The dreaded gynaecologist

[November Fox]

I am happy with every single thing of transition, including the surgeries.

One thing I´m not okay with. At all. I mean I guess it will be needed but I try to live in denial, for the time being.
Since my childhood was messed up intimacy is a huge deal for me and so far I have been able to steer clear of doctors who specialize in the genital area.

I´ve never had problems down there, and the idea of someone else handling that stuff is rough on me mentally. So I have a couple of questions.

- Do you have to go on those check ups often...? When?
- Were you anxious about it? If so, did you do anything in particular to deal with the anxiety?
- Did testosterone affect the way you handled it at all?

I appreciate any input, though this is a difficult subject for me, so I would appreciate it if I didn´t get told to toughen up or just deal with it or anything like that 

"just take it like a man" 

[BeverlyAnn]

I was just talking about the exact same thing with someone on Facebook.  All I can say is I had a very dear friend who died of cervical cancer.  He didn't get checked yearly. And when he started having trouble, doctors were afraid having him in their waiting rooms would hurt their practice.  So if you have a doctor who will see you, please, please, please go. 

Believe me, I'm not crazy about going to the urologist and letting him stick a finger up my butt to poke around on my prostate either.  But I do because it's needed.

[Tysilio]

Yeah... the doc who prescribes and monitors my T made me get a pelvic exam before starting. It was the first one I'd had since I was a teenager and my mother took me to her gyno. Routine exams and PAP smears can be done by a family practice doc -- I see one for my primary care stuff, and it's just part of that package. For me, it was unpleasant but bearable -- I think it helps if it's done by a doctor you see regularly, who you know is sensitive to your needs.

That said, I know guys who have to pop a couple of Valium tabs beforehand... there's not a thing wrong with that if it's needed, and their docs give them the prescriptions with that in mind.

It IS something we need to have done now and then, unless/until we have all those bits removed.

[Kylo]

Never been for one of those routine ones. Cervical cancer usually occurs as a result of sex, via pathogens passed into the vagina by sexual contact - and I haven't had much sexual contact by choice. What partners I did have were virgins and had no STDs. That said, it's probably advisable to get checked yourself anyway. I'm just funny about it and I will avoid having someone shove objects up there for whatever reason.

What exams there I did have were for a different reason that very much outweighed my being bothered by the procedure itself. It was painful, unexpected, humiliating, etc. etc. but what the hell, it was over quickly, at least. Not knowing what they were going to do actually helped because by the time it was happening it was pretty much already over.

Yeah... the doc who prescribes and monitors my T made me get a pelvic exam before starting.

Is there a specific reason they give why they insist you have it done prior to T?

[November Fox]

I don´t know, a dude on the Dutch forum just told me that over here you only need to check it if you want the colpectomy and removal of the ovaries.. he already went through everything so he´s not just making it up.

Believe me, I'm not crazy about going to the urologist and letting him stick a finger up my butt to poke around on my prostate either.  But I do because it's needed.

For me there is a huge difference between finger in my butt and getting touched up front. But the valium idea sounds good if I ever have to go through it. If it really applies only to surgery then I don´t have to worry about it for a while.

I guess I´ll have to ask the doc about it. It´s weird that it´s different in different countries - I expected it to be kinda the same.

[Alexthecat]

Doctors are weird about requiring a downstairs exam. I had to get one before I was allowed birth control. Don't even take it for the birth control part, just to stop periods. It was bearable because I wanted the periods to stop. If you make loud noises of pain during them they go faster.

[Lyndsey]

Hi All

I got lucky I guess my gynecologist is trans her self so I don't have the issues that some have. 

Lyndsey

[November Fox]

I inquired some more and the dude said that they do an external echoscopy of your insides to check if everything is o.k. during T.   

My situation goes a bit further than a normal dislike of strangers poking around in my private parts. It has the potential of creating a dangerous situation for me as it is traumatic and will aggravate or trigger my symptoms. That´s why I´ve never been to one, asides from the fact that down there everything is a-okay and there is no need.

But it seems for the time being I can just focus on the first two years of the transition. I won´t be having bottom surgery for quite a long time. Yay!

[HeyTrace19]

Thankfully, I do not need to have this done anymore due to ridding my body of those parts...  I only had a gyn exam 3 times in my life, and to get myself through it I would just tell the doc that I needed to be a body on the table.  No conversation until it was over, no eye contact (I put a sweatshirt over my face), music blasting in my headphones...I had to dissociate from my body momentarily to get through it.  First exam was not until age 27, then one at 35, then my third was after I had been on T for about 3 years.  I will say that it was far more uncomfortable going to a gyn clinic as a man 

[FTMax]

Hey bud,

I'm 26. I've never had issues down there, and I've never been sexually active with men, so my PCP isn't requesting that I have anything down there checked. They have trans-friendly gynos on staff at the clinic I go to, but there's nothing pushing me to go.

I have been warned that they generally request a pelvic exam from women pre-hysto, but my PCP said that they may waive it for me since I'm getting the hysto for different reasons and am getting everything possible taken out.

If they require me to do it, I'll probably request anxiety medication. I'm not anxious about my bottom surgeon looking and handling, but I am uncomfortable with a gyno doing it.

[invisiblemonsters]

i managed to make it 24 years without having one. my doctor now asked if i ever had one and i said no. i also told him i've never had sex with a man, because i'm straight. he still wanted to do one, which was fine, it was an overall physical so not just the stuff down there. it was uncomfortable for me because i don't deal with down there or anything being inserted. it wasn't painful or anything, just awkward. you're suppose to get them done every 3 years. honestly, wanting to be a paramedic and wanting to be in the medical field, i get WHY i need them, but doesn't mean i feel okay having them. however, i rather be safe then sorry so i dealt with my dypshoria and got it over and done with. dysphoria sucks but it doesn't trump what could happen if you aren't getting routine check ups imo.

[Tysilio]

Yeah... the doc who prescribes and monitors my T made me get a pelvic exam before starting.

Is there a specific reason they give why they insist you have it done prior to T?

The obvious reason for insisting is that since it's something many of us avoid like the plague, we're at risk for having undetected cancer. She made me get a mammogram, too, for the same reason; I'd never had one before. Given that we really, really want to start T, it's a handy lever for them to use -- and it is to our advantage to get these tests every once in a while.

[November Fox]

I don´t know about routine checks. I was wondering only within the context of transitioning: when they want to check up on you to see if the hormones are causing anything weird. And I have my answer

Voluntarily getting a random check-up is not a possibility for me. The risk to myself (in terms of my own safety) far outweights any other reasons people might have for going. But I applaud people´s sense of responsbility.

Thanks all 

[green27]

I know what you're talking about here way too well.

I too had some childhood situations that left "frontal" contact severely uncomfortable for me, I also had the added issue of there being some physical damage to that area due to what was done to me. I started experiencing some pain before I started T and even though my doctor tried really hard to convince me to get it checked out, the thought of that was terrifying to me. I even worked with a therapist to try and get over my anxiety but I was unable to do so.

There's good news here though, I found that after I started taking T, I was able to see my anatomy in a different way. I was able to separate the person I was when the abuse happened and the person I am now. My doctor started to push harder for me to get it checked out and I did.

It was awkward, but I kind of laughed my way through it. The nurses were very kind and they were amused by having a guy sitting in their exam room. One even went to a couple different exam rooms to find me a gown that wasn't pink because she thought it would make me more comfortable.

[Kylo]

Is there a specific reason they give why they insist you have it done prior to T?

The obvious reason for insisting is that since it's something many of us avoid like the plague, we're at risk for having undetected cancer. She made me get a mammogram, too, for the same reason; I'd never had one before. Given that we really, really want to start T, it's a handy lever for them to use -- and it is to our advantage to get these tests every once in a while.

I guess so, but if someone doesn't want to have a somewhat unrelated test done (i.e. the mammogram) it seems manipulative to use their desire for T to force it onto them.

I mean since I have the right not to have to go and get a pelvic exam any other time - sensible or no - I exercised that right. Now I want to transition they're likely to insist I take these tests because it's convenient? Like going into a hospital for piles treatment and the doctor insisting you have a prostate/urethral exam at the same time. By that logic they could force any test they wanted on a trans person even if totally unrelated to their problems.

[November Fox]

There's good news here though, I found that after I started taking T, I was able to see my anatomy in a different way. I was able to separate the person I was when the abuse happened and the person I am now. My doctor started to push harder for me to get it checked out and I did.

Thank you so much for sharing. I was actually wondering about the changes T might have mentally, so this is great for me to hear I know that not everybody is the same but I do think that it T can influence trauma in a big way, since it changes your perspective.

If you´re okay with it, can I PM you some time? I´m not going to ask any awkward questions about the past haha, but I am curious as to how you experienced transition with your background. I´m still at the very beginning and I think it would help to see how someone else (in a similar situation) experienced it.

I guess so, but if someone doesn't want to have a somewhat unrelated test done (i.e. the mammogram) it seems manipulative to use their desire for T to force it onto them.

Agreed with this. As a patient you should have a clear understanding with all of your docs and not be manipulated into doing unrelated tests - if the reason is "because it would be best for you", which seems kind of patronizing...

[Tysilio]

I guess so, but if someone doesn't want to have a somewhat unrelated test done (i.e. the mammogram) it seems manipulative to use their desire for T to force it onto them.

As a patient you should have a clear understanding with all of your docs and not be manipulated into doing unrelated tests - if the reason is "because it would be best for you", which seems kind of patronizing...

You're both right, at least up to a point, and there was no issue about withholding T. But since many of us don't get the health care we should because we're uncomfortable with certain parts of our bodies, it's an opportunity for a conscientious doctor to remind us that no matter how we feel about our bodies, they still deserve to be taken care of. In my case, I was several decades overdue for a PAP smear.

My doctor didn't exactly "insist," she just nagged me about it.

[green27]

Thank you so much for sharing. I was actually wondering about the changes T might have mentally, so this is great for me to hear I know that not everybody is the same but I do think that it T can influence trauma in a big way, since it changes your perspective.

If you´re okay with it, can I PM you some time? I´m not going to ask any awkward questions about the past haha, but I am curious as to how you experienced transition with your background. I´m still at the very beginning and I think it would help to see how someone else (in a similar situation) experienced it.

Yeah, definitely. I'm always open to PM.

[Kylo]

What's weird is my therapist is claiming I won't even need a blood test for T, much less any of this stuff.

I wonder if she's on the ball at all.

[KyleEdric]

I couldn't finish my pelvic exam/PAP at my first gyno. More specifically, the doctor couldn't because I was screaming so loud from the intense pain I was experiencing. I could not relax no matter how many times she told me to try and when we both finally gave up, I was a shaking wreck covered in sweat, snot and tears....

I am not anxious to repeat that visit unless I am knocked out. Doctors may not be crazy about it, but I respond well to anesthesia and always come out of it fine. That's the only way for me.