What The Trans: PSA for folk who access DIY healthcare.

PSA for folk who access DIY healthcare.

Thank you for using alt text and making this message accessible.

Thank you. I've been quite bad at not using it at times. I still need to get at better at using it admittedly.

There's a setting in Bluesky that will remind you to include it before you post. If alt text is difficult due to a disability, you can also use one of the alt text bots to generate alt text, or include Alt4Me, and a human volunteer will supply it via a feed. (nofeed)

Alt text is very helpful for a lot of people (myself included) and there's an option to turn on a reminder to include it in the settings. 🖤

Of course the Guardian is setting its sights on all of trans healthcare. Why would they stop at kids?

I'm 100% pro trans rights. I know I can't really prove that online. But what the feck is DIY Healthcare? Cuz I took care (ER nurse) of a lovely young trans woman who tried to DIY her bottom surgery and it DID NOT GO WELL.

Most of trans healthcare is HRT. So it's buying hormones from the "grey market" and doing things like monitoring hormone levels yourself. This is "A Thing" because wait lists are absurd, gatekeeping is absurd, and (absurdly) the clinicians tend to be less knowledgeable.

To give an example - when a *certain* doctor was having her GMC hearing for alleged malpractice (treating trans people), the evidence against her was that she couldn't possibly be qualified to treat trans people, because there are no courses offered in the UK to provide qualification.

Her counter argument was that she takes international courses and is more qualified than most NHS Gender Identity clinicians. Iirc, this included the clinicians who brought the accusations.

She also won the case, and got reinstated. She should be put in charge of NHS trans healthcare.

Whether is abortion or hrt, when healthcare choices are made illegal, patients still pursue them, only with unsafer results. That is only one of the dangers inherent in restricting healthcare options based on ideology.

in this context, it would be taking hormone pills from a grey market source rather than getting it prescribed by a doctor.

Even if nothing comes of this, it's going to make places where people are seeking help more difficult because of suspicion. They don't even need to publish a (yet another toxic) article to do damage.

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