Sharp Dressed Dyke (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
agent_dani) wrote2011-03-25 12:44 pm
agent_dani) wrote2011-03-25 12:44 pm
Thinking a little more about HRT.
One thing I did do was be self-informed; I knew what the normal dose range was for this course of HRT. Specifically, the usual was 200mg Spiro and 0.20mg Estradiol transdermal (i.e. two of the maximum available dose patches at a time,) and it was noted several people needed 0.30.
Whenever I argued this, though, I was told that's just the normal dose, not what is appropriate for me. It became immediately apparent the default assumption was that what was appropriate for me was far less than the normal dose. However, I have never received a justification for this view, and I feel a justification of it is absolutely necessary in light of all evidence I have (blood work, in particular) pointing to my case being within the range for whom the normal approach would be entirely appropriate. It should seem there was no way for me to prove in a way they would find satisfactory that I wasn't the low-edge case.
This endo's reticence has primarily been about E. She did attempt to dissuade me from Spiro, but when she agreed to prescribe it she went straight to the 200mg/day dose. Her attempt to get me to drop that request was to assert that I was one of the people for whom HRT was not effective (at the time, I was on only the 75mcg/day patch.)
In concrete terms, what it comes down to is that I have had at least a one year delay in transition (or, as it has felt to me, a year of living my life on hold) not because I was not ready but because my medical professionals decided it in spite of me and my stated desires. Had it not been for that, it is very likely I'd would today have social transition at least most of a year in my past.
I have also gained a terrific understanding about why people self-medicate for HRT. I do know there are some relationship issues that would need to be addressed (in the past, my wife has directly stated that she would divorce me if I attempted to self-medicate for HRT,) but it is an option I'm very willing to consider now and I feel I do not have the option of dismissing. I'm just waiting to see how my new endo goes.
Whenever I argued this, though, I was told that's just the normal dose, not what is appropriate for me. It became immediately apparent the default assumption was that what was appropriate for me was far less than the normal dose. However, I have never received a justification for this view, and I feel a justification of it is absolutely necessary in light of all evidence I have (blood work, in particular) pointing to my case being within the range for whom the normal approach would be entirely appropriate. It should seem there was no way for me to prove in a way they would find satisfactory that I wasn't the low-edge case.
This endo's reticence has primarily been about E. She did attempt to dissuade me from Spiro, but when she agreed to prescribe it she went straight to the 200mg/day dose. Her attempt to get me to drop that request was to assert that I was one of the people for whom HRT was not effective (at the time, I was on only the 75mcg/day patch.)
In concrete terms, what it comes down to is that I have had at least a one year delay in transition (or, as it has felt to me, a year of living my life on hold) not because I was not ready but because my medical professionals decided it in spite of me and my stated desires. Had it not been for that, it is very likely I'd would today have social transition at least most of a year in my past.
I have also gained a terrific understanding about why people self-medicate for HRT. I do know there are some relationship issues that would need to be addressed (in the past, my wife has directly stated that she would divorce me if I attempted to self-medicate for HRT,) but it is an option I'm very willing to consider now and I feel I do not have the option of dismissing. I'm just waiting to see how my new endo goes.