Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I would like to know if I'm not going crazy -

My endocrinologist will only see me maybe 2-3 times a year. Every time I schedule an appointment, I have to wait some 3 or 4 months before I finally see my doctor. The reason this is a problem for me is because I have absolutely no one around to talk about medical issues relating to my transition for months at a time, and that feels very isolating.

Furthermore, I've never transitioned into another gender so I'll obviously never know what to expect, no matter how much research I do. With that said, I've been on hormones for 2 years already and throughout that time I've gone through periods where I've 'regressed' - as in for example I would grow breast for a while and then they would literally shrink - drastically.

In short I feel as if I've made very little to no progress whatsoever. Right now if you'd saw me, I do not look like someone who has been on hormones for the past 24 months. When I last talked to my doctor some two months ago, I was told that my hormone levels were low. I'm not a doctor, but it doesn't look like she's done anything whatsoever about that, and even if she planned on doing so NEXT time I see her, there's a huge latency problem when it comes to handling medical issues. What if something had gone seriously wrong or fatal?

It has been frustrating me in ways that I cannot describe. I feel as if I'm slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean, cold and alone with no one who seems to care within a 100 mile radius. Am I weird for being frustrated. Thank you in advanced for your time.

I see mine every year now but the first 2 visits were 6 months apart. Non eof us have transitioned before so welcome to the club. reading others experiences here can help a great deal in knowing what to expect and even what to do about it at times.

A common group of letters you will see are YMMV, it means your mileage may vary. Your progress may be very different from someone elses but that doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong. Your levels could have been low due to the type or time of your dosages. You can sometimes find things out form a regular doctor if you can not contact your endo.


Welcome to Susan's.

Not every country sends you to an endo. In the UK the first and only time I saw one was when I was already two decades post op and I only went then as part of the investigation of a wider mystery.

I've also only ever done two blood serum level tests. The last one was only a few weeks back. So I think it varies from place to place Apricot.

My endo is my regular doc so all the same since I have to go for other reasons.

Thank you so much for the responses. Again, with no one to talk to I feared I might be slipping into insanity for a few seconds there so I really do appreciate it. With that said however, a small piece of me was hoping that I was crazy or that there was some sort of problem. When it comes to that, there would be a solution somewhere that I could find. It really seems as if this is one of those things where there may be no real solution.

I'll talk to my nurse on the phone today for her input and post here what she tells me. I take hormones orally BTW. I don't know whether or not that means anything, but I did hear from someone that the oral method was somehow not as effective as the injection method - something to that nature, though I don't know why that should make any difference. What do you think?

I go every 3 months at the moment, but we are still working out what dosages are right for me, we are doing a bit of an experiment.

Gosh, does not sounds like your endo is working for you. I think you need to ask her a bunch of questions and raise you concerns if you haven't already. 2 years seems a long time with not much happening.

It also sounds to me that you could do with developing a better support network. do you have a counsellor or similar that is working with you?

Oral meds are harder on your liver, effectiveness seems to vary.  I have injections biweekly. I like it that way compared to gels or creams or patches. Oral daily meds keep your levels more even than injections do. Horse a piece I guess.

You no crazier than anyone else here. Welcome to the luney bin. There is a real solution, you may have to change things to get there is all.

Mine is having me go every 3 months for the first year, then it will be every 6 afterward.  It's really awful that you can't even schedule a sooner appointment if you need one.  Have you expressed your concerns?  Maybe they would be willing to see you more often if you ask and explain your reasons.

I just see my regular doctor.  He checked my levels every three months in the beginning, then every six months, and now that I'm post-op he wants to do it yearly.

Can you talk to your regular doctor about your issues?

- Kate

I go my regular Dr. also. My first two visits for HRT were 3mo apart, now I go every 6mo.

Quote from: Apricot on June 10, 2010, 03:07:09 AM
I would like to know if I'm not going crazy -

My endocrinologist will only see me maybe 2-3 times a year.

You are very lucky! I can only get to see mine once or twice a year!

I am extremely healthy and in good physical shape. The OBGYN prescibing my HRT had me call in each time I stepped my regimen to full transition level estrogen and testosterone blocker dosages, but he said as long as I was doing fine, to just check in when I needed new scripts. I called in last week. He gave me refills through Halloween and said he would like to see me in the fall (9 months after I started).

Depends. My recent appointment was after six months but my next is after only three. Guess it depends on if there's something specific she wants to check sooner rather than later. Like this time. But I've also starting seeing her for other stuff too.

I see mine about every 3 mo. But if I have questions or something I can always email him.

Last time we met (June of this yr) he said everything looked good and that he didn't need to see me for 6 months.

I think I might still schedule a 3 month appt though because I worry about hormone levels changing on me and I want to make sure we are on top of it.

Ugh i See My Endocrinologist for the 2nd time in September since i begin HTR 15 months ago.
it is pretty irritating, especially because mine is also impossible to get a hold of and many of my questions went unanswered.
i always fear that i'm gonna go in and he's gonna tell me something i don't wanna hear that could've been prevented had I had a more accessible endo  :-\

No endo for me, I go through my GP... Thus far I've been seeing her roughly every 6 months... Informed consent is such a wonderful thing. Sadly shes retiring and I need to find a new doctor before my current script runs out. I'm supposed to contact her to get my script extended but so far no callbacks and her staff wont help. I really wish my car was working so I could go sit in her office till the problem is resolved.

Quote from: LynnER on July 15, 2010, 05:37:17 PM
No endo for me, I go through my GP... Thus far I've been seeing her roughly every 6 months... Informed consent is such a wonderful thing. Sadly shes retiring and I need to find a new doctor before my current script runs out. I'm supposed to contact her to get my script extended but so far no callbacks and her staff wont help. I really wish my car was working so I could go sit in her office till the problem is resolved.

Ya I'll note that mine's not an endo either. He's actually an ND and he happens to be FTM. ;)

I have not seen an endocrinologist in over 19 years.  My previous GP and my current one are the only ones that prescribe my hormones and the last blood work indicated that my hormone levels were good.  My last blood work was taken over 3 months ago.

Kind regards
Sarah B