The unmonitored use of hormons by trans and Gender variant people in Sweden

In Sweden the number one health hazard for trans and gender varaint people is the unmoniterd use of hormones, I would without doubt say that a solid majority of all trans and gender variant people here, when they see their gatekeeper for the first time are already on hormones, many for a long time..

When I first went to see a my physiscian, Bjorn Lundquist of Lund, Sweden MD,PhD and nothing short of the man that saved me from suicide, I had been on varios estrogens for about eight years. For some strange reason unknown to me, I had managed to avoid any serious health hazards. My body had developed the way I wanted, my hormone levels were well within the range of a woman of my age and my teststeron levels were, to quote my doctor who was a direct and outspoken man, on castration levels.

Sweden have six regional Gender Teams with Gatekeepers who have absolute power over their patients. Their patients have no other option than to accept their antiquated treatment protocols. This means a minumun 12 months before they will give their diagnosis, and it must be consitent with ICD-10 F64.0 Transsexualism, if you are unfortuante and is diagnosed GIDNOS (Gender Identity Disorder Not Otherwise Speciafied) you have two basic options, suicide or hormones from the black market – an easy choice for most trans and gender variant human beings, I guess.

Well, after you lived trough the 12 month minimun, you will hopefully get your diagnosis and the long awaited referral to the endocrinologist. But here comes the next snag, you must accept the endo that the Gatekeeper appoints. No other endo may prescribe any hormones to you.

By a decision handed down last year, by Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare, any physician who prescribe hormone to a transpatient without the approval of the Gender Team in their region will receive a warning and then risk being struck off and have their license revoked.

In my region with some 1,5 million people we have one endo and the waiting list is very, very long. So it might be several months more before you get your hormones. Even beeing way over 15 years on hormones and legally female for over 10 years, I need to see this one endo as there is no-one else working with our group of patients.

According to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health:s Standads of Care version 6, 2001 the Gatekeeper have an option of prescribing hormones and do lab tests in order to reduce harm for clients taking unsupervised hormones, when seeing the client initially. But does this happen in Sweden? Of course not, these Gatekeepers won’t even accept a request for blood level lab tests or any other form of screening, let alone prescibing hormones.

They know that some 70-80% of their MtF patients have been on HRT on their own, sometimes for years and some have lived as women and are fully tranitioned when they see the Gatekeeper. And without the Gatekeepers approval, they stand no chance of getting a legal gender change or for that matter to approval to have GRS (Genital reasingement Surgey) performed in Sweden.

Sweden is the only country in the world, as far as I know, where you need a special government permission, based on a government appointed pshrink to have to GRS. So, quite a few go the see Preecha, Sanguan or any other Thai surgeon.

Mind you the situation for our FtM brothers and Gender Queer people are just as bad.