How Does Testing Go?

[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?

[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.

[Guest NatalieRene]

oh wow and I just noticed that this was your first post here. Welcome to the playground.

[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.

[Guest ~Brenda~]

Hi Marsh

Welcome to Lauras hon

I have a few links that I hope will help you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex

http://gayteens.about.com/od/adviceandquizzes/l/bl_intersex.htm

http://www.intersexinitiative.org/articles/intersex-faq.html

Love

Brenda

[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.

[JJ]

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

[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

[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.

[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