UK: Transsexual blames doctor for 'regretful' sex change surgery

[ftmichael]

http://www.24dash.com/health/12163.htm

UK: Transsexual blames doctor for 'regretful' sex change surgeryPublisher: Ian Morgan

Comments

[angelofsith]

I've said a few times about things like this, there seem to be a lot of people saying 'yes, do it' and being too nice about it and not enough people saying 'take a step back, think things through'. Encouragement is all well and good, but if you're encouraging someone to do something they might not want to do then something is wrong. I know I'd like to have hormones and the op, but I'd also like it if someone did tell me to think things through propperly, to make me think long and hard about it. Is it right for me? I think it is. Can anyone know what's right for me after a half hour appointment and make a decission then and there? Definately not, and I'd say it's irresponsible to think it can be done. This is partly my problem with the private sector, the appointments are too short. My first cxh appointment was two hours, my second was an hour and we didn't cover everything, and my next one will be an hour as well and I'm hoping I won't run out of time again. I just don't think it's possible to cover everything that's needed

[therosewilde]

I suppose that's one advantage, if you can call it that, of the NHS. It takes that bloody long that i'll be grey by the time I get there, and by god, if you've sat through the waiting list and "still aren't sure" then you're never going to be!

[angelofsith]

The waiting list isn't as long as many people make it out to be, but yeah, it is possible for that to happen.

[emmajnation]

Yes, it is - how does four years sound? And no, I'm not talking CHX - it's not the only NHS GIC....

[angelofsith]

Where's that for?

And yes, I do know CXH isn't the only NHS GIC, but seeing as I've never been to any other GIC I can't talk about them, can I?

[emmajnation]

That's the Porterbrook, in Sheffield.
Sorry if it looked like I was pre-judging you, that wasn't my intention.

[auntysarah]

Without wanting to get into a whole CHX Vs Private argument (they're grown ups, they don't need us to fight their battles by proxy), I understand that were I following the NHS path, I would get both surgical referrals with less than a dozen meetings over a few years, and no psychotherapy. As it is, it took 30+ hours of psychotherapy in the private sector, over 10 months, to get my second referral letter

[angelofsith]

If Dr Reid had insisted on 30+ hours of psychotherapy - or even more than one opinion before prescribing hormones and/or referring for surgery - he might not be in this situation. Paying for additional sessions of psychotherapy would seem to be a desirable option for anybody going through transition, whether NHS or privately.

[auntysarah]

If Dr Reid had insisted on 30+ hours of psychotherapy - or even more than one opinion before prescribing hormones

As I said, I'm not going to get into a fight over this, but I think it's reasonable to point out that the SoC require neither.

[angelofsith]

So the amount of psychotherapy you've had is somewhat irrelevant to the discussion, isn't it?

[auntysarah]

I don't understand what you're getting at. The SoC doesn't require psycotherapy for hormones, and doesn't even hint at a second opinion being required for them.

[angelofsith]

So I'm failing to see why you're holding up YOUR experience of psychotherapy as relevant here. Clearly it isn't germane to the specific case at hand, and it isn't pertinent in terms of the HBIGDA guidelines. I'm just not very sure what point you're making, really.

[auntysarah]

So I'm failing to see why you're holding up YOUR experience of psychotherapy as relevant here. Clearly it isn't germane to the specific case at hand

Let's quote from the article about the "case in hand" for a second:

The male to female transsexual, identified only as Patient B, told the General Medical Council in London that 63-year-old consultant psychiatrist Dr Russell Reid had been "too nice" in encouraging him to seek a sex change operation.

Both the article, and my earlier comment, are talking about requirements for SRS. I don't think it's reasonable to suggest that a practitioner should apply the same level of scrutiny to providing a hormone prescription in order to avoind appearing before the GMC, and I'm not clear on why you seem to be quite so insistently hostile in banging on about it. Are you perhaps just spoiling for a fight here? If so, then I don't think I have enough testosterone to provide it. Sorry.

[angelofsith]

I think my difficulty here is that you're bringing up your 30+ hours of psychotherapy by way of contrast with the average NHS GIC route of a dozen appointments, say, over two to three years. I don't think you're comparing like with like: while I agree with you that it'd be wonderful if EVERYONE had access to the same amount of psychotherapy, this isn't stipulated by HBIGDA and it isn't 'standard' for those taking either private OR NHS routes

[auntysarah]

I think my difficulty here is that you're bringing up your 30+ hours of psychotherapy by way of contrast with the average NHS GIC route of a dozen appointments, say, over two to three years. I don't think you're comparing like with like:

That was kind of my point.

it's reasonably SENSIBLE that a psychiatrist considering starting someone on hormones (which, lest we forget, may well be life-long) allow a period of cooling off and/or obtain a second independent opinion - ESPECIALLY if the individual in question seems less than straightforward

The likely effect of a blanket insisence on such is that people will simply present for the first appointment already taking hormones.

[angelofsith]

Possibly, possibly not.