Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

How Does Testing Go?


Guest The Marsh

Recommended Posts

Guest The Marsh

I have noticed more and more things about my body that lead me to believe i may be intersexed. So i was wondering what would they test for?

Link to comment
Guest NatalieRene

I hate to play the role of the devil's advocate, but what if you where tested and as a result found out that you are not intersexed?

I think sometimes our overwhelming wish to be more like ourselves leads us to fantasize about maybe being intersexed or waking up one morning to find that you are in the correct body.

My suggestion is not to worry about spending the money to test for it. The transition process is so expensive as it is without having go through another battery of tests that are anything but cheap or free. At the end of the day knowing if you are intersexed won't change the fact that you have to transition from one perceived role to the role you identify with.

If you really want to find out I would guess that a doctor that handles hrt would maybe be able to run the tests you need or know someone that can. I would start by finding a doctor in your area in this field and ask them about testing for being intersexed.

Link to comment
Guest Evan_J

Natalie actually gave you some excellent advice. A large number of people at point they are accepting a gender difference look for a reason. The greater number that've investigated its possibility have not been intersexed. When I had those curiosities myself, I was told by my hrt doc that it was best not pursue that course because in the event that they did find I was intersexed to transition then would become much more difficult in terms of satisfying the government since there are 9000 ADDITIONAL hoops in place for the intersexed. Short answer: I might create unnecessary problems.

If you are determined to follow this course however, the person you would see is an endocrinologist. The test in question is a karyotype. The estimated cost as I've heard it is 5K and it is almost never covered by any insurance because "absolute medical necessity " of it (ie you may die if all your chromosomes are not disclosed) is almost never.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
Guest The Marsh

Thank you for your kindness and advice. I am not concerned of labels, but I always felt different and mainly I just want answers or a reason for the reason why I feel and vision myself the way that I do. I did ask my OBGYN about my concerns and luckily she assured me from the beginning that she didn't want to change anything about me. She was more concerned with me leading a healthy life. She ran my testosterone and estrogen levels my T was high at 150 and my estrogen was normal. So they are scheduling a CT scan to look at my adrenal gland to see if there may be a tumor. And if thats not the case she will try to send me to a endocrinologist. Idk the more and more I discover answers I become more and more accepting of myself, when at times I hate myself. So I am on the path to happiness that I have never known. So if any problems show there ugly head I'm willing to take them on.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

I suspect that if we were all tested we would find some abnormalities among all of us. But in the end it doesn't matter what the cause is-what matters is the results.

Finding out you are inter-sexed or not won't really tell you much The spectrum is too broad and you can fit too many places on it. Besides there is very little information or research on what a specific anamoly means. Gender identity research has really just begun with most of the scientific research done in the last 2 or 3 years.

My Dr.s have for decades said there was a hormonal imbalance of some kind. I've read that same thing here over and over from people all over the gender spectrum.

My suggestion would be to talk to a gender terapist to find out what your feelings are and how best for you to resolve them. That identification would need to be made and the decision to transition etc regardless of the results of an inter-sex test.

In the meantime keep exploring and questioning and reading here. there is most likely someone who has shared the same experiences.

My Dr.s have for decades said there was a hormonal imbalance of some kind. I've read that same thing here over and over from people all over the gender spectrum.

JohnJ

Link to comment
Guest Elizabeth K

Actually, because of my super quick reaction to HRT, a bit of unusual scaring I have in hidden places, and the already female secondary characterisitics I have (no real beard, no adam's apple, light voice) both my therapist and my prescribing physician say there is something already going on with my body. My therapist at first suggested testing, but backed off when I questioned her about the benefits (there are slightly different proceedures than if you are strictly trans) and it was mainly a chance to have insurance pay for my surgery. When I investigated and found my insurance probably would not pay in either case, I decided I did not want to know.

Many of us may be intersexed to a degree - there is little research on it. I think we WANT to know we are really women (or men if FTM) and be justified in how we feel. BUT

We are transitioning anyway - the testing is really expensive - and what do we get?

So to answer - your HRT prescribing physician can help you. There are several types if intersexed condition. Some take genetic marker testing, some is really discovered by surgery. My therapist said the SRS sometimes shows results if you are intersexed, but not always. I will wait for that.

Lizzy

Link to comment
Guest The Marsh

Well I'm not really looking to transition. I like myself the way that I am. But in the end I don't feel like a women nor a man. Those labels do not fit me well. My recent gf luckily accepted that, and understood that I do not feel like either sex. And could actually see that I'm not even close to being either. So right now I am identifying as Andro. I'm making sure I'm healthy and thats what truly matters right now. I am only going as far as I cant psychologically can go.

Link to comment
  • 2 months later...
Guest erinanita

Well I'm not really looking to transition. I like myself the way that I am. But in the end I don't feel like a women nor a man. Those labels do not fit me well. My recent gf luckily accepted that, and understood that I do not feel like either sex. And could actually see that I'm not even close to being either. So right now I am identifying as Andro. I'm making sure I'm healthy and thats what truly matters right now. I am only going as far as I cant psychologically can go.

Intersex is not just one condition. You might be well advised to visit an intersex group, look around, ask some questions and see how the answers fit your situation. I belong to several of them. Don't forget about us. Keep in touch.

Huggs,

Thtufus

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   6 Members, 0 Anonymous, 155 Guests (See full list)

    • MaryEllen
    • violet r
    • EasyE
    • KathyLauren
    • Abigail Genevieve
    • Esteejon
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.6k
    • Total Posts
      767.9k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      12,013
    • Most Online
      8,356

    Quillian
    Newest Member
    Quillian
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. l.demiurge
      l.demiurge
  • Posts

    • Abigail Genevieve
      Shameless plug for my "Taylor" story down in Stories You Write.  I am not Taylor and the experiences she goes through are not what has happened to me, but there is an emotional expression that I think is the best way to say some things that I don't know how to say otherwise.  I am not Bob, either.  But you might find out some things about me by reading it.  And I hope it is a good read and you enjoy it.  I am not done with it.  If you would like to comment on it, I would appreciate it.
    • Abigail Genevieve
      Tuesday night.  They had a quick supper together at a fast food place.  Bob went off to teach karate and Taylor locked herself inside her apartment and worked on her hiring plan.   First the web site problem.  The two guys who ran it were self-taught and knew little.  It currently had three pages, the Home page, the About page and the Contact page,  She asked them to work with Karen in terms of redesigning it and she needed three designs to show Gibbs tomorrow.  The problem was three fold: the two guys and Karen.  Millville was a small town and all three were relatives of members of the Board.  Millville, Millvale. She was doing it.  People here called it either way, sometimes in the space of a few seconds.  She thought it was Millville.  All three had complained about the work, because the two boys regarded it as done and untouchable, even though they actually had not worked on it at all for months.  Like a number of people, they showed up and collected generous pay checks and did nothing.  She had looked at a number of websites and she had been told the company wanted one both internal and external customers could log into.  Her chief difficulty at the moment there was that there was very little content.  She decided to send the three complainers out tomorrow to take numerous pictures of the thirty acres  Or was it forty?  No one seemed to care. She cared, because she needed to get it right.  She debated outsourcing the website to a company, but first she needed something to outsource, and before then she needed to decide whether to keep these people.  She didn't need to mess with them.  So she decided to recommend they hire an experienced website developer with management skills. Would such a person come to Millville?  The schools were good, because the company had poured money into them, and the streets were well paved.  The company had bought all the abandoned houses and maintained them, hoping someday they would be filled again. Millville was crime-free.  People did not lock their doors. Neighborly. Very conservative, but in a good way.  Hard working, ethical, honest. Maybe the Chinese money was corrupting the town?  Not sure.  So she thought they would hire someone, even if it were a remote position.  She would rather have them here, but she would take what she would get.  That would move the website out of her hair. Secondly, she needed an effective presenter.  She could not do all these presentations herself.  She had natural talent but a lot could be passed on. She needed another Mary and another Brenda, or their understudies, effective hardworking people.   Bob. Was he okay with this?  He said she was Management.  Was that a problem?  And she was now earning a ridiculous salary, which she put down to company dysfunction more than anything she had done.  Was that a problem? She was not sure.  He was highly competitive and he had that male ego.  She did not.  A feeling of guilt rose.   Her therapist had brought up her feelings of guilt about not making Dad's expectations, never being the man Dad wanted her to be.  She never could, and this physical evidence backed that up.  What would the doctor say?  She thought about it, and that her therapist said she needed to find a sexual assault survivor's group more than a transgender group right now. Was there one here?  She thought about serving in a women's shelter.  There was one here, oddly enough connected to the church they had visited.  That F on her drivers' license would help.  She was waiting until after she talked to the doctor again to move on that stuff.   Was Bob really buying 160 acres near the old air strip on speculation?  Much of the land around Millville had been for sale for a long time.  That land was being offered at a dollar an acre, the owners having inherited it and now living out of state. Common knowledge.  They would take the first offer, and it had been for sale since the airstrip closed twenty years ago. Airstrip.  That would help.  Not tonight. Focus, girl, she told herself, and read over her notes to do so, which were making less sense the further down she went. It was eleven, and she gave up and went to bed.
    • violet r
      .my name is violet. I'm new here and thus is my first try at forums. I'm 45 and just recently having came to terms of who I really am. Thought a lot of self discovery since I stopped drinking. Drinking was my coping mechanism to hide a lot of thing. There were plenty of signs though the years. As I look back. That i hid inside. Now really sure what made all of this bubble to the surface at this time in my life.  Mabye it was waiting for me to be open minded and ready to accept that I am trans. I have a very unhealthy environment at home that is anti trans. I really don't know what else to say but hi. I hope everyone here will be accepting of me and me work through my journey of finding the real me. I know that since I accepted it I have been much happier than I can remember. Being to real me makes me happy. I hate having to hide this all the the time at home. I work retail management and have no idea if I could even stay in this business if I am to fully come out. Wow that was scary saying all that. It's a first for me
    • Ivy
      It is a lifesaver for a lot of us.
    • Abigail Genevieve
      Thanks.  What I do as a man is what a woman would do if she were a man.  There is just something feminine about the way I act as a man.  It's not that being a woman is actually better, or something to aspire to, but it is just that I am one, while not being one.   If beating my head bloody to get rid off this stupid dysphoria would fix it I would find the nearest wall, but I know that if I did that, when I woke up, it would still be there.   If I did not have this struggle I would be someone else and I would be less of a person than I am.  They say an oak tree growing in an open field is far stronger than one in a forest.  The storms come and go and I stand.   This forum is the first time I have interacted with other people struggling with the same struggle and parallel struggles. It helps.
    • Ashley0616
      I'm sorry! :( Hopefully something better will come up
    • Ashley0616
      Thank you! Did great with the kids
    • Sally Stone
      That's me too, Mae.  I don't think it's me as much as it is the camera (that's my story anyway).  Cameras hate me.  I never met one that liked me.  I often wish I was photogenic; sadly, not so much.   However, you look terrific in that selfie! 
    • Sally Stone
      April, I'm so glad things went well when you came out to your spouse.  So often, things can go sideways.  It's a hurdle we all have to jump at some point.
    • violet r
      I totally understand what you just said. I can relate to this very well. I have a lot.of similar feelings.
    • KymmieL
      Well it is a no go for the new position. OH, well. nothing ventured nothing gained.   Kymmie
    • Davie
      Dickey Betts, the singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band whose piercing solos, beloved songs and hell-raising spirit defined the band and Southern rock in general, died Thursday morning 04/18/2024 at the age of 80. Rest in peace...
    • MaeBe
      Thank you @Mirrabooka!
    • April Marie
      What an amazing life you've shared with your wife. I can understand the trepidation you had at telling her at that point in your relationship but it certainly saved all of the guilt, the questioning and the secrecy that would have filled your lives had you not.   I'm on the other end of the spectrum having denied and buried my truth for decades and fast approaching 50 years of marriage when the dysphoria and depression finally came to critical mass and I unloaded it all on a New Year's Day morning. As you might imagine, it led to a lot of questions, of questioning everything, of anger and hurt on my wife's part. Guilt, embarrassment, fear...and anything else you can imagine on my part.   Thankfully, our love for each other has always been the foundation of our relationship and, ultimately, we both agreed that staying together was what we both wanted. It was a tough year but, now into the 2d since my coming out, we've hit our stride and are exploring this new norm in our life.   I do so love your blog.
    • Adrianna Danielle
      Will be at my place
  • Upcoming Events

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...