Moving article about regret

[KittyKlawsReturns]

This article from Australia was posted in Reddit and I thought I'd share here for those who don't visit there.

It is quite distressing to think of this happening and I suggest this is why the process needs to be slowed down and more thoughtful. People are complex and while some people would benefit from less red tap and talk the consequences of the whole process moving too quickly is devastating. I hope I haven't duplicated a thread.

www.smh.com.au/national/i-will-never-be-able-to-have-sex-again-ever-20090530-br41.html

Earlier thread where busyboysmum linked it but it wasn't the OP: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3169934-Man-re-transitions-after-just-7-months

Thanks arranfan I hadn't seen that.

How unbelievably sad, surely medical malpractice?

How unbelievably sad, surely medical malpractice?

I think so, this demonstrates clearly why more time is needed. These are such huge decisions. When you read something like this it makes it all the more strange that children are given such decisions to make, not about operations obviously, but a path which may include blockers etc. This is so sad and it shows how complex the issue is even for adults.

I think the most shocking thing is that anyone would think it was a good idea to mutilate people who had a history of sexual and emotional and physical abuse. I hope some of those 'experts' are sued to hell and back.

A recent British review found suicide rates of up to 18 per cent among people who had undergone gender reassignment surgery. Doctors from London's Portman Clinic say they see many patients who feel trapped in "no-man's land" after surgery, finding themselves with a body which is no longer recognisable as male or female

Sorry, what? So 18% of post surgery patients are committing suicide??

This is horrific and the worst thing is, it is going to increase as more children are encouraged to take this path and professionals are prevented from questioning their motivation.

18% is very high if that's accurate

18%???? Almost a fifth. We'll be picking up the pieces of these poor kids for decades.

I've no idea which study is being cited for that 18% statistic unless it's a misunderstanding of the one in the Guardian (below).

14 years ago, Guardian commissioned a review:

Research from the US and Holland suggests that up to a fifth of patients regret changing sex. A 1998 review by the Research and Development Directorate of the NHS Executive found attempted suicide rates of up to 18% noted in some medical studies of gender reassignment.

www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jul/30/health.mentalhealth

This review is not substantially more authoritative: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4771004/

This is why it is CRUCIAL that the standard of care doesn’t change. If we disallow anything but affirmative treatment then there will be many more cases like this and limited legal recourse.

The article is from 2009 - it is rare to find msm daring to publish detransitioning stories these days.

This is fairly recent - from The Guardian of all places!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/03/experience-i-regret-transitioning

Interesting to see that "a British Review" (source not given) found that 18% of those who had undergone surgery committed suicide. Preventing suicide is often mentioned as a reason FOR affirmation and action, but this points to evidence of another side to the argument. Unfortunately, as the article points out, there is little or no follow up of patients to establish long term outcomes.

Interesting to see that "a British Review" (source not given) found that 18% of those who had undergone surgery committed suicide.

I researched the databases pretty thoroughly - I'm confident that there is no such 18% suicide statistic for those who have transitioned. It looks like a misunderstanding of the 1998 NHS review (that cited the spread in the then literature - so that 18% report of suicide attempts might be in a tiny demographic, relate to outmoded techniques/processes, be from 1960s - (say) 1996).

Thanks @arran. That saves me a lot of work going down google rabbit holes!