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Support system - another key piece!

Chrissy

Entry posted by Chrissy

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After almost a week of playing phone tag I finally got in touch with my doctor last night.  I was trying to talk to him about getting a finasteride (sp?) prescription (which he took care of) and a referral for an endocrinologist.  When I originally left the message for him I hadn't said why I was asking for these, so on the phone with him was when I told him that I had come out (I don't like using that term for some reason) as transgender.

I've been going to him for a number of years now (10 or so?  Maybe many more, maybe a few less - time is hard to keep track of), and I like him alot.  Beyond being a really good doctor, he's very friendly, he's ALWAYS on time (my prior doctor was almost always 45 minutes to an hour late for appointments), and he's holistic in his approach.  Consistent with all of that, as soon as I told him I'm trans* he congratulated me, and then asked about my support system.  He then gave me the name of an endocrinologist, and said that once I'm on the hormones he would be able to do the follow-up, but that an endocrinologist was better for setting the initial levels.  He also said that he works with a number of trans* patients, which made me feel even more comfortable.

I haven't officially decided on HRT yet, but I feel like it's going to happen, and possibly quite soon.  I raised the question with my therapist last week, to see what her general "guidelines" are in terms of providing a letter.  She said she doesn't really have any, she's worked with a number of trans* clients and has done letters for them at all different times.  For now she thinks we still need to work a little more through my lingering doubts (which I suspect were really fears, not doubts, but I completely agree with her on this point).

So I now have a pretty decent support system in place - my doctor, my new gender therapist (who I like a lot!), a bunch of close friends who are incredibly supportive, a job that is also very supportive, this website!, an electrologist who I like (and who is also a transwoman), and next Wednesday I'm going to a trans* support group in the city.

As a "side note" this week was the first week when I started to introduce myself as Christie, and be referred to as Christie by a number of people, and it's starting to feel normal :rolleyes:

This actually gives me the confidence to send the email to my sister that I wrote over the weekend.  I had to spend some time on it to make it non-confrontational.

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Emma

Hi Christie,

It also sounds to me like you've got a tremendous support system. And you're part of that too, of course. I like it that you're putting one foot in front of the other without rushing. Yes, HRT sounds like it's in your near term future. Thank goodness you have such a wonderful therapist and MD to talk to.

I think it would be especially interesting to read about how you deal with your fears and doubts as you move toward and possibly into HRT. I know I would love to hear about that.

hugs,

Emma

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eveannessant

Fantastic Christie, I'm so glad it's going so well for you, and that Finasteride doesn't seem as much of a problem as it can be with some GP Doctors over here. Funny coincidence is that my Electrologist is also a transwoman, not that you'd ever suspect it.

Have a great week-end, look forward to hearing more progress from you soon.

Eve x oops oxo!

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Chrissy

Emma, There would actually be something of a loop for me to write about dealing with my fears and doubts since so much of it is reading other people's blogs here :rolleyes: 

Eve, Finasteride I think is fairly commonly prescribed here for both prostate problems and hair loss.  My dr prescribed the 5 mg version, saying that he does that and then people cut them in half or quarters, it's cheaper that way.

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eveannessant

Well Christie, that's brilliant, and shows that generally US medical thinking seems to in advance of the UK, except for my GP of course, who is a wonderful woman who also prescribed me oestrogen way before the normal protocols state. I did try quarters but they seem to crumble after cutting them in half, Finasteride is also much more effective when combined with testosterone blockers, in my case Decapeptyl. I hope to be able to dispense with wigs within the next 12 -18 months.

Catch you later..........Eve

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Chrissy

Just a quick update - I just made an appointment with the endocrinologist on June 20 - yay!!!!!!!!!!  (I was a little frustrated that it's so far off, then I realized it's only 3 weeks)

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Chrissy

:rolleyes:

I should add to my entry that I do consider my appointment with the doctor to be a very preliminary step.  I've done a lot of research on it, but I'd like to hear what a doctor says directly, and also perhaps do the preliminary blood work to make sure it's even possible (I don't see any reason why it wouldn't, but who knows).

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