Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Community Conversation => Transgender talk => Topic started by: Phoenix on July 22, 2007, 04:04:26 PM

Title: going to the doctors
Post by: Phoenix on July 22, 2007, 04:04:26 PM
right

i want to go to the doctors/gp place.

i want to tell them that i think i have gender dysphoria

what should i say?
Title: Re: going to the doctors
Post by: Elizabeth on July 22, 2007, 04:33:39 PM
Give them the short story and tell them why you think you are gender dysphoric. Then go on to tell them why you are telling them and what you expect they should do about it. I know it's hard because of the way doctors behave, but take control of your own health care. I don't let doctors bully me. I tell them what I expect them to do. They work for me, not the other way.

I have never had a doctor respond negatively to taking charge of my own health care. If anything, they seem to like it. And if they think you are wrong about something, they are not afraid to tell you. And that is how it should be. Doctors are a tool, use them as such.

Love always,
Elizabeth
Title: Re: going to the doctors
Post by: Kate on July 22, 2007, 04:44:44 PM
Quote from: Phoenix on July 22, 2007, 04:04:26 PM
right

i want to go to the doctors/gp place.

i want to tell them that i think i have gender dysphoria

what should i say?

Try telling them you know you have GID ;)

Seriously, doctors are often much better educated than you might think. When I called around looking for a doctor, no one ever treated me like I was insane, most of them just said, "you should really see a specialist in endocrinology..."

Ironically, my wife's doctor ended up being the one I went with. When I mentioned my condition, he just said, "Oh sure, we've treated transgendered patients before. Make an appointment and we'll see if we can help you. If not, we can refer you to someone who can."

I went. He interviewed me for a bit, glanced at my HRT letter (apparently didn't *require* it, but said he certainly appreciated my having one), and wrote my scripts. And that was that.

~Kate~
Title: Re: going to the doctors
Post by: Ms Bev on July 22, 2007, 08:01:03 PM
Hi Phoenix.........

I spent a lot of time looking for someone to treat me, after self treatment (I don't recommend it for anyone, not even me).  Finally, I did some searches for just the right doctor.  What I ended up with, was a large practice offering all services for lgbt.  I now have a great gender physician, and an equally great therapist.  The careful search paid out by finding someone who has lots and lots of experience in this area.

A simple search, like:  transsexual, kentucky

Hey....luv and luck,

Bev
Title: Re: going to the doctors
Post by: Buffy on July 22, 2007, 09:00:47 PM
Tell them the truth, tell them how you feel and tell them you wish to be refered to a GIC (Gender Identity Centre).

Buffy
Title: Re: going to the doctors
Post by: amberctm on July 23, 2007, 04:58:28 PM
If your a veteran goe to the Veterans Affairs. Thats what I did. I did the walk in mental health thing and they set me up with a therapist. I whent through therapy for a year before I got my skrips though.

Just a thought.

~Mischa
Title: Re: going to the doctors
Post by: Valkyrie on July 24, 2007, 08:56:50 AM
Hi Phoenix,

That's a really great step.  And I know EXACTLY how you feel.  I've made an appointment to see my GP this Thursday.  I'm going to ask her for a referral to a therapist that deals with GD.  Quite frankly I'm scared beyond my wits.  ^_^  But I know I need to go for a variety of reasons.

I've been going over what I'm going to say, and the only thing I can think of is to just blurt it out and tell them as briefly as possible that I'm very sure that this is what I need.

Good luck! ^_^

-Melissa
Title: Re: going to the doctors
Post by: Jay on July 24, 2007, 12:58:44 PM
Tell them the truth :)
Title: Re: going to the doctors
Post by: mavieenrose on July 24, 2007, 02:14:47 PM
I'm not sure I can tell you what you should say; only you can really know that, based on how you feel...

But what I can say is, once you're there don't apologise for who you are (just because you have gender issues, it doesn't mean you're a 2nd class citizen!) and don't leave the doctor's surgery unless you feel he's taken at least one real step to try to help.

MVER XXX