I've not seen my endo in over a yr and I'm having issues with hair loss I never had, before my orchiectomy. I'm basically monitoring my levels, but I know it's time for a different endocrinologist to step in ASAP. Anyone have any personal experience with endos who are experts in their field when dealing with trans endocrinology? I'd literally fly to meet them. Thanks
Here are a few :
https://www.google.co.nz/?gws_rd=ssl#q=florida+endo+transgender
Have you considered plannedparenthood ?
Some do hrt. You might call and ask.
Concerning levels many endos strive for levels of estrogen of 200 pg/ml or above.
Post op women are not menopausal women, levels imo should be well in the female range.
And adding bioidentical progesterone might help.
You might discuss that with them.
hugs
I am seeing Dr. Sweet in fort myers i have only had one appt but he seems knowledgeable so far
Dr. Vin Tangpricha at Emory University in Atlanta was one of the authors of Endocrine Treatment of Transsexual Persons: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline. He is difficult to get an appointment with however since it seems he's only in his office to see trans patients on Fridays. I have an appointment with him May 20 so I'll be able to give more info about him after that. The only endo I was aware of in Florida who worked with trans people was Yank Coble in Jacksonville but that was several years ago and I doubt if he is even in practice any longer.
I use Dr. Lorena Lewy-Alterbaum in Hollywood Florida and she is great!
My appt with Dr Tangpricha is June 17. And yes, he has a llllloooonnnggg waiting list. Thankfully, I've there are often cancellations.
Could you be more specific in terms of her knowledgeably. I considered her before. Thanks in any case.
Quote from: Emily R on May 09, 2016, 06:17:42 PM
I use Dr. Lorena Lewy-Alterbaum in Hollywood Florida and she is great!
Quote from: BeverlyAnn on May 09, 2016, 06:13:48 PM
Dr. Vin Tangpricha at Emory University in Atlanta was one of the authors of Endocrine Treatment of Transsexual Persons: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline. He is difficult to get an appointment with however since it seems he's only in his office to see trans patients on Fridays. I have an appointment with him May 20 so I'll be able to give more info about him after that. The only endo I was aware of in Florida who worked with trans people was Yank Coble in Jacksonville but that was several years ago and I doubt if he is even in practice any longer.
I'm going to reach out to his office and see what his schedule is like. Thanks, and thanks SophiaBleu. All the best with your appointments.
Quote from: Laura_7 on May 09, 2016, 05:06:34 PM
Here are a few :
https://www.google.co.nz/?gws_rd=ssl#q=florida+endo+transgender
Have you considered plannedparenthood ?
Some do hrt. You might call and ask.
Concerning levels many endos strive for levels of estrogen of 200 pg/ml or above.
Post op women are not menopausal women, levels imo should be well in the female range.
And adding bioidentical progesterone might help.
You might discuss that with them.
hugs
I haven't considered Planned Parenthood, but I'll check into them. Coincidentally, my levels are at 200 currently and I do take progesterone, not sure if it's bioidentical, but at least there's that. Thanks
Quote from: SophiaBleu on May 09, 2016, 10:00:59 PM
My appt with Dr Tangpricha is June 17. And yes, he has a llllloooonnnggg waiting list. Thankfully, I've there are often cancellations.
His next appt was Jan 7, 2017 so I took that. haha. hopefully he'll have a cancellation
Hi Mindy,
I have been seeing her for a year now, and she was one of the two choices recommended by my Gender Therapist when she gave me the HRT letter.
She is a very professional and compassionate person and has many years of experience treating Trans woman. I have met the first trans woman that she treated about 20 years ago, and she said that they both learned together as the Dr had to research how to treat her.
I am an older trans woman and therefore she has been very cautious with the dosage and increasing it. I originally asked for a very low dosage when I first started as my plan was more to relieve the dysphoria and then I decided to go ahead and start transitioning faster as at my age the hormones causes slower changes. She constantly is running blood work test to make sure that not only the hormones levels are changing, but also to make sure that the spiro does not causes any problems.
I don't know what percentage of her patients are trans, I assume not a large percentage but I like her and will recommend her without any reservations.
Feel free to PM if you like more details.
Emily R
Quote from: Mindy More on May 10, 2016, 02:55:52 PM
I haven't considered Planned Parenthood, but I'll check into them. Coincidentally, my levels are at 200 currently and I do take progesterone, not sure if it's bioidentical, but at least there's that. Thanks
The units are also important .
Is it pg/ml or pmol/l ? The latter would be about a third.
hugs
Quote from: Mindy More on May 10, 2016, 03:19:20 PM
His next appt was Jan 7, 2017 so I took that. haha. hopefully he'll have a cancellation
Mindy, when I called they gave me an appointment for November but his office called me and gave me the May 20 appointment. I think they do the appointment way out to get you registered. Hopefully his office will call you with a much closer appointment.
I saw Dr. Sweet today, and he was quite professional. Since I'm post op, he did a full exam on the initial visit. My only issue is that he seems to like our levels in the post menopausal area of 100-120. I feel, based on experience, that this is too low. He agreed to meet me half way in my request, as long as I have no adverse reactions. I understand his caution, however.
Staff and doctor were courteous and respectful.
Quote from: Laura_7 on May 11, 2016, 05:05:51 AM
The units are also important .
Is it pg/ml or pmol/l ? The latter would be about a third.
hugs
Hi, I checked it was 200 pg/ml
Quote from: JulieK on May 17, 2016, 01:06:20 AM
I saw Dr. Sweet today, and he was quite professional. Since I'm post op, he did a full exam on the initial visit. My only issue is that he seems to like our levels in the post menopausal area of 100-120. I feel, based on experience, that this is too low. He agreed to meet me half way in my request, as long as I have no adverse reactions. I understand his caution, however.
Staff and doctor were courteous and respectful.
Interesting, at least he was willing to budge. I'm gonna probably stay on the east coast for a doc I think now.
Quote from: Emily R on May 10, 2016, 04:51:52 PM
Hi Mindy,
I have been seeing her for a year now, and she was one of the two choices recommended by my Gender Therapist when she gave me the HRT letter.
She is a very professional and compassionate person and has many years of experience treating Trans woman. I have met the first trans woman that she treated about 20 years ago, and she said that they both learned together as the Dr had to research how to treat her.
I am an older trans woman and therefore she has been very cautious with the dosage and increasing it. I originally asked for a very low dosage when I first started as my plan was more to relieve the dysphoria and then I decided to go ahead and start transitioning faster as at my age the hormones causes slower changes. She constantly is running blood work test to make sure that not only the hormones levels are changing, but also to make sure that the spiro does not causes any problems.
I don't know what percentage of her patients are trans, I assume not a large percentage but I like her and will recommend her without any reservations.
Feel free to PM if you like more details.
Emily R
Thanks Emily I'll get in touch with her again.
Quote from: BeverlyAnn on May 13, 2016, 10:01:12 PM
Mindy, when I called they gave me an appointment for November but his office called me and gave me the May 20 appointment. I think they do the appointment way out to get you registered. Hopefully his office will call you with a much closer appointment.
Fingers crossed!
Quote from: Mindy More on May 18, 2016, 11:46:23 AM
Fingers crossed!
I did have to call a second time and it was after the second call his office called me back. I would call to "check for a cancellation."
OK, my evaluation of Dr. Tangpricha. Well first of all, one of his younger colleagues came in and talked, asked a lot of questions, etc. She mentioned my therapist letter also recommended the orchiectomy and I told her it was done 3 1/2 weeks ago. She conferred with Dr. Tangpricha before he came in. He sat down and discussed quite a few things about HRT, asked how fast I was looking to proceed, etc. He also seemed to have a LOT of respect for my therapist. We talked about conferences and he said he attended Southern Comfort last year. My overall opinion is he's a fantastic endo!
Quote from: Emily R on May 10, 2016, 04:51:52 PM
Hi Mindy,
I have been seeing her for a year now, and she was one of the two choices recommended by my Gender Therapist when she gave me the HRT letter.
She is a very professional and compassionate person and has many years of experience treating Trans woman. I have met the first trans woman that she treated about 20 years ago, and she said that they both learned together as the Dr had to research how to treat her.
I am an older trans woman and therefore she has been very cautious with the dosage and increasing it. I originally asked for a very low dosage when I first started as my plan was more to relieve the dysphoria and then I decided to go ahead and start transitioning faster as at my age the hormones causes slower changes. She constantly is running blood work test to make sure that not only the hormones levels are changing, but also to make sure that the spiro does not causes any problems.
I don't know what percentage of her patients are trans, I assume not a large percentage but I like her and will recommend her without any reservations.
Feel free to PM if you like more details.
Emily R
Yeah... ummm... going to have to disagree with you on Dr. Lewy-Alterbaum. Inexperienced and unprofessional, with little to no understanding of trans standards of care would be my opinion. She starts all patients off on far too low a dosage as she could care less about results. She blood tests often to build up a nice bill, either with you or your insurance company paying for it. You can schedule your own blood tests thru a 3rd party provider online for about 66% less than she will bill you and it will be tested at the same lab. She will follow the same protocol whether your 18 or 78. Good health, or not. I definitely recommend finding someone else.
Unfortunately there are few other choices.
Jenn,
You have the right to your opinion, but I disagree with you!
That she is conservative and cautious I will agree with you, but in my case I am not a spring chicken anymore at 62 and I specifically approached her on the first visit told her that I wanted to start very slow, which she was happy about as she told me that it was the opposite of what most patients wanted.
On the lab test, she told me the type of test i needed to have performed and I have been using the online 3rd party provider" that you refer to with very low cost compared to everything else. If you look at the recommended testing frequency by recognized endocrynologist associations, I believe is monthly for the first 3 months or so and then every 3 months for like a year and if everything is normal and a good hormone level is achieved then the testing is every 6 months. I have been pretty much on that schedule except my potassium has been high so she has been testing just for it more often.
Just because you don't agree with her protocol is not a reason to discredit her. She is professional and once you begin to know her better she becomes more open and caring.
Maybe she is not your type of doctor, but don't say that she is inexperienced and unprofessional please!