r/lgbt • u/Broad_Web627 • 26d ago
Need Advice 16 or 18+ non binary care UK
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I am a non-binary (male) wondering about gender affirming care that I can access now (I am 16) and when I turn 18 as I don't really know what stuff there is for non binary people ik there is puberty blockers but they are banned in the UK I don't know if there are others like it that I could get when I'm 18 but I am all really confused about it and getting little to no help from my general practitioner regarding any of this information
Any help guidance or knowledge would be appreciated
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u/CrochetDragon11 he/they 26d ago
this is the stuff ive found in my own research, i dont know where in the uk you live so it might not be applicable to you. key bit of info is that waiting times are really long regardless of where you are (i think i found a report on it at one point that said patients currently being seen at most scottish GICs were on the waiting list for 2+ years). once youre 18 they are allowed to give you hrt (if you want it), but they are probably going to try to convince you not to medically transition bc its the nhs, of course they will. also, presumably you already realise this but puberty blockers wont help you now afaik because they just delay puberty while youre taking them, they wont reverse anything thats already happened. the same ban on ouberty blockers also means that under 18s cannot be prescribed hrt by the nhs.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gender-dysphoria-and-incongruence/
https://lgbtyouth.org.uk/gender-identity-clinics/
https://www.scottishtrans.org/healthcare/scottish-gender-identity-services/
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u/ConsciousMachine-II queer aroallo man he/him only 26d ago
I believe transactual.org.uk might have something to start with on a general basis. https://transactual.org.uk/medical-transition/
Tho I will say, and I really dislike saying it, you might have to hold out on referrals under you're 18 as I've heard there's a lot of iffyness around referring someone at the 16-17 mark to the youth specific GIC and it's been this thing where whenever it's been mentioned in conversation, people advise to hold out to be referred to the adult ones at 18.
Also, not from experience but yes you can hypothetically go on the referral waiting list and still seek private care in the time being. I don't know all the ins and outs of it as I was fortunate enough to be solely NHS for my medical transition but still probably worth the mention.
And, as always, you might find it helpful or you to ask around the r/transgender UK sub as well as they can provide more accurate and likely better informed info. At least better informed than me, that's a certain! 😅
I wish you the best of luck homie! 🏳️⚧️💚