I'm watching a documentary on youtube and they said you have to have your genitals and stuff checked before getting on T so my question is, what exactly do they do when they check you and how do they check you?
They didnt check me
but I have had a pelvic exam. You take off your underwear and put your legs in straddles and push your butt to the end of the table, then the dr puts her fingers inside and feels around, then puts in this thing that goes in and then opens bigger and they take a swab from your cervix. then they press down on your pelvis and feel around from the outside.
its a little awkward, but I was high on pain killers (that they gave me for other reasons)last time I did it
So there's a possiblilty they won't check anything down there before putting me on T?
My doc didn't check mine before starting T. I know I've heard of a gyno who prescribes T to transmen and prefers to give them exams before hand but yeah, there is a possibility they won't.
Okay, good. Lol.
Quote from: Kentrie on September 18, 2011, 09:32:43 PM
So there's a possiblilty they won't check anything down there before putting me on T?
It'll depend on your doctor. Mine didn't require it, but I think a lot of doctors do. If you want to know more about pelvic exams so you can prepare yourself, you can google it and come up with tons of good information.
My doctor required me to take a physical before she injected me with T. (it was my first physical too) I asked her if she'd have to examine downstairs and she said no because I hadn't had penetrative sex with a male and there really was no need to. So I stripped down naked and put on that patient gown, laid on the patient table, and she inspected me from head to toe minus my genitals. Eyes, ears, mouth, neck, throat, my chest for lumps:(, arms, stomach, legs, and feet. And that was it.
Damn. I have had penetrative sex with a male, even though I'm straight :/ If I lied and said I have never had sexual intercourse with a male would they know I was lying?
Quote from: Kentrie on September 18, 2011, 10:02:23 PM
Damn. I have had penetrative sex with a male, even though I'm straight :/ If I lied and said I have never had sexual intercourse with a male would they know I was lying?
No they would not know you're lying. I would just say I was a complete virgin, never did anything sexual.
I didn't have to have any kind of exam before I was put on T.
They didn't check me either... most docs who are educated about transsexualism wouldn't. They have more respect than that.
My endo did not require me to have a gyno exam. She just did a general physical exam over my clothes. Listened to my heart, lungs, stomach. Percussed (tapped on) my liver. That's about it.
She did, however, ask me to do a gyno exam before she wrote my letter for court to change my gender marker. Because I would become male on my insurances, she wanted me to get it over with in case there was something wrong. At the time I was very upset that I had to wait any longer, but I'm glad I did it. It gave me some peace of mind and I was told I wouldn't have to have another exam for 3 years (unless I had vaginal sex, then it would be 1 year).
I'm going to have to have a pelvic exam because something's wrong physiologically with me and we don't know what. I'm a complete virgin, but since there's a chance of having some underlying condition that may make the T not work quite right, I'm going to have to be examined.
Also, so long as you have the cursed female bits, you have a chance of getting all the various problems associated with them, so you'll have to get an exam at some point during your life, just for health concerns. :(
My plan is to have everything removed as soon as possible, so I won't have to, but that won't be for a long time for me, and never for some people.
he didnt check me when I got it, however he said I should be checked one of the days but it would be up to me when I felt ready.
Okay, good. I really don't want to have an exam down there. Every time I even take my pants off I feel ashamed and embarrassed.
They most likely won't make you, but you should still get regular check ups of that area as long as you have your reproductive organs.
It depends on the physician.
My Dr who gave me my perscription is an endocrinologyst and physician and i was sent to see him by my psychiatrist and he did NOTHING out of the ordinary.
He checked my blood pressure, listened to my heart rate etc.
Quote from: Andy8715 on September 19, 2011, 10:23:11 PM
They most likely won't make you, but you should still get regular check ups of that area as long as you have your reproductive organs.
This is the total truth here. I know a lot of people, cis and trans, are squeamish about getting those kind of exams but they really are necessary and can be a lifesaver. I don't know how much room I have to talk here because I haven't been to a gynecologist yet (I know I should) but I don't have a job right now or insurance though I suspect I have PCOS.
If you have never been to a gyno before, I would think it should be necessary to check you before going on T because they need to know if there is anything wrong going on there before they put you on hormones that will affect those areas of your body (among others). Going on T could aggravate something in that area that you didn't even know you had and you could get sick because of it. Also if you don't have surgery to get all those organs removed and stay on T, they will need to do tests on some kind of regular basis to make sure you don't develop cancer or anything like that.
You can get cancer from taking T???
Sorry to intrude guys..
Kentrie, as long as you have your reproductive organs, you will need to get them checked.. There's a number of quite serious health issues that can arise with them, but they can be detected and treated if found early enough. I understand the idea makes you uncomfortable, my gyno has insisted on a complete physical every visit so far (been 3 times) and that's makes me incredibly distressed - but I bite the bullet and go through with it..
Quote from: kelly_aus on September 28, 2011, 09:28:16 PM
Sorry to intrude guys..
Kentrie, as long as you have your reproductive organs, you will need to get them checked.. There's a number of quite serious health issues that can arise with them, but they can be detected and treated if found early enough. I understand the idea makes you uncomfortable, my gyno has insisted on a complete physical every visit so far (been 3 times) and that's makes me incredibly distressed - but I bite the bullet and go through with it..
I'm with Kelly on this one.
And although I can't really relate, nor am I really in any position to berate you, but I hardly think you should be embarrassed if they do politely suggest a physical exam. Yeah, you may not really like your parts, but you have to view all these little things as steps in one great big process to becoming who and what you really want to be. Try to view it in a more positive light. And it helps to remove nuance from genitals (don't think of them as genitals, just remind yourself that it's "just another piece of your body" like your elbow or your nose -- self talk is very effective!)
Quote from: Kentrie on September 28, 2011, 09:16:00 PM
You can get cancer from taking T???
Yeah :( If you still have the ovaries, they can develop PCOS which could lead to endometrial cancer. There is a possibility of it affecting some of the other organs like the uterus and cervix but there isn't a lot known about that so that is why it's still a good idea to get pap smears once a year (sometimes that limit is increased to 2-3 years). There are also risks dealing with the liver, but that's separate from the reproductive area anyways.