Today i went to Park Nicollet gender services to try and restart T. My doctor is refusing to prescribe me T without me being on any birth control. This is the first time i have ever cried at a dr. appt. I have been pff of T for 2 years and I'm ready to get my life back. I am depressed and hopeless because i went to the appointment doing what he had already told me was the "steps to complete before restarting" only for him to say "well you need to be on birth control." I have never been on birth control before and i am very uninterested in another constant reminder that my body is wrong. I'm looking at trying a different doctor within and outside of the clinic because of this experience. I am tired of everyday having a break down because things don't fits right, because i have a body i hate and to go there and just have the inter appointment be about the fact i have a uterus that i don't want makes me so upset.
planned parenthood has always been quick & easy for me to get HRT. generally affordable as well! i’m sorry that happened to you. you absolutely do not need birth control to be on T.
yes go to PP seriously
Fr. I can’t say for guys getting T, but I’ve had a great experience at PP; both in person and through telehealth.
Wtf that's wack? I've seen two diff gender services docs thru park nicollet as a ftm person for t management and haven't had any issues. It is important to note that altho periods may stop on T it is not a birth control in its own right, but requiring bc to be on T is bonkers.
Which doc did you see? Name and Shame!
I was on T with him for 2 years back in 2021 and he didn't require it now. When i asked him what the difference was he kind of stammered. I have an amab partner now was what i thought was different.
Dr. Andrew Hamp. I've had a few appointments as he was my primary care physician. He told me i couldn't have mono because my lymph nodes weren't swollen. They ballooned up the very next day. I had to take off over 2 weeks because i was so sick and i wasn't eating.
The more i think about the appointment the more i felt really uncomfortable with the pressure he was putting on me. "If you can look me in the eyes and say you'll always use condoms..." I was not going to do that. Not because it matters. I don't have PIV anymore. I don't want to have to justify anything!
That is so weird. I would recommend Dr Guimont and Dr Gieseker at park nicollet nokomis if you decide to return instead of going to another clinic system, both are very sweet ppl and this kind of thing is absolutely something you can mention in your scheduling message. I would also recommend taking a trusted friend along at your appointment! Or even your partner. Just to have moral support if it comes up again.
Wtffff that is so fucked. He should not have done that and you are well within your rights if you want to lodge a formal complaint about him to the clinic supervisor imo.
I'm a trans person who is on T and I also work (on the mental health side) in gender care so I have experience to weigh in with here This doctor is not following the current standards of care (version 8) laid out by WPATH for best practices working with trans patients. Nowadays we have an informed consent model which means if you are an adult you get to listen to the pros/cons/side effects and decide for yourself if you want to proceed or not. The doctor doesn't get to withhold it if you aren't having sex a certain way (!!)
If you need a new PCP and she's in your insurance I highly recommend Dr. Veazey at Hennepin Healthcare. She is trans herself and an awesome physician.
I’m a gender therapist and I need the name so I quit recommending people go see that dr
Dr. Andrew Hamp. After talking to my sister-in-law about the appointment she has said it sounds a lot lile transphobia and has suggested i contact park nic for feedback.
Absolutely—that is outside of the standard of care and should not be allowed. Check out Family Tree, Smiley’s, or if neither of those work for you, Family Tree has a list of probably-good docs that they will send you.
Damn I’ve gone to him for a check up but not my GAC that’s unfortunate
He was great three years ago for GAC but seems to have a personal issue with me now🤷♂️
That's bullshit and I'm sorry you have to deal with that. Until you can find a reasonable doctor to work with, let the jerk prescribe birth control and then never pick it up from the pharmacy?
That’s what I’m doing, U of M Fairview is garbage and trying to get me on spiro. I just pick it up and don’t take it lol, just have to take it once every few months so my levels are good when they check. Hopefully they wouldn’t check for birth control tho?? Idk if they even can
I've had nothing but good experiences with U of M Fairview, I'm curious who your provider is! Mine is awesome and very helpful.
Feldman, she’s horrible and I have friends who also say the same. I nearly cried cause she asked why I need prog, I said it helps my mood and she said “I’m taking you off - prog only helps libido and not mood so there’s no point keeping you on it.” I then broke down and said it helps my libido and she barely let me keep it.
Also because I said I vaped for a few months 5 years ago told me it’s “too dangerous” to do injections since I might randomly start vaping again. All around disgusting and transphobic “doctor,” she literally know’s less than I do about HRT. Told me “prog causes breast cancer” when no studies actually show that.
Omg girl go to Johnathan Popko. He is amazing and so kind and listens so well. He upped my Prog to 200mg just because I asked and told him that I liked the growth I was getting from it when I did it myself. He gave me my rec for orchiectomy and said I was doing everything right for SRS with Pariser.
Good luck! DM me if you have any other questions! 💖
Maybe I’ll try that! I was gonna just go to family tree tho, I heard they allow monotherapy way more than Fairview
I've always wondered about monotherapy, but since I'm going to get an orchi in a few months, that's what I'll be doing anyway. I'm hoping to get SRS in the next 2 years 🤞🏼 starting laser down there in a couple weeks.
But seriously Johnathan is so nice. If nothing else just switch to him from that other witch. I don't think he is an MD, but my MD doesn't know a whole lot about trans stuff so he deffered to someone who knew more.
I did go to planned Parenthood for the first like 9 months of transition but I felt like they were ramping me up too slow, and once I was on injections I wanted to have all my care in one place.
That's exactly what i was thinking. I just wish it didn't feel like i had to be sneaky with my health care professional. He knows i smoke weed too but doesn't seem to care about what that could do to a developing fetus. Plus he prescribed T for me the first time i was on it vack in 2021 and birth control was not a requirement then so I'm not sure why he has changed his mind.
Dr Penny at Uptown allina. If you search his name you'll see he gets a lot of recommendations
I am so sorry this happened to you
Reyes at Champlin Allina is good, too.
I’ve used M Health Fairview Smileys Clinic since 2017. 0 issues, never been forced to go on BC although they do suggest it I have always denied it with no issue.
I second Smiley’s. They are AMAZING.
This sucks I'm so sorry you had that experience. I recently started at Family Tree Clinic and they have been amazing. 100% recommend if it's an option for you
Thirding family tree, I had two trans friends recc them plus my therapist, in the process of switching to them
I've heard about them! How long did you have to wait for your initial appointment?
Maybe 3 weeks? It was not bad at all
Seconding them, they're awesome. I'm sad they don't do Saturday appointments anymore.
That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a dr requiring that. wtf
wtf I have never heard of this requirement before. bananas. so sorry that happened!
I work at PP but don't come here for HRT. Not because any of our providers would ever behave this way, but because our funding assistance doesn't cover HRT. So if you ever lose insurance or can't afford 400+ dollars a visit, I wouldn't get HRT care specifically through PP. Family Tree is going to be your bestie.
Family Tree is the way to go
Which doctor??? Ive been going there for years and didnt even know there was a male doctor
Dr Andrew Hamp. Who have you been seeing because I'm thinking of scheduling with someone else.
Dr Gieseker at the Nokomis clinic is really good in my experience if you need to stay within the park Nicollet system (I’m trans fem tho so could be different). She’s been great but I understand if you don’t wanna go back there
Ive been going to Jennifer dhema, she's been pretty good on letting me make my own decisions despite potential risks etc.
Jen demma is who he was refering me to to get the IUD placement. But i don't want it and she doesn't have availability until Feb. I'm worried she works too closely with him for me to switch to her.
Amelia Vang thru Park Nicollet has been great to/for me! Sorry for your shitty experience :/
I have had a great experience with her as well! She helped me get started with my surgery this year!
try Dr Farías. Same clinic.
My guy Dr Hauglen at North Memorial would never. That’s super messed up. Like, you dr can talk to you about safe sex and that’s fine, and remind you that T isn’t gonna stop you from getting boy-pregnant, but… like the correct question if you wanna be super overbearing about it is “are you having sex that could result in pregnancy?” at most.
FYI it’s spelled Haugland, for anyone trying to find him
Go to Family Tree or Smiley’s!!
Family tree clinic is the shit if you ever want to switch. Been seeing them a decade and everything’s smooth sailing