By health professional I mean a GP, endo, therapist, surgeon or any other. My answer is unknown at this time, but I am going to start collecting data soon.

I meant to add, can you include what kind of area you're from (urban, rural, bible belt, liberal...)

I currently live in a small town (pop. 40,000) in the bible belt.

When I went to my GP, she was not familiar with trans issues,  But she did find another doctor who was and referred me.

My therapist was listed in the phone-book as a gender therapist.

But now I have no insurance and am not sure who to go to, but I have an idea.

Nope, not yet. *knocks on wood*

We had trouble for a good bit of time finding a gender therapist on our insurance. People talking to us kept giving us therapists that deal with PTSD, relationship issues, teens, addictions, etc..

I've had some problems

since the losers who work in fairview clinics have a script to refer all trans patients to PHS for everything I've had to go where the doctors are competent.

Nope... my GP has lots (relative) of exp. and referred me quickly to an endo and a therapist... all working out for now.

I'm not worried about the insurance side of things right now, my therapist is just telling me that no doc will work with me or even give me a referral on trans issues because it's not medically necessary. What a load of crap!

Nope!  I got an appointment w/ the first gender therapist I tried and she's great.  I did have trouble *finding* a trans-knowledgeable doctor with schedule availability, but once I did I had no problems there either.

I'm in the Minneapolis metro area. I've had no problems, though I have heard a few from others.

I had no problem finding a therapist or GP.  And one time I had to see a specialist for a liver problem (minor, but it's a cautionary area when on estrogen). I told all I was trans and all were absolutely cool about it. In fact if anything I felt like I got extra attention and care.

I will say that I searched for the therapist and GP myself beforehand (though not the liver specialist), because I wanted someone who had experience with trans patients. That's not always possible in smaller areas.

I got dropped from my clinic because it is a catholic place. My doc was willing to work with me but the clinic/hospital was not. I got a therapist number from a friend who had searched it out before me. The therapist refered me to an endo and the endo to a surgeon. That endo is now my GP so to speak. She is the only one I see for everything.

Finding that first one was hard and finding that I could not continue where I was thru me a bit. I never expected that. I did have some weird reaction being in the ob part of a clinic and not being female tho. The nurse who looked at my record asked if I knew i was seeing a gynecologist, once my appointment was canceled due to some assistant thinking it was an error and never even called me to figure it out.  Strange things.

I've not had any trouble in the sense that I was denied but have gotten a little bit of attitude like people being more short or impatient with me, rolling their eyes after I speak etc...

I would vote yes, but my problem wasn't trouble getting people to treat me, but to Find people.
That is, I went to those that work with trans-folk to start with, but finding out who those were took several months of work!

In 36 years "on this side of the fence", I encountered one anaesthesiologist who, after reading my file prior to an unrelated surgery, declined to perform the required duties. He was "of Eastern descent" and I suspect his withdrawal was on religious grounds and he was forbidden from touching anything "unclean" ..... maybe he should not have been in medicine at all if he couldn't live up to his Hippocratic oath. The young man who DID do the anaesthetic was very nice.

In another instance, when my regular doctor was away, another doctor in the same practice saw me and showed an inordinate interest in my distant past. When he asked what my name HAD BEEN, I got up and walked out. I sent a letter to my regular doctor with a copy to the College of Physicians & Surgeons. The doctor in question disappeared from medical practice and my GP (and another woman doctor) split from that clinic and established one of their own. I don't know how much my letter had to do with either event but I suspect it was a factor.

Many years earlier, when my surgical history was a part of my regular medical file, I had gone to the out-patient clinic at a major hospital for a throat infection. The examining physician read my file and wanted to do a pelvic exam (for a throat infection???) -- I left in tears (without the pelvic!). My huisband (who was a bit of a bear LOL!) went straight to the president's office, barged in, and demanded the removal of that doctor from medical practice. Apparently he got transferred to the Northwest Territories.

So three incidents in 36 years? One per decade? Not bad considering how many ignorant people there are in the world. 

Quote from: Northern Jane on May 05, 2010, 04:48:31 AM
Many years earlier, when my surgical history was a part of my regular medical file, I had gone to the out-patient clinic at a major hospital for a throat infection. The examining physician read my file and wanted to do a pelvic exam (for a throat infection???) -- I left in tears (without the pelvic!). My huisband (who was a bit of a bear LOL!) went straight to the president's office, barged in, and demanded the removal of that doctor from medical practice. Apparently he got transferred to the Northwest Territories.

Ouch - not nice at all.

But strangely enough the worst part of it is that there is actually a screwy medical logic for that - but the nature of that medical reason betrays an even worse level of prejudice on the part of that doctor than perhaps you realised at the time.

The medical connection is that some STD's can present a sore throat as part of the symptoms - and the implication is that he thought that because you were trans that you were therefore "easy". What a blooming cheek.

Which you really could have sued him over!

Quote from: Northern Jane on May 05, 2010, 04:48:31 AM
Apparently he got transferred to the Northwest Territories.

Wow, transferred to middle of nowhere. I believe in Karma. Doctors are still human, we're still human, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

As for a response to the OP's question, I haven't had any trouble with any general practitioners. The trouble as some have mentioned already in this topic was finding the right doctors.

Doctors are professionals, the most educated bunch among society besides dentists, pharmacists, lawyers, and the such. They have power to help people and they "should" be wiser and more sympathetic to the rest of the population. If they aren't, they don't deserve to practice because they chose to serve the people in the first place by becoming a doctor and mistreating patients is not clearly "serving" the people.

Quote from: tatiana on May 07, 2010, 01:59:43 AM
Wow, transferred to middle of nowhere. I believe in Karma. Doctors are still human, we're still human, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

As for a response to the OP's question, I haven't had any trouble with any general practitioners. The trouble as some have mentioned already in this topic was finding the right doctors.

Doctors are professionals, the most educated bunch among society besides dentists, pharmacists, lawyers, and the such. They have power to help people and they "should" be wiser and more sympathetic to the rest of the population. If they aren't, they don't deserve to practice because they chose to serve the people in the first place by becoming a doctor and mistreating patients is not clearly "serving" the people.

Education and intelligence are two separate events.I know many utterly stupid (medical) doctors who have great medical skill and absolutely no intelligence. Although medical education is supposed to cover ethics and morality, it does not change inbred attitudes. If you are a female surgeon for example you will be subjected to an enormous amount of prejudice. Any one know an orthopedic female surgeon?
Ignorance and intolerance has nothing to do with education-  if you find that surprising, just check history.

Cindy

I disagree, Doctors didn't choose to serve they chose to make money. Very few are not self serving and many have an ego to match their cash expectations. (note not necessarily cash realities)
The good part is that most find the middle ground, how to serve in order to earn.

I went to my long time doctor to have a small cyst removed and after he removed it, he remarked that know I will have less trouble shaving my legs. Normally that would not be a negative comment but the way he said it gave it a whole different meaning. Then I remembered all the catholic nic-nacs around his office and it made sense. I proceeded the find a new doctor who has several trans patients and will be there when I start hormones

Nope, no problems at all.

~Sarah

No problems thus far. Both of my therapists in America are gender specialists, and my endo/GP (also in the U.S.) has quite a few trans patients. My new GP in Australia is not only very nice, he's a complete hottie, too. In America it sometimes seems a lot of them are much more worried about whether you have insurance to pay for your visit than if you have trans history or even how sick you are.