Transsexual blames doctor for 'regretful' sex change surgery

[LostInTime]

link

The male to female transsexual, identified only as Patient B, told the General Medical Council in London that 63-year-old consultant psychiatrist Dr Russell Reid had been "too nice" in encouraging him to seek a sex change operation.

He said: "I find life very difficult because - how can I explain it? - I don't want to be female any longer, I am not gay and I will never be able to have a full relationship with a female again and I don't want a relationship with a male.

"I get very confused when ever it comes to even simple things such as choosing which conveniences to use. It is very hard," he told the GMC fitness to practice panel.

[Steph]

It would be interesting to find out where the therapists were in all of this, as if nothing else it is obvious that this person needed therapy.  Additionally I would like to know what this support group actually told this person, and what the name of the support group was.  This doesn't dismiss responsibility from the surgeon involved, it just adds to what seems to be one of the tragic mistakes that are often published.

Yep the SOC are considered by some to be a bit of a pain, a hinderance and a barrier, but they can also save lives... Ya think...

Steph

[Cindi Jones]

I find it so difficult that ANYONE can convince a man to emasculate himeslf in the most powerful way. Really, is it possible?  I just can't believe that anyone can be THAT confused.  I can understand that an individual can later say that it was the wrong thing to do.  We all have made some really stupid mistakes in our lifetimes.  But to go back and blame the doctor who tried to help you when you were making your decision is just beyond me.

I've talked with one of my close friends on this topic many times.  We've tossed around the option of castration as a requirement.  I honestly do believe that if a male can have the effects of testosterone removed for a period of time, he may feel the GID influence greatly reduced.  If someone were asking my advice, that is what I'd lay on the table.  Get an orchy and then see how you feel in a year. 

But shoot... what do I know? 

Cindi

[Dennis]

Not one single word about her own role in the process. No accepting of responsibility for her own decision to be dishonest about RLT. Drives me nuts. Blame everyone but yourself. Unfortunately all too common these days.

Dennis

[Laurry]

Not one single word about her own role in the process. No accepting of responsibility for her own decision to be dishonest about RLT. Drives me nuts. Blame everyone but yourself. Unfortunately all too common these days.

Dennis

I couldn't agree more.

So what, did she go to the therapist once, get hypnotized and leave with an "OK letter"?  Therapists are only as good as the information they can dig out of you. 

.......Laurie

[tinkerbell]

I concur with you Dennis!    Sorry Kitties if I am insensitive   but I really don't feel any pity for people who try to avoid responsibility.


tinkerbell

[Hazumu]

So, what's the success-to-failure ratio for this kind of treatment of GID?  At least 98% success?  How many post-op MtF's are there?  Times that number by .02, and that's the number of 'failures' that may be walking around.  Out of 6 billion people.  This page estimated the prevalence of POST-OP MtF's at 1:2500, or about 120,000 in the U.S.  That makes up to 2,400 MtF's who regret their SRS.  That's a LOT!!

Or, is it?

A tiny minority (less than 2%) have enormous power over the other 98%+ for whom SRS was the culmination of a lifelong dream.

Even if in every case the SOC is strictly followed, there WILL STILL be cases of regret.  That's a risk the INDIVIDUAL takes when she (or 'she',) embarks on transition.  That's why they sign hold-harmless releases before going into surgery.

Modern news brings events that happen far away to our immediate attention.  Any journalist or TV producer worth his salt can gather together a few of the 2,400 regretful post-op MtFs and have a field-day with a news article or feature or a Jerry Springer/Giraldo Rivera show during sweeps week -- and the problem is magnified 'way beyond the less than 2% failure rate that it really is.

Ultimately, it was my decision alone to start HRT.  I'm now confident that, through my actions alone, because of HRT I'm irreversibly sterile.  That fact/possibility does not bother me in the least.  If, as a post-op MTF, I ever come to regret my decision, I have only myself to blame.

Karen

[DawnL]

I think this person is a misguided idiot.  This statement alone is a serious red flag:

"He said his partner died in 1992 leaving him without any reason to live as a female."

Huh?  I live as a female because I'm female.  I don't need a reason.  If I was on a
desert island, I'd still live as a female because that's what I am.

On the other hand, there are five complaints against this doctor, not one, and therefore
this doctor may have indeed have practiced in a careless manner.

Dawn

[Melissa]

In a way, I can empathize with this person's situation.  Apparently they atarted with unrealistic expectations about what life would be like after transition.  They feel they are stuck in a bad place.  That they are a lesbian that other lesbians avoid.  They probably thought people would magically be drawn to them.  But this is from my ability to empathize.

Personally, I would be alone if I absolutely had to, but I work on trying to be a good human and I know at least a couple people have been attracted to me.  Personally, being bi does have it's advantages, since it allows one to try out both sides of the fence.  I have no idea what I will end up0 attracted to, but it's looking like only men will really be able to satiate some of my womanly desires.  Time will tell.  I do feel sorry for this person, but they should take responsibility for not taking on the task of educating themselves properly prior to transition.

Melissa

[LostInTime]

There are plenty of people out there who cannot make a decision regarding their own lives.  I have seen many of them for I have worked at Wal-Mart.  It would take some people an hour to decide between two near identical items with a ten cent price difference.  The only reason a decision was made because someone would point to one and say, "that one is better."

Now imagine that sort of person seeking out help for GID.  I also agree that the concept of personal responsibility has been almost lost.  Blame the doctor for this and not himself.  Blame the cop instead of the crook.  Blame the gun instead of the criminal.  Blame the parents and upbringing for the actions of others.  It is a vicious cycle.

One place where I worked at a manager gave me a hard time.  We literally had shouting matches in the store.  I found out, many months later, that he had an uncle who decided he was a she and went through everything, including surgery.  Only to regret it and go back to living as a guy.

There will be failures because people will lie to get what they think they need.  That is why my advice to everyone is to find a therapist and to be HONEST with that therapist.  You will only harm yourself in the long run if you do not and the cases cited in this article and others only highlight that fact.

[Julie Marie]

Typical attitude of the baby boomers.  It's always someone else's fault.  'Hey! Chop my arm off!'  Then sue the person who does it.  This is why I say the SOC is protecting the idiots from the themselves and everyone else has to suffer.  If you say you want SRS and later regret it, tough luck!  You are an adult, you made the decision, don't blame the surgeon.

"I can't be responsible for myself therefore I am your responsibility."  Great, that's just what we all wanted.