Consequences?

I know this is a worn out topic, but apotemnophilia is a very fascinating topic with many sides and many different and strange problems. Personally, insurance-wise I don't think insurance companies, or if we get government healthcare, tax-payers, shouldn't pay for it. I think it falls under cosmetic surgery.

I understand the biological basis for it, but I don't think that amputating a limb is the answer. That answer is so drastic and irreversible and permanent that there must be a better way to deal with not feeling "whole." I always believe talking to a therapist is the best way to deal with problems. I'm not a fan of drugs, herbs, medicine for pretty much anything unless all other options have been exhausted. I think that we live in a society where drastic changes are made without thought. I feel like we rely too much on "the quick fix," and in general, over-medicate.

I guess I'm not fully convinced that apotemnophilia is a purely biological condition. If there was a way to reverse the lower stimulation in the nerves of the effected body part without amputation, I think it would be more cost-effective in the long-run instead of amputation and after-care. It would be hard to root out the people who truly feel this way from the people who have a mental condition. If amputation is a possible answer, I think that the way we treat people who want to become transgendered (I hope I'm using the terms correctly) through therapy for a couple of years, living as the opposite sex (without the surgery), then finally the sex reassignment surgery.

Sometimes the hoops are necessary to prevent any careless decisions on the either end of the process.