Stephanie Heplby
10-05-2009, 12:13 PM
There are two elements to this post, but they are related… First, I have a question, then an associated set of observations.
The question is something you have all seen before, and I ask in hopes of hearing the latest information for my area:
Does anyone know any good endocrinologists in the Washington, DC area? Naturally, I would like to find one with experience in the MtF arena.
Just as naturally, you would assume that this is for me, but this question is actually for my wife.
Puzzled, you might be, yes? (Not sure where Yoda came from.)
One might ask several questions, including (but not limited to):
Is your wife a genetic female?
If so, why would you want an endocrinologist with MtF experience?
Are you just trying to get information for yourself without actually making your own appointment?
The answers are:
Yes.
It’s complicated.
No.
A little explanation is clearly in order, which will lead right to my set of observations.
My wife is a lovely genetic female, who has been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). For those unaware, PCOS is, in many ways, a problem of the endocrine system. PCOS often results in infertility, weight gain, insulin intolerance (with obvious relation to weight gain), and hirsutism, among others.
We have been to many doctors across the mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern United States. These doctors range from cutting-edge to new-age to tried-and-true types. The two best doctors we have seen are unavailable to us – one died years ago of sudden cancer onset, while the other is listed as a “reproductive endocrinologist”, hence insurance will not pay and we cannot afford him. (And yet there are people who say that the U.S. health care system is just fine… Go figure.)
So why am I looking around again? I am spurred to look, based on my realization that we are all transgendered (or perhaps “intergendered” would be better in this case).
My wife is a genetic female and sees herself as female, yet nature has played her a horrible trick. Her body is staging a rebellion as she ages, bringing forth more masculine traits. She is, in many ways trying to overcome her own biology so that she can live as the woman she feels she really is (as are other wonderful women).
I very much want to help her feel like the woman I see in her. Perhaps an endocrinologist who is open-minded enough to deal with transgender issues would be more appropriate. Perhaps an endocrinologist with MtF experience would have cognitive approaches that would solve the problems at hand.
In summary, I offer this story for two reasons. The first reason is just to find some suggestions for endocrinologists in the Washington, DC area. The second is more profound – society needs to recognize how similar our issues really are. Trying to overcome the wounds inflicted by nature is not just the realm of a genetic male trying to transition. Genetic women and men suffer daily trying to be the person that society already thinks them to be.
I can tell you that, for my wife at least, the journey is no less hard.
Thanks for your help.
The question is something you have all seen before, and I ask in hopes of hearing the latest information for my area:
Does anyone know any good endocrinologists in the Washington, DC area? Naturally, I would like to find one with experience in the MtF arena.
Just as naturally, you would assume that this is for me, but this question is actually for my wife.
Puzzled, you might be, yes? (Not sure where Yoda came from.)
One might ask several questions, including (but not limited to):
Is your wife a genetic female?
If so, why would you want an endocrinologist with MtF experience?
Are you just trying to get information for yourself without actually making your own appointment?
The answers are:
Yes.
It’s complicated.
No.
A little explanation is clearly in order, which will lead right to my set of observations.
My wife is a lovely genetic female, who has been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). For those unaware, PCOS is, in many ways, a problem of the endocrine system. PCOS often results in infertility, weight gain, insulin intolerance (with obvious relation to weight gain), and hirsutism, among others.
We have been to many doctors across the mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern United States. These doctors range from cutting-edge to new-age to tried-and-true types. The two best doctors we have seen are unavailable to us – one died years ago of sudden cancer onset, while the other is listed as a “reproductive endocrinologist”, hence insurance will not pay and we cannot afford him. (And yet there are people who say that the U.S. health care system is just fine… Go figure.)
So why am I looking around again? I am spurred to look, based on my realization that we are all transgendered (or perhaps “intergendered” would be better in this case).
My wife is a genetic female and sees herself as female, yet nature has played her a horrible trick. Her body is staging a rebellion as she ages, bringing forth more masculine traits. She is, in many ways trying to overcome her own biology so that she can live as the woman she feels she really is (as are other wonderful women).
I very much want to help her feel like the woman I see in her. Perhaps an endocrinologist who is open-minded enough to deal with transgender issues would be more appropriate. Perhaps an endocrinologist with MtF experience would have cognitive approaches that would solve the problems at hand.
In summary, I offer this story for two reasons. The first reason is just to find some suggestions for endocrinologists in the Washington, DC area. The second is more profound – society needs to recognize how similar our issues really are. Trying to overcome the wounds inflicted by nature is not just the realm of a genetic male trying to transition. Genetic women and men suffer daily trying to be the person that society already thinks them to be.
I can tell you that, for my wife at least, the journey is no less hard.
Thanks for your help.