Transitioning with an auto-immune disorder/chronic illness?

[EzraDC]

I'm planning to come out to my doctor during my next visit! I want to take T and get top surgery, I'm a little worried that doctors might use my chronic illnesses as a reason to prevent or slow down my transition?

I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia/chronic pain sydrome, Hypermobile EDS, and in the process of being diagnosed with other stuff like PoTS. I've got some auto-immune junk going on as is evident by my blood work, but I'm not sure if that's related to my diagnosed stuff or something else.

Has anyone here transitioned with an auto-immune disorder or chronic illness? Are there any dangers or things that I should be aware of when taking T while ill? Is there any reason I wouldn't be able to transition?

Thanks for taking the time to read this <3

[Mal]

I've got chronic pain from back problems, which includes nerve problems, myopathy, lymphedema, and symptoms of hypermobile EDS, just to name a few of the medical conditions I've got, and I've got a few mental health issues. (It's a ridiculously long list, but I can go into more detail if needed.) Plus, I had blood clots several years ago with no determined reason, and I'm on T and plan on getting surgery after I get better insurance. The injections are trickier for me because of potentially aggravating one of my medical conditions.

Only a doctor who's familiar with your history can really tell you what you need to watch for and if it's safe for you to start T. I had to get a letter from a therapist before I could start T, and I'm probably being monitored a little more than most people, but so far things have been going well.

I should mention that I decided that for my mental health I had to transition and made an informed decision to take the chance that transitioning may aggravate one of my medical conditions. My dysphoria had reached a point where I couldn't continue not doing anything. I also got lucky with having to find a new PCP, and the one I saw had friends who worked at a trans friendly clinic, so I basically have two groups of doctors monitoring any changes that happen.

[SonadoraXVX]

I got lymphomatoid Papulosis, with some moderate outbreaks, etiology of the disease is unknown, as long as its unknown, they can't pin your illnesses on your future hrt. I've bee on hrt M2F for about 3 years 9 months, and so far, I believe I'm doing better, psychologically wise.
The docs start to spin that your hrt will exacerbate your medical conditions, you can counter argue, what evidence is there, if there is no direct evidence, I would not worry about it, even if its a correlation. Now the choice is ultimately yours of course.

[FTMax]

I have fibromyalgia and I'm almost as done as you get in terms of transition. My doctor did not have an issue with me starting T or having any surgeries so long as I continued to monitor my symptoms and report anything abnormal.

I've actually seen a lot of improvement on T. The only time I flare anymore is during more extreme weather/instances of high or low pressure or a sudden change in pressure. I also had PCOS (when I still had ovaries), and the symptoms of that also improved on T.

What I would be mindful of is that injections can cause soreness, and especially early on for me that soreness seemed to linger for a while. It made it very unappealing to inject on days when I was already in enough pain, but I pretended it was just a mental hurdle I needed to get over.

I've had no issues with surgeries. My recoveries thus far have been very quick, though I do feel like I'm a little achy-er than most people during the initial recovery period.