![]() ![]() More than 100 trans people in the wider New Zealand trans community sourced their estrogen online, Zavoda said. "Because of that they need to resort to injectable estrogen but unfortunately it's really difficult to get in New Zealand and because of that they have to get it online." "I would just like people to listen to their trans patients more." 'It's really difficult to get in NZ' - Trans on CampusĪvery Zavoda from the University of Auckland group Trans on Campus said it was very common for people not to respond to one or more forms of estrogen that was available to them. Ward felt that injecting estrogen was the right decision for her although she said trans people should not have to resort to using the internet to source it.Īsked what changes she would like to see as a result of her experience, Ward said it would be very easy for GPs and Auckland Sexual Health to prescribe estrogen injections. ![]() Ward said she informed her GP that she was injecting the estrogen and although the GP was not happy about it and would not aid her in doing it, the GP did inform her what to look out for in terms of side effects and continued to monitor her hormone levels via blood tests. The hardest part was working out what dose to take and self injecting the hormone, she said. Ward's doctor told her that she was already on the highest possible dose of patches and pills and that estrogen injections were not prescribed for trans people in New Zealand - but that turned out not to be true, she said.īuying estrogen online was straightforward other than needing to use crypto currency to purchase it, she said. Ward said her doctor may have been worried about blood clots associated with higher estrogen levels, but she did not believe that was "so much of a risk". "Like they recommend that you have higher estrogen levels in order to achieve the changes that you want." Treatment guidelines from other countries were quite different to New Zealand's, she said. In an attempt to find out why the hormone treatment she was receiving from her doctor was not having the desired outcome, Ward said she did some online research. "So I switched to buying injectable estrogen from the internet, which helped a lot." She made numerous visits to the GP over a three year period but was still within the acceptable male range for estrogen which was frustrating and she felt desperate, she said. Ward said she had been using patches and pills prescribed by the GP but had not been seeing any body changes. ![]() Listen to August Ward who resorted to DIY treatment, Avery Zavoda from the University of Auckland group Trans on Campus, and GP Cathy Stephenson, who co-authored the national guidelines around gender-affirming healthcare on Nine to Noon 'I would just like people to listen to their trans patients more'Īucklander August Ward had hoped to medically transition with her GP's support but ended up resorting to do-it-yourself hormone treatment. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |