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I find it difficult to explain why I have this problem even to you understanding folks.so if I were to make a doctor appointment I would struggle to explain why I want to do this. With this in mind can I ask what you experience of going to the doctor good or not. Fear is stopping me. I have heard the hospitals here are unwilling to help. I don't even know if everyone here has ever had it done except tv,s

Scottish e (imported) wrote: Sun Oct 29, 2023 6:16 am I find it difficult to explain why I have this problem even to you understanding folks.so if I were to make a doctor appointment I would struggle to explain why I want to do this. With this in mind can I ask what you experience of going to the doctor good or not. Fear is stopping me. I have heard the hospitals here are unwilling to help. I don't even know if everyone here has ever had it done except tv,s

Unless you have a problem with a physiological condition (pain in organs, etc.), but just a desire..., then it seems to me that doctors will not understand (or will not want to understand) your psychological explanations, since they follow the usual generally accepted instructions and rules.

You may find the following information useful:

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10 ... 22.2100644

Valery beat me to the mention of the SOC v.8 but I would have if he didn't... Best to read ALL of it, but especially the Eunuch chapter... I'd also suggest making the visit to a doctor at a Trans-Gender center as opposed to just some random MD... The docs and staff at the TG centers have heard it all before, and in my experience are pretty sympathetic and easy to deal with...

A part of it is knowing what sorts of things they are looking for from reading the SOC and so on, and thinking about how to honestly tell them about your issues in ways that they expect to hear and understand... It's sort of like preparing for a job interview - You don't want to lie, but phrasing your answers the right way can make a big difference.

Unfortunately, from what I've heard, currently it is very difficult to get our sort of care in the UK, I'm not sure how / if Scotland is any better. However we have had more than a few UK members end up doing medical tourism (usually to Mexico) in order to get things taken care of.

WheelyFixed

Thanks for your advice. I will go to the link you suggested to night after work. It's scary thinking of telling a doctor and your advice about what kind of doctor I should approach sounds really good advice. I am not good with flying so not sure about Mexico. If somewhere in Europe would help that would make more sense for me. I really have to thank you I have learned not this last week. I know all the medical side this more personally side isa great support to me

Scottish e (imported) wrote: Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:18 pm Thanks for your advice. I will go to the link you suggested to night after work. It's scary thinking of telling a doctor and your advice about what kind of doctor I should approach sounds really good advice. I am not good with flying so not sure about Mexico. If somewhere in Europe would help that would make more sense for me. I really have to thank you I have learned not this last week. I know all the medical side this more personally side isa great support to me

I'm in Essex... same kind of vibes as you've had, and despite my main thing being testicular pathology and pain, the NHS and private haven't given me anything in the UK except abuse. I'm now arranging to go to Mexico. I'll keep you posted how I do -- I have a fear of travel, so if I get through okay, anyone will, but let's see how we go.

Hi, I have got an appointment for a bi lateral orchiectomy in Turkey. It's costing £3800 including the surgery, airport transfers and hotel costs. Not flights though. If you need more details please let me know. Good luck and best wishes!

Turkey is up and coming for a lot of medical procedures. So it is no surprise this could become a contender. There must be a lot of paper work involved. I would like to know more about your journey

Scottish e (imported) wrote: Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:19 am Turkey is up and coming for a lot of medical procedures. So it is no surprise this could become a contender. There must be a lot of paper work involved. I would like to know more about your journey

I would be happy to share my information if you want to hear more. Happy to drop you an email and more if it would be useful.

Thank you I would be greatfull

I have been thinking a lot about how best to approach a doctor. I think a gp would not the right person. Did anyone start there or approach a shrink first. I am struggling to take the first step and I really want it to be the right one. There is no support system I know off. Once you get in front of someone you hope will understand. Only I am expecting to be a ridiculed and I have to be honest. This is the one thing holding my back. I suspect even if I make a appointment abroad I will need some sort of letter for them. So is like there is no escape from having to talk about it with someone.

Scottish e (imported) wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2023 6:47 am I have been thinking a lot about how best to approach a doctor. I think a gp would not the right person. Did anyone start there or approach a shrink first. I am struggling to take the first step and I really want it to be the right one. There is no support system I know off. Once you get in front of someone you hope will understand. Only I am expecting to be a ridiculed and I have to be honest. This is the one thing holding my back. I suspect even if I make a appointment abroad I will need some sort of letter for them. So is like there is no escape from having to talk about it with someone.

As it happens, my entire GP surgery team have been the most supportive from Day 1, and have cried with me when Uro teams have said no and abused me... All of which is merely anecdotal, but stay open-minded about primary care physicians. They often don't have the biases, bigotries and withered risk appetites of the specialists.

Re abroad, I haven't needed a letter for Mexico. I have a stack of a hundred pre-signed referrals from my GP(!) but they don't need one --- I guess they figure that to travel eight timezones and pay a bundle proves sincerity (as well as believing in the right to autonomy, of course)

I'm sorry you're having to go that distance. Hopefully one day, this will be achievable in the UK without issues. I do wish you a good outcome.

Onto other things I think *might* be an issue in the UK...

Honestly, I think one of the main issues is likely how much blowback the Eunuch chapter got from a highly placed person within WPATH who lives in the UK, doesn't believe in the chapter or the work that went into it, and is likely going around telling everyone how horrible it is. I have no proof though... it just feels like that could be happening since they got overruled early on, and kept trying to get the chapter kicked until the last moment.

Scottish e (imported) wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2023 6:47 am I have been thinking a lot about how best to approach a doctor. I think a gp would not the right person. Did anyone start there or approach a shrink first. I am struggling to take the first step and I really want it to be the right one. There is no support system I know off. Once you get in front of someone you hope will understand. Only I am expecting to be a ridiculed and I have to be honest. This is the one thing holding my back. I suspect even if I make a appointment abroad I will need some sort of letter for them. So is like there is no escape from having to talk about it with someone.

Somewhat different culture and different country, but FWIW, I have not had ANY of the medical folks (and I see a lot of them because of my injury) I've dealt with be anything but polite and reasonable, even if not particularly supportive (mostly because of an admitted lack of expertise) A part of this may be that the hospital where I get care has a VERY explicit policy of not discriminating for any of the usual reasons, and orientation / gender etc. are very much a part of that list.... I've not had reason to find out, but I suspect that if a staff person was not at least polite, they would be getting much grief from their bosses....

I had many of the same concern you mentioned about how the docs would react, and was pleasantly surprised at how supportive the reaction I got was...

If you have a choice, I'd try to find a facility that explicitly states that they don't discriminate on the basis of gender / orientation, and ideally has a reputation of being that way. I'd also suggest discussing the subject on a basis of 'if you can't help me, can you suggest someone that can...'

If nothing else, medical people hear all sorts of weird stuff, and good ones are supposed act professionally about it, almost no matter what...

WheelyFixed

I started by finding a therapist who specialized in transgendered and non-binary patients. He had helped other patients get orchiectomies so he already knew the doctors who perform the procedure, how to work with insurance, and what steps to take. When it was time to contact the plastic surgeon who would perform the procedure, everything I needed was in place already. The surgeon didn't question my decision and trusted the letter from my therapist. He had performed dozens of procedures and knew how to answer any question I might have.

I know is hard to get started. I want to get started but is really scary. You have no idea how much I admire you. Things are a lot more difficult here