step up and do these things.

Same for nurses. I spent a shit-ton of money to get professionally licensed, and it can all be taken away from you because of one determined asshole.

Given your message, if I were a practitioner and saw this and knew it was you, I wouldn't touch you with a mile long pole, much less a 10ft one. You're trouble and a danger to my license.

Losethem (imported) wrote: Wed Jan 03, 2018 5:37 pm It has less to do with their being power tripping slime and more with the propensity of people to sue for hangnails and split ends in their hair. Doctors protect their licenses as best they can. Get rid of this propensity to sue because a doctor is mistaken for God, you'd probably see doctors more willing to step up and do these things.

Same for nurses. I spent a shit-ton of money to get professionally licensed, and it can all be taken away from you because of one determined asshole.

Given your message, if I were a practitioner and saw this and knew it was you, I wouldn't touch you with a mile long pole, much less a 10ft one. You're trouble and a danger to my license.

Losethem I see where you are coming from and I know some asshole whom I will not let on my land any more to pick blueberries.

Let's be realistic here, Losethem. He's been in operation for years, no pun intended. I think he would be taken down by now. In legal matters, signing some documentation can really screw one over in regards to suing someone. As a nurse, rather than someone with experience in legal matters, one might not understand that the guy can afford a lawyer and likely has talked to one at length to cover his own ass. I seriously doubt he is risking much. There is also insurance for such things.

Perhaps to become a doctor, one should have to study law a little more. Ignorance is no excuse for denying people treatment, and as a rather modified male you should have a different opinion on body sovereignty. You got your modifications, so I suppose it doesn't necessarily matter to you if others can get theirs, or what they have to do.

Not touching me could actually be the thing that got you fired to be honest, depending strongly on the situation ;^). Then again I am quite gregarious, face to face. You'd never even know it was me, because I know not to speak ill of people who I want to help me, to their face as I seek their help. I try to get them to work with me, and when they fail I seek another path.

You don't like that I talk $*%& about medical people. You are entitled to your opinion. I don't care, feel free to say whatever you like to my talk, and make all the insulting claims you like, I've endured far worse than that lol. I could say all sorts of things to get under your skin, but I hold back.

I need validation from no one. Everyone on this forum could hate me and I would not care. That said, it's not like I'm out to make enemies, most people here are pretty chill it would seem, and I try to get along with them. I'll state my opinions, you'll state yours, the sun will continue to rise and set.

As a nurse, you seem biased to support other people in the medical field. As a transgender person, their bias against me is crystal clear, and there is no number of words I could use to make one understand it, unless one lives with that bias being used against them, in which case I need not say a word, as one already understands.

There are ones who help trans people out, and loads who don't. The list of helpful ones here is quite short, and rife with gatekeeping, in my area. The rest, I'll trust for anything that isn't transgender related. Medical professionals are very polite to me, but are forced not to discriminate by law in my area. I get whatever pronouns I like and no harassment, in medical settings, but bigotry is still quite possible within the bounds of the law.

My therapist doesn't even have a recommendation for who would do an orchi for me up here, and she's been compiling a list of pro-trans professionals for a while. Even then, Arnkoff is cheaper than her Californian recommendations. Seems like he's just a good guy, but I think it's safe to say he's covering his rear, legally speaking, or he'd be out of a license already.

Call me trouble all you want. I'm not out to revoke doctors' precious little licenses. The only people I've pursued legal action against, were people who assaulted me in various forms.

I'm not out to go sue people for money or remove licenses from doctors. When I go to court it's to put someone behind bars for the good of everyone.

I do view gatekeepers as a menace and as bigots, though. But I'm not going to go pull dirty tricks to screw them over, I simply move on and find someone else if one is too bigoted. I don't even mention I am trans to a doctor or nurse unless I am explicitly visiting them for trans related things. That is not information they need to know. I do tell them about my medications so they don't accidentally hurt or kill me, but that's as far as it goes. I smile and nod and listen to their "don't self med" spiel, if they give it, because I know it's their job to do so. Doesn't stop me from self medding, and lets them do their thing.

If I went and tried to sue every bigot or mess them up legally, I would have no time for anything else in life. There are too many of them, all too often shielding themselves with fake tolerance.

I'm sorry my opinion offends you, but I do quite enjoy expressing it. You seem to have a tendency to make grand assumptions about people. Carry on, it gives you character.

As far as money for degrees goes, many people, myself included, went to university on full ride scholarships. Many others get government grants. Not everyone had to pay for their degrees.

Just curious, what sort of nurse are you? What field do you work in? Are you an RN? I know a couple RNs. Twin brothers, good guys. Went to the same university as them.

Ernie you should see all the berries here in late summer and fall, it's crazy.

From a legal standpoint, it is likely that Dr. A. and others that do like surgery simply have not performed very poor results operations to warrant being sued, and moreover, because of the type of surgery, it is more likely that any result that is very poor would not end in litigation, as the person who experienced very poor results would not desire to come forward publicly to litigate the poor result, risking the public exposure of their sexual identity desires. Also attorneys and the courts likely would view the person and surgery result as bizarre and deserving for a person to have such surgery.

As someone who lives in Europe I think a lot of those in the States do not realise how lucky they are to have a Doctor there willing to castrate people basically for a fee no questions asked, we don't here and how we wish we did.

I would have travelled any distance either by plane car, bus or using the thumb to get there to get it done. I would have done without to get the money together which is pretty reasonable in my opinion and not out of most peoples reach if they save to be castrated in a safe and legitimate place.

Which I did do and I was castrated only because I was determined to get it done, If you are serious you will overcome anything to do it, I know because I did it against the odds and there are plenty more here in the UK and Europe who had it just as tough, so I think those in the States should think themselves incredibly fortunate they have someone on their own doorstep willing to do it, even if it does mean travelling to another State or across country and if its only one Doctor, so what, its one more than the rest of us.