A message to all who may be considering surgery.

[Stephanie-L]

Today I had the privledge of caring for a TS sister. She self identified as female, presented as female, had an F on her paperwork, etc. She did not tell me, the anesthesiologist or the surgeon that she was TS. Since she was pre-op, due to the type of surgery (not anything to do with gender, etc) it was apparant that she was not born a GG. What I am coming to with this, my plan of care for her would have been slightly different had she told me. Because of size differences etc some things are done differently for a GM than they are for a GG. Also she did not tell us about any hormones or T-blockers she may have been on. These also can make a difference in the care I provide.

So, to anyone who may be planning any type of surgery in the future, please do not hide these things from the medical profesionals. If you are TS, pre or post op, on hormones, t-blockers, whatever, please let us know. We will not judge you, but we want to provide the best and safest care that we can, hiding things from us makes this harder. Fortunately in this case everything was OK, but there are always possibilities.

Thank you all for reading this............Stephanie

[Laurie Ann]

Stephanie thank you for the advice your medical well being is important

[TorieGG]

I work in healthcare in the records department and Stephanie you are sooo correct. I wish it would be a "sticky" for those transitioning- You will even need to give your previous name in order to have your old records merged when you come in under your new name. Your medical history is VERY important as well as their being different methods for medical treatment based on where you are in transition. When you are seeking medical care it's vital that you share ALL of the information so they can give you the best care possible.

[Melody Moore]

I hear you loud & clear and I think it is foolish not to tell your doctor about these things before you get any
sort of treatment, not just surgery. I can understand not revealing it to other organisations, but this is your
health you are talking about here. So I agree with everything you said Stephanie, so thank you for caring :)