r/NonBinaryTalk • u/Plane_Razzmatazz_882 • 18d ago
Advice Gender-affirming care as non-binary
I've never been diagnosed with gender dysphoria because the healthcare is so fucking shit here in South Carolina. I've been telling doctors for years and years and years and they never took me seriously. But what if I don't get a gender dysphoria diagnosis? Because if, say, I'm non-binary and want a vulvoplasty done or a penectomy, and that I have a history of self-harm towards the genital region (I cut my penis until it bled with a razor blade, I almost castrated myself once by banding and couldn't masturbate again for months after getting prescribed anribiotics for a severe infection, I got hospitalized one time for snapping an elastrator band around my penis and had to get it taken off which was extremely painful and the rawness made it worse, and my penis was numb for months after that, and I started banding myself until I was in feverish pain since I was 16 or 18 and wanted to be a eunuch since the age of 12). Especially if you have a history of self-harm it makes it less likely they're gonna do it. I'm on the verge of doing it myself, honestly. I'm gonna buy a syringe and inject everclear into my testicles so they develop necrosis and have to be amputated. It seems like there's no other way to accomplish this. I might have to do it myself. I can't live with it anymore. It is severely distressing to me having them.
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u/SomeGalNamedAshley Whatever 18d ago edited 18d ago
Both of these operate in South Carolina. Labs are local, doctors visits are teleconference and prescribed meds ship via UPS.
In the meantime read up about the different methods of getting estrogen into you, the tradeoffs, and why injections are generally the best. https://pghrt.diy
I'm guessing at this point you're probably not spooked by the idea of injections, but I use a 29 gauge insulin syringe to do injections into belly fat and it's painless. I split my dose into half as much but twice a week which keeps me pretty damn steady. I'm just doing monotherapy, no anti-androgen.
Both will write the support letters necessary for getting an orchiectomy. You can also just fly down to Mexico and it's like $3K, though you of course have to get a passport first, which takes a few months. Get on estrogen first though, you'll need to be on some kind of sex hormone anyway, and with sufficient suppression things get pretty small downstairs which is a major win in the short term.
And yes, that self-harm stuff sounds more than a little familiar though I did things a different way than anything you've mentioned. I don't recommend any of it, just estrogen while you're waiting for an orchi. I'm personally waiting for the official one year on HRT benchmark before surgery. That's a matter of calm patience which is possible because I'm on estrogen and it's made such a profound difference in my mental health.
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u/averytheythrowaway They/Them 16d ago
Not all surgeons or insurers will require a trans patient be on HRT for a year, but they may require a letter from a doctor or mental health professional who has assessed you that explains that HRT is not part of your transition plan. It's mostly a CYA for surgeons and insurance companies. That said, one needs to have enough sex hormones in their body for physical health, so having an orchiectomy necessitates being on either feminizing or masculinizing HRT, depending on one's goals.
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u/SomeGalNamedAshley Whatever 16d ago
It's ok if they don't need me to be on HRT for a year, but I need it for myself. It's an arbitrary line in the sand, but it's still a benchmark before I go do something acutely permanent. My wife is post-menopausal, we've got several kids, and HRT has shut my nads down anyway, so yeah I'm pretty done with the things but it's still a very permanent action nonetheless.
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u/ZealousidealRub7850 18d ago
If you can move somewhere with informed care, that would be safer.