So I went to the doctors today he was nice enough . But during our discussion he said something that bugged me. he referred to my boobies which are prominent enough to be easily noticeable now as "Gynecomastia" and a "side effect of the medication" I was taking.

This bugs me. As I know medical Cryptography and you can't fool me. Gynecomastia translates to "Man Boobs" but that's just it. I don't have man boobs... I have girl boobs! :/ I got them the same way all the other girls did I was exposed to estrogen experienced puberty which involved me growing boob-age. Calling them somthing like that makes it seem like they are developmental abnormalities but they don't feel like that at all, If you'd said I as a girl I had slight hirsutism (Excess female body hair) as a side effect of begin a transsexual I'd say you have a fair point!

And Side-effects of the Spiro and Estrogen causing feminisation... They aren't "side effects" Those are the effects I want! What do you think I take those hormone blockers because I enjoy weeing every 2 hours? Or perhaps I wanted to have an elevated risk of potassium overload, Feminisation from injecting E who'd have thunk-ed it? lol.

So I dunno I'd like to ask you
Pre op Trans-men dose it make it feel better in you if I pathologise your Chest growths calling them Gynomastica? Ie "Abnormal male breast growth"

And Transwomen am I alone in my internal rant dose this only bug me?

I'd be very annoyed to have mine referred to as Gycos.   
Whenever I was discussing my hormone needs with either male or female doctors they quite often said I was getting nice breasts.
You need to educate your doctor or ask to see another one next time.

Actually, that's just the way I view mine, because it does make me feel better. Means I see them as little more than a nuisance that prevents me from going shirtless etc.

To make that comparison with a trans-woman though? Wouldn't that be their way of implying that you're not a woman at all? Ouch! Yeah, sounds like you and him need to have words.

Quote from: pebbles on October 29, 2010, 06:29:52 AM
So I went to the doctors today he was nice enough . But during our discussion he said something that bugged me. he referred to my boobies which are prominent enough to be easily noticeable now as "Gynecomastia" and a "side effect of the medication" I was taking.

This bugs me. As I know medical Cryptography and you can't fool me. Gynecomastia translates to "Man Boobs" but that's just it. I don't have man boobs... I have girl boobs! :/ I got them the same way all the other girls did I was exposed to estrogen experienced puberty which involved me growing boob-age. Calling them somthing like that makes it seem like they are developmental abnormalities but they don't feel like that at all, If you'd said I as a girl I had slight hirsutism (Excess female body hair) as a side effect of begin a transsexual I'd say you have a fair point!

And Side-effects of the Spiro and Estrogen causing feminisation... They aren't "side effects" Those are the effects I want! What do you think I take those hormone blockers because I enjoy weeing every 2 hours? Or perhaps I wanted to have an elevated risk of potassium overload, Feminisation from injecting E who'd have thunk-ed it? lol.

So I dunno I'd like to ask you
Pre op Trans-men dose it make it feel better in you if I pathologise your Chest growths calling them Gynomastica? Ie "Abnormal male breast growth"

And Transwomen am I alone in my internal rant dose this only bug me?

I tell you what I think you were remarkably restrained and polite!

If someone had said that to me pre-op their time to live would likely have been measured in seconds! cos I would have gone absolutely ballistic Thankfully for everyone I'm a lot more relaxed these days...

So yeah - back then it would have bugged me like hell - and yeah I would definitely have either put him straight to his face, or indeed written phoned or emailed afterward to the practice manager complaining, but then perhaps I am less tolerant of fools than you are.

So absolutely no need to apologise for the rant - which is fully justified in my opinion. 

Wow, that doctor needs to learn a little. That does sound like he was referring to you as a man with breast growth which you very much aren't! Had I been in your shoes I probably would not have been so nice either. Maybe you should have a talk with him.

As for saying my chest is due to Gynecomastia, I'll admit it. I have a few times. When I was still working I had to go to different locations with new people every so often. When guys would point them out or ask why my voice hadn't dropped I would say I had a hormone deficiency during puberty and that I had Gynecomastia. I figured if I still had my job when I started hormones it would be easy to say I had started Testosterone to correct the deficiency 

Yes, by referring to them as the product of gynecomastia and your medication side effects, it does appear he was trying to categorize you as a man. I assume he knew you were an MTF? I would have been very annoyed.

As someone who developed gynecomastia at puberty, they were a source of embarrassment in those activities that require boys to take off shirts like swimming, the odd gym class etc. However, as I grew to accept myself as female, I came to realize that they were breasts. As a female, of course I was embarrassed to go topless!

I don't think he did so intentionally or out of malice he merely said it because he forgot that I was a 3rd year biology student thus simply talking medical jargon wouldn't trick me. He seemed to be genuinely very understanding and refers to me by my female name and was sympathetic, it might have been a slip of what he actually thought.

I didn't say anything to him, because I'm pretty "eh I can't be bothered." about getting annoyed. I do however have a twisted sense of humor and when I got back to the house I looked in the mirror in the bathroom and Joked with myself in a melodramatic exaggerated fashion.
"OH GOD NO THIS DREADFUL MEDICATION I HAVE TO TAKE!!! WOE IS ME ITS MAKING ME GROW THESE DISGUSTING BREASTS *SOB SOB* CURSE THESE DISFIGURING SIDE EFFECTS! IF IT WAS CANCER MEDICATION LEAST MY HAIR WOULD GROW BACK!"
All the time with a sick grin on my face. XD

PS: I'm not trying to demean the trauma that the FTMs faced through there first puberty I'm sure if this happened to an actual guy it would actually be horrendous torture but to me it's actually a reasonably exciting and identity affirming process.

When my doc uses such terminology, how he means it is always quite obvious, and I've yet to feel any real offense.

From a medical treatment standpoint, I accept that we're dealing with male anatomy. And when I inquired about alternatives to spiro, he did some research for me. In his reply via email was "in an article on gynecomastia I found a list of medications that may produce our desired effects...."

I've never felt that he regards me as anything other than a woman who needs a bit of help with a pesky problem. He uses the same medical terminology, but context makes clear what he means.

I imagine I would be mortified if he addressed me in terms suggesting that I'm a man changing genders instead of a woman under construction.

Gynecomastia is actually the only way that I see and refer to my chest. I've seen exnough examples and at my weight and size it appears as just that.

It is quite rude that he referred to your breasts as that, though. He is a doctor and should understand that you are a woman and this is exactly what you what and are expecting.