this is such a real problem and i've seen multiple friends deal with all sorts of ignorance from doctors who don't know how to deal with trans patients, to the point where at best they're anxious about seeing a doctor and at worst traumatized after being consistently mistreated by doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, etc.
i once made the mistake of bringing up my gender identity when trying to get counselling through my university for unrelated issues and the therapist kept trying to link all my problems to my gender even though i told her that had nothing to do with it lmao
Knowing all this also means more self-suppression. It means telling yourself that you can only consider coming out if you're fairly sure you aren't going to need any other kind of health care.
It means that when you have a panic attack from being late to an appointment, all you know is that after running up some stairs your heart keeps pounding double-time for up to an hour, and you're going to have to see a doctor and possibly find out you have some kind of heart condition, which would mean that's it, the door is closing on any hope of transition, and so you break down crying in your electrologist's office thinking what was the point of even being here in the first place.
For example. So I suppose might happen. To someone.
The interesting thing about being MTF is that you end up experiencing two layers of prejudice. If you are in a situation where you do not need to be out and you are not read, then people treat you like shit because you are a woman. But if you are out, then people treat you like shit because you are a trannie. The biggest shock to me when I became a woman was realizing how poorly women are treated on a daily basis
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this is awful... it's anxiety-inducing enough to seek out a doctor without thinking about discrimination.
plus, doctors don't know what the fuck they're talking about a lot of the time and it doesn't stop them from making a guess, this is just pure discrimination.
I had an unexpected experience in California where I visited a public health center to try get a refill on my hormones, which had been prescribed for me in Australia. Although the doctors were okay to write me a prescription for a refill, they told me I had to drop my pants first. I wouldn't be allowed hormones unless they had proof that I was post-op. The sad thing is at the time I'd had my junk handled by more medical professionals than lovers/partners, so it didn't really phase me
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That psychiatrist needs a slap. Behavior like that is why I'm so suspicious of neurotypicals that say shit like they want to go into the psych field because they find mental illness "so fascinating." They're going into the job to be zookeepers, not doctors, or because they get off on having power over vulnerable people.
I'm very sorry you've had to deal with such invasive and useless doctors.
Although the doctors were okay to write me a prescription for a refill, they told me I had to drop my pants first. I wouldn't be allowed hormones unless they had proof that I was post-op.
fucking horrible. And whether or not your psychiatrist was being transphobic, they were being an asshole, that's for sure.
and I'm really sorry to hear how difficult it's been lately. Sadly sometimes people give up on the health care system when they're sick of the runaround. I am not trans, but I have myriad medical conditions that went undiscovered/unconsidered/flat-out misdiganosed because they just thought I should lose weight, including a freaking brain tumor, and I've had my moments where I've just been so worn down by the system that I've no-showed. I have neurological issues and I'm supposed to get 3 MRIs/year... I went like 3 years without one because I just felt sick of it all. I'm sure it's magnified so much more for you since you have to defend your very identity.
Anyway, I hope you find a way to get through <3 I find that most
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i once made the mistake of bringing up my gender identity when trying to get counselling through my university for unrelated issues and the therapist kept trying to link all my problems to my gender even though i told her that had nothing to do with it lmao
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It means that when you have a panic attack from being late to an appointment, all you know is that after running up some stairs your heart keeps pounding double-time for up to an hour, and you're going to have to see a doctor and possibly find out you have some kind of heart condition, which would mean that's it, the door is closing on any hope of transition, and so you break down crying in your electrologist's office thinking what was the point of even being here in the first place.
For example. So I suppose might happen. To someone.
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plus, doctors don't know what the fuck they're talking about a lot of the time and it doesn't stop them from making a guess, this is just pure discrimination.
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I'm very sorry you've had to deal with such invasive and useless doctors.
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fucking horrible. And whether or not your psychiatrist was being transphobic, they were being an asshole, that's for sure.
and I'm really sorry to hear how difficult it's been lately. Sadly sometimes people give up on the health care system when they're sick of the runaround. I am not trans, but I have myriad medical conditions that went undiscovered/unconsidered/flat-out misdiganosed because they just thought I should lose weight, including a freaking brain tumor, and I've had my moments where I've just been so worn down by the system that I've no-showed. I have neurological issues and I'm supposed to get 3 MRIs/year... I went like 3 years without one because I just felt sick of it all. I'm sure it's magnified so much more for you since you have to defend your very identity.
Anyway, I hope you find a way to get through <3 I find that most ( ... )
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