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| JJ Hart at a recent Cincinnati Pride. Ohio River in background. |
Just a shorter post because my endocrinologist annual visit is today.
The only paranoia I have is that for some reason, she will
not renew my HRT medications for Estradiol and Spironolactone. You may ask why
I would have any nervous energy before my virtual appointment, and it is
because I am part of the Veterans Administration health care system which is
always making changes.
Recently, I had another one of my medical providers “retire”
and I needed to switch my care from the Dayton VA to the Cincinnati VA which is
closer to me. Fortunately, I was able to make it a seamless switch and even was
able to visit my local VA clinic for my initial appointment with my new
therapist, which I really liked. But all of that had to do with my mental
health medications which the VA puts a higher priority on than prescribing
medications which have made my gender transition possible. In fact, it was not
so long ago that the orange felon in Washington DC assigned a new VA
commissioner who was making threatening suggestions about doing away with
gender affirming therapy in the VA altogether.
To my knowledge, nothing ever really became of that
statement and the rank-and-file VA employees found ways of getting around it.
Another paranoia I have is my “Endo” in Dayton is being
retired too and I will have to seek out new assistance in Cincinnati which in itself
is not a bad thing except when it comes to where I must go for appointments.
Going to the main VA hospital downtown is always a congested mess and I always must
ask Liz to take me because of my mobility issues. If I can just go to my local
clinic or have a virtual appointment, there are usually no problems.
My current “endo” usually prescribes me a years’ worth of
medications unless there are any changes in my Estradiol blood levels. For some
reason, after years of staying the same, my levels went down quite a bit on my
last test. Which is the last thing I wanted to happen. So I will have to see
what she says about it because I am still undecided on switching from patches
to injections at my age.
Most importantly, I am who I am, and my HRT does not define
me but it surely has helped. I will never forget all the extreme gender changes
my new hormones put me through and would hate to lose all I gained. Who knows,
maybe I am just building bridges to climb when I don’t have to with this
upcoming appointment. She will maintain the long-term stability and status quo
we have built up over the years, and our annual visits will continue.
One way or another, I will let you know.
