So I'm sick, and am going to make an appointment with Health Services on campus. It's pretty likely they know next to nothing about trans issues, but I go by Michael and male pronouns in all of my classes.  Not binding isn't really an option for me, because I'd be way too stressed out about possibly seeing classmates there.  I don't mind answering doctors' and nurses' questions about my binding, because giving a course in Trans 101 actually makes me happy, as long as people are receptive.  But I know that for some people who don't know much about it, binding seems like a health risk no matter how safe you are about it (getting the right size, not wearing it too long, etc.).

I stayed at a friend's house yesterday and didn't bind all day, and I'm not feeling any better.  That leads me to believe the binding wasn't making me any sicker.  Also, I've been wearing an Underworks double front for about eight months, and it's never made me sick, or exacerbated any illness (as far as I know).  I really don't want my appointment to turn into my doctor lecturing me on why binding is a bad idea, and assuming it's the cause of all my problems.

So what I'd like to know is:
-Have any of you worn a binder to a doctor who didn't know you were trans?  Did they notice it or ask questions, if it was just a "Hey I have a runny nose and my throat hurts" sort of appointment?  I'm most concerned with the possibility of a stethoscope or something...would the binder, and my squished up...chest tissue, make my heartbeat sound weaker?
-Should I just tell them right out about my binder?  Not necessarily mention I'm trans, but just ask if it's going to be an issue?

If this info would help, I wear a Medium Double Front and my chest is somewhere between a B and C.

Any other advice would also be awesome. Thanks in advance!

I personally wouldn't tell them what you wear is what you wear. If they ask just say its a sports vest. Im not sure why you are going in for, but they shouldn't really need to know. Plus I wouldn't have thought they would give you a lecture on it anyhow.

Hope it goes alright dude!

a doc noticed once (i had a rash on my back) and didnt say a thing.  i was also there for a non-respiratory issue.  i doubt you'll get a lectre either way.  you might tell them.... and they might put it on your record.  then next time you hapen to have a cold/pneumnia/chest congestion/bronchitus/ANYTHING possibly chest related, have them document it.  it may be a way to a free mastectomy!  if youre constantly sick because of that, you may be able to push the docs to reccommend a mastectomy to your insurance for health issues.

They're probably not going to be able to listen to your heart/lungs well if you're wearing a binder.  Sack the binder and wear a sweatshirt, at least to the appointment.  Your classmates are far likely to notice your being called 'Michelle' for you appointment than if you're got a little extra under your hoodie.

Gravity- I wore a binder to many appointments, even under the paper gown at the hospitals while getting x-rays. It won't effect things for the doctor even if things are crushed under there. You may be told not to wear it or need to remove it if the doctor want to examine the area under it. Good process of elimination with the binder but don't assume, get your self examined by a good doctor.

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Have not posted here in a while  

Michael, I have the same binder and size and when I went to the doctor, they just asked if it was a sports shirt, no fuss at all.  As for the stethescope, it worked fine without having to take of the binder, so if you want to bind, then go ahead.

I wouldn't. The doctor is going to want to listen to your chest. They'll need you to take it off.

Because of my experience as a medic and in the FTM community I have listened to at least 2 dozen guys chests without ever asking for the removal of a binder. In fact the only time I asked a FTM to remove his binder is after he showed up a FTM meeting after a car accident but that was because he had structural injuries that could have been severely worsened by continuing binding at that point. Other then that all you need to do is either unhook a few clips or pull the edge of the binder away from the skin and they can stick their stethoscope between layers. Please do what you are comfortable with. The option to bind is always there and you can always open it and put it back on after. I know that for me the dysphoria was too bad not to bind. I would have avoided the doctors appointment if I couldn't bind. However if it worsens your symptoms that changes things and try to give yourself binder free time as much as possible.


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->-bleeped-<-boy is right they will still be able to hear your heart beat though your binder. My mum said and she is a DR so I think she is right..

Had my appointment...I decided to bind, especially since I use the "down and out" method, regarding what I do with my lumps of skin once I get the binder on. I figured it wouldn't obstruct my chest too much, and it seems like I was right. I think the nurse listened to my pulse while she took my blood pressure, in the crook of my arm. The doctor listened to my breathing with a stethoscope, putting it on both my chest and back, and she said that sounded fine.

So luckily, the binder didn't cause an issue. No one even noticed. The worst parts were actually non-binder related. I had to get three separate fingers pricked so the nurse could get enough blood to test for mono. Also, when the doctor asked if I was on birth control and I said no, she replied "(looking shocked) Giiiirlllll!" And I wanted to be like, "Not quite." Instead I just looked sortof sheepish.

Quote from: Mister on October 20, 2008, 06:08:23 PM
Your classmates are far likely to notice your being called 'Michelle' for you appointment than if you're got a little extra under your hoodie.

I actually pondered asking the receptionist if the doctor could call me back under my preferred name, but there weren't a lot of people there when I showed up, and I didn't want to go through the hassle. And luckily, my name is not, and has never been, Michelle. 

If a guy is large chested, the binder puts a pretty decent wall of tissue between the stethescope and his heart, making it difficult to hear pulse and breathing. Breathing can be done on the back but I don't think the heart can.

Nope Elwood, you are wrong here. First if you are large chested there tends to be cleavage and the skin is stretchy. The lungs are heard in the back but at times the front and side is important if localizing trauma or disease. The heart can be heard front from either front or back but is easiest in the front. The stethoscope is meant to magnify sounds, has a flexible tube to reach around clothes and your medical professional know what they are hearing, the combination means they can do their job. Interestingly enough stethoscopes were created to avoid the impropriety of a man putting his head against a woman's breast. Besides which you can get the same or better informations with your fingers and measurements taken from multiple sites in the body. The main issues would be heart or respiratory disease both of which easily checked through a binder or by placing it around garments. I would imagine the provider might have reason to be concerned only if the device was constricting free breathing. If it was anymore serious they would put contact sensors on.

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Rather then speculating, I'm speaking from experience, and all of the doctors I have worked with prefered to put the stethescope on bare skin.