Dr. Richard Hudson -- Switching Doctors

[ftmjake]

Hey all. I've been seeing Dr. Richard Hudson in Atlanta, GA for about two years now, but it seems like every visit/interaction with him and his office gets worse. It's a 4 hour drive for me to get to him (making it an 8 hour drive, total), so it's hard to manage. I actually went up there once for an appointment on a friday only to find out that he

Comments

[anonymous]

I've never been a patient of his, but your stories are consistent with stories I've heard from friends, and with my own impressions of him from meeting in other contexts. I find him to be condescending, patronizing, and offensively clueless. Sometimes I think that transgender people are too quick to praise health care providers simply because they 1) don't throw us out of their offices; 2) prescribe the care we need; and 3) possess some basic familiarity with our health care needs. (By the way, Dr. Hudson considers himself "a part of" the trans community by virtue of the medical care he provides.) IMO, those factors are not enough to warrant either my praise or my patronage.

Of course, having high standards about our health care providers (by which I mean demanding basic respect and non-creepiness) often leaves us in a tough place because it can be so difficult to find providers who won't bar the door when they see us coming. You might want to check GLMA's online provider directory, or talk with other trans people in your area

[tinamou]

Seconded. He's a friendly and competent GP with a number of years experience treating trans and intersex patients, his PA is also great (and she does gyno exams in-house, which I appreciate). Windridge has always been good, too, IME, with being willing to take bloodwork from elsewhere and to call in prescriptions to wherever you need them, without making you book appointments more often than necessary.

If you find someone in the Savannah area and wouldn't mind sharing their info, please let us know!

[melsmarsh]

Ok, apparently my comment is too long to post so I will divide into sections

[melsmarsh]

PART TWO

[melsmarsh]

PART THREE

[melsmarsh]

PART FOUR

[gentlemanjae]

for the record i no longer live in atlanta, i eventually got burnt out and left for the west coast a month ago

[melsmarsh]

I'm 27, very effeminate and there is nothing about me that really screams obvious trans except for my name change, and my hair is long (long overdue for a haircut). The only time he made a comment regarding anything about my not being butch is because I didn't want shots and he told me I was such a nelly guy because I am scared of needles and that the girls all want injections. The tone of his voice implying he was teasing me rather than trying to insult me. But I wear the title of "nelly" proudly since I am a pretty effeminate guy and I don't hide it

[ftmjake]

Yeah, I've felt like he's kind of put me on the spot with regards to the small amount of money I have to spend on transition. I'd already had top surgery, but it took us a long time and a big loan to finally pay for it. And with the crap insurance that I have, there was no way I could hope to pay for a hysto, even if I'd been so inclined to get one and could get it covered (my deductible was $3000 at the time. It is now $10,000). He still likes to kind of push me towards it, though, telling me that if it was really important to me, I'd find a way to miraculously come up with that deductible amount. :\ This last visit, he basically told me I was SOL for getting a hysto because my insurance has me listed as male. I don't really care. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I've heard of the women's health center and I am considering it as an option to switch over to. I am also checking into north florida for options as well. Thanks for the input. :)

[jacbar]

I second the recommendation of FWHC's Trans Health Initiative. Information and details on how to make an appointment can be found here: http://feministcenter.org/HealthServices/TransHealthInitiative.php... )

[jacbar]

Just heard from a friend in Savannah. He started T with Dr. Dott here in Atlanta (who's mostly an OB-GYN), but Dr. Karen Turner in Savannah has been willing to keep up his T scripts. I googled her and found this:
11133 Abercorn St # 10
Savannah, GA 31419
(912) 925-3382

The friend also offered to be a contact for you for support and whatnot if you'd like. I won't post his email address here for obvious reasons, but you can email me at jacact (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll send your info to him.

A few of us are putting together a wiki of resources in Georgia. If you go to Dr. Turner, let me know how that goes, ok? It would be great to have a review or two on there.

[ftmjake]

OH WOW. You seriously have NO idea how happy this makes me. I have been searching for a doctor in Savannah for 5 years now. I will definitely look into getting an appointment with her as soon as I need to get to a doctor again. As it stands, I have quite a bit of time left on my current prescription, so there's no immediate need, but when that time rolls around, you can bet I'll be looking her up. And I'll try to remember to contact you about it. Thanks!!

[aimlesswander]

Thank you for sharing this information. Dr. Smiddy is a great doctor!