More Blood Tests

Yesterday marked yet another trip North to Dayton, Ohio to visit my Veterans Administration therapist. Everything went well as my overall mental health has been positive since almost all of my major tests have come back positive. More precisely, my three heart exams and one lung exam. I still have the most difficult test of all coming up, a colonoscopy early next week.  As  Connie would say...a real pain in the rear :).

My blood test yesterday was extremely important in that it checked my body's hormone levels. My endocrinologist wanted the results to see if it will be safe to increase my estradiol. I am very excited to find out the results. Estradiol by the way, is a form of estrogen.

My warning always is, DO NOT attempt to self medicate with estradiol or any other HRT medications. Doing so can be extremely dangerous to your health.

Up Close and Personal

All of a sudden, all my future appointments with the Veteran's Administration are coming due. For those of you who possibly don't know, I am a transgender vet and I get my health care through the VA.

Let me see now if I can remember everything they (VA) want to do. Sometime next week I need to have my ankle X-rayed and go through a colonoscopy pre screening on the telephone. They had no sense of humor when I asked if I could go through the whole thing on the phone.

Following all of that, the week of Labor Day, I have approximately four appointments. The first of which is a heart sonar test. Then I have three appointments up in Dayton, Ohio. One of which is in hematology blood work checkup and two mental health appointments.

To add insult to possible injury, I am still waiting to hear from the pulmonary lab who want to schedule another test on my lungs.

Hopefully, after all of this, nothing will be wrong.

But at the least, I am having it checked.

Doctor Day

This afternoon I go to my new primary provider at a local Veteran's Administration Clinic which happens to be nearby. A "primary provider" is similar to having a family doctor. I haven't been to one in over two years.

Since I have been feeling very lethargic recently, I thought it was time to be checked out. My Mom had heart problems in her seventies before passing from heart disease. I'm not having any telltale chest pains but I figure it would be safe to have it checked out.

Also, since I seem to be experiencing all of a sudden this insane period of being mis-gendered, I probably will have to explain to a new nurse and doctor my proper pronouns are she and her.

Let's not forget too it's time again (after five years) for one of my most favorite procedures...a colonoscopy. If you haven't been through one, I will leave the fun details out. One way or another, it's better than the alternative, which is colon cancer. I just had a close friend pass away from it.

I'm also paranoid the Doc is going to find a reason to take me off my HRT hormones or simply mother time is catching up as I approach seventy.

Maybe too, my bi-polar
meds are causing me to feel too lethargic. We will see!

What's in a Name?

Yesterday I went to the bank I have literally been with since my youth (my Dad worked there). 

As mergers and acquisitions would have it, when I moved to the Cincinnati area, I discovered one of the banks new branches less than a mile away.

I was going to tie up loose ends in my gender marker journey and getting my new name put on my accounts. It went well after the poor teller figured out I didn't have any changes to my social security number (goddess forbid.)

On the way home and after I thought a bit more about my upcoming colonoscopy and the future "indignities" of it, I began to consider the benefits of choosing an androgynous name.

Regardless of my name, all my gender markers now read "female" but of course I still have all my male "bits" and probably a full "c" in the breast department, Oh yes, let's not forget my hair which is starting to feel the effects of my return engagement with estrogen, and starting to grow again.

Being health professionals, I am sure I will be treated with respect but I'm betting I will provide more than a little conversation after the procedure.

Then again, does it all have to be all about me?