Be confident with your doctor.

[Korra]

I've had some problems with my endo not upping my dosage like and getting the run around from his staff so I started looking elsewhere for a new doctor.  Before attempting a new one I decided to give my doctor one last chance so I gathered all the info I could and sat down and talked with him and I totally misjudged him.  I guess I was being a big sissy about standing up for how I think my treatment plan should go but when I showed up ready to get what I want or find a new doctor things changed.  He doubled my E dosage, we talked about everything and is even going to let me experiment with progesterone to see how I do on it( hes never prescribed it to his trans patients before).  It was a really great day getting to keep my doctor whose office isn't too far from my house.  After having to drive an hour for laser, therapy etc its finally some good luck.

For those having trouble with their doctors, I'd recommend my route.  If you know what the correct treatment should be, gather your info and have a talk with your doctor.  If they refuse to give you the help you need then be prepared to look elsewhere.

Good Luck!

[Jamie D]

I've had some problems with my endo not upping my dosage like and getting the run around from his staff so I started looking elsewhere for a new doctor.  Before attempting a new one I decided to give my doctor one last chance so I gathered all the info I could and sat down and talked with him and I totally misjudged him.  I guess I was being a big sissy about standing up for how I think my treatment plan should go but when I showed up ready to get what I want or find a new doctor things changed.  He doubled my E dosage, we talked about everything and is even going to let me experiment with progesterone to see how I do on it( hes never prescribed it to his trans patients before).  It was a really great day getting to keep my doctor whose office isn't too far from my house.  After having to drive an hour for laser, therapy etc its finally some good luck.

For those having trouble with their doctors, I'd recommend my route.  If you know what the correct treatment should be, gather your info and have a talk with your doctor.  If they refuse to give you the help you need then be prepared to look elsewhere.

Good Luck!

Good for you.  Sometimes you can not be passive, and must be your own advocate.  Well done.

[Jenny_B_Good]

Awesome Korra, it's always great to hear when courage grows inside of us.

If you know what the correct treatment should be, gather your info and have a talk with your doctor.

That said I'm going to be the devils advocate and say " what the correct treatment should be "  - how do you know this?  Read it on fourms somewhere? or ...  Have a medical degree in Endocrinology with years of experience with Trans patients?

I'd like to put out there that we do need to trust your doctor because medically, we really are all completely different, and trust between doctor and patient should lend itself to a positive outcome for the patient.

I'm not knocking you Korra or your experience - Just hormones aren't something you'd want to f**k about with, and I'm always distressed when you hear about others that self medicate.

So once again Korra, good to hear your confident voice come out.

Love and Respect

Jenny

OXOXOXOXOX

[Korra]

I read the book the doctor who treats me is supposed to read.

[Kelly J. P.]

 Doctors dealing with HRT are not always super-qualified. My HRT doctor is probably just as good at is as my former support group leader would be if she had access to being able to order blood tests...

She's just a GP that has read a couple things put out by a regional trans health program, and she's only been doing hormones since 2009 or something like that. Now, she's perfectly fine and all, besides having that fresh gatekeeper smell, but if there were a more qualified practitioner in the area... I would be very interested in seeing him/her.

That's just the thing, after all - she's the only well-known person in a region of ~200k people that does hormones. I'm sure there are some other GPs that do it, and I just haven't heard of anyone besides her... which is actually a feat since the group leader has tons of resources, and has ways to find information.

The best thing about her is that she has a wait list that's months long, and will likely never move to informed consent.


So yeah. As much as I would like to see someone else, I have to stick with her. She's a good enough person, and I do like her for who she is... but there is a degree of inflexibility and incompetance in this field of treatment that is mostly related to her limited experience and training, and since she's the only one, there's really no other option.

Sometimes standing up to your doctor, in a situation where you have one like mine, isn't the greatest idea... because it can go wrong, and if it does you're screwed. Telling my doctors what they want to hear, while slipping in the occasional honesty, is just a habit by now. If I didn't, my SRS coverage might be put on hold. :p