DM Article - NHS sex change drugs are putting hundreds of children at risk each year warns top doctor

[SuitedandBooted]

Mail on Sunday online article, and another highlighting that children are buying hormones on the internet. Decent articles, can't argue too much overall. They even mention the meeting last Thursday, which some TRA's tried to stop .

Hats off to Dr Griffin.

*Dr Griffin chose to speak out against a backdrop of a fierce debate between feminists and transgender activists over whether transgender women – who were born male – should be placed in the same category as biological females.

She attended a women’s meeting on the issue in Bristol last Thursday, which descended into violence after 30 masked trans protesters attempted to storm the venue.

But refusing to be silenced by such intimidation, Dr Griffin continued: ‘Children can’t vote and they can’t leave school, but we are allowing them to make decisions about their fertility and sexual function. My own feeling is I can’t see how young people’s health can be anything but harmed by these treatments.’

Dr Griffin revealed that she is not the only doctor worried about the ease with which young patients can get transgender medicines.

But she said that many other medical staff are ‘running scared’ because they fear accusations of bigotry, of being out of touch or, at worst, practising ‘conversion therapy’ on transgender people

However, Dr Griffin felt compelled to voice her criticisms because of the potential harm she feels is being done to patients by the eagerness of hospitals to appear politically correct*

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5642577/NHS-sex-change-drugs-putting-hundreds-children-risk-year.html

Also the article on hormones being bought online here;
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5642617/Cowboy-chemists-selling-DIY-trans-pills-teenagers-online.html

I wonder if I will be allowed to comment this time.........

Our politicans will come to wish that they had provided sane, sensible, balanced leadership on this rather than spend their time competing for woke cookies.

The problem is, how many children will be harmed before they accept they made a massive cock up? Also, the politicians who have allowed this to happen will not be the ones who will have to deal with the fallout.

This is Dr Helen Webberley's online comment published today (Gender GP):

The availability of timely, compassionate healthcare provided by the NHS for transgender patients has been under scrutiny for some time. The NHS has been criticised for treating transgender people as second class citizens and failing to meet legal requirements under the equality act.

The notion of whether your gender identity can differ from your outward secondary sexual characteristics should no longer be a topic for debate. The medical profession has long accepted that some people need medical assistance to help them prevent the long term negative effects on their mental well-being which can be caused by their naturally produced sex hormones, and to replace these with the opposite hormone to induce characteristics that match their gender identity.

When the gender identity of a person is clear, delaying access to this treatment can be lifesaving, because as we know, many transgender people are murdered or commit suicide, and the delays in accessing the medical help they need is a contributing factor.

The concept of self-medicating was not one that I encountered before I started my work with transgender patients. People with diabetes or high blood pressure, angina or epilepsy would not look to the Internet or local gym to source their medication. They would go to their GP and they would get the help they needed. If the condition in question was outside the knowledge and skills of their GP, then they would be referred to a hospital consultant. The NHS constitution states that you should start to receive specialist treatment within 18 weeks, but it is well known that the waiting times for accessing help for gender variance is far in excess of this.

So is it any wonder that children and adults are self-medicating? Obtaining medication that should be prescribed and monitored by a trained medic, from any source that they can so that they can prevent the mental anguish of knowing they have the wrong hormones, and replace them with the right hormones.... (continues)

gendergp.co.uk/why-are-trans-teenagers-resorting-to-diy-trans-pills-from-cowboy-chemists/

1) attempts to change gender identity in intersex patients to match external genitalia or chromosomes are typically unsuccessful
We've generally agreed, I believe, that intersex people are not considered to be in the normal scope of our discussions here. However, I am confused by the statement; surely you'd want a gender identity - at least in a child - which corresponded with either the genitalia or chromosomes if both together were impossible. Or is it saying all intersex people are necessarily GNC?

3) among individuals with female chromosomes (XX), rates of male gender identity are higher for those exposed to higher levels of androgens in utero relative to those without such exposure
How would anyone know, outside of an experiment which would be unethical in humans, if any given pregnancy had been subjected to whatever levels of androgens?

Helen Webberley continuing the myth that many transpeople are murdered (let's limit this to the UK). This isn't even a logical argument in the context of self-purchasing hormones by trans or would-be-trans people. She seems to be linking this mythical raised murder rate with having to wait for meds. Why would they end up murdered if they couldn't get the drugs or am I missing something?

She seems to be linking this mythical raised murder rate with having to wait for meds.

She just has to get her dishonest propaganda out by any channel available. It has no relevance, even if it were true. Which in the U.K. it demonstrably is not.

Does anyone know how to direct readers to CharlieParley's post about Max. Max was a transman who suffered side affects from the transitioning drugs and posted about the experience in a blog.

I am astonished that there are still people who think it perfectly acceptable to give children chemicals of which they have no idea how they will affect those children in the long run. Who does this?? How could anyone find this acceptable? It is throwing children under the bus in oder to push an adult agenda.

Question? In 10-20 years time when the damage is observable, who will these children be able to sue? If the parents have signed the consent forms for all the drugs, will it be their butts in court or will it be the Drs? Have a feeling that everyone else will quietly disappear or be protected somehow. How far in advance are all those jumping on the bandwagon thinking?

It's not at all uncommon for people with mh problems to self-medicate however. For example, it sometimes happens that people with inadequately treated PTSD go on to develop an alcohol problem (very understandably) because this is the best available means of managing their symptoms in the absence of any meaningful healthcare. By Webberley's logic, this proves that the nhs should be prescribing vodka to people in this position.

local gym to source their medication

I can think of at least one set of people obsessed with irresponsible body modifications who are likely to source medications from someone at a gym.

AncientLights
3) among individuals with female chromosomes (XX), rates of male gender identity are higher for those exposed to higher levels of androgens in utero relative to those without such exposure
The study referenced in the article relating to this statement is a study of females with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (an intersex condition) which can be caused by high concentrations of androgens in utero. In other words, according to one study, females with CAH are more likely to have a male gender identity than females without intersex conditions.

I haven't checked the integrity of this source, according to it there are growing concerns over use of Lupron to delay precocious puberty:
www.statnews.com/2017/02/02/lupron-puberty-children-health-problems/

The concept of self-medicating was not one that I encountered before I started my work with transgender patients.

WTF? Never heard of alcoholism or drug addiction? Bullshit. What ethical person would publish anything this person said after what they have done?

Hello steroid scandals? Never heard of them?

The Times picked up the story today:
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sex-change-drugs-that-delay-puberty-putting-healthy-children-in-danger-cnvzhrn6n?shareToken=c743a13fd2b464c62a80c8eefaff4de8

Will be interesting to read the comments once there are some.

Having known a couple of adults who were on Lupron for a much shorter period of time than trans kids typically are I'm not sure how anyone justifies prescribing it to kids to themselves. The side effects are no joke.

We should always try to find evidence to support our thoughts, but it is difficult when it comes to medical treatments. A couple of years ago, the NHS was telling us mesh implants were safe.

A lack of proper testing, a lack of publishing negative results and a lack of follow - up analysis is unfortunately commonplace in healthcare. The big pharmaceutical companies have done a lot to undermine public trust, not just in healthcare but in "experts" in general.

Is the data on treatments for gender dysphoria sufficiently robust? It doesn't sound like it is at the moment.

There was a really interesting discussion about the impact of puberty blockers on health this weekend. Never knew what it was doing to childrens brains, scary stuff!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3227666-Puberty-blockers-Lupron?messages=100&pg=1

Just listening to Radio 4 World at One highlighting waiting times at The Tavistock and the impact for young people waiting to access support. Dr Polly Carmichael is interviewed alongside a parent whose child has been waiting for services.

Dr Helen Webberley's article above, published yesterday concludes:
I do not support self-medication, I urge people to seek advice and prescriptions and monitoring from a doctor. If your GP lacks the knowledge and skills to help you then they should make it part of their continuing professional development to increase their understanding in this area of medicine, and refer you to someone who can help. If you have waited longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment as set out in the NHS constitution, then you should complain and ask that the NHS take all reasonable steps to offer a range of suitable alternative providers if this is not possible.
It is crucial for young people to be psychologically evaluated by a qualified professional before undertaking treatment – whether on the NHS or privately. A multi-disciplinary approach to patient care is essential, and is a model that should be applied by any practitioner involved in treating transgender people of any age.

Starch1 - Stat News is a reputable media outlet (it's an American site focusing on health and medical issues, part of the Boston Globe media group)

Ancient - that casual mention of the (false) assertion on murder risk jumped out at me too. It's patently ridiculous unless perhaps you follow a tortuous route that says "if you don't provide treatment to trans patients they will self-finance to go private which means that they will go into sex work which means that they will be at a greater risk of murder"

(Funny how the many TRA commentators who decry the trans murder rates are silent about the murder rate of female sex workers, isn't it?)

Compare the approach to sterilisation of adult women. This is what the NHS says:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/female-sterilisation/

"Your GP can refuse to carry out the procedure or refuse to refer you for it if they don't believe it's in your best interests."
"You may be more likely to be accepted for the operation if you're over 30 and have had children"

See this story:
"Every year for the last four years my GP has refused my decision. I couldn't even get a referral. The response was always: ‘You’re far too young to take such a drastic decision."

So gatekeeping is allowed for women who decide early on they don't want children; but for children who don't want to be women (or men) gatekeeping is to blame for murders and suicides?

I would support a blanket ban on surgery or hormones paid for by the NHS until aged 25. With a lot of young people this will buy them time to mature without pressure; (their peers are now all very accepting of gender identity not matching biology); parents can hold the line against rash decisions.

It’s great she is brave enough to speak out. Hopefully more doctors will feel comfortable to speak out as well