#tw healthcare mention

[cheap-spirits]

pretty tmi about gross health stuff so feel free to skip

within the past three fucking months ive now had two bartholins cysts and i have no idea what to do, the second one has just appeared today. theyre so uncomfortable and im already feeling shit about my body this isnt helping. im back home for the holidays and im not registered for the gp here and im scared theyll just say i have to wait it out cause last time i was literally at work crying from the pain before it burst (god bless the nurses who watched the shop while i ran to the toilet to have a breakdown cause it popped and i didnt know what to do) anyway this is just a rambling rant and i want my body to listen to me and stop giving me these awful things

[onlytiktoks]

[uncanny-tranny]

Man, as a trans guy and abuse survivor, whenever I see people saying the likes of, "lmao, men shouldn't be allowed in anything deemed 'women's healthcare'!" It just reminds me that - especially in healthcare - my safety and comfort will never matter so long as it continues to condradict people's preconceived notions of what constitutes people worthy of healthcare. It's just something I wish the well-meaning people who are rightfully frustrated with the state of healthcare would take a second to remember.

Yes, the healthcare system sucks and we must fix it. No, that doesn't mean we ought to leave behind people just because they challenge us on our own biases.

[gabbagepatch]

My insurance just informed me I owe a total of $4,000 for a six hour ER visit. I guess next time I have an emergency I'll just die.

[yardsards]

living in america is literally just like. yeah i could probably benefit from inpatient mental health services but honestly the resulting medical bills would just make me want to kill myself even more

[queenwendy]

Sometimes I get morbidly curious and scroll through the terf tag (bad idea) and half the time it makes me sad but the other half it makes me laugh my ass off because like… they seem to think anybody can walk into a doctor’s office, declare “I am trans!” And just get sex reassignment surgery??? Like, what???? That isn’t how that works at all

I’m a trans woman in the western US, and I am lucky enough to have A) supportive family and B) really fucking good healthcare through my family. To be clear, if you do not have A and especially if you do not have B good fucking luck getting blockers, much less hormones or dear god surgery! It’s nigh impossible!

In early 2018 when I was almost 15, I came out to my parents. Immediately I was put in therapy (that had more to do with the depression and suicidal ideation I experienced while in the closet than being trans). While social transition (different name, different clothes) happened pretty quickly, it wasn’t until my mental health stuff was dealt with that my therapist and doctor, both on the trans youth specialist team, started talking HRT.

The first step was puberty blockers. To get that approved I not only needed parent permission and a ton of forms, I was all but required to bank sperm (as a 15 year old!) and I had to socially transition and meet a bunch of WPATH requirements (I actually like WPATH a lot, to be clear) and wait through a months long waiting list just to get an appointment with a psychiatrist, who then asked me a bunch of questions (he was nice, I do not remember the questions, this was years ago) to ensure I didn’t have some other problem. After passing that, I got a prescription for nogonadotropin as a puberty blocker.

From the time I first told doctors I was trans to the time I had my first blockers shot, a little over 6 months had passed. To be clear, in the US, that’s fast. In the UK? That’s impossibly fast.

It then took another 6 months of blood test, questioners, meetings with my doctor and my parents and my therapists before I was finally cleared for estradoil tablets. 1 mg/day. I got them nearly on the year to the day from when I came out. I was nearly 16

Again, that is crazy fast.

Within a year and a half my estradoil doseage had increased to 6mg/day and I was on 100mg/day of progesterone as well. Eventually that became 200mg/day. Years later I switched from estradoil tablets to estradoil shots.

The entire time I have seen the same therapist, not just for trans healthcare but also mental health stuff. I got SSRIs for anxiety, got an ADHD diagnosis, etc.

In fall of 2022 (I was 19), I reached out to my doctor to say I wanted bottom surgery. We had talked about doing it before, but I had always said “I don’t know if I’m ready.” I was unsure. And even though I could have gotten at least an orchiectomy after I turned 16 if I really wanted to (with parental permission and I am sure so much medical red tape I would have been an adult by the time it happened), I never wanted it. My doctors were surprised I wanted it, so were my folks.

I had to meet with my therapist several times, coordinate with a social worker, and get 2 or 3 letters of recommendation from doctors. Then I needed to unravel who and what my insurance cost and find surgeons I wanted to consult with. That took MONTHS. It wasn’t until fall of 2023, a full year later, that I was FINALLY was able to schedule with two of the three surgeons I wanted (we’ll get to that third one in a bit).

It is now the last days of august 2024. I had my first consultation, which was out of state, earlier this month. It went well. If I had scheduled a surgery date right then and there, there would have been a year long wait time. Which again, is a very very small wait time. I didn’t though, because I wanted to consult with other surgeons and I knew that would be smack in the middle of graduate school.

My second consultation (which, ugh, I need to do some phone calls for to figure out transportation!) is in a few months. The third one? I’m still on a waiting list to GET A CONSULTATION.

To be clear, neither my parents nor my doctors ever pressured me into anything. My folks were completely blindsided when I came out and had basically no idea how to proceed besides using a different name. My doctors always said “well, here’s your options and all the risks. You want that? Okay, think on it for a month and we’ll discuss next steps at our next appointment.” All of this was my choice. Mine. And they never tried to stop me either, just make sure I was being safe and following procedure.

Both my younger sister and my cousin on my mom’s side are trans as well. Considering we have several blood relatives on that side of the family who are also LGBTQ+ going back at least to the 1940s, assume there’s a genetic predisposition for it. Both my sister and my cousin have had a lot harder of a time getting HRT, even though my sister has the same insurance, same provider, same psychologist as me (idk what my cousin’s insurance situation is).

Odds are, I will have my graduate degree (environmental engineering) before I undergo surgery. Maybe even before I have a date for undergoing surgery. If all goes well, I graduate in may 2026. I’ve agreed with my girlfriend that once we graduate in 2026 if we’re still together I’ll feel comfortable getting engaged, so it’s very possible that I will be fucking married before I get SRS. Y’know, assuming it isn’t outlawed or anything.

When I was 14, I figured out I was a girl. Without talking to anybody, I knew I wanted a female body and that the puberty I was going through wasn’t right. Looking back, there were times I almost knew when I was 11, when I was 7, when I was only 3. At that age, I considered “surgery is something I might do when I’m older. I dunno. Right now I have crippling depression and cheat dysphoria, I really just want to be called the right name and pronouns and have HRT.”

I am now 21. I haven’t undergone any surgeries in that time, at all (except wisdom teeth removal ig. Does that count?). I have had one (1) SRS consultation, and the soonest I could get surgery is a year from now, but odds are it will be in two years. Maybe three even.

There is no epidemic of children being told they are trans and getting surgeries. That doesn’t fucking happen. If you’re really worried about kids getting unnecessary surgery look into the weird world of rich white girls getting facelifts and breast enlargement surgeries and stuff. At no doctor’s office in this country can you walk in with one set of genitals and walk out with another at the drop of a hat. There is a YEARS long medical process that happens before a consultation is even scheduled. And before that there is a trans person’s entire earlier life of doubt and questioning and fear and pain.

[voxtism]

had a friend make a "haha bad teeth" joke and I went hatred about the American healthcare system mode

id in image description :3

also the text below (just in case tumblr destroys image quality)

its rlly rough for people with bad teeth to get any sort of treatment bc its horrific how very few dentists will accept medicare/medicaid/medical :/ its not just that they have 'meth/drug teeth" or that they "ate too much sugar" its that the healthcare system is designed to fuck over the poor. poverty begets more poverty, and it's so fucking hard to get jobs, even low paying ones, when you have "grew up poor, grew up abused, drug addict" teeth. real life example, when my dad finally got full custody of little my brother, there were literal holes in my baby brothers teeth. my brother was 3 years old. and he was lucky enough for them to be baby teeth, bc that meant pulling them had little long term effect, besides him needing braces later in teen years, but that's just one way that my mother fucked us over. she didnt take care of him, she never brushed his teeth, she didnt feed him, it was all so horrific to learn about years later. and i am afraid to think about what it's like for the kids who... weren't saved. who didn't get out. who couldn't grow up with healthy teeth, who grew up poor, who grew up with parents like my mom. its honestly rlly awful how people consider bad teeth to be a character flaw, or something, when in reality.... its poverty? its lack of access to healthcare?? its the medical system fucking over poor people in every way possible.

obviously i am not mad but i am just thinking a lot about it now

[iliveinprocrasti-nationn]

ppl will go “i’d notice if society was going to sacrifice a marginalised group of people and if they said that it’s ok that a bunch of people would die then i would stand against it” and then they’ll hear people saying “well only disabled and vulnerable people will die of covid” and go “yes this is normal and ok and fine”

[nando161mando]

Does that make sense to you?

[lovenpeace-pkmn]

The what CEO was what?????

The CEO of Luxray Rotom Phones was found dead this week and everyone is fairly certain it was murder. Luxray has been under scrutiny from Pokémon rights groups recently for their discovery of a supposedly harmless way to make rotoms more docile. (It's not harmless and everyone knows that, but I can't compromise my patients' safety to prove that and nobody else has been able to dig up anything that would hold up in court.)

//ooc note: this is connected to a plotline from @joltik-guy and @unovan-gardener --although it's not moving very fast rn cause joltik's mod has big stuff going on on its other blogs

[blackhillverse]

POLISH WOMAN SEEKING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AFTER TAKING ABORTION PILLS FACES POLICE HARASSMENT AND UNLAWFUL SEARCH IN HOSPITAL

going a little personal on this blog but i need to make an update regarding abortion situation in poland.

link to the interview with joanna (in polish): https://fakty.tvn24.pl/zobacz-fakty/pani-joanna-zazyla-tabletke-poronna-do-szpitala-przyjechali-policjanci-zabrali-jej-laptop-i-telefon-7245233

here’s a short recap of abortion situation in poland if you missed it: prior to 2020, poland had one of the strictest abortion laws in europe, allowing the procedure only in cases of severe fetal abnormalities, threats to the woman's life, or pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. however, in october 2020, the polish constitutional tribunal ruled that performing abortions due to fetal abnormalities was unconstitutional, effectively banning the procedure in most cases. following the ruling, abortion is now legally permitted in poland only in cases where the woman's life or health is at risk, or when the pregnancy is the result of a criminal act. this has made access to safe and legal abortions extremely limited for polish women, leading many to seek abortions abroad or perform it on their own with the help of a polish abortion rights group “aborcyjny dream team”.

now, onto the newest situation that has sparked national outrage. all of the information i used to write this post come from various polish news sources which i tried to translate into english. on tuesday (july 18th 2023) , "fakty tvn" (a polish television news program known for reporting current events and news stories) aired a segment that revealed the controversial intervention of the police in the case of joanna that had happened 3 months ago. in an interview with a journalist, joanna explained that she decided to take abortion pills due to health risks. when she started feeling unwell, she immediately informed her doctor who informed the emergency services. upon the arrival of the police at her apartment, joanna was taken by an ambulance to the hospital, accompanied by a police car.

a doctor from the emergency department described the situation surrounding joanna's case. he mentioned that four men were guarding the frightened woman, creating a barrier that hindered the work of the medical staff. the doctor did not receive a clear answer as to why the police were detaining the patient. joanna recalled that the word "crime" was repeatedly mentioned. at one point, she noticed that her laptop had disappeared. in a recording provided by an employee of the emergency department, the doctor can be heard intervening regarding joanna's computer. the police officer stated that it had been "secured for evidence" and requested not to interfere with their actions. the doctor considered calling the police, but one of the officers pointed out that an unjustified call to the police is an offense. joanna emphasized that the doctors at the emergency department stood up for her, stating that there was no need for the police to continue their involvement as she posed no threat. however, she continued to be questioned about her phone and laptop, which left her terrified and constantly in tears.

the police ran a make on the present doctors, and joanna was transported with police escort to another hospital with a gynecological department. another patrol was already present there, and an additional one was called. joanna was also forced to hand over her phone. she repeatedly told the police that no one helped her in performing abortion and that she had ordered the pills online. she said, "the word 'abortion' triggered almost a manhunt."

joanna also described what happened after she was referred to the second hospital. she explained that she was transported to the gynecological ward in an ambulance with sirens on. she didn't understand why she was taken to the gynecological department since the medical abortion she had performed did not pose a threat to her health and did not require that level of care.

she also confirmed that two policewomen appeared on the scene and ordered her to undress, do squats, and cough. this was the most difficult and humiliating moment for her, as she felt completely unprotected and stripped of her dignity. she complained that she could no longer count on the privacy protection from the doctors.

she recounted, "i undressed, except for my underwear because i was still bleeding, and it would have been too humiliating for me. they then told me to remove my underwear as well. that's when i shouted at them, 'what do you want from me? i was just examined by a gynecologist.'"

the spokesperson for the małopolska (province in southeastern poland) police, inspector sebastian gleń, stated that they received a report from a psychiatrist who informed them that their patient had undergone an abortion and expressed suicidal intentions. they provided the woman's address, leading to the dispatch of an ambulance and a police patrol.

joanna admitted that her call to the doctor may have sounded dramatic, but she assured them that she had no intention of harming herself. the doctor from the emergency department she was admitted to stated that a mere drop in mood is not a reason to call the police. according to him, if that were the case, half the country would require police assistance.

the police admitted that their intervention was based on article 152, not to protect joanna from suicide but on the assumption that someone must have helped her with the abortion. (article 152 of the polish penal code relates to the criminalization of assisting in the termination of pregnancy)

joanna did not break the law since, as ruled by the court, self-induced abortion is not prohibited in poland. she assured the police that she ordered, paid for, and took the abortion pills on her own, but her explanations were not taken into account. the doctor from the emergency department, where joanna was treated, stated, "she was in a rather difficult psychological situation, and when leaving our department she was in an even worse state."

professor adam bodnar, former polish commissioner for human rights, commented on the situation, saying: "it is extremely shocking that a doctor who found himself in this situation says, 'i have a patient, and you are taking away her phone and laptop.' he accuses the police officers themselves of violating the law, and they respond, 'and what can you do to us?' this shows the reality we live in." according to him, the police abused their authority.

terminating a pregnancy is not a crime in poland, and the police had no grounds to confiscate the computer and phone. currently, there is an ongoing investigation in the prosecutor's office regarding aiding abortion, but for three months since the dramatic incident, no charges have been filed against anyone.

the court, while considering the complaint about the confiscation of the phone and ordering its return, reminded the police that joanna was neither a suspect nor was there any basis to press charges against her. in poland, women are not penalized for having an abortion. the law does not punish women. joanna concluded her statement by saying, "this police intervention completely broke me. it destroyed me." the commissioner for civil rights also took up the case.

“i fight for my rights for myself, for restoring a sense of justice, but i make all of this public for other women” says joanna.

[demivrg]

I might have to go to urgent care because I was a dumb baby and got something stuck in my throat, so I wound up coughing so hard I puked in the sink and now my abdomen is experiencing on and off sharp and stabbing pains.

Meaning the contractions might have ripped open the scar tissue from my surgery :)))

But I really don't wanna go to urgent care because they're notoriously slow (and expensive) and what if they do the iodine scan and there's 'nothing wrong'?

[sparethedreamer]

I wonder where the line is between "these are just weird and intense me/cfs symptoms that will pass" and "ok, yeah I should think about going to the ER"

[bluu3berry]

Reminder !

CW: Pills

/nf, but very very very encourage for you to take your medicine! It helps everyone in the long run and even you! May it be with emotional, mental, or physical the pills do help!

But don't take to many it can easily flip, need to keep to what is prescribed by your doctor! 💊

[pinoytiktok]

(support the original tiktok: @/nurse.johnn!)