Transition Expenses
| Expense | Cost (CAD) |
Date | Notes |
| Surgery and Hormone Assessment w/ Dr. Preece |
$300 | Jan 2008 | Two trips to Vancouver were required for this but I’m not including the travel expenses here since I was able to work the appointments in with a leisure trip and a business trip. |
| Consultation w/ Dr. Brownstein |
$15 | Jan 2008 | Mailed chest photos to his office |
| Consultation w/ Dr. Cameron Bowman |
$105 | Feb 2008 | Consultation fee |
| $259.90 | Feb 2008 | Travel expenses | |
| Testosterone | $35.99 | Apr 2008 | 10 ml Pfizer Depo-Testosterone cypionate (100 mg/ml) |
| Chest surgery | $5936.38 | Apr 2008 | Total cost for procedure |
| Chest surgery | $14.15 | Apr 2008 | Cost for bank draft and express postage of payment |
| Chest surgery: Travel expenses (trip 1) | $997.62 | Apr 2008 | Transportation: Ferries, Buses, Cabs: $72.00 Parking: $50.00 Food: Restaurants, Groceries: $119.94 Prescriptions: $40.66 Hotel (3 nights): $395.02 Animal care: $320.00 (Trips 1 & 2) |
| Chest surgery: Travel expenses (trip 2) | $205.69 | May 2008 | Parking: $15.00 Transportation: $15.00 * Hotel (1 night): $125.35 Food (Snacks, Groceries): $43.34 Tylenol: $7.00 |
| Legal change of name | $211.50 | June 2008 | Application, notarization, fingerprinting |
| Legal change of name | $25 | July 2008 | Doctor’s letter fee for new driver’s license |
| Legal change of name | $17 | July 2008 | New driver’s licence fee |
| Packer and STP device | $90.17 | July 2008 | 2 packers, plus additional supplies to make a DIY STP |
| Penis Pump | $1.90 | Sept 2008 | 60 cc syringe to make a DIY penis pump |
| Testosterone | $35.99 | Sept 2008 | 10 ml Pfizer Depo-Testosterone cypionate (100 mg/ml) |
| Packer, harnesses | $30 | Oct 2008 | Regular packer, Aslan harness |
| Injection supplies | $9.83 | Nov 2008 | Rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, syringes and sharps |
| Trip to Vancouver to see Drs. Preece and Bowman | $674.54 | Nov 6-8, 2008 | Parking: $25 Gas: $25 Transportation (bus, taxi, ferry**): $29.95 Food: $91.99 Dr. Preece (session, letters): $200.00 Hotel (2 nights): $302.60 |
| Testosterone | $60.76 | Dec 17, 2008 | 10 ml Theramed Delatestryl T. enanthate (200 mg/ml) |
| Top Surgery Revision Trip | $497.55 | Feb 12-13, 2009 | Hotel: $288.68 Food: $190.89 Prescriptions: $17.98 |
| Top Surgery Revision Check-up Trip | $66.23 | Feb 19, 2009 | Transportation: $41.50 Food: $24.73 |
| Packer Harness | $15.00 | Feb 23, 2009 | New harness from FTM Solutions |
| Hysterectomy | $30.62 | March 13, 2009 | Prescription: Tramacet |
| Packer | $75.62 | Mar 26, 2009 | Mr. Right packer from Early2Bed |
| DHT trial | $178.80 | Apr 18, 2009 | 3 month supply of 10% DHT (dihydrotestosterone) cream (20mg / 0.2ml) |
| Testosterone | $60.76 | Apr 18, 2009 | 10 ml Theramed Delatestryl T. enanthate (200 mg/ml) |
| DIY STP supplies | $35.08 | Apr 20, 2009 | Whiz Easy and tubing |
| DHT trial | $26.53 | Apr 28, 2009 | 50 grams of saw palmetto berries, 60ml extract tincture |
| Birth Certificate Change | $25.00 | May 1, 2009 | Fee for support letter from GP |
| Birth Certificate Change | $13.00 | June 1, 2009 | Cost to ship documentation to Quebec |
| DIY STP supplies | $44.26 | June 3, 2009 | 3 GoGirls |
| Injection supplies | $10.00 | July 16, 2009 | Syringes, sharps, rubbing alcohol |
| Birth Certificate Change | $70.00 | July 31, 2009 | Accelerated fee for 2 copies of updated Quebec birth certificate |
| Birth Certificate Change | $13.34 | July 31, 2009 | Cost to ship birth certificate application to Quebec |
| Doctor’s letter fee | $25 | Aug 10, 2009 | re: MSP funding for metoidioplasty |
| Name/Gender Change | $97 | Aug 19, 2009 | Passport application fee, plus $10 pick-up fee |
| Testosterone | $60.25 | Oct 9, 2009 | 10 ml Theramed Delatestryl T. enanthate (200 mg/ml) |
| Testosterone | $60.25 | Feb 26, 2010 | 10 ml Theramed Delatestryl T. enanthate (200 mg/ml) |
| Injection supplies | $8.20 | Mar 19, 2010 | Syringes, sharps |
| Testosterone | $59.96 | Aug 3, 2010 | 5 ml Theramed Delatestryl T. enanthate (200 mg/ml) (Note: 2x price increase!) |
| Testosterone | $61.03 | Oct 26, 2010 | 5 ml Theramed Delatestryl T. enanthate (200 mg/ml) |
| Injection supplies | $6.00 | Nov 26, 2010 | Syringes, sharps |
| Testosterone | $61.03 | Jan 13, 2011 | 5 ml Theramed Delatestryl T. enanthate (200 mg/ml) |
| Hair loss prevention | $29.11 | Mar 15, 2011 | 60ml saw palmetto berry extract tincture |
| Testosterone | $61.53 | Mar 15, 2011 | 5 ml Theramed Delatestryl T. enanthate (200 mg/ml) |
| Testosterone | $68.24 | June 21, 2011 | 2 x 10 ml Pfizer Depo-Testosterone cypionate (100 mg/ml) |
| Injection supplies | $5.60 | June 21, 2011 | 20 syringes |
| Injection supplies | $2.24 | Aug 16, 2011 | Sharps (Note: picked up 23g instead of 22g) |
| Doctor’s letter fee | $25.00 | Dec 22, 2011 | re: MSP phalloplasty funding |
| Testosterone | $40.93 | Jan 20, 2012 | 10ml Sandoz T. cypionate (100 mg/ml) (Lucky to get it, see Canada’s Testosterone Shortages.) |
| Testosterone | $47.05 | Feb 23, 2012 | 10ml Pfizer Depo-Testosterone cypionate (100 mg/ml) (Lucky to get it, see Testosterone Shortage Update: Sandoz Suspending Production.) |
| Injection supplies | $34.50 | Feb 23, 2012 | 100 unit boxes of syringes, 18g and 22g sharps |
| Testosterone | $36.26 | May 28, 2012 | 10ml Pfizer Testosterone Cypionate (100mg/ml) |
| DHT Cream | $270.49 | May 28, 2012 | 25ml of 10% DHT in cream base (20mg / 0.2ml) |
| Surgery Reimbursement | -$5856.39 | May 28, 2012 | BC MSP refund for top surgery fees (!) |
| Running total | $5388.49 |
*Important note about BC Ferries: If you are required to travel via BC Ferries for medical reasons, your trip expenses are covered by MSP. This includes coverage for yourself, your vehicle and an escort, if required. I was not made aware of this until my second chest surgery trip, when I did not pay for any ferry expenses. I probably could have saved about $150 in ferry costs if I’d known about this at the start of my transition.
** I shouldn’t have had to pay this $11.45 ferry fee, but I screwed up my BC Ferries Medical Assistance Pass form and ended up having to pay for my car to get across.
Not included: New clothing, glasses, shoes, dog kennel, time off work (self-employed, no vacation pay.) Missing some fuel expenses as well.
All costs are in Canadian Dollars (CAD).
When you say there are no therapists near to where you live, what kind of radius are you searching? I travel 6 hours to see my therapist, 3 hours to see the provincial surgical assessors. There aren’t gender therapists in every city and trans folks are often required to put in some travel to jump through the hoops.
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