I’m sorry to hear that you had that experience.
I’ve had a few slight glitches in my health care, but not to any degree that couldn’t be handled.
I came out as trans, MtoF, in 1993, immediately after leaving the USNavy, in San Diego.
Most people were quite helpful and polite at the VA hospital. Others seemed to be uncomfortable, but didn’t do or say anything overt.
I went with a civilian endocrinologist, as, with informed consent, I purchased the hormones and paraphernalia I needed in Tijuana. I used a much higher dose, particularly of estradiol, than American doctors were comfortable with.
I didn’t need any kind of surgery on my face or chest.
Now, at 62, in Greenville NC, I have had only one minor incident with the local VA clinic.
My GP had retired. He was a kind old man.
His replacement was a 50something woman. I had recently had my first mammogram, so when I had my first appointment with her, I asked her what it meant that I had “dense breast tissue”.
Sitting there with my full record on her desk,(my mammogram pics in it), her hand touching it, she said, “Do you even have breast tissue?”
As usual in such situations, my mind did an instant assessment of the situation. Slowed down, and put into words, it would be something like, ‘the doctor is a woman. She’s my doctor. We are in a private exam room.’
I reached down and started pulling up my H and M tee shirt, fingers going under my bra as I pulled them both up to my chin.
She didn’t betray any reaction by her expression.
On my next appointment I had a new doctor.
Dr. Larcombe is a great doctor, with sincerity and a good sense of humor.(I haven’t had to flash him).
My endocrinologist, at the VA hospital in Durham, is a Duke University Medical Center doctor, who sees trans-veterans every Wednesday. He’s great too.
Don’t give up honey. Stand your ground. Be polite, keep your cool, but do not take any shit.
It’s up to you to decide if a doctor’s behavior is “over the line". If so, leave, quietly and with dignity, and get a different one.
Peace Love Kindness Respect the more you give the more you get 😍 start with yourself 😉 because you deserve it ❤️🙏🏼
--weezi--💖💜🦄🙏🏼
PS: “sometimes you gotta kiss a lot of frogs".😉
Pps: oh! I was looking over this again and remembered another one 😂. Sometime in the 1990s, I was in an exam room and an RN was giving me a perfunctory physical exam. There was a young, female, Vietnamese intern sitting in a chair, observing. About the time that the nurse had me pull up my shirt and was listening to my heart and surrounding area, the intern, who had been silent up to this point, said, quite suddenly, “You know that you can never have children, right!?” The nurse and I gave her a quick glance. Looking at each other, we allowed the corners of our mouths to quirk slightly, and slightly rolled our eyes a bit.
Medical professionals are human too.
--weezi--💜🙏🏼🦄🥳🥰
