Doctors
=======
So I pretty much hate doctors. As a
profession. Yes there are some that are fine,
good even, but the institution of "doctor" is
the cause of so many goddamn problems.

What I mean is that the problem is
doctor-as-unquestionable-authority vs
doctor-as-expert.

The body is complicated, our knowledge of it is
rapidly shifting, and there is a rather strong
culture of clinicians---at least in the
US---acting as though if they don't know
something about a topic then you must be lying
to them for some reason. They get defensive and
refuse to question their own biases or the
problems with their common wisdom.

Medical misogyny, for example, is a hell of a
thing. Did you know that most of the time "PCOS"
isn't actually even PCOS and doesn't involve
cysts it's just a diagnosis women are given for
having too high of testosterone even when it
isn't causing any other problems?

Or the infamous problem of "trans broken arm
syndrome" where trans people seeking medical
care will be told the problem is always a
side-effect of their hormone therapy no matter
what it is.

I've just had a lot of bad experiences with
clinicians over the years. When I first came out
I was pretty young and it was long enough ago
that it was before informed consent was the
standard for getting meds. Instead, I had to do
a "real life test" and let my doc feel me up in
order to get what I needed.

And so all this to say last week my partner got
really shitty treatment from their doctor on a
simple routine followup about the prescription
for T, as the clinician kept pressing on
triggering questions that weren't relevant to
the visit even after being told they were a CSA
survivor and didn't want to discuss those
topics.

This week I find out the doctor I've been seeing
for nearly ten years since I got away from
Dr. McGropes is retiring and I need to find a
new clinician.

So, yeah, all this is weighing on my mind right now.