shout out to the patient I called to remind to pick up their medication, whose voicemail message was “HEWWO? HEWWO?? WHO IS THIS??? WEAVE A MESSAGE” that rang out throughout the whole pharmacy, killing me instantly
As it turned out, the testosterone had atrophied my reproductive system—a condition that could have been prevented by the use of estrogen cream. The atrophy fused my uterus and my cervix together, along with my ovaries and everything else, creating an infection that burst and became septic. The gynecologists who kept sending me home and telling me nothing was wrong could have prevented this from happening if they knew anything about trans men and testosterone. They could have administered estrogen cream for my vagina. They could have done an ultrasound instead of just a pap smear. They could have tried to figure it out. Basic understanding of hormones could tell you that adding testosterone to a genetically female body will remove estrogen, and estrogen is what makes a vagina function properly. These two simple steps could have prevented a situation like mine.
Many trans men have been reaching out to me with the same symptoms that I had, so I’ve begun developing a concrete list of tips on how to get the best care from your gynecologist if you’re trans:
1. First and foremost, before you make an appointment with a new doctor, be sure to ask if they’re versed in trans male healthcare. You need to have a gynecologist who understands and cares about our bodies.
2. During your visit, be sure to tell them that you’re using testosterone and ask when you should start to use an estrogen supplement. If you’ve been using testosterone for more than a year or so, you can ask for an ultrasound in addition to your pap smear for additional information on the health of your reproductive system.
3. Be upfront about your sexual activity and any abnormal pain you’re feeling.
4. And last but not least, if you don’t like your doctor for any reason or feel like they don’t understand or care about the best way to treat you, find a new one! Comprehensive healthcare is your right.
When my cousin Olivia was three, she started preschool and became best friends with a boy named Abraham. Most people called him Abe, even then, because Abraham is a mouthful for a three year old and, to most people, it’s the logical nickname.
Not, however, according to Olivia, who decided to nickname him Ham.
No one’s really sure whether she wasn’t totally listening when he was introduced and only caught the last part of his name, or if she decided Abe was too boring a nickname, or maybe she was just hungry, but the nickname has stuck for the last twenty years. Of course, Olivia was and still is the only person to use it.
When they were seven or eight, he decided to get back at her by calling her Olive. That nickname stuck, too, and they’ve been Olive and Ham since. But only to each other. They get highly offended if anyone else calls them that.
Last night was their seventh anniversary, and Abe proposed to Olivia, and she said yes. And how did she announce it on Facebook, you may ask?
People used to tell me “If you like ham so much, why don’t you just marry it?” So I am.
Shout out to Olive and Ham, who are still engaged and adorable and who are planning on getting married sometime next summer
You have a thing at 2:00 PM so you set a reminder for 1:00 PM because you don’t want to be late, but you should eat by 12:00 PM. That means you should start preparing food by 11:30 AM, but you want to double check or confirm the appointment before 11:00 AM before everyone goes to lunch. So if you want to finish your other tasks by 10:00 AM, you ought to start at 8:00 AM, which means you’ve got to wake up at 7:30 AM and you may as well get ready to go out then ahead of time, and that’s how something that starts at 2:00 PM effectively starts at 7:30 AM and lasts the entire day.
Variously Backup 