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Transgendered. Insane or Misunderstood?

I personally feel transgender individuals are...


  • Total voters
    58
In a sense, yes.
I don't know what that means. I am a very skeptical Catholic when it comes to miracles and such. I don't know whether I buy the one I linked you to or not. It has some compelling evidence, but ... Luckily, I could even call it a load of horse manure and still be in good standing with the Church. I do believe the Fatima miracles and I also believe that the Shroud of Turin is Jesus' burial cloth. The evidence meets my believability test--which consists of nothing, i just believe it.




The Bible is a means of God's Revelation of Himself--the Word of God is actually Jesus Christ.

But really--isn't this thread supposed to be about Transgendered people? Why do you want to hijack it with challenging my personal faith? Are you interested in becoming Catholic. Feel free to PM me for more info.:2wave:


You're welcome.

Sorry about the thread drift.

I've said my piece.

Thanks for the invitation to PM you about becoming Catholic.
 
I'm not exactly expecting my PM box to fill up.;)



...but I wouldn't mind it.:cool:

Don't take it personal. I was raised Lutheran and even that religion didn't jive with me.

Do you have info on Buddhism? :mrgreen:
 
They're crazy and ass backwards too.

That's not Buddhism, it's a tradition in Nepal.

Your statement is like taking the example of the Taliban and saying that's Islam. It's not. I know it may come as a shock to many but everyone the practices Buddhism or Christianity or any other faith isn't the same as the most wacked out sect that says what they do is a particular faith.

I think that tradition in Nepal is probably a really bad idea. I think the tradition of sitting outside an abortion clinic with a sniper rifle sucks too. But it's really hard to convince the faithful that they have a screw loose.
 
Here's a transgender BIID person's perspective on the similarities.

A comparison between transsexuality and transableism transabled.org Blogging about BIID

Oh, yeah. I get the gist of it just fine. What I meant was that I don't have anything specific on it. Such details like Dopamine on effecting Schizophrenia, or like the enlarged cavities of the ventricles in the brain for Schizophrenics. Or how lithium can be used as a treatment for Bipolar Disorder. Stuff of that nature... I don't know the details for BIID in that regard.

Extreme body modification like excessive tattooing is debilitating socially--and yet, do you consider them perhaps insane?

That would definitely depend on the individuals lifestyle and choices, as well as type of society.


I'm not saying this to be rude, but who is this guy? Who is he citing?

I don't know where he is getting that 20% from but the sources that I'm looking at suggest that it is less than 2%. The quality and type of surgery should also be considered. Female-to-male surgeries are not as great as male-to-female surgery, as noted by 1069 several pages back. One other thing that should also be considered is when the surgery is done, because in the last decade or so, the advancement in surgery technology has improved significantly. One should be aware of the differences in regretting a surgery done in the 70s or 80s, as compared to ones done in the last 10 years.

Since this guy is talking about male-to-female figures, I'll give you an article on male-to-female. I only have it in PDF format, so PM me your email information and I'll send it to you. Or, you can look it up yourself, here is the citation info:

S. KREGE, A. BEX, G. LUÈ MMEN and H. RUÈ BBEN. Male-to-female transsexualism: a technique, results and long-term follow-up in 66 patients. BJU International (2001), 88, 396 ±402.



Right--and as such, The gender "problem" is sometimes a delusion--when the person BELIEVES he/she is of the opposite sex and is trapped in the wrong body. At least 25%! That is a significant percentage!

Yes, but that's people with Schizophrenia, not GID. 25% of people with Schizophrenia may exhibit cross-gender identity. That doesn't mean that 25% of people with GID may have Schizophrenia.

What do you make of the ones whose issue resolve spontaneously?

I don't know. I think it would be very unprofessional to make any conclusions because of the comorbidity.

Perhaps GID is simply a manifestation of a mental disorder.

You're jumping the gun here. You don't have enough information. At least not from what you just cited.

The article I cited demonstrates that at least some of the time--a significant portion of the time--the gender question IS a delusion.

No, again, what you cited was a symptom of schizophrenia. This article brings up the point that the DSM needs to be more descriptive because as it stands it may mis-diagnose GID, when it should have diagnosed Schizophrenia.

It also brings up the point that maybe the client may have both Schizophrenia and GID (where it isn't a symptom of Schizophrenia). You see how hard it is to make that distinction? That is what your article is trying to say. That comorbidity is hard to diagnose. You should re-read the discussion section. Particularly the last three paragraphs.

I don't want you to confuse Schizophrenia for GID.

Hmmmm...there's reason to question that percentage as Walt discusses in his video.

I'll give you one more citation to look up then: Transsexualism. Lancet, 00995355, 9/7/91, Vol. 338, Issue 8767

I also have this article in full text, I can PM you the text if you wish. No need for email for this one.

***Also...For those that are interested in the articles that I was referring to: Feel free to PM me for a copy of the PDF and/or the Full Text.
 
You could be right, I'm not sure about it myself. It's an area that I haven't been sufficiently exposed to in my educational background.

I'd be interested in the Captain's assessment of BIID. After all, my degree in psych is nothing in comparison to the Captain's thousands of years of experience in counseling. :cool:

Hundreds of years...not quite thousands. :mrgreen: I have been busy with a multitude of mod stuff and RL counseling stuff, but I am enjoying the reading of this thread. Though I have never treated someone with BIID, I am familiar with the disorder. I will attempt to rejoin this debate, over the weekend.
 
Just some quick information that distinguishes GID from BIID.

The motivations of each are different. GID sufferers are seeking to have consistency between their body and brain. BIID sufferers are seeking to identify, physically, with the disabled.

GID sufferers have been proven to have a genetic component, when post-mortem exams are done. BIID sufferers do not.

GID sufferers want to cease to be ill, and be healthy by enter the non-transsexual world, living as person with the sexuality that matches their brains. BIID sufferers want to cease to be ill, and become ill in a different way, becoming disabled.

GID sufferers gain the ability to interact with others in a way that it is gender-consistent with their brains. They do not gain understanding of the gender they become; they already understand it. They only gain normalcy. BIID sufferers gain understanding of the disabled, being unaware of the experience.

The main component for GID is NOT genetalia alteration. It is gender alteration, which encompasses many aspects. The main component for BIID IS body alteration.

GID has components that are easilty distinguished from other disorders. From post-mortem exams, our understanding of brain chemistry, and new information on the formation of gender, the components of GID are distinct. BIID has components that are fairly indistinguishable from OCD and self-injury. Needs for acceptance, reduction in anxiety, fixated thoughts are all components of other disorders.

Sufferers of GID have a brain-chemical component that makes them a different gender from this standpoint. BIID sufferers are intensely envious of the disabled. There is nothing in brain-chemistry or biology that makes them disabled.

GID sufferers who receive SRT, alter their body to match their brain-chemistry/biology. BIID sufferers who have an amputation, are not biologically pre-disposed in any way to be disabled. This the important distinction, so I will repeat it. GID sufferers are predetermined to have a biolgicial component that makes them a different gender than what their biology presents. BIID sufferes have no predetermined biological component that makes them disabled.

Also, there is may be a political bent to some of the original research into BIID. I must further explore this.

There's some stuff to get you started. :mrgreen:
 
Yes, but that's people with Schizophrenia, not GID. 25% of people with Schizophrenia may exhibit cross-gender identity. That doesn't mean that 25% of people with GID may have Schizophrenia.
I don't think it's as simple as just GID or Schizophrenia--I think that was just an example. And 25% is a large number considering the number of people who have Schizophrenia.


This is the part that is interesting and what should give one pause IMO:
Psychiatric Comorbidity of Gender Identity Disorders: A Survey Among Dutch Psychiatrists -- à Campo et al. 160 (7): 1332 -- Am J Psychiatry
In 225 (39%) of the 584 reported cases, gender identity disorder was regarded as the primary diagnosis. For the remaining 359 patients (61%), cross-gender confusion occurred along with other psychiatric disorders, and in 270 (75%) of these 359 cases, it was interpreted as secondary to other psychiatric illnesses.

Nature of Psychiatric Comorbidity
One hundred twenty-nine psychiatrists specified psychiatric comorbidity for their patients with gender identity disorder. Comorbid personality disorders were reported by 102 (79%) of the 129 psychiatrists, major mood disorders by 34 (26%), dissociative disorders by 34 (26%), and psychotic disorders by 31 (24%).

We asked psychiatrists whether they agreed with the DSM-IV heuristic not to rule out other disorders in cases where a gender identity disorder diagnosis is considered. One hundred seventy-seven of the 186 respondents answered this question; 38 (21%) of these respondents indicated that they were not able to make up their mind about this issue. Of the 139 psychiatrists who did express an opinion, 78 (56%) considered this heuristic not to be wise.



It seems that 61% of people that present with GID have some "comorbitity"--and 77% of psychiatrists either can't make up their mind or think SRT would be unwise for those patients.


I don't know. I think it would be very unprofessional to make any conclusions because of the comorbidity.
It seems you also agree.

This seems appropriate.
Our findings also underline the need for articulated diagnostic rules in this area. A nontrivial proportion of our respondents felt that the current DSM-IV gender identity disorder criteria are not strict enough. These respondents indicated that other psychiatric disorders that may explain the cross-gender symptoms should be ruled out before considering a diagnosis of gender identity disorder. There is evidence suggesting that persistent cross-gender identification may occur in psychotic patients. In such cases, the cross-gender confusion appears to be entirely attributable to the misperception of reality that is typical for psychotic disorders (12–18).

Our results, together with anecdotal reports about gender identity disorder misdiagnoses, indicate that it may be fruitful to consider reinstatement of an exclusion criterion that cross-gender symptoms should not be attributable to other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.


No, again, what you cited was a symptom of schizophrenia. This article brings up the point that the DSM needs to be more descriptive because as it stands it may mis-diagnose GID, when it should have diagnosed Schizophrenia.
It's not just Schizophrenia--it's other dissociative disorders also. I can see why you thought I was confused--I had only read what I thought was the abstract...

It also brings up the point that maybe the client may have both Schizophrenia and GID (where it isn't a symptom of Schizophrenia). You see how hard it is to make that distinction? That is what your article is trying to say. That comorbidity is hard to diagnose. You should re-read the discussion section. Particularly the last three paragraphs.
I didn't have the whole article originally--I don't know how that happened, maybe I didn't realize the whole thing was there originally...:confused: Anyway, I read the whole thing now..

What I'm getting is that Dissociative Identity Disorders are hard to differentiate from Gender Identity Disorder. My question is: What makes the "gender identity" somehow distinct from a general "identity" disorder at all? And what about "gender" makes surgery on healthy tissue appropriate or medically ethical?

It seems that the conclusion Captain and you are pointing to is that male and female are common "normal" states whereas things like BIID aims for a "dysfunctional" state. Why would it be fine to treat an identity disorder in one instance with complying with the identity perception and not in another case? As one respondent in the study stated, "We don’t do liposuction on anorexics. So why amputate the genitals of these patients?"
 
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The main component for GID is NOT genetalia alteration. It is gender alteration, which encompasses many aspects. The main component for BIID IS body alteration.

That's not what I've read--there are varying "levels" of identification in BIID just as there are in GID. Some BIID people are perfectly fine to just "pass" as disabled, just as some GID are fine with passing.
 
GID sufferers who receive SRT, alter their body to match their brain-chemistry/biology. BIID sufferers who have an amputation, are not biologically pre-disposed in any way to be disabled. This the important distinction, so I will repeat it. GID sufferers are predetermined to have a biolgicial component that makes them a different gender than what their biology presents. BIID sufferes have no predetermined biological component that makes them disabled.:

This, also, I think is premature to identify as a "conclusion." There is little information for such a definitive statement as your last sentence indicates.
 
I don't think it's as simple as just GID or Schizophrenia--I think that was just an example. And 25% is a large number considering the number of people who have Schizophrenia.

I don't know that statistic...It would have to depend on the prevalence Schizophrenia versus the prevalence of GID. Which both is hard to pinpoint. Schizophrenia you have a good chance of finding out, because the physical symptoms, but because of SES it might not be reported. Also in GID you cannot be sure. You have transsexuals who live in secret because of social stigmas. Some only cross-dress. Some may have gotten surgery out of country.

Just from browsing the web, I found 0.8% of the US population is afflicted Schizophrenia (2.2 million people). In a 1968 study it showed that 1 in every 100,000 people had some form of GID.

GID.info | Gender Identity Disorder Information
Schizophrenia.com - Schizophrenia Fact and Schizophrenia Statistics

I don't want to use these figures, as I do find them suspect. I'll look for better sources, later.

This is the part that is interesting and what should give one pause IMO:
Psychiatric Comorbidity of Gender Identity Disorders: A Survey Among Dutch Psychiatrists -- à Campo et al. 160 (7): 1332 -- Am J Psychiatry
In 225 (39%) of the 584 reported cases, gender identity disorder was regarded as the primary diagnosis. For the remaining 359 patients (61%), cross-gender confusion occurred along with other psychiatric disorders, and in 270 (75%) of these 359 cases, it was interpreted as secondary to other psychiatric illnesses.


Yes, as I have already noted. GID can cause mood disorders. This, I believe, has to do with the social pressures that are placed upon the transsexual, the mental stress leading to depression and/or other mood disorders. And NOT because of brain structure or brain activity.

It seems that 61% of people that present with GID have some "comorbitity"--and 77% of psychiatrists either can't make up their mind or think SRT would be unwise for those patients.

It seems you also agree.

Yep, that's why I think it would be unprofessional to make a conclusion.

This seems appropriate.
Our findings also underline the need for articulated diagnostic rules in this area. A nontrivial proportion of our respondents felt that the current DSM-IV gender identity disorder criteria are not strict enough. These respondents indicated that other psychiatric disorders that may explain the cross-gender symptoms should be ruled out before considering a diagnosis of gender identity disorder. There is evidence suggesting that persistent cross-gender identification may occur in psychotic patients. In such cases, the cross-gender confusion appears to be entirely attributable to the misperception of reality that is typical for psychotic disorders (12–18).

Our results, together with anecdotal reports about gender identity disorder misdiagnoses, indicate that it may be fruitful to consider reinstatement of an exclusion criterion that cross-gender symptoms should not be attributable to other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

I hear the DSM V is coming out. Not sure when, but maybe they'll have this section improved. Hopefully.

It's not just Schizophrenia--it's other dissociative disorders also. I can see why you thought I was confused--I had only read what I thought was the abstract...

I know it's other dissociative disorders too. What I'm pointing out is the difference when GID is the primary diagnoses versus the secondary. If Schizophrenia is the cause of the GID (a symptom) then SRT is inappropriate. In this case, antipsychotic drugs should be the treatment. However, if GID the primary, and depression or bipolar is the secondary, then you can't rule out SRT. Though the comorbidity may make you be more cautious about suggesting SRT. That is why extensive counseling is important. The psychologist must be careful in the diagnosis.

What I'm getting is that Dissociative Identity Disorders are hard to differentiate from Gender Identity Disorder. My question is: What makes the "gender identity" somehow distinct from a general "identity" disorder at all? And what about "gender" makes surgery on healthy tissue appropriate or medically ethical?

This would depend on how valid their identity is. It may seem that people with GID is delusional, but there are measures to identify femaleness and maleness. There are measures to test their consistency of their beliefs, so that we can know that this isn't a fleeting feeling. The testing is exhaustive. However, I'm not so quite convinced with the brain evaluations of GID. There are a lot of explanations that I find suspect, not just in GID, but for attributing behavior in general. This is because I do not think the brain is the "command center." Believe it or not, I am actually pretty radical in my thinking compared to some of my peers.

As for other identity disorders, it's pragmatically different depending on the type of disorder. Multiple personality? Bipolar? Mania? Dissociative? Each has their own type exhaustive testing. Tests that can rule out other disorders, or it may determine comorbidity.

It seems that the conclusion Captain and you are pointing to is that male and female are common "normal" states whereas things like BIID aims for a "dysfunctional" state. Why would it be fine to treat an identity disorder in one instance with complying with the identity perception and not in another case? As one respondent in the study stated, "We don’t do liposuction on anorexics. So why amputate the genitals of these patients?"

I can't give you a definitive opinion on BIID, I just don't know enough about it. :shrug:

SRT would only be appropriate if the client understands the entire procedure. It is likely to be permanent. That there are risks of complications. They must also address the fact that their family and social network must come to terms with it, just as much as they have come to terms with their decision to go thru with SRT. And this is all comes after the exhaustive testing. This would be the requirement for me.

The comment about liposuction and anorexics is a bit absurd... Anorexics don't have any fat to lipo to begin with ;) The behavior that Anorexics exhibit can become debilitating, and may certainly lead to death or serious injury to health. Remember the insanity argument?

After SRT, the client improves in health and mood. After liposuction, the anorexic wants another liposuction, which will cause health to not improve. The anorexic now crosses the line of insanity because of the debilitative behavior. Whereas the transsexual has not.
 
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That's not what I've read--there are varying "levels" of identification in BIID just as there are in GID. Some BIID people are perfectly fine to just "pass" as disabled, just as some GID are fine with passing.

I think I disagree. It isn't that GID has various levels of severity...

It's how far the transsexuals is willing to risk. SRT is risky. Putting on women's clothes are not as risky. Some may be just fine with voice alteration, and not genitalia alteration. In other words, it's an individual decision, which is dependent upon the way they want to live their life versus how they can live their life.

Perhaps they don't want to go thru with the entire surgery because of their family. Or maybe they think they'll lose their job. Or maybe they'll be kicked out of their community. Depending on the individual, these may be things that they cannot live without. This would probably lead one to settle for less, such as living in secret, rather than fully coming out (as they say).
 
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I think I disagree. It isn't that GID has various levels of severity...

It's how far the transsexuals is willing to risk. SRT is risky. Putting on women's clothes are not as risky. Some may be just fine with voice alteration, and not genitalia alteration. In other words, it's an individual decision, which is dependent upon the way they want to live their life versus how they can live their life.

Perhaps they don't want to go thru with the entire surgery because of their family. Or maybe they think they'll lose their job. Or maybe they'll be kicked out of their community. Depending on the individual, these may be things that they cannot live without. This would probably lead one to settle for less, such as living in secret, rather than fully coming out (as they say).
Doesn't that view also fit BIID?
 
Hello, Please allow me to join this thread at this late stage. I wouldn't intrude on your site, except that you are discussing BIID, a condition I have been living with since the age of 3 or so, and I'm now past 40. I have been an active advocate in the BIID community (for what there is of it anyway), and have spoken to many of the few researchers in the field, including Dr. Michael First, who as you may know is the chief editor of the DSM.

I run two websites about BIID. One is more of a resource site that lists most of the research and academic publications on the topic, with some comments about each, an FAQ, etc. The other is a multi-authored blog discussing the experience of living with BIID. There are over 650 posts going back 10+ years. I do not say this to brag, simply to give you an idea of where I come from when I answer the questions and comments :)

Such details like Dopamine on effecting Schizophrenia, or like the enlarged cavities of the ventricles in the brain for Schizophrenics. Or how lithium can be used as a treatment for Bipolar Disorder. Stuff of that nature... I don't know the details for BIID in that regard.

Unfortunately, there has been no form of psychotherapy, psychiatry, talk therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy that has managed to affect BIID. Further, no course of prescribed medication has done a single thing to help with BIID. There hasn't been systematic research into this, but anecdotal evidence gathered from dozens of people who have BIID show that treating BIID like OCD doesn't work (my personal experience of Anafranil 220mg/day for 6 months also agrees). Anti-depressants don't touch BIID. Anti-psychotics either (and it is worth nothing that the medical consensus is that transabled individuals are not psychotic nor dellusional).

The fact is, today, there is only one known solution to make the BIID go away - surgery. But that isn't available to us, no surgeons are willing to do it.

The motivations of each are different. GID sufferers are seeking to have consistency between their body and brain. BIID sufferers are seeking to identify, physically, with the disabled.

Captain, I'm sorry to contradict you, but your understanding is innacurate. BIID sufferers want to get to one point, and one point only. We want to align our psyche with our bodies. Unfortunately, the psyche isn't responding to any methods, we are therefore left with changing the body. It is not a question of identifying with an outside group, it is a question of internal identity and body-image.

GID sufferers have been proven to have a genetic component, when post-mortem exams are done. BIID sufferers do not.

Yeah, but... The only reason that there is no such data is because the research hasn't been done. I'm not saying that there necessarily *is* genetic component, but I'm saying you can't argue that there is NOT. We simply do not have the data to state categorically one way or the other.

For what it's worth, Dr. V.S.Ramachandran (a world reknown neurologist) and Dr. P. McGeoch at the University of San Diego in California have uncovered incongruities in the MRI brain scan of several individuals with BIID that they studied. The research has not been released yet that I am aware of, but having participated in the study myself, I know that they've found something.

GID sufferers want to cease to be ill, and be healthy by enter the non-transsexual world, living as person with the sexuality that matches their brains. BIID sufferers want to cease to be ill, and become ill in a different way, becoming disabled.

This statement shows a misunderstanding both of BIID and of the experience of living with a disability. BIID sufferers want to be whole, and the only way to accomplish that at this point is by removing limbs, doing spinal cord transections, etc. We are not after "illness", nor even "disability". We are after having an impairment. If society makes that impairment disabling, then, we have to put up with that, but becoming "disabled" is not the goal. I made the previous statement assuming that you are aware of the differences between social models and medical models of disabilities. If not, a primer can be found on my site: Impairment vs. Disability - BIID-Info.org

GID sufferers gain the ability to interact with others in a way that it is gender-consistent with their brains. They do not gain understanding of the gender they become; they already understand it. They only gain normalcy. BIID sufferers gain understanding of the disabled, being unaware of the experience.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here... What we gain is a feeling of wholeness, of rightness. When it comes to interacting with other people, we can do it from a position of internal and emotional strength.

The main component for GID is NOT genetalia alteration. It is gender alteration, which encompasses many aspects. The main component for BIID IS body alteration.

Well, not really. We do not seek body alteration. We seek to align our psyche with our body. The fact that the only way to currently do this involves body alteration is nearly irrelevant.

GID has components that are easilty distinguished from other disorders. From post-mortem exams, our understanding of brain chemistry, and new information on the formation of gender, the components of GID are distinct. BIID has components that are fairly indistinguishable from OCD and self-injury. Needs for acceptance, reduction in anxiety, fixated thoughts are all components of other disorders.

You're mixing and matching stuff here Captain, don't confuse the issue. People who have OCD don't do the things they do because of a need for acceptance. Self-injurers are repeaters of actions. Those of us with BIID who have managed to acquire the impairment they needed saw their anguish and need gone overnight. They state, almost universally that the only thing they regret is to not have done it sooner.

I'll give you that BIID might *look* like other conditions, such as BDD (anorexia for example), but there are some quite distinct differences.

Sufferers of GID have a brain-chemical component that makes them a different gender from this standpoint. BIID sufferers are intensely envious of the disabled. There is nothing in brain-chemistry or biology that makes them disabled.

As stated earlier, there is evidence of neurological changes in the brain of people who have BIID. There is also changes in skin conductivity above the required level of amputation/injury and below it - something that apparently can't be faked...

GID sufferers who receive SRT, alter their body to match their brain-chemistry/biology. BIID sufferers who have an amputation, are not biologically pre-disposed in any way to be disabled. This the important distinction, so I will repeat it. GID sufferers are predetermined to have a biolgicial component that makes them a different gender than what their biology presents. BIID sufferes have no predetermined biological component that makes them disabled.

That is, indeed, one of the strongest arguments here "against" BIID. There is no "natural biological state of being an amputee or paraplegic". But then, there are many congenital conditions that have people born paralysed (CP, Spina Bifida), or amputees (technically not amputees, but missing limbs). It is not inconceivable that our brain's body map has something screwy, for whatever reason, that makes us see ourselves the way we do. The fact that "disability is not a natural state" (even if you buy that argument) doesn't make the condition any less real or disabling.

Also, there is may be a political bent to some of the original research into BIID. I must further explore this.

Of course there is a political bend to the research into BIID. Researchers need to be funded, funders have political leanings. Doh! Doesn't mean that research is not appropriate.

If you're serious about reading up on BIID, I invite you to spend some time on biid-info.org. If there are papers there that you can't get your hands on, or papers that have not yet been uploaded, please feel free to contact me directly and I'll pass them on to you.

I invite anyone who is genuinely interested in learning more about BIID to come by my blog, transabled.org Blogging about BIID and read up there, and contact me by email Contact transabled.org Blogging about BIID

Cheers
 
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Perhaps they don't want to go thru with the entire surgery because of their family. Or maybe they think they'll lose their job. Or maybe they'll be kicked out of their community. Depending on the individual, these may be things that they cannot live without. This would probably lead one to settle for less, such as living in secret, rather than fully coming out (as they say).
Doesn't that view also fit BIID?

Yes, it does, on many levels.

The other thing is that there simply are NO surgical solutions available to us. So those of us who actually would go ahead with surgery if it were available have no option. If you know of a surgeon willing to do a spinal cord transection on me, please tell me, I'll be on the next plane to visit him.

Those who need to be amputee have it "easy", or rather easier. As they *can* stick their legs in wood chipper, blow it off with shotgun or immerse it in dry ice. Those of us, like myself, who needs to be paraplegic have no "safe" way to do it. Stabbing oneself in the back is no option as you could bleed out from severing the spinal artery. Falling backwards on something sharp is far from guarantee, and risks causing a traumatic brain injury, busted kidneys, and not actually cause the required paralysis. Injecting alcohol in the spinal cord is also not particularly efficient, although it may work.

So, think back to before SRS was available, even on the black market. I would imagine that some people did a hatchet job and survived, but...
 
transalbed, welcome to DP!

Your interpretation of disabled vs. impairment is very interesting. it makes sense. It's like how a blind person is not disabled, when they have the ability to overcome that disability.

Allow me to ask you a question, as it relates to the discussion that we're having. What do you know about regret from transabled people who have undergone surgery, or those that have purposefully impaired themselves? What are the numbers and statistics on regret? Do some transalbed people regret their decision?

And if you don't mind me asking (as it may be embarrasing), just to follow up, have you "settled for less" as in just sitting in a wheel chair even though your legs work fine? Like Felicity was saying, "passing" as a paraplegic? The same as a transsexual who cross-dresses? *please don't feel obligated to answer, if you feel uncomfortable about it* It's only for my own curiosity, anyway.
 
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Yes, it does, on many levels.

The other thing is that there simply are NO surgical solutions available to us. So those of us who actually would go ahead with surgery if it were available have no option. If you know of a surgeon willing to do a spinal cord transection on me, please tell me, I'll be on the next plane to visit him.

Those who need to be amputee have it "easy", or rather easier. As they *can* stick their legs in wood chipper, blow it off with shotgun or immerse it in dry ice. Those of us, like myself, who needs to be paraplegic have no "safe" way to do it. Stabbing oneself in the back is no option as you could bleed out from severing the spinal artery. Falling backwards on something sharp is far from guarantee, and risks causing a traumatic brain injury, busted kidneys, and not actually cause the required paralysis. Injecting alcohol in the spinal cord is also not particularly efficient, although it may work.

So, think back to before SRS was available, even on the black market. I would imagine that some people did a hatchet job and survived, but...



If only there was some way you could just trade bodies with a paraplegic who wants to walk!
I guess that's probably not a new idea to you, though. :(
Wouldn't it be perfect, if it could happen?
Like, a brain-switch?
Or do you need to be in your own body, but paraplegic?
What about some temporary paralyzing agent such as Botox, but a big dose, in the spine? Or a continuous epidural drip?
Surely there are solutions that don't involve stabbing oneself in the spine or falling on sharp objects.
 
Hello Lightdemon, thanks for the welcome :)

It's not really "my" interpretation of disabled vs. impairment. People much better than I came up with it in the disability rights movements, a "long long time ago"...

What do you know about regret from transabled people who have undergone surgery, or those that have purposefully impaired themselves? What are the numbers and statistics on regret? Do some transalbed people regret their decision?

First, I need to point out that there has been no concerted study on this topic. It is something I've been bugging many of the research, telling them they should at least talk to these people and quantify the results, but they won't. So we're stuck with anecdotal evidence. This evidence convinces me, but some people might take the approach that it is invalid evidence (no pun intended) because it is not empirical.

That said, I have personally spoken to over a dozen individuals who managed to aquire the impairment they needed (that I could actually verify were real and not just some idiot playing games on the net). I have also heard of another dozen or so individuals that could be "verified". Of these, not a single one says they regret it. Many state that the only regret they have is to not have done it sooner.

There have been rumours of a few individuals who were unhappy. Based on what I heard from those individuals, I'd venture to say that either they did not have BIID, or they didn't do the legwork (pun intended) to learn about themselves enough to make sure this was what they were aiming for (or hadn't readied themselves).

An argument could be made that some of those who said to me it was the right thing, told me that because they didn't want to admit having made such a momentous mistake. I do not deny that possibility, but I've been close to several and know them well enough that I doubt they are fooling themselves.

So, it appears that the overwhelming majority is happy with the result.

Don't worry about embarassing me, I don't embarass easy. And I'm always up for answering questions I feel are genuine :)

I've not "settled" for less. I live full time as a paraplegic (work, shopping, etc). I have done so for well over 12 years now. In a way, I did it partly to echo the idea of "real life test" in the Benjamin SoC, although mostly, I did it because being in a wheelchair is the only way I can feel someone myself and no feeling like a fish out of water all the time.

Were I offered the opportunity to have a spinal cord transection done in a safe and sterile environment, I would take it. No hesitation. No delays. In fact, a few years ago it got too much for me and I attempted self-injury. You won't be surprised to learn it did not work. So, I live as a wheelchair user, I "pass", to the point of having "fooled" even my old GP for years. My current GP is aware of my BIID. Doing this is the ONLY way for me to keep grips on some level of emotional stability. But it is not enough.
 
Hello, Please allow me to join this thread at this late stage. I wouldn't intrude on your site, except that you are discussing BIID, a condition I have been living with since the age of 3 or so, and I'm now past 40.

Hi Sean-- I actually linked to your site in this thread. I linked to something Marie wrote comparing GID to BIID. Also, I've read your bio on your site. In fact--the question that Lightdemon refers to concerning "passing," I garnered from your bio. I recognize "passing" is not what you would like, but it is what you do at this point.
A quick recap of my life up to date… transabled.org Blogging about BIID
 
I have a question for you too, Sean, since you said you'd be willing to answer some...

If you had the option of repairing the desire to be paraplegic and live comfortably in your body as it is, or being made para, which do you think you would choose?

(Depending on which you choose) Would it make a difference if the one that you chose would be a difficult road to feeling whole?
 
If only there was some way you could just trade bodies with a paraplegic who wants to walk!
I guess that's probably not a new idea to you, though. :(

No, not a new thought. My late wife and I had many discussions on this topic. She had been a paraplegic for 30+ years as a result of a car accident...

Wouldn't it be perfect, if it could happen?
Like, a brain-switch?
Or do you need to be in your own body, but paraplegic?

Don't particularly need to be in my own body, although I *like* my body (except for the blasted functioning legs...)

What about some temporary paralyzing agent such as Botox, but a big dose, in the spine? Or a continuous epidural drip?
Surely there are solutions that don't involve stabbing oneself in the spine or falling on sharp objects.

Well... The amount of botox required to paralyse both legs would be toxic (read, fatal). Injecting straight in the spinal cord carries further risks, including the botox travelling up the cord and into the brain. No need to tell you what the result of THAT would be ;). Other agents could be used, such as phenol or ethyl alcohol. This would indeed cause semi-temporary paralysis. both phenol and ethyl alcohol strip the mylelin from the nerve. Problem being, when the myelin regenerates, over the course of 4 to 12 months, the nerve pain is beyond incredible. Further, injecting oneself in the spinal cord is logistically difficult at best. Finding someone who could do the injection is also logistically difficult. The person needs to have some awareness of where to inject and how to inject. I know it's difficult because despite the nerve pain issue, I have been seriously looking for someone to do that injection for me. To no avail.

Epidural drip would be something else, but would really skew the "results". Could not really leave hospital, as needs to be done under medical supervision. Also, try and find an anaesthesiologist that would provide epidural, I wish you luck. As imperfect as that would be, I'd like to experience it. But then, this would both be great and frustrating, wouldn't it? What happens when I confirm that paralysis is making me feel "right", and the thing wears off, and I am left back to being "able bodied", knowing no surgeon is willing to assist me? I'm not suicidal, I don't want to die. But I don't want to continue living like this.
 
BTW--right now on the Nat-Geo Channel is a documentary on SRT.
 
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Hi Sean-- I actually linked to your site in this thread.

Yes, thank you :) The trackback led me here :)

I recognize "passing" is not what you would like, but it is what you do at this point.
A quick recap of my life up to date…

Yes, passing is indeed what I do. And the only reason I don't take the next step is that there is no way for me to take that step.

I have a question for you too, Sean, since you said you'd be willing to answer some...

Yep, no worries :)

If you had the option of repairing the desire to be paraplegic and live comfortably in your body as it is, or being made para, which do you think you would choose?

(Depending on which you choose) Would it make a difference if the one that you chose would be a difficult road to feeling whole?

Your question is a tricky one Felicity :) There are many aspects to it. It is in fact something I've already discussed on my site a couple times. I'll repost the latest entry which has a nice discussion afterwards.
Take BIID Away, Leave a Gaping Hole transabled.org Blogging about BIID

Take BIID Away, Leave a Gaping Hole
Once, I am asked if I want BIID to be gone. I am asked if I could get rid of BIID, would I do it? It’s a complex question. There are more layers to it than first appears. I already wrote about it nearly two years ago. I’m going to discuss this topic again, with a slightly different take this time.

What prompted this is that Claire said to me recently that she didn’t want BIID to go. Dan on a mailing list said that he’s worried that if BIID would disappear, it would change him so much that he’d want BIID back. These are pretty bold statements. I echo similar sentiments. If BIID was taken away, it would rip such a big part of who and what I am, I think I would be left a shadow of my own self.

Some may read these statements and think that we don’t want to get better, and use that as an argument, pointing the finger and saying something like "no wonder you’re having a hard time, you don’t want to get better", and then accuse us of complacency or some such. That’s not the case. We do want to get better. We just don’t think that the eradication of BIID is necessarily the way to go.

Also, there’s a difference between asking "would you like to never have had BIID?", and asking "do you want to rip BIID out of you now?". That post I wrote a while back covered more of the first instance. An hypothetic situation where we would never have had BIID. This is not such a straightforward question, as I say in that other post.

But I think by and large, if it was to do again and I was given a choice, I’d chose NOT to have BIID. Who would chose the guilt, the shame, the feeling of isolation, the ostrarcism endured, the pain, the anguish, the "malaise", the feeling of being a fish out of water all the time? I certainly wouldn’t.

The answer is different if you’re asking me if I’d rip BIID out of me now. There is so much of me build around that. Parts are not good - such as depression being triggered or aggravated by BIID. But other parts are good too. I am who I am. I cannot remove such a big part of myself without significantly changing who I am. What is a carrot cake without carrots? Though that might be a bit too harsh, as I am not BIID, and BIID is not me. Perhaps I should make a different comparison. What would happen if a gay guy suddenly woke up and wasn’t gay anymmore? He *might* be happy, but then, he wouldn’t be who he was anymore. He would be changed significantly. What would happen if an African-American woman suddenly found herself to be caucasian? Big changes, some good, some not so good. But while being African-American does not define her entirety, removing that aspect of her would make a huge change. I posit that most people would not want to not be gay anymore, or to change ethnicity.

Back to the question of BIID. The question is really ableism disguised. To completely remove BIID would be trying to normalise us. Perhaps the assumption is that being more normal would make us more happy. I’m not sure I buy into that equation. We do NOT need to be normalised. We do NOT need to be cured of BIID. What we need is ways to manage BIID so it does not affect us so badly.

This management, for some, takes the form of surgery, or acquiring the impairment we need. For others, it may be other things, other ways to assist (even though those ways haven’t been found yet).

Don’t try to take away one of the major components of my *self*. Just help me manage the negative parts of this whole mess. Don’t try and normalise me. Just help me manage the negative parts, whatever that management may be.
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The other, older post may be found here:
Red pill, blue pill transabled.org Blogging about BIID
 
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There have been rumours of a few individuals who were unhappy. Based on what I heard from those individuals, I'd venture to say that either they did not have BIID, or they didn't do the legwork (pun intended) to learn about themselves enough to make sure this was what they were aiming for (or hadn't readied themselves).

Can another possibility be that they weren't sure what type of impairment they would want?

I've read where transabled people often know exactly where they want the impairment. Like not just on the knee-cap, but 3.5 inches above the knee-cap. Do you know of any transabled people who are unsure what type of impairment that they are seeking, or that they don't know exactly where they might want the impairment?

I'm asking this question because I think it is absolutely paramount to understanding identity. Who knows ourselves better than ourselves, right? And of course, even then, we don't know ourselves all that well. But the fact that we can narrow it down to such a degree, that "I'm a man trapped in a woman's body" or that "I want it 3.5 inches above the knee-cap" says a lot about how in touch we can be with our identity.

I've not "settled" for less. I live full time as a paraplegic (work, shopping, etc). I have done so for well over 12 years now. In a way, I did it partly to echo the idea of "real life test" in the Benjamin SoC, although mostly, I did it because being in a wheelchair is the only way I can feel someone myself and no feeling like a fish out of water all the time.

Were I offered the opportunity to have a spinal cord transection done in a safe and sterile environment, I would take it. No hesitation. No delays. In fact, a few years ago it got too much for me and I attempted self-injury. You won't be surprised to learn it did not work. So, I live as a wheelchair user, I "pass", to the point of having "fooled" even my old GP for years. My current GP is aware of my BIID. Doing this is the ONLY way for me to keep grips on some level of emotional stability. But it is not enough.

And this would be a perfect example of how in-touch someone is with their own identity.

Thank you for sharing this.
 
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Yes, thank you :) The trackback led me here :)



Yes, passing is indeed what I do. And the only reason I don't take the next step is that there is no way for me to take that step.



Yep, no worries :)



Your question is a tricky one Felicity :) There are many aspects to it. It is in fact something I've already discussed on my site a couple times. I'll repost the latest entry which has a nice discussion afterwards.
Take BIID Away, Leave a Gaping Hole transabled.org Blogging about BIID
Thanks. I have another question--triggered by this response. Is BIID more about the disability, or the identification with those disabled in the way you desire. In other words, do you think it originates physically, or emotionally. I'm betting you'll say both--is one predominant?
 
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