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by amyjess 2332 days ago
I'm a trans woman. It's widely acknowledged in the trans community that most of us have to teach our doctors what meds to prescribe, what starting doses are common, and how to interpret lab results to determine how to titrate the dosage. Most of us have read the Encdocrine Society's clinical guidelines for HRT cover to cover, because we have to be the experts. And half the time, it turns into a fight. At one point, I had to print out relevant sections from the Endocrine Society's guidelines and use a highlighter on key parts just to demonstrate that my dose needs to be upped, to a level that's still regarded as safe, because my levels were way too low. I was so happy when I switched to a better doctor a couple of years later.

And a lot of us end up ordering our meds from gray-market online pharmacies anyway and paying for our own blood tests (usually via Private MD Labs).

2 comments

If you can, I'd encourage you to find the care providers you need.

One friend moved to become a patient of the #2 Lyme disease specialist.

Another moved to become enrolled in a clinical trial. He was proclaimed terminal and went doctor shopping. (Still alive today.)

I've stayed anchored in my house for decades because I won't risk leaving my care providers (SCCA, FHCRC). I've had terrible experiences with noob doctors. As in life threatening.

I now better understand how doctors think. Recurring rounds of 20 questions time boxed to 15 minutes. Hopefully they've seen your condition before. If not, oops, too bad, out of time, take two aspirin and call me in the morning. Next!

YMMV.

> If you can, I'd encourage you to find the care providers you need.

FWIW, it took a few years but I finally found a doctor I'm happy with. But I'm also lucky enough to live in a major US city.

Q: If you say you are a trans woman, does that mean you are transitioning from MtF?
Yes.