Patient of private gender clinic commits suicide following side-effects of testosterone and breast surgery

[ShootsFruitAndLeaves]

Link

Very sad.

Twitter

This is a trans man. No one will care.

I don't mean on here. In general.

Is that the correct link?

Very sad. I feel so much anger at the medical profession for selling this lie that medical & surgical transition will make it all ok, the fantasy will become reality. That poor family.

Sorry, just seen the bit saying "link". Only saw the "twitter" one at first.

It is mentioned that Max was on medication to treat the testosterone-induced acne. It is my understanding that certain such medications are linked to suicide and depression

All that blustering by the medical professionals involved: did they actually ask Max about mental health issues?

It’s so sad, that a confused and struggling young person should feel so hopeless about the future, that they take their own lives. The cynic in me suspects that the poor soul wasn’t given the proper help, they needed and was possibly encouraged to transition too quickly.

I know it sounds awful, but I’ve no doubt that this will somehow be turned into the fault of ‘trans bigots’. 🙄

how sad
this is going to keep happening
and somehow it will be our fault I expect

This is tragic.

'the doctor who treated Max at a private gender dysphoria clinic said there was no documentation about depression or suicidal thoughts.

...

Max’s mum Wendy Cresham stated: “Max had previously been diagnosed with anxiety and depression that had been about a year before the gender dysphoria diagnosis had been given.'

And nobody thought to ask or check?

Trans people deserve better than this. They deserve proper care, not just to be the next paycheck for a doctor or plastic surgeon who clearly doesn't have their best interests at heart, or even much interest in them at all. They're getting 'care' from doctors who've been struck off and forbidden to practise, and from a clinic where masses of experienced doctors have resigned, leaving young and inexperienced medics to try and deal with a large and ever-enlarging amount of patients. Or from private clinics that are there purely to make money.

This is a car crash in slow motion. It's heart breaking, and it's wrong. Fucking fight back, trans people. Care about the young people getting shit care and shit 'advice'. Demand better. And note that 'better care' doesn't necessarily mean 'faster care'.

Oh yes, of course it will be our fault. I'm surprised no-one has yet popped up on here to tell us so.

Max’s mum Wendy Cresham stated: “Max had previously been diagnosed with anxiety and depression that had been about a year before the gender dysphoria diagnosis had been given.

"After Max's death there was correspondence with a consultant from the gender clinic who stated there was no documentation of low mood, depression or suicidal thoughts."

So is there no communication between the private gender clinic and other health professionals who have treated the patient? Or do they just ask the patient about mental health and if they say they've never had any problems, assume that's the truth?

What a tragedy. It's extremely rare for young women to commit suicide, isn't it? Whereas it's one of the commonest causes of death for young men, full of testosterone.

Some of us in the medical profession care and rail against this as much as you do. I am currently trying to engage with a teenage girl who I referred to CAMHS with crippling anxiety and who magically now thinks she might be a boy. I’m watching as the letters come from CAMHS advising her to look at Mermaids and consider referral to GIDS. And no one is questioning why this girl, who’s never expressed any signs of gender dysphoria before has suddenly found the answer to all her problems. And all I can do is keep inviting her in to appointments to chat how she is that she declines to attend. It’s heartbreaking.

Private gender clinics are unethical.

I hope one day the professionals who collude in this unethical behaviour towards suffering women for motivations of profit are held to account.

I know, Must, sorry, I wasn't implying all medics don't care! There are some not taking responsibility for their actions, and some out to make a fast buck no matter the consequences.

The lack of proper support for mental health in this country is pretty sickening. The case you're talking about sounds like CAMHS just trying to pass the buck, to be honest. Poor kid. I hope she finds peace, and I hope you are able to maintain your own mental health in what must be a difficult job.

Yes, sorry must, I didn't mean everyone in the medical profession, just those who are pushing this narrative. It must be heartbreaking and enraging to see it up close.

Tragic.

I fear this highly likely to be repeated. There appears to be a presumption of capacity and an unwillingness to explore co-morbidity by the treating clinics and it's not just private ones.
How anyone treating what is a psychological condition can presume it is not a symptom of a psychiatric condition is beyond me. Why are the treating physicians not looking at full patient notes before diagnosis and treatment?
I KNOW they are not- if they had here they would have noted depression and anxiety but in an affirmation based service it appears there is no willingness or scientific intelligence to explore that further. I fear many others will be harmed with irreversible surgery and treatment which doesn't fix the actual underlying conditions.

That is not to say that co-morbidity and full capacity cannot coexist. There will be those who are fully capable of choosing treatment options. But if the clinics are not exploring these issues how can they be sure the treatment is correct? A vascular surgeon wouldn't ignore a patient's hemophilia when considering treatment options so why are gender clinics not looking at the whole person?

why are gender clinics not looking at the whole person?

Don't they run the risk of being accused of 'conversion attempts' if they question in any way a patient's trans identity?

Don't they run the risk of being accused of 'conversion attempts' if they question in any way a patient's trans identity?

Yes. That Memorandum of Understanding they had to sign up to.

Treating a young person with anxiety and issues relating to body image and identity integrity with a medication known to often cause acute acne?

This enrages me so much I can barely type.

I suspect that depression etc is being taken as a symptom of gender dysphoria rather than the other way around. So the notes will show a diagnosis of dysphoria based on the symptoms of psychological distress, when for a lot of these young people, the dysphoria is them trying to manage the distress in a dysfunctional way.

It's an absolute scandal.