Brain Scans

[Xirafel]

From the sounds of it, a psychiatrist might look into the structure and activity of my brain to diagnose my condition.
What should I do if they don't think I'm trans after looking at it?

[Veronica J]

ignore it because its not definate,


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[SadieBlake]

More to the point it's not available as a diagnostic test.

The research that's been done as far as I know has been based on fmri which can track neural activity by detection of increased blood flow to specific areas. It turns out, for instance that in cis gender people orgasm occurred in different areas if the brain for women vs men (as far as I know this work hasn't been done with trans populations yet).

In the papers I read about trans brains found that both mtf and ftm participants looked more like their cis gender counterparts with a higher correlation for FTMs than MTFs.

Like you, I'd love to be able to have this bit of data (to buttress my confidence in proceeding to GCS). However it's simply not available. I feel there are enough other ways for me to be certain. HRT has vastly improved my life, from sexual response to creativity to my ability to relate to others. I've tried going off of estrogen and it was a horrible experience.

All of my questions and second guessing went away over time. I'm at 10 months on hrt now and couldn't be more certain that I want to transition. Best if all I could imagine a way forward that didn't include GCS. I would be OK and that's oddly reassuring for me; I guess because surgery no longer feels like an emergency, rather it's the better path forward, a choice I'm comfortable with.

[Xirafel]

ignore it because its not definate

You don't simply ignore the diagnosis of a psychiatrist. They're the ones who do the prescriptions.
Results are results. My very own psychologist takes a look inside people's brains to try to figure out what's going on. Not literally.

[kelly_aus]

From the sounds of it, a psychiatrist might look into the structure and activity of my brain to diagnose my condition.
What should I do if they don't think I'm trans after looking at it?

There is no definitive test for transsexualism.. It's a self-diagnosis.

[Xirafel]

There is no definitive test for transsexualism.. It's a self-diagnosis.

I would say to the contrary, thus why I have to look for an incompetent psychologist who will agree with everything I say. In my case, incompetence helps me. Apparently, not constantly obsessing over it for the past decade means I don't qualify as such.

If it was a self-diagnosis, we wouldn't be needing to see a psychologist.
If they're not giving a diagnosis and just letting you do whatever you want, then that means that they're incompetent. Incompetence is not necessarily bad.

[kelly_aus]

The main reason for therapy is to exclude those disorders that can present with GD-like symptoms and to ensure that any other mental illness is well managed.

I saw a psychiatrist who specialised in gender issues. I have no official diagnosis that I'm aware of, merely a comment "I believe Kelly would be a good candidate for hormonal reassignment." in the referral letter he wrote to my initial gyno. My hormones and blood work are managed by my local GP now..

[Xirafel]

The main reason for therapy is to exclude those disorders that can present with GD-like symptoms and to ensure that any other mental illness is well managed.

To separate it from other mental disorders which exhibit similar symptoms. Good.
I like how the default assumption is that you have psychosis and they have to make sure that you don't. Very nice.

Okay, let's run with that logic for a moment.
If a child misbehaves, do you book them into a psychologist because they might have a mental disorder which happens to have a similar issue? If you have a back pain, do you book yourself into a psychologist because it might be a delusion?

Very nice logic. Not so much. Or we could run with the theory that you're visiting a psychologist for them to diagnose whether you have this condition or not.

[kelly_aus]

There didn't seem to be any default assumption made with me, my psychiatrist made it clear from the outset that he didn't believe I was mentally ill. But I also went in unquestioning, I knew who and what I was.

[LizK]

To separate it from other mental disorders which exhibit similar symptoms. Good.
I like how the default assumption is that you have psychosis and they have to make sure that you don't. Very nice.

same here no assumption...went and saw him one month...he spent time going over my paperwork and the second he wrote me a referral for HRT.

Liz

[KathyLauren]

You don't simply ignore the diagnosis of a psychiatrist.

Veronica was not saying you should ignore your psychiatrist.  She was saying that the psychiatrist will ignore the results of a brain scan (or, more likely, will not even order the test) because the result is not definitive.

The brain scans do suggest that there are structural differences in transgender brains, but that does not mean that you can always see the structural differences in the scan.

[SadieBlake]

Veronica was not saying you should ignore your psychiatrist.  She was saying that the psychiatrist will ignore the results of a brain scan (or, more likely, will not even order the test) because the result is not definitive.

The brain scans do suggest that there are structural differences in transgender brains, but that does not mean that you can always see the structural differences in the scan.

No, she can't order the test because there is no test. Again, this had been done in research protocols only and would only become a test if it were determined to be a better way to diagnose gd/gid than psychotherapy.

Which isn't going to happen and probably shouldn't. Irrespective of any results of an fmri or whatever, I'm officially diagnosed now and have been unofficially diagnosed for 20 years. At this point I don't know or care what an fmri would show, or whether I'm the way I am due to biology or life experience.

OP deal with it, there is no magical test that's going to give you an answer, like the rest of us you will work in therapy and figure out what's your best path.