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Am I intersex/trans or both? How can I tell?

Started by Shana-chan, November 23, 2013, 04:20:21 PM

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Shana-chan

The title says it all however, I do have breasts, small sadly (A cup and I say sadly since though I'm happy to have them I wish they were a lot bigger) and have had them since I was 10-13 yo. I haven't had any hormones or surgery's etc. done and I've heard of Gynecomastia http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/guys/boybrst.html which btw I think for the ones who keep their breasts means it wasn't Gynecomastia but that they have actual breasts. So how can I tell whether these are real breasts or not? I heard there's some sort of bud but I have no clue what they're talking about? @_@

So back to the title, I need to know how I can tell if I'm intersex or not? Because if I'm not then I'm trans and I would like to know which or if it's both (Is that even possible?) so I can know how to tell my family that I'm actually trans and or intersex. If you need to ask me any questions I'll try and answer them so please ask. Please help if you can? :(
"Denial will get people no where."
"Don't look to the here & now but rather, to the unknown future & hope on that vs. the here & now."
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JLT1

Shana-chan,

Test for a female breast:  Lie down on your back.  Place the fingers of your right hand flat against the left breast, fingers over the nipple, with your left arm extended above your head.  A female breast will have a round or oval lump under the nipple extending towards the outside of the body that is distinct from the nipple.  You should be able to move the lump with your hand, independent of movement of the nipple.  If you are in doubt, see a doctor and get a mammogram.  Fat tissue appears clear.  Female breasts have lumps in them. If you have glandular tissue, you have female breasts but still may not be intersexed.  Many young men, as they enter puberty, develop small, female type breasts (gynecomastia). In most men, they go away as they get older.  No real help for your question. It could just be you have fat deposits on your pecs or you could be growing a pair. Knowing what they are doesn't get you very far.  You need to know why they are there.

My experience: However, I had a mammogram in 2011 that showed only fat.  In 2012, a second mammogram showed an increase in the quantity of fat (even though I had lost 70 pounds) and an increase in connective tissue within the breast.  Then, I got the glandular tissue; which was due to an increase of estrogen and a decrease in testosterone, which was due to a medical condition. So, I started with doctors.  Somewhere in there, I also saw a psychologist.  I realized that I was trans.  I am still working on the medical condition. And yes, it is serious.  But I did start HRT and now, on HRT, I have real breasts. 

Intersex conditions: Depending on how you count, and I like the way I count, there are 26 intersexed conditions.  Which one would you like to discuss? (Rhetorical question....)  It takes a medical professional to get that answer. 

Serious:   I put intersexed conditions under the transgender umbrella.  It's a big umbrella and includes all kinds of people.  You say you want breasts?  You may be transgendered.  Start by talking with your parents or a doctor about your breasts and that you are concerned.  (Parent will probably blow you off so be persistent.) Questions to ask are ones like "Why do I have them?"  Your goal is to get to a medical doctor and to get to a psychologist to talk with both about your breasts and at least with the psyc, why you want them bigger. 

There are a number of medical conditions that can cause a person to grow breasts.  It would be good to know what is causing that as some are serious.  Being transgendered is difficult but being what you are is also difficult.

We are here for you. 

Jen



To move forward is to leave behind that which has become dear. It is a call into the wild, into becoming someone currently unknown to us. For most, it is a call too frightening and too challenging to heed. For some, it is a call to be more than we were capable of being, both now and in the future.
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Shana-chan

@Jen: Thank you. :) I tried it. At first I didn't feel anything so I tried my right breast and felt something round under the nipple that moved independent of the nipple, then I tried the left breast once more and I might have felt something but not sure. Is it normal for one breast to be bigger than the other? In my case the bigger breast is the one I believe had the bud in it where as the smaller one I'm not sure. Even now though I can't be a hundred percent sure so seeing a doc who knows what they're talking about is something I need to do at some point, not sure when though. :(

Actually I'm an adult (Got a late start to life though so still catching up) but do have to rely on my Dad for help and I plan to tell him soon that I'm trans and or intersex. I've already figured out why I want bigger breasts and that's because I'm a girl, despite my body's appearance. So I know I'm either trans, intersex or both, I just don't know which and I would like to know if I'm intersex or not because that'd tell me I'm trans for sure.

Well I don't "think" I have a condition that would hurt me seeing as I've had these breasts for half my life now with no problems. As to getting a check up, well, the one specialist I went to said I was fine and my actual Doc atm who I strongly dislike due to how he's treated me and lied to me is, well, a liar and not a nice person to me. :( Yet, I don't know what Doc would take the insurance I've got aside from him and my Dad refuses to take me to another doc when there's one right there unless by some chance there's another one in the same location that accepts the insurance I have which I doubt. -_-
"Denial will get people no where."
"Don't look to the here & now but rather, to the unknown future & hope on that vs. the here & now."
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Doctorwho?

Quote from: JLT1 on November 23, 2013, 11:20:27 PM
I put intersexed conditions under the transgender umbrella. 
Forgive a momentary interruption here - but I think the important thing to realise is that we don't all view things the same. For example Jen - and with no offence intended - I am intersex - but if you ever tried to place me in the transgender umbrella, so help me, I'd probably deck you! because that's just not how I see my life or self identify at all... So making sweeping statements does risk making someone like me downright ruddy hostile to the cause... which I'm sure is not the result you intended.

I think the important thing to realise Shana and Jen - (which is where we come back on topic) - is that all these labels and categories are not hard edged they are only virtual tools towards  understanding, so please don't get too hung up on labels, but also please try not to use a one size fits all approach.

Personally I don't think I fit the transgender label in any way shape or form because my "gender" has pretty well always been congruent with my social status all of my life. My issue was always solely with sorting out various physical incongruities... now some folks use sex and gender interchangeably, even in a clinical setting. Others like me insist that they are different.

Now Shana - what is important is that you have a problem and you need a solution to it. Whether or not you are intersex is only important in so far as it might affect the course of your treatment. Being Trans is a perfectly valid condition, and no less of an issue than being intersex. They are however different in that someone trans will have issues over gender whereas those of us who are intersex usually do not.

In terms of the mechanics of the treatment, those of us who have intersex conditions like AIS, usually get a better response to HRT, but in all other respects the mechanism of treatment is pretty identical, which is why most medical professionals will not routinely test you for it.

I hope that is of some help.
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Northern Jane

I don't know of any Intersex individuals who would consider themselves "under the transgender umbrella" (and I know quite a few). Intersex is a medically diagnosed condition and not self-diagnosed.
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Doctorwho?

Quote from: Northern Jane on November 24, 2013, 02:04:46 PM
I don't know of any Intersex individuals who would consider themselves "under the transgender umbrella" (and I know quite a few). Intersex is a medically diagnosed condition and not self-diagnosed.
Glad to know I'm not unusual then... :D
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JLT1

Doctorwho,

Thank you for being patient and I meant no offense.  It is frustrating that I've now been hammered on by individuals who are intersexed for putting it under the umbrella and by intersexed individuals for not not putting it under the umbrella.  This is from Susan's WIKI of the definition of transgender: "The extent to which intersex people (those with ambiguous genitalia or other physical sexual characteristics) are transgender is debated, since not all intersex people disagree with their gender assigned at birth."  I like that definition but I got hammered on once for quoting that.  If the "experts" can't agree on the definition, then is it reasonable that there would be confusion to those of us who try to implement solutions to help people rather than sit in an ivory tower thinking but never really doing. Labels and bright-lines sometimes don't work well when one deals with reality. 

I meant no offense and I understand what you are saying.  From what you have said, you are on one end of the intersexed spectrum where your "gender has pretty well always been congruent with (your) social status all of (your) life".  Given that, I would not put you under the transgender umbrella and I apologize for doing so.  However, I am also intersexed and I went through surgeries as a child to make me appear male.  I have lived my life as a male; an unhappy life and one where I could not father children or even relate to the world in the gender chosen for me before I could even speak. I am on the other end of the spectrum.  I am now changing that and therefore I put myself under the transgender umbrella but in a different category than most.  Given the upcoming changes, I feel I have far more in common with a MTF transsexual than I do with intersexed people who are as content as one could be given the nature of their specific condition.  My insurance company, who is paying for most of what is coming, has also put me under the transgender umbrella and then added additional allowances due to my being intersexed.  My doctors are just trying to get my mind and body on the same page.

I do not understand this paragraph.  I agree that sex and gender are different concepts.  However, physical incongruities reefers to which one?  Sex or gender?  Perhaps if we were to agree upon working definitions of "sex", "gender" and the concept of "physical incongruities" it would help me to understand your use of these terms.   Then, I'm really puzzled by your use of gender and social status together as  two dominant characteristics of your life.  I think there are terminology difficulties....

If the physical incongruities refers to your sex, it seems like your just trying to get sex and gender alined as much as is possible. That is actually what I'm trying to do so it would seem to be a matter of degree rather than a matter of interpretation.  I'm fine with that as a concept.  Like I stated, you and I are on very different ends of the intersexed spectrum.  However, that "degree" concept really is the source of the debate to include or exclude intersexed people from the transgender umbrella. 

Jen


Jane,

I guess I am one...  There are a few others on this site who would do so as well.  There are yet a few more who posted and then got hammered by people who now just read posts and PM on occasion.  Some of the more extreme forms of intersexed conditions often don't fit well with within the ISNA categories.  I have sent you quite a bit.  I can send medical records if you would like...
To move forward is to leave behind that which has become dear. It is a call into the wild, into becoming someone currently unknown to us. For most, it is a call too frightening and too challenging to heed. For some, it is a call to be more than we were capable of being, both now and in the future.
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Sophia Hawke

Quote from: JLT1 on November 23, 2013, 11:20:27 PM
Shana-chan,

Test for a female breast:  Lie down on your back.  Place the fingers of your right hand flat against the left breast, fingers over the nipple, with your left arm extended above your head.  A female breast will have a round or oval lump under the nipple extending towards the outside of the body that is distinct from the nipple.  You should be able to move the lump with your hand, independent of movement of the nipple.  If you are in doubt, see a doctor and get a mammogram.  Fat tissue appears clear.  Female breasts have lumps in them. If you have glandular tissue, you have female breasts but still may not be intersexed.  Many young men, as they enter puberty, develop small, female type breasts (gynecomastia). In most men, they go away as they get older.  No real help for your question. It could just be you have fat deposits on your pecs or you could be growing a pair. Knowing what they are doesn't get you very far.  You need to know why they are there.



Interesting read, i semi put the intersex question to my gp.  He did that exact thing to me, didnt mention anything, he did order hormone tests though, havent gone yet due to cash.  I've felt those under there before but thought they were normal, although my gp did agree i had gynecomastia, since im fairly big there, although most is just fat.

If im not mistake though, gynecomastia can happen for a number non intersex reasons.

From my own reading, some intersex conditions arent exactly easy to find. People finding a uterus during or right before bottom surgery and genetics and other stuff.
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Doctorwho?

@Jen Don't worry - like I said We all have different takes on stuff - and you have as much right to self define as I do...

I just think when someone asks its usually best to qualify by saying "well this is my take, but others may feel different."

As far as physical incongruities are concerned I mean like having genitals which arent quite male and arent quite female.

Sex is a physical medical property - as in do you have an innie or an outie - and do you have ovaries or testes etc...

Gender is the sociological fluff ie how do you feel, how do you behave, how were you brought up, do you like to be called sir or miss etc...

I don't understand people having a problem with gender because I never really have. I just wanted to be physically unambiguously female - the rest for me is optional... although I have no complaints that I was raised pretty well as a somewhat masculine "alpha" girl, and that is how people usually perceive me.

Sure I'm used to being ma'am or miss without question, but it really wouldn't worry me overly if someone called me sir as long as they were polite.

So to me, as a uk trainee medic, someone is only really intersex if they have a recognised underlying physical medical condition (crudely with the plumbing downstairs) which causes them to have what in the UK would be classed as a "disorder of sexual differentiation."

Oh and I suppose the other point to add is that as my treatment all happened 30 years ago... I'm no longer even that. Hence another possible difference in our perspectives. You still have an ongoing issue, to resolve, I don't. I was allowed to grow up with some physical ambiguities, but was also always allowed to choose my gender expression, and yes even back then there were parent who did that! Then when I became an adult I got the physical bits sorted without many problems and that was that. No issues.
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Northern Jane

I suppose there is likely to be a difference in the view of those who frequently visit Intersex forums and not transgender forums than from those who visit both and I was speaking of the attitude most often voiced on Intersex forums. Part of the attitude there I am sure comes from transgender people "usurping" the Intersex label when many Intersex people have gone through hell because of their condition and things that have been done TO them without their consent.

Personally, I identified as transsexual from when I first heard the term and knew from childhood that I wasn't "right" (and so did everybody else). I 'transitioned' and had surgery at 24 and didn't know I was Intersex until my  late 50s when I found out I have a uterus. I have to admit that the diagnosis didn't come as a  surprised because of my 50/50 puberty but it seemed ironic that I would be almost 60 before anybody clued in to the unusual physiology.

I mean no disrespect to either group and consider myself to be part of both based on life's experience and physiology.
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xterra

I have a lot of respect for both TS and IS folks; however I see this issue as legitimate vs. illegitimate claims on both sides. Body vs. psyche. This is how it is being perceived in IS community. And diagnose is being seen as "membership card". Very unfortunate, but anybody struggling with their identity should not need to apply. Here is little twist.  One of the arguments that cis people have against Trans folks is that they compare they own experiences and say "Well, I played with dolls or cars when I was small and look I turned out perfectly fine". In reality, there is very small percentage of human population struggling with gender. As for IS folks, doctors may try to do their best, finding out about chromosomes, running tests etc  and yet just like in broader picture there is small percentage of IS community that simply does not agree with gender assign. These are facts. So just because some IS folks do not experience gender issues, does not mean that problem does not exist for others. And their own personal experience should not be used as road map for others. We all are unique individuals.

From my personal experience. I do not know what umbrella I should be under. To tell the truth I do not know, who or what I am biologically. After couple months I realized that I do not need to care about whether somebody believes my story or not. Before I came to this forum I was looking for some answers. I knew I cannot post about my experiences on IS forums, but it was much likely that IS person may experience something similar to what I did. Yet my life experiences are very similar to thousand of other TS people. So there is element of TS, pure madness and IS(?). Not in terms of being self diagnosed, but rather being observed. I wish I could get some answers from some knowledgeable doctor, but based on my recent experience I say it is going to be difficult. Since March I am struggling with society's perception. There were times when people actually turn around in stores, made comments and laughs. I know my face is changing, but I cannot do anything about it. I was misgendered in public and almost every pedestrian passing by was staring at me. In the begining I wanted to say, "this is not by my choice, I have some legitimate biological reason for it", but at the end who gives a crap. For these people I'm TS, whether I like or not. Maybe I need my own freaking umbrella.   

Now when I go to see a doctor, will I be properly diagnosed? Or will doctor be simply satisfied with first plausible explanation? Will he consider all facts, or take under consideration only those that make some sense to him. On the personal level, will you believe your own judgment and senses, or somebody who does not walk in your shoes.
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Sophia Hawke

Quote from: Northern Jane on November 24, 2013, 03:09:06 PM
I suppose there is likely to be a difference in the view of those who frequently visit Intersex forums and not transgender forums than from those who visit both and I was speaking of the attitude most often voiced on Intersex forums. Part of the attitude there I am sure comes from transgender people "usurping" the Intersex label when many Intersex people have gone through hell because of their condition and things that have been done TO them without their consent.

Personally, I identified as transsexual from when I first heard the term and knew from childhood that I wasn't "right" (and so did everybody else). I 'transitioned' and had surgery at 24 and didn't know I was Intersex until my  late 50s when I found out I have a uterus. I have to admit that the diagnosis didn't come as a  surprised because of my 50/50 puberty but it seemed ironic that I would be almost 60 before anybody clued in to the unusual physiology.

I mean no disrespect to either group and consider myself to be part of both based on life's experience and physiology.

May i ask  how you found out you had a uterus?  Most of the stories i've read people found later in life and often by accident or when serious problems arose.   
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Northern Jane

Quote from: Sophia Hawke on November 24, 2013, 03:43:33 PM
May i ask  how you found out you had a uterus?  Most of the stories i've read people found later in life and often by accident or when serious problems arose.

You may ask.

I was adopted as a child and met my birth mother when I was 40. From what I learned from her over the following years and coupled with the (physiological) oddities of my early life and obtuse comments my adopted mom made over the years, I began to wonder if there was more to my case than I knew. I asked my GP what could be determined after all these years and she referred me to a geneticist. Extensive tests were carried out over a year and a half and an abdominal CT scan showed the presence of a uterus. Since no histology was done on my  gonads when they were removed at age 24, a specific diagnosis could not be made but "true hermaphrodite" is the only condition that exlains all of the symptoms and indications.
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JLT1

Quote from: Sophia Hawke on November 24, 2013, 03:43:33 PM
May i ask  how you found out you had a uterus?  Most of the stories i've read people found later in life and often by accident or when serious problems arose.

PrincessDiana, a member here, found hers when a doctor did an ultrasound after she started bleeding through her rectum after three months on estrogen.  They followed up with an MRI.  She has Klinefelter's (XXY) with probable mitosis after initial fertilization leading to a mosaic (XX,XXY).  There was another one who found hers via an MRI when a doctor noticed that her undescended testicles actually were not even there.  Think girl with no opening and an enlarged clitoris that contains the urethra. 

Generally MRI.  CT scan works.  Ultrasound is more indicative but not definitive.

If your doctor ordered a genetic test, it is probly a karyotype analysis, looking for Klinefelter's but it could be more indepth like male XX or others.  If they do find Klienfelter's, they should go back and do a large number of blood cells looking for XX or XY cells. 

Hugs,

Jen


I will not talk about what I am until I have, in my hand, rather than from a statement, a doctors diagonosis.  They won't even write it down.  %^&%$#s!
To move forward is to leave behind that which has become dear. It is a call into the wild, into becoming someone currently unknown to us. For most, it is a call too frightening and too challenging to heed. For some, it is a call to be more than we were capable of being, both now and in the future.
  •  

JLT1

@Doctorwho?

No worries. I truly did not mean offense. I will add the appropriate verbage. 

@Northern Jane

I kind of blew up on you.  I am sorry.  They took me off E five weeks ago.  T-makers came roaring back.  There was nasty pain three weeks ago. Thursday, at four weeks, all @**# breaks loose.  I am terrified of the pain that is coming.  I am really not doing well here for that and other reasons.  I probably shouldn't be posting but it keeps my mind off things.  A little.

@XTERRA

Thank You!  Thank You!

Hugs,

Jen
To move forward is to leave behind that which has become dear. It is a call into the wild, into becoming someone currently unknown to us. For most, it is a call too frightening and too challenging to heed. For some, it is a call to be more than we were capable of being, both now and in the future.
  •  

Sophia Hawke

Quote from: JLT1 on November 24, 2013, 05:51:49 PM
PrincessDiana, a member here, found hers when a doctor did an ultrasound after she started bleeding through her rectum after three months on estrogen.  They followed up with an MRI.  She has Klinefelter's (XXY) with probable mitosis after initial fertilization leading to a mosaic (XX,XXY).  There was another one who found hers via an MRI when a doctor noticed that her undescended testicles actually were not even there.  Think girl with no opening and an enlarged clitoris that contains the urethra. 

Generally MRI.  CT scan works.  Ultrasound is more indicative but not definitive.

If your doctor ordered a genetic test, it is probly a karyotype analysis, looking for Klinefelter's but it could be more indepth like male XX or others.  If they do find Klienfelter's, they should go back and do a large number of blood cells looking for XX or XY cells. 

Hugs,

Jen


I will not talk about what I am until I have, in my hand, rather than from a statement, a doctors diagonosis.  They won't even write it down.  %^&%$#s!
Quote from: Northern Jane on November 24, 2013, 04:35:46 PM
You may ask.

I was adopted as a child and met my birth mother when I was 40. From what I learned from her over the following years and coupled with the (physiological) oddities of my early life and obtuse comments my adopted mom made over the years, I began to wonder if there was more to my case than I knew. I asked my GP what could be determined after all these years and she referred me to a geneticist. Extensive tests were carried out over a year and a half and an abdominal CT scan showed the presence of a uterus. Since no histology was done on my  gonads when they were removed at age 24, a specific diagnosis could not be made but "true hermaphrodite" is the only condition that exlains all of the symptoms and indications.

I honestly dont have the money for HRT but wish i did.  I'm honestly suspecting klinefelters since alot of the symptoms fit me, and at some point id like to seriously investigate.  The reason why i ask is cause puberty hit my kind of strange.   I had kind of a half puberty as a teenager.  Then it all the sudden hit me like a truck at 25. im 28 now and barely grow a beard, although i have to shave every day now.   Up until 25, i basically looked like i was 15.  I shaved once a week, and 9/10 of my taxicab pickups would grille me on if i was even old enough to drive, some to the point id have to show my license.
My best friend thinks i get moody when shes on her period too lol.  Now she wants to check per month and see lol.   

Anyways, i had alot of strange too, like one large teste and one small one, and when i started getting hair everywhere and acne at 25, the large one shrank to the size of the smaller one.  When i went to the GP he tried to check if there was anything in there extra with his hands, but really how could he know feeling my stumuch?
  •  

JLT1

Quote from: Shana-chan on November 24, 2013, 03:26:50 AM
@Jen: Thank you. :) I tried it. At first I didn't feel anything so I tried my right breast and felt something round under the nipple that moved independent of the nipple, then I tried the left breast once more and I might have felt something but not sure. Is it normal for one breast to be bigger than the other? In my case the bigger breast is the one I believe had the bud in it where as the smaller one I'm not sure. Even now though I can't be a hundred percent sure so seeing a doc who knows what they're talking about is something I need to do at some point, not sure when though. :(

Actually I'm an adult (Got a late start to life though so still catching up) but do have to rely on my Dad for help and I plan to tell him soon that I'm trans and or intersex. I've already figured out why I want bigger breasts and that's because I'm a girl, despite my body's appearance. So I know I'm either trans, intersex or both, I just don't know which and I would like to know if I'm intersex or not because that'd tell me I'm trans for sure.

Well I don't "think" I have a condition that would hurt me seeing as I've had these breasts for half my life now with no problems. As to getting a check up, well, the one specialist I went to said I was fine and my actual Doc atm who I strongly dislike due to how he's treated me and lied to me is, well, a liar and not a nice person to me. :( Yet, I don't know what Doc would take the insurance I've got aside from him and my Dad refuses to take me to another doc when there's one right there unless by some chance there's another one in the same location that accepts the insurance I have which I doubt. -_-

When I was young, I had gynecomastia.  It mostly went away (A cup).  Really didn't think it was a huge problem.  Hit me when I was 49.  On that basis, I think you have some time.  The dysphoria will get you before then.  But don't take too much time as there could be something up.  I slid for a few years. 

Doctors.  I have had some truly tremendous doctors.  I have had some that were the opposite.  If you get one that lies to you, run.  If you get one who is truly incompetent, run.  You find a good one, stay with that doctor and let them know that they are good.  One of the best doctors I had was close to an idiot.  I honestly don't know how he made it through medical school.  But he knew what he knew and when he didn't know, he sent me to excellent specialists.  Very odd but it worked.

Good luck,

Hugs,

Jen
To move forward is to leave behind that which has become dear. It is a call into the wild, into becoming someone currently unknown to us. For most, it is a call too frightening and too challenging to heed. For some, it is a call to be more than we were capable of being, both now and in the future.
  •  

JLT1

Quote from: Sophia Hawke on November 24, 2013, 07:26:42 PM
I honestly dont have the money for HRT but wish i did.  I'm honestly suspecting klinefelters since alot of the symptoms fit me, and at some point id like to seriously investigate.  The reason why i ask is cause puberty hit my kind of strange.   I had kind of a half puberty as a teenager.  Then it all the sudden hit me like a truck at 25. im 28 now and barely grow a beard, although i have to shave every day now.   Up until 25, i basically looked like i was 15.  I shaved once a week, and 9/10 of my taxicab pickups would grille me on if i was even old enough to drive, some to the point id have to show my license.
My best friend thinks i get moody when shes on her period too lol.  Now she wants to check per month and see lol.   

Anyways, i had alot of strange too, like one large teste and one small one, and when i started getting hair everywhere and acne at 25, the large one shrank to the size of the smaller one.  When i went to the GP he tried to check if there was anything in there extra with his hands, but really how could he know feeling my stumuch?

I don't know what a doctor could feel.  I'm not a doctor nor am I a geneticist.  I'm a chemist/molecular toxicologist.  I started having problems and did a lot of reading.  It was kind of fun.  Then I started connecting the dots.  And I kept reading.   I'm also not a fan of categories or bright-lines. 

There are companies out there that run these tests. Heck, a person can get any test done they want.  They just need to know what to do with the results.  Sometimes they are cheaper than using the doctors lab or recommended lab.  I just ran a google search and found a lab in just a few seconds.  They take anyone's insurance.  That might get it cheap enough.  Just an idea. 

Hugs,

Jen

To move forward is to leave behind that which has become dear. It is a call into the wild, into becoming someone currently unknown to us. For most, it is a call too frightening and too challenging to heed. For some, it is a call to be more than we were capable of being, both now and in the future.
  •  

Gabrielle

Quote from: Doctorwho? on November 24, 2013, 11:30:14 AM
Forgive a momentary interruption here - but I think the important thing to realise is that we don't all view things the same. For example Jen - and with no offence intended - I am intersex - but if you ever tried to place me in the transgender umbrella, so help me, I'd probably deck you! because that's just not how I see my life or self identify at all... So making sweeping statements does risk making someone like me downright ruddy hostile to the cause... which I'm sure is not the result you intended.

I think the important thing to realise Shana and Jen - (which is where we come back on topic) - is that all these labels and categories are not hard edged they are only virtual tools towards  understanding, so please don't get too hung up on labels, but also please try not to use a one size fits all approach.

Personally I don't think I fit the transgender label in any way shape or form because my "gender" has pretty well always been congruent with my social status all of my life. My issue was always solely with sorting out various physical incongruities... now some folks use sex and gender interchangeably, even in a clinical setting. Others like me insist that they are different.

Now Shana - what is important is that you have a problem and you need a solution to it. Whether or not you are intersex is only important in so far as it might affect the course of your treatment. Being Trans is a perfectly valid condition, and no less of an issue than being intersex. They are however different in that someone trans will have issues over gender whereas those of us who are intersex usually do not.

In terms of the mechanics of the treatment, those of us who have intersex conditions like AIS, usually get a better response to HRT, but in all other respects the mechanism of treatment is pretty identical, which is why most medical professionals will not routinely test you for it.

I hope that is of some help.

Hmm.  I look at your statement that has been highlighted and wonder why you nuance the definition of "transgender."  The generally accepted definition is of one whose gender identity does not match their assigned sex.  Obviously, with intersex conditions, the assignment part adds to the complexity of the issue.

I have read many account of examples of those who are transgendered or transsexual, and have never seen "social status" as a descriptor.  If you mean to say that your gender identity matched your self-identification, and perhaps socialization as a female, then you do not differ from many other MtF or MtA TG/TS individuals on these boards.

And that you had gender corrective surgery/sexual reassigment surgery/gender affirmation surgery (submit your own description), changing in some way the appearance and/or function of your genitals, would seem to suggest an element of transsexuality.

There seems to be something like a TG/TS hostility to your very aggressive post.

Am I wrong?
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Sophia Hawke

Quote from: JLT1 on November 24, 2013, 09:27:17 PM
I don't know what a doctor could feel.  I'm not a doctor nor am I a geneticist.  I'm a chemist/molecular toxicologist.  I started having problems and did a lot of reading.  It was kind of fun.  Then I started connecting the dots.  And I kept reading.   I'm also not a fan of categories or bright-lines. 

There are companies out there that run these tests. Heck, a person can get any test done they want.  They just need to know what to do with the results.  Sometimes they are cheaper than using the doctors lab or recommended lab.  I just ran a google search and found a lab in just a few seconds.  They take anyone's insurance.  That might get it cheap enough.  Just an idea. 

Hugs,

Jen

Yeah, no insurance, paying everything OOP on 17k a year.  I've seen those.  I will likely end up waiting till problems arise if they do. Or investigating it later when I do take care of some of my transition stuff and health care ive been letting slide since i got no insurance.
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