Adrian
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks for all the input on this tricky topic.
I find it disturbing that the WPATH guidelines attempt to address the challenges of co-existent mental health issues, but yet rarely, if at all, does the topic appear in the chronicles of girls transitioning. From the perspective of the doctor calling out such issues it is a no-win situation. Transitioning girls are now well versed in the available procedures through information available on the internet (as Peter Benjamin admits). The result is that they approach the medical profession with demands rather than seeking advice. If the professional were to advise caution because of some physiological or physical issue then the patient will just go and find another doctor more compliant with their perceived needs. Perhaps this explains why Peter Benjamin got such an easy green light for transition.
Looking back on my own history of dealing with gender dissonance I was surprised to find how it affected me mentally without my being aware. So I don’t think it is reasonable to expect those seeking to transition to self-diagnose any significant mental health issues. We won’t know when we need to seek out a doctor, and even if we did, we would probably suppress the information as it would likely stand in the way of us getting the hormones and surgery we seek.
I share Caroline’s scepticism about the motives behind sensational reporting of transition ‘failures’. Because we know hard right groups will pounce on any evidence that being transgender has challenges to advance their cause of labeling the whole thing an abomination. The trans-warriors on the sidelines enforce this media block-out by pouncing on anyone who reports anything other than the official transitioning nirvana. But in hiding the challenges from society at large we also hide it from those setting out on their gender journey, and from the doctors who we entrust to advise us. That said I’ll be happy to not see the individual transgender regret stories. Isolated glowing reports of life after transition, and sensationalised cases of failure, neither are a valid indication of the reality.
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Ex-transgender woman speaks out about gender reassignment surgery regret
This recent reported case is of a man who clearly had psychiatric issues but was encouraged to proceed with transition and SRS. I feel very sorry for him, and his decision to revert back to being male.
Read about it here:
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/video/id-5348771529001-6095208584001/Ex-transgender-woman-speaks-out-about-gender-reassignment-surgery-regretQuote:Former transgender woman Peter Benjamin has told Sky News host Andrew Bolt about how he came to regret a decision to transition from male to female, causing him to return to life as a man. Mr Benjamin lived as a woman for two years and underwent gender reassignment surgery before he determined he had made a mistake. He had spent “a lot of time as a woman” since his teens, but was suffering from anxiety and depression and drank heavily before deciding to transition. “I was cross-dressing, wearing women’s clothes going out socially,” he said. “It was after my wife died I decided I wanted to be a woman full-time.” Not long after undergoing gender reassignment surgery, Mr Benjamin still struggled to cope with his anxiety. “My anxiety was still high, I was scared to go out of the house,” he said. “I was on anti-depressants, I was still on anxiety tablets, and I was still drinking heavily. “I had to drink to get the confidence to get out of the house. “This carried on right the way through until I changed back to being Peter.”I’m not sure how to react to the crucifix that Peter wears…but his description of how the professionals signed him off for transition is worrying.
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A great weekend catching up with so many t-friends. The venue for the event, The Rendevous Hotel was a great choice. It was right in the centre of the city but unusually for a city hotel still had some period charm – and polite friendly staff. Here are a couple of shots from my phone on Sat night.
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Caroline wrote:Our TGR Survey.. cant tell us much at all really about the numbers in Sets B C & D!!
Oh yes it can if you filter the raw data.
Assuming that your target population is partners who live in NSW – who are either in a legal or permanent relationship with someone who completed the survey.
27 are in Group A because they described their partner as supportive
21 are in Group B because they described their partner as tolerant but not supportive
12 are in either Group C or D because they either don’t know that their partner is transgender, or they are hostile to acknowledging what they do know.Of course the actual numbers will be larger because not everyone in Australia completed the survey!!!
And now before you ask, I don’t have the email addresses of the 21 in Group B because the survey was genuinely anonymous! -
The report of the 2017 TgR survey “Gender Diversity in Australia” has now been published.
I apologise that this took far longer than I had originally anticipated. I had some unexpected distractions in the past 18 months. But I thank Caroline for her continuing interest in the project, and her help proof-reading the report.The report isn’t as detailed or as well reviewed as I might have hoped for, but I feel it is better to publish something that everyone can read now, rather than prolonging the process any further.
The report can be accessed through the TgR HOME page, or from this menu page.
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Is there someone close by who could store this for Pauline till she finds easier times?
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dee88 wrote:They are not mentioned in the talk by Powers.
In the pdf of Dr Power’s guidance he says:
Quote:So what about transdermal estrogen or implants?
>I rarely use transdermal estrogen patches or gel except in patients who have poor e1:e2 ratios but cannot or refuse to tolerate injectable estrogen. When I do prescribe them, I tend to use the week duration patches at 0.1mg per patch, typically 2-3 patches simultaneously to achieve injection level effects.
>Estrogen pellets are a kind of implant (similar to testosterone testopel) which can be obtained from compounding pharmacies and placed in the gluteal area in a small surgery done in the office. They last 4-6 months on average. I rarely do them as these patients have to be maintained on HRT for life, and over 30 years that’s almost 100 surgical procedures. However, some patients do really want them and I am willing to do it in certain cases.As I read it his reluctance doesn’t rest on availability but the number of surgical procedures required over one’s lifetime.
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Dr Powers is indeed a good guy. Rather than following rules he seems to be devoted to getting the best outcomes for those who seek his help. I was also impressed to see the wealth of information he provides to other GPs to inform them.
We shouldn’t loose sight though of the difference between empirical observations and clinical studies. Dr Powers is describing his observations about the transwomen he is seeing. In many cases he correctly points out that he can’t say anything about treatments he doesn’t use, only the results from the treatments he has tried. As such his findings are immensely valuable (probably because many other doctors don’t seem to show enough interest in outcomes). BUT you can’t expect the WPATH guidelines to be shaped by results from a very limited “convenience sample” with largely homogeneous treatment pathways.
In contrast clinical studies attempt to compare different treatments in a more scientifically rigorous way. They are very difficult to design (largely due to the problems recruiting a representative cohort of transgender subjects) and often the results are contradictory. I trust that it is this body of peer reviewed data that WPATH uses to create its guidelines, and that would explain why they seem to lag behind the work of intelligent guys like Dr Powers.
So remember the environment that Dr Powers works in is very different from Australia. The influence of medical insurance schedules alone distorts what a Dr can economically suggest in the USA. That means his solutions may not be the only ones that are efficacious in Australia.
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A link to the presentation perhaps?????
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Marilyn_Wood wrote:…. how do I see who the other people near me are.
There is a good chance the technology doesn’t work on mobile devices/tablets. On a PC you just mouse over the red tears and the name/link comes up. So much on the website pre-dates mobile phones! I will look to see if Google offers a different way to navigate….
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Marilyn_Wood wrote:Hi all.
Can someone point me to where I find the TGR map. I can’t find a link anywhere.
Thanks, in anticipation
Marilyn -
Just remember that the google map is drawn from postcodes – and some Australian post codes can be quite large.
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Caroline wrote:It is extraordinary that there is this feeling of emotional contentment that seems to develop after some time on Hormones.
Too true.
I’m amused how girls so often use breast growth as the main reason for starting hormones and as the measure of their success after a few months. The reality is that the psychological change is far more profound, is not visible with a tape measure, and doesn’t happen overnight, even if you overdose, Its nice to live without breast forms but far, far nicer to live with brain that has been untangled free of gender dissonance.
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From my experience last year traveling as a girl in Naples and Sicily – just dress up and go out and enjoy yourself. There is no need to seek out Trans-friendly venues. Perhaps steer clear of the Vatican City but the rest of the Italians appear to be pretty unfazed by transgender tourists…
This blog proposes that this is because they are so unaware of things Trans they don’t notice.
Quote:The simple fact is this: queer history and culture is everywhere, and Rome is no exception. I went to this city expecting to feel isolated by my trans identity, but instead I found bittersweet graffiti and deities, restaurants and history.I prefer to think they noticed and don’t care.
Now…if you manage to get your bottom pinched I will be pretty jealous.. enjoy life!
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I totally reject the complaints made by Prisee against this thread.
The original post is a copy of an article posted by Ninemsn in the public domain. The forum thread is private and only fully visible by a few hundred TgR members.
The original post copies an article that names the director as “born Alan Todd but now goes by the name Alle Segretti” . I am not aware if TgR has ever has a member called Alle. A new member going by the name of Prisee posted 8 years later that the story was about them. I have no proof that Prisee is indeed the Alan/Alle mentioned in the original article.
I accept that the quoted article, like possibly many others quoted in these forums, is apparently not factually correct. Subsequent posts in the thread make it clear to any reader that the original quoted article has been called into question.
In case anyone still is taken in by such sensational reporting and doesn’t read on, I have added a warning to the bottom of the original article.
If you search for “Alle Segretti” in Google you can read plenty about her career and also the “Kids in cages” episode. But in this time when we are bombarded by fake news I think it is useful to have a lasting reminder to readers that everything you read in the media is not necessarily true.
I have never received a request from the original poster to remove her post. I cannot, and will not, delete threads on request from a third party without proof that they are connected to the original post or poster.
Neither will I comment on the threat to sue TgR for defamation, except that to refer Prisee to the site terms and conditions of membership which she so recently accepted. I accept no liability for content posted by others.
I am saddened to see that some members of our community still frame their life in terms of being a victim of circumstances. I believe that such attitudes negatively impact on the perception of transgender people in society – more so perhaps than the occasional sensational fake news. After 8 years it might be time to move on.
As site owner I’m entitled to the last word on this matter, and I have locked the thread. If you have anything to add to this matter message me.