Hiya everyone.
I'm a 26yo trans woman (7 months into HRT and full time). I'm living in America, but I started my transition in London (first 5 months). While I tried to go through the system there (free health care is amazing), the runarounds and massive process + eventual waiting list lead me to self medicate. I will not go into those details, because I know they are against the rules at places like this, but it's a necessary anecdote for my post. Basically I told my drug clinic that was helping me get clean that I was transgender (as part of the process to prevent relapsing), and was referred to a psychologist. That appointment took months to make, and then took 6 or 7 weeks to get in. On the morning of my appointment to be evaluated (for them to make sure I was merely mentally sound enough to go to a gender clinic... this appointment wasn't even the appointment at the gender clinic to diagnose me, so still 1 step behind and this took months) I was called and told that my appointment had to be canceled because the doctor was sick. This was 2 hours before my appointment and I was already nearly on a train to London (had moved to Northern England for a few weeks). Their next available appointment was another 6 weeks out! Or I could use that very same doctor's private clinic, and get in within days ($expensive$). Needless to say they were unsympathetic about canceling on me like that, and that as a result of her canceling, it'd take me longer to see her than it'd take people that originally scheduled appointments weeks after my first call!
As bad as I make NHS sound, don't believe the brainwashing that American politicians and insurance companies tell you about public insurance. It's amazing. I received at least $10,000 in other care during a year there while I was a student, never any questions asked about my race or nationality, or any proof of ID, not for doctors, hospitals, or prescriptions (some of you native English might be annoyed by this, but try to remember my tuition at UCL was 6x a British National, so the money is recovered). They got me clean and it's amazing, but obviously transgender health isn't where it need to be, so, there are private clinics, like THIS one:
http://www.transhealth.co.ukPeople like me are driven to these places, else we face waiting months, or even years, to get our first prescriptions/therpaies/SRS. These private practices cost a fortune and I believe that 99% of any private transgender facility isn't going to be that great, because if someone really cared about the topic they'd be doing it for lower pay.
Why do I bring this place up in particular? Well, as we all know the progesterone debate is a big one, and one of the biggest cited sources is
http://biopsychologytstg.cniib.com/Biopsychology_TSTG/?p=83by Dr. Richard Curtis, who just so happens to run the above center. There are so many things wrong with his argument against progesterone, mainly that he is not referring to microginized progesterone, but I won't get into all of that.
What I will do, is say that Dr. Richard Curtis is now under investigation:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9784545/Dr-Richard-Curtis-transsexual-doctor-faces-investigation.htmlWhat he says cannot be trusted, his center cannot be trusted. My ex went to his facility in London, and each time she went there it was a bad experience. He doesn't understand transgender people, which is ironic because he himself is a trans man, and he uses highly offensive terminology, just look at the anti progesterone page above.
I came here to post about this because I know a lot of people use that page as an example of why not to use progesterone, and while I am not telling you to use it or not to use it, I think everyone should have their facts straight. Dr. Curtis wrote that page, a man that doesn't believe in androgen blockers, that prescribes underage children without consenting adults, that uses offensive terms, charges a fortune and rips people off, and is motivated for the wrong reasons.
I just had to get this posted somewhere, because my ex used to go to him and we couldn't stand him, and then I found out he wrote that progesterone page, and now this investigation. Also know that nobody in the UK will prescribe progesterone, so he's a bit biased. I suppose now this sounds like a treatise on supporting progesterone, and hopefully the rules allow for me to say that it has helped me TREMENDOUSLY as it has all the girls I know that take it, but my point was merely to point out that that article can't be trusted, and if you live near London, do not visit his clinic, and always check your sources!! And to post a bit of news of course!
It's such a shame there are so few places out there to help us, to then discover one of them is under investigation (and for rightful reasons for once).
Happy New Year
