Category Archives: Hormone Replacement Therapy

The 45th presidents recent tweets banning transgender people from serving in the military because of their potential medical costs underscores the difficulties the transgender community faces in accessing quality health care. They often face stigma and discrimination by health professionals, and even if they have insurance, they may not have coverage for gender affirming procedures like hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or sex affirming surgery (SAS). On some insurance plans, including Maryland Medicaid, prior authorization is required for someone who is transgender to receive HRT or SAS. Prior authorization is typically used to confirm that extraordinary requests are medically necessary, like transplants or cosmetic surgery. The transgender community shouldnt have to ask permission and submit claims before receiving life-affirming care. According to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the standards of care for the transgender community include psychotherapy, HRT, changes in gender expression and SAS. Individuals may choose to use all, some or none of these in their health management of gender expression. These are particular therapeutic needs for this population. Although there may be some overlap with cisgender people (those whose personal gender identity corresponds with their birth sex) like psychotherapy, prostate exams and mammograms it is unethical to … Continue reading →

The camper was never meant to be anyones home, but the 120-acre spread it sits on is the closest thing to a home the tenant has ever known. More importantly, it marks the place where one way of life ends, andanother begins. In most cases, a name doesnt matter. For this story, its critical. Start with Mark. For the first 20 years of his life, he was a tattooed, muscled roughneck who worked oil rigs, collected muscle cars and raced mud bog trucks; a real self-described Wyoming redneck. When Mark was 21, he legally changed his name to Misty. And for the first time in his life, Mark felt he was who he is supposed to be a woman. Mark, now Misty, puts on eye shadow, wears frilly shirts and dons tennis shoes with pink laces when she climbs under the car to change the oil. Misty is very much a mans man. In this regard, her gender identity is still at odds with her sex in that shes still very much a guy when it comes to her interests, including her preference for dating women. Ironically, the more comfortable she feels in her female body with breast implants and … Continue reading →

Along with the growing stressors of modern life, theres been a corresponding dependence on fatigue fighters such as energy drinks, triple-shot lattes and Mountain Dew. We take supplements to re-charge our metabolic systems, often reaching for quick-fix solutions when what we really need is to rest and recharge. But then, whos got the time? But without time spent each day in an anabolic state, or what Niwot author and pharmacist Dr. Izabella Wentz calls a state of rest and digest, were basically telling our bodies that were unsafea situation that, over a sustained period, triggers biologic responses that can lead to autoimmune conditions. At 27, Wentz was diagnosed with Hashimotos disease, also known as hypothyroidism, an autoimmune condition that results in an underactive thyroid gland. Wentz often felt cold, with other symptoms including hair loss, acid reflux, fatigue and depression. Like many autoimmune sufferers, she was told by doctors that her symptoms were just in her head. One doctor told her she was experiencing the normal signs of aging, she said. That was her wake-up call. From then on Wentz took a more active role in figuring out her own road back to health. That plan led to remission, and … Continue reading →

Going through menopause is usually a difficult time for women and there are a lot of physical changes that take place. So often we hear about the hot flushes, sleepless nights and lowered libido. But is it really that bad and what actually happens? Specialist Clinics of Australia owner and clinical director Dr Garry Cussell debunks the top five myths of menopause and sheds light on how to make this time of transition as easy and as possible. Whilst the average age that women hit menopause is 51 to 52 years old, it can in fact happen to women in their 40s (early menopause) or even younger (premature menopause). Surgery or medical treatments that affect hormones such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy can bring on early menopause or premature menopause. Genetic factors also play a role in determining the age a woman will hit menopause but every woman has her own moment, says Dr Cussell. Lack of estrogen can cause symptoms such as itchiness, decreased lubrication, and pain during sexual intercourse and incontinence of urine. These symptoms generally appear a few years after the onset of menopause and affect up to 50% of post-menopausal women. Many women believe that the … Continue reading →

Kimberly Mascott Zieselman, Opinion contributor , TEGNA 9:10 AM. PDT August 09, 2017 Kimberly Mascott Zieselman, months after her intersex surgery, in Concord, Mass., in 1983. (Photo: Family Photo) I was born with typically male XY chromosomes and internal testes instead of ovaries and a uterus, but my body developed to appear typically female. My intersex condition was invisible until I reached puberty and failed to menstruate like other girls. On the advice of doctors at a major hospital, my parents agreed that I should have surgery to remove my healthy gonads, without my knowledge or consent. A clinical trial saved my life. It could save yours, too. Transgender military ban: Trump isolates America once again My natural hormone production ceased, and I was forced onto hormone replacement therapy for the rest of my life. I was just 15. Doctors also recommended to my parents that I receive invasive surgery to create a more typically sized vagina thankfully, my parents refused. I didnt find out about any of this until I was 41 years old. Intersex people like me up to1.7% of the population are born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female. I … Continue reading →

(Newser) When Kimberly Mascott Zieselman was 15, she had surgery she now says caused "irreversible harm" due to others' "discomfort with difference." In her op-ed for USA Today, Zieselman explains how, as a young teen, she didn't get her period like other girls, and when her parents took her to get examined, doctors made a surprising discovery: She was intersex, meaning a person born with both male and female characteristics. In Zieselman's case, that meant that even though on the outside she appeared female, she had male XY chromosomes and testes (instead of ovaries and a uterus) inside her body. She had androgen insensitivity syndrome, so that her body resisted male sex hormones called androgens and led to an external appearance of being female. She says her parents agreed, per physician advice, to have her "healthy gonads" taken out, "without my knowledge or consent." She was also placed on a lifelong hormone replacement therapy, as her natural hormones had halted. She says these types of "non-consensual and medically unnecessary procedures" on intersex kids have been common since the '60s, with "often catastrophic" results and "largely unproven" benefits. "We are erased before we can even tell our doctors who we are," … Continue reading →

Evan Koslof, WUSA 9:46 AM. EDT August 09, 2017 MANASSAS, VA. (WUSA9) - Even in a hyper-political area like the DMV, there's often not a lot of interest around a local race for a Virginia delegate. But this year, all eyes are on the 13thDistrict, where a longtime incumbent, most well-known for his proposed bathroom bill, is facing off against a transgender woman. Democrat Danica Roem joined WUSA9 for an interview in Manassas to talk about why she decided to run. Meanwhile, Republican Robert Marshall didn't want to talk on camera, but did answer questions for WUSA9through email. Danica Roem: "I don't want to just be known as the transgender candidate," said Roem, as she joined WUSA9 for an interview. Roem is a longtime journalist in the area, and said many issues define her campaign, in particular road improvements along Route 28. Nonetheless she said that fighting LGBTdiscrimination is also very important to her. At one point in the interview, Roempulled out two medical containers, full of pills, and grabbed two small capsules. She explained that these are the pills she's been taking, during her transition. "I wouldn't be taking this if my doctor and I both thought that there … Continue reading →

An ADDitude reader wrote: I am a 42-year-old business executive diagnosed with ADHD. I have a confession to make. Lately, I dont like calling people on the phone or returning calls. I think perimenopause may be causing this glitch. I also find myself getting confused and shutting down when confronted with a bunch of projects at work all at once. I need more time to process things. I know I have ADHD, and I know my hormone profile is changing. I take medication, but what strategies do you have to ease this collision course between diagnosis and hormones? What can I do to make things easier on myself? ADHD symptoms change as we age, and as life circumstances become more complicated and stressful. Hormones, in particular, often exacerbate ADHD symptoms as women edge closer to menopause. In fact, as youve pointed out in your question, this worsening of symptoms may occur during perimenopause, when estrogen levels begin to drop. We know that when estrogen levels decrease, cognition suffers. Women struggle with memory, word retrieval, and other cognitive activities. In fact, for some, the change in cognitive function is so drastic that some think they are developing dementia or Alzheimers. Lower … Continue reading →

South African Caster Semenya has dismissesed IAAF testosterone study amid continuing controversy over her high testosterone levels. The governing body of world athletics are trying to convince the Court of Arbitration for Sport that athletes like her have an unfair advantage. Like I said I do not work the IAAF. Im Caster Semenya. Im an athlete. I focus more on my future you understand. So, for me such allegations, if I may say, they are not my business you understand? So, for me they do their job, I do my job. I do me, they do them. So, come on. I have no problem with such things, said Semenya. Semenya could be forced to undergo hormone replacement therapy or face being unable to compete in the future. I have no time for nonsense. So medication, no medication. Look, Im an athlete. I dont have time for such things, you understand. So, for me its their (IAAF) own decisions. Like I said before my focus is more now for me getting healthy and compete. I really dont have time for nonsense, she added. Last year, South Africans rallied behind their star runner with the hashtag #HandsOffCaster. This is after some international … Continue reading →

A womans race and where she gains weight in middle age could give her doctor valuable clues to her risk of developing higher volumes of heart fata potential risk factor for heart disease. A new study in Menopause shows that black women who put on fat around their midsection during midlife are more likely to accumulate fat around their heartswhile white womens risk of fatty hearts is higher when they add weight all over. The results echo the findings of a similar study three years ago in men. Excess fat around the heart, in both men and women, is an evolving risk factor for heart disease. Excess fat around the heart, in both men and women, is an evolving risk factor for heart disease. But how can clinicians see it at a regular physical? They cant without a special heart scan, says senior author Samar El Khoudary, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. This study, coupled with our previous study in men, gives doctors another tool to evaluate their patients and get a better sense of their heart disease risk. It also may lead to suggestions for lifestyle modifications to help patients lessen that risk. El Khoudary … Continue reading →