85 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
85 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
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type: post
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title: On the Path
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date: 2014-12-19
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slug: on-the-path
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---
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I realize that it's been a while since I've written in this section of the site.
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Things have been busy in general, and particularly overwhelming of late. I've
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written [a
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little](/posts/furry/adjspecies/2014/11/26/witnessing-and-mirroring/) here and
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there, but I suppose so much has been happening out of the realm of this site
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that I've not felt the need to put so much down in words. I've been talking
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with friends, a therapist, a psychiatrist, and as of last week, a physician
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about gender.
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I've been working so long on the mental health and social health aspects of
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gender, that I figured it was time to begin looking into the physical health
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aspects as well. I'm still working out the best way to 'transition', such as
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the term applies to me, but it's begun with a physical, blood tests, and a
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referral to an endocrinologist. At this point, with the flood of information, I
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think it is a good idea to dust this thing off and start writing about it as
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more news comes in, especially as a way to track the changes.
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On the note of changes, before I delve into the tests and their results, I
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should mention that I've been working through the process of changing my name
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from Matthew Joseph Scott to Madison Jesse Scott-Clary. It's been a slow and
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expensive process so far, involving background checks at both the state and
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federal levels, and will soon involve court appearances and publications in a
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newspaper (gotta make sure I'm not evil, I suppose).
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This has also resulted in me coming out as trans\* to my mom, my dad, and my
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coworkers. This has all gone well enough, with the expected conversations for
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the most part. The name change was from something decidedly masculine to
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something on the feminine side of neutral, and so simply stating that there was
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a change to Madison wound up bringing up the subject of gender with both
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coworkers and my mom. I came out to my dad more deliberately through a letter,
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and have prepared [a statement](http://drab-makyo.com/changes/) on my site that
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I can refer to in the future.
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Anyway, onto the results. I had ten tubes of blood drawn a week ago today and
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received fourteen results.
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### STD Screen
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* Gonorrhea: negative
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* Syphilis: negative
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* Chlamydia: negative
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* HIV: negative
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* Hepatitis (A, B, C): negative
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No surprises there. I'm not terribly sexually active, and am safe when I am,
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fluid-bonded with JD.
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### Hormones
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* Testosterone, free: normal - 15 (standard is 9-30)
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* Testosterone, total: normal - 440 (standard is 300-950 for my age)
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* Estradiol: high end of normal - 39.2 (standard is <39.8)
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I will admit to having gone through a bit of an experimentation in DIY hormone
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therapy a while back. These numbers aren't all that surprising, considering
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that. I will learn more from the endocrinologist when I get the referral, as to
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the impact these numbers will have on any transition I decide to undertake.
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### Other labs
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* Triglycerides: high (hypertriglyceridemia)
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* Mean corpuscular volume: high (macrocytosis without anemia)
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* Vitamin D: low (vitamin D deficiency)
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* Other results within the norm.
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My triglycerides have been high ever since I took Accutane back in high school.
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This, along with the macrocytosis, is likely exacerbated by high alcohol intake
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and a poor diet over the last year or two, especially with the move. I'll need
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to cut down on drinking, fatty foods, carbohydrates, and get back to exercising
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with the dogs (rather than simply exercising them).
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I'll have more along these lines coming up soon, and will do my best to update
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this as I learn and decide more. I'm still not sure how far, or even if I will
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transition, nor really how far I want to. I feel on the feminine side of
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neutral, and don't think I would be any happier simply living as a woman (though
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it certainly tickled me getting referred to as 'she' a few times over the last
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week). I don't know. More thoughts will certainly be on the way!
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