Hello.
I am typing this while waiting to see if police will show up for a wellness check, after Samantha posted on Facebook (the post has since been hidden, but not removed). As such, I may or may not be able to respond in a timely manner.
I am wondering if, in the state of Maine, a person can be prevented from getting help related to transitioning due to extreme dysphoria (involving severe interruptions in life and constant thoughts of suicide/extreme self harm, which often occur for the rest of us as well as Samantha, even when Samantha isn't fronting in this body or even conscious/coconscious), as well as Dissociative Identity Disorder, CPTSD, Depression, ADD, Social Anxiety, and Asperger's.
Thank you.
-Q
The ultimate test is are you capable of making an informed decision. This mean you can't have any condition that would interfere with your judgement. If you have such a contention, it needs to be controlled so it's not a factor in your decision. We have other members with DID, Bipolar and other conditions that have received surgery. It means you will have to pay special attention to therapy to get your head in the proper place but it is doable.
Quote from: Dena on March 30, 2018, 12:13:40 AM
The ultimate test is are you capable of making an informed decision. This mean you can't have any condition that would interfere with your judgement. If you have such a contention, it needs to be controlled so it's not a factor in your decision. We have other members with DID, Bipolar and other conditions that have received surgery. It means you will have to pay special attention to therapy to get your head in the proper place but it is doable.
Those of us who actually regularly front are, for the time being, capable of making informed decisions. The problem is getting those involved to realize that we are. Considering that we've been involuntarily hospitalized
twice for mental illnesses we don't even have, and psych providers like to assume the absolute worst even in defiance of reality around us, it's going to be difficult. We actually have a medical reason to get an orchiectomy, for example, because we have nerve damage in the area which causes mobility problems. We had to resort to methods to numb the pain which were interpreted as "Self harm," even though we only did those things so that we could walk. Even after repeatedly explaining this, and even explaining that the nerve damage has, in fact, been diagnosed, doctors decided that we were self-harming because of a mental illness. Of course, now Samantha's dysphoria has gotten so extreme that we are visualizing this body in various states of gore, and she's even expressed desires to harm this body during the rare but increasingly-frequent-as-of-late times she's been in control, so psych providers are going to think even less of our ability to make an informed decision - even though the dysphoria is what's causing that, and even though surgery is necessary to ease the dysphoria. It's sad, that the problem might be seen as a disqualifier for the solution to the problem...
-Q
I guess, the question now is, can gender dysphoria disqualify us from getting surgery, if it is disruptive enough? Will we be prevented from getting surgery if surgery is necessary for us to mentally function?
That is something that you will have to work out with your therapist. Your therapist will need to tell you what is required before the proper letters can be written. The surgeons will accept the letter from qualified therapist and will not judge you. Depending on the surgeon, you could need two or three letters from different doctors so the angle to approach it is determining who will write the required letters. The odds are your current therapist should be able to refer you to others who will provide the other letters.
"I wish I could cut my face off, and the skin from the rest of my body too, because it's too hairy and manly. My shoulders are too broad - I wish I could rip them out. I wish I could rip out my spine and cut off my legs, because I'm too tall. I wish I could rip out my vocal cords, because my voice is too deep and masculine. I wish I could kill this body and never have to deal with it again."
-Words by Samantha, post desperately looking for help typed by Q
Edit for context: Prior to this, Samantha was having trouble, as explained by these words copied from a Facebook post:
"I've been avoiding shaving lately, to avoid cutting my face and getting scars. I figured being covered in scars wouldn't be good for passing later on, if I ever manage to get electrolysis for a smooth, hair-free face. I tried using nair on my face instead. A type of nair specifically meant to be soothing, and meant for sensitive skin. Now I have burns on my face, and I've ended up shaving anyway, getting cuts again.
Also, I'm out of shirts that can allow for stealthing. The hormones have resulted in another spurt of breast tissue growth over the last month. They're still hardly breasts by any means, but they're extremely difficult to hide under a shirt (why do shirts make them stand out more?). This is a problem, because I've had to stealth. Because I still look like a man.
I wish I didn't have to leave the apartment today."
Afterward, she went into a downward spiral, before apparently wearing herself out.
-Q