Hi, I've an almost 13 yrs old Trans son. We are currently at UCSF Gender Clinic as well as the Pediatric Endo clinic because he has been on growth hormones since age 4 and puberty blockers since age 8 due to separate medical issue covered under medical insurance (SGA, small for Gestational Age and Precocious Puberty) prior to him coming out at age 9. He has remained in the regular clinic because he can be under there until age 14 (with exemption). His puberty blocker will last until May 6th 2025 when he needs another 6 months dose of Tripodur which will extend him until Nov 6th 2025 so technically we have some time if the dr gives us the extra time (Nov 13th and Dec 10th) to make arrangements to move up to Yaletown. If we don't get the puberty block May 6th, he will immediately go through female puberty). My husband already is in the process of looking to transfer there under his current job or work for Amazon up in Yaletown. Trans Care BC understandable will help answer questions and help guide you if you're a current BC resident. I want to know before I uproot the family, how long is the wait for care? Is there private care that I can pay cash for? I was thinking I can see a doctor in a walk-in clinic to get on the waitlist for Trans Care BC but I am trying to navigate this process. Are there any pediatric endrocologist that specializes in Trans Care like at UCSF? We are very concerned about the timing of all of this. If my son didn't need care during puberty then we would remain in the bay area. If federal funding is cut off for medicare for any medical faclity that offers trans care then UCSF gender clinic will have to shut down overnight so just want to be prepared. Thank you so much for any guidance.

Never learned to swim due to a drowning trauma as a kid but now I’d like to learn. I’m not comfortable going to a communal pool with other people. I don’t mind a private lesson or a specific session for queer and trans folks. Any suggestions?

Hey! Curious of any one here wanted to chat about religion and/or spirituality they follow

Im interested in learning about any, i just want to know what any trans or gnc folks here have followed and found to be helpful

Doesnt have to be institutional

I moved to Oregon with my partner from Texas because it seemed like a safer bet. But with Extreme cheddar Dictator becoming a welcomed promised genocidal monster i need to leave asap. We are saving up but we need a caring and understanding roomie. We need a safe landing space to get started on establishing ourselves safely. We have an SUV, video games, art supplies, and a tortie cat named pixie. We can rehome her if necessary, it'll suck but she will be safer here than us. Please help. Even information is helpful.🥲 I have autism, generalized anxiety disorder, and PTSD these things plus my nonbinary nature make me a target for ire even here in Oregon. I am very scared... I need allyship please 🤞

Saturday Nov 16th | 8-10PM | 19+ | FREE, registration requested

EastVan location, check the 2STGD newsletter or PM me here with your 2STGD gender identity and I'll share (rare offer only for TDoR, please email me at 2STGD@vancouver.ca for info about other programs)

Join the 2STGD members of the Queer Inclusion team for an evening of community connection and recognition of our resilience ahead of Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20th. If you are Two spirit, Trans, and Gender Diverse (2STGD), you are welcome, along with your support people if their presence helps to anchor your attendance. Please note: all attendees must be 19+ for this evening event.

Create wearable tokens of trans joy, cards to celebrate a friend or remember a loved one, and bunting flags for a community centerpiece or a mini version to take home.

Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. Reusable mugs are welcome provided they have a large opening suitable for no-contact pours.

Advance registration is requested by Nov 13th to guide our supply order. Drop ins are possible if the event is not full. Late arrivals are welcome. If you registered but will not be attending, please let us know so we can release your spot. To register, visit VanRec.ca and search "TDOR" to find the event.

Wearing masks in public indoor settings is not required by public health. Event attendees are welcome to wear a mask if they choose. Masks will be available at the event. Please respect other people’s personal space.

NOTE: If you are looking for a TDoR gathering on Nov 20th, Qmunity is organizing an event at the Birdhouse. See details and registration links on their Instagram walls.

Does anyone have any experience with the Understance store and whether they are Trans friendly? I’m hoping to find bra solutions as in my experience online bra shopping has been hit or miss, … mostly miss.

Does anyone have any experience with Wig Wonders on Commercial? Really need a place with a positive and supportive environment but I haven’t found a shop that specifically states they’re trans friendly, but figured they might be given the neighbourhood.

As the title describes. I'm looking for a trans-friendly place to get a haircut that would understand how to accentuate a femme appearance. As I started transitioning later than I would like (late 20s) and don't yet have FFS, some help from my hair would be great! :)

It would also be good if they knew how to handle black hair: I have quite tight 4C hair which has been a problem with some inexperienced stylists before.

Curious to hear about your recommendations and experiences!

Edit: Thanks for all the suggestions so far! :D I’ll call around tomorrow and see what’s up, currently leaning towards B-Bombshell

i’m late 20s, straight, trans woman, single, i work full time. i started my transition nearly a decade ago and am done everything, i’m just living my life now. my friends are primarily cis women, half of which do not know i am trans. while i love them all dearly and have tons in common with them as women i feel like i am still missing a social component of my life that i’ve needed since i began transitioning, a group of the girls who Get It.

i’ve tried support groups but i find they are primarily geared towards people in early transition (understandably and nothing wrong with this at all, i needed a lot of support at this stage too which i never had). i’ve tried the public swim, but i often work sundays now. i’ve tried pwb, but didn’t find it very welcoming as a lone newcomer since everyone already kinda knew each other. trans people can be shy and i am absolutely no exception, so not faulting anyone here, but it’s hard. i’ve been to the birdhouse too but everyone’s already usually with their friends. i find it difficult to just go to a queer bar alone and i don’t want to give off the wrong idea and take up space as a straight woman, which has happened before where i’m being hit on, disclose, and then they want nothing to do with me anymore.

are there secret underground networks i just don’t know about or is life as a trans woman in vancouver just like this?

I know this is probably a real long shot, but my NB partner and I would like to do some soft offroading at some point, mostly just go up the FSRs in the area. I would like to do the Harrison East and Harrison West FSR, and maybe some of the trails that lead off of the FSR, but I would like a friend to do it with, because it's always best to do it with someone in case you get stuck or get into some kind of trouble. I know it's a bit late in the year to do it, so this wouldn't be until the spring most likely, at least, but maybe there's something we could do before then? If you're experienced, great! If not, we can both gain experience together.

We own an F-150 XLT 4x4, which is what we plan on using as it is a very capable offroad truck. As for who we are, myself i am a trans woman, 42, my partner is 49, NB, and we both live in Surrey. We are both very active politically, very active in the community, attending Birdhouse events when we aren't out camping in our travel trailer. If there's anyone interested in this at all, again, I know this is a long shot, but feel free to PM me or reply here.

I'm in a few offroading in BC groups on Facebook, but we all know how intolerant Facebook people can be, so I'm trying to avoid going out with people from there, or outing myself as trans. And we don't feel comfortable going with CIS people generally, unless they're clear allies, because you just never know their motives. If you're interested and your partner is CIS, that's totally fine as i would suspect they would be cool with the trans community in that case.

Hey. I know generally people have had to wait a long time for the group admin to approve requests to join, but could anyone try bugging them to check the new requests/let people in? Or to get someone else to help out with that. I'll be getting the phonecall soon to choose a surgeon and I really need to see the photos that people have shared and their experiences with their surgeons since otherwise photos are impossible to find.

I believe Genoway does them but I'm not sure about the intake process or how prices are discussed. Would love a rough idea of what costs how much. As far as I know FFS is never covered in BC, right?

Other than that, wondering what experiences people have had going abroad for FFS and what you paid for what procedure.

Thought to share a more updated version since I got mine

Burnaby/New West Dr. Daniel McKee – 2-4 month wait for consult, 8-12 months wait for surgery post consult Dr. Rebecca Nelson – 12-14 month wait for consult, 10-16 month wait for surgery post consult Dr. Colin McInnes – 1-2 month wait for consult, 12-14 month wait for surgery post consult

Port Moody Dr. Dao Nguyen – 2-4 month wait for consult, 9 month wait for surgery post consult

Abbotsford Dr. Arezoo Astanehe – 4-6 month wait for consultChest - 6-12 month wait for surgery post consult (New Westminster), 12-18 month wait for surgery post consult (Abbotsford >40 BMI and/or Lipo)

Prince George/Smithers/Quesnel Dr. Anastassi Halka – 9-12+ month wait for consult, 12 month wait for surgery post consult in Prince George, 6-12 month wait for Quesnel or Smithers.

Are there any gyms around Hastings sunrise with gender neutral bathrooms? Willing to commute a reasonable distance.

Hi! My family and I are considering a move to the Vancouver area from Alberta. Where in the city is good for being able to find work etc? I have 4 kids, 2 of whom are trans, and all are over 18. Finding work in Alberta has been hell for everyone. As for me I work from home and want to buy a house but don't even know what areas to look at. And is it tough to find a trans-friendly family doctor?

Thanks!

I got my FFS done w Cardenas in Mexico last year. I spoke w both my doctor and an accountant, and both were unsure if it could be claimed as a tax write off. I gave it a shot, claiming the full amount as a health expense. Obviously, claiming over $30k in a health expense is gonna immediately get flagged, so the CRA asked me to submit supporting documents. I submitted the surgery invoice and a note from my GP saying that facial feminization was necessary treatment for my gender dysphoria. Today I just got the response back from CRA, and after review my claim was approved! Ended up saving me over $8k in taxes. Not quite full coverage, but it helps! Wanted to share because in my research, I hadn't found anything saying whether it could be claimed or not.

I'm about to get it sent off to my GP, but is it possible to send it directly to an endo? I know my doc is cool with it, but I'm just a socially anxious person and would feel much more comfy dealing directly with the specialist at first.

Anyone know if a) that's possible and b) a name of a nice practitioner, preferably with a shot waitlist, ofc.

Hi! the heading basically speaks for itself: how did you find your partner as a trans person living in the van area/or the greater van area? I'm a straight 21 year old trans woman, and I often find myself getting lots of matches on dating apps like tinder and bumble, but I'm constantly getting ghosted/rejected after telling men that I'm trans. I also state this inside my bios, but a majority of men never read them anyway.

I've also tried dating apps like Taimi, but I find that a majority of the men tend to be chasers/not my type. I've also gone back to grindr to potentially find someone, but... it's grindr, so you can't really expect much.

Sometimes I feel like I'll never find 'the right one', so I'm curious how many of you in the community found yours?

I'm looking for help to change a headlight on a 2019 Ford F-150. I'm not very mechanically inclined myself, but I really want to learn how to do this kind of stuff. I know there are YouTube videos, but I would kind of like someone to help me as well, if anyone is willing to help at all. I'm planning on buying a socket set, and I have a few other tools, but if you have tools, great. I live in Surrey, but I'm willing to travel to you if you live in the lower mainland. I'm a trans woman, 42, if that matters. Feel free to PM me or reply here.

Not much of a read I'm afraid, but I searched his name a bunch of times in the months leading up to today's appointment, so I just want to make it searchable for anyone else down the line. I've seen other professionals' names in this subreddit so I'm assuming it's ok to share, but forgive me if I've misjudged.

Had a psychiatric assessment today with Dr. Sheehan Chowdury and wish that I hadn't (or that I had ended it shortly after he said he hasn't worked with gender issues and isn't confident with them, honestly my bad lol). Once he found out I had trauma (😮) it was pretty clear he was looking for BPD or another explanation (felt like any other explanation but I'm a lil butthurt so it's hard to say honestly). Basically he wrapped it up by saying what he shoulda said 70 mins earlier: "I'm not gonna diagnose anything, but transitioning is permanent/dangerous/yadayada (🙄) and you should do psychotherapy because trauma might have interfered with your self image, and transition after that if you still think you want to" (paraphrased). Oh, and that "you definitely do have gender dysphoria, but..." (verbatim).

He's sending a letter to my doc and I'm pretty nervous about what's in it tbh. Grateful to be in an informed consent environment, but I will be tres bummed if the last few months of waiting were wasted by someone half listening, uninformed, unsympathetic and ignoring anything outside of the common-disorders-flow-chart he was working through.

Anyways I'm not thrilled about being negative about a specific person on here, and I'm literally just echoing every frustration anyone has ever had with state psychiatrists so I'll stop 😐 But if anyone else is referred, I would recommend looking into other options, or being prepared to lead the session yourself.

TL;DR: if you've been referred to psychiatrist Dr. Sheehan Chowdhury, cancel the appt and try again, or come in ready to game it (not my bag, so YMMV, obvs).

Ungh, sorry y'all. Bummed. Edit:diction

Hii,

I am really fortunate that my spouse has a really nice plan, they say they cover 15k lifetime but:

"Manulife suggests that a detailed treatment plan be submitted with cost estimates before gender affirmation services begin. Manulife will then advise you of any benefit that will be provided"

This is such a broad guideline, my ADHD is making it hard to figure this out and start working on it.
(I'm trying to access it for facial electrolysis and laser for my body)

I don't want to mess anything up, I'm not in a position to be able to do any of this out of pocket without knowing it will get reimbursed.

Thaanks

Hey all! Has anyone had fat redistribution surgery in Vancouver? If so how much did it cost? I know the starting cost with Dr Genoway is $9000 CAD Did anyone go with someone else?

Basically the title

Wondering if anyone knows of jobs/companies that actually offer ffs in their healthcare and package?

Exclude Starbucks because… well we all already know they have a good trans healthcare package.

Hello!

I recently received my PR card and it has my biological sex there but not the gender marker X that I had requested with the irm0002 (request for a change of gender identifier form).

I had messaged ircc about about this but I think they might have misunderstood what I was asking for cause it seems like this response they gave me is for fixing the biological sex identifier and not the gender identifier..

https://preview.redd.it/i2ri4nje6ywd1.png?width=1932&format=png&auto=webp&s=cbdc758017904f68db69301f8bb50d702dac0076

Does anyone have experience with changing their gender marker to X on their PR card?

Hii,

I am heading to Vancouver (November) for my physical and wrap up to begin HRT, yay!

I don't get to the city very often and I am from a pretty small town, I really want to make the most of my time there. I would love any suggestions for restaurants, salons/stylists, stores, events, piercing studios, and anything else that are designed to be trans inclusive and friendly. LGBTQ generalized places are welcome as well, but I would really love to find some affirming places to visit while I am there.

~If it helps, I am a transfemme person <3

Thanks!

I know this is probably a shot in the dark, but I was wondering if anyone has a primary care doctor that handles trans folks well and is taking new patients? Mine is leaving the province - she fumbled a lot of my care (forgotten to forwards referrals, filled out the wrong forms for trans care BC leading to a rejection she never informed me about, palmed my care off to specialists with long wait times, etc) so I dream of a physician who is at least somewhat comfortable with trans patients.

I already have an endocrinologist / have been on HRT for years and have already had my two bucket list gender affirming surgeries, so most of the grunt doctor work has been done (aka I don't have a lot of urgent gender affirming care left on the table).

I'm located in Burnaby, so I believe it would have to be a doc located in Fraser Health.