A little birdie told me the SOC8 now has a completed FINAL draft. Note: Final DRAFT, it's not yet adopted. <--- READ THAT AGAIN.
This is a significant milestone in the process to get folks like us recognized, so we can access the medical system with fewer hoops. The SOC is the standard reference for all sorts of folks in the medical world when determining if a patient will be recognized for care related to gender dysphoria.
... this has been a long time coming. I saw the other day on their website they had changed the expected release time from spring 2022 to simply 2022 ...
i am really glad to see this. i also am afraid that by expressing my feelings on the subject i may be saying things that could be taken as counterproductive, yet i think i should not be silent. that does not mean that dont support the arrival of the SOC 8. it just means that my own experience caused me a great deal of distress with only the hint that although there may be some welcomed open mindedness coming our way, there still is so much more to be accomplished.
i went to a certain hospitals transgender clinic in my locality and was told specifically by the gatekeeper that i would not be a good candidate. i was told that there were no urologists who would be willing to perform an orchiectomy on me. i was also told that i needed to be on estrogen for a year first. it did not matter that i did not want to become openly a woman. my needs were not taken into consideration.
i believe ive heard that this particular requirement will appear for eunuchs and those who want to become eunuchs, in 8, in a more appropriate way, and i admit i do not know for sure the details, but i just feel it is necessary to point out that i think requirements for a 35 year old and for a person 65+ should not be the same.
i am so grateful that i actually did find a urologist in this healthcare system who also believed that an orchiectomy as soon as possible was the right thing for me and that by complying with some very simple common sense requirements, i was able to get the surgery.
at my age, every year of waiting is like 5 or more years for someone young. i so desperately do not want to die with all my masculinity still tormenting me. it was so liberating that i had the orchiectomy. i now have some peace and happiness that i never had before. but i still need more changes.
ironically, now after the surgery i will be choosing estrogen where before i did not want it. i have also been meeting people who are transgender or understanding and accepting at least who know about my desires to be who i really am, and this too is fulfilling the requirements that i technically should have complied with before surgery according to SOC 7.
i understand that it is difficult to separate the possible/probable successes from the possible/probable failures. i was identified as high risk for surgery regret. but the only regret i have now is that i did not have all the male stuff removed at the time of the orchi. i am now working on further surgery with (ironically again) a willingness to comply with requirements, but i so hope that i am not made to wait a year or more. pre surgery, testosterone in my system had me self harming throughout my life on a regular basis. that has finally ended with the orchi.
but i am so aware of aging and i just want to feel that i am really me already, completely. there must be so many who are in the same situation. i hope that for older eunuch candidates - orchi and further surgeries are made available in a more timely manner so that we/they can achieve our/their needs and goals in order to have better lives in the little time remaining.
It sounds to me like you had a very bad experience Dee2... I can say that I've read both SOC 7 and the DRAFT SOC 8. While there was a bit of wiggle room in SOC 7 that could be favorably interpreted if so inclined, it was pretty limiting.
However SOC 8 is MUCH better for our goals, it recommends but doesn't require therapy, only requires one letter instead of two, does NOT require doing a binary role swap, or many of the other things that have been cited as barriers in SOC 7.... It does sort of require a 6-12 month test on chemical castration before surgery, but has a couple provisions to possibly skip that.
The TG center I'm working with seems to be more or less using the draft standards already, but I'm anxious to see it formally released as much as anyone. As I've said before, my bet on the release date is that it will be done in connection with the big WPATH conference they are going to be having in September.
The biggest issue I'd think is SOC 7 doesn't talk about us in any meaningful way, and SOC 8 DOES. That will be the big change here. The difference between having to work us into an existing framework vs. having a actual, recognized path more specific to us.
Losethem (imported) wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 am
The biggest issue I'd think is SOC 7 doesn't talk about us in any meaningful way, and SOC 8 DOES. That will be the big change here. The difference between having to work us into an existing framework vs. having a actual, recognized path more specific to us.
I totally agree. SOC 7 was trying to find loopholes that you could 'rules-lawyer' the system with, and SOC 8 gives a clear path... Even the parts that aren't specifically for us in the eunuch chapter, but still apply are better in that they simplify things.
Yesterday I got a meeting with a senior peer in the UK House of Lords, and I can say that the WPATH SoC v.8 is now on the radar of the UK Privy Council. I'm hoping as soon as it drops the NHS clinical pathways will update immediately.
magusuk89 (imported) wrote: Wed Jun 08, 2022 6:18 am
Yesterday I got a meeting with a senior peer in the UK House of Lords, and I can say that the WPATH SoC v.8 is now on the radar of the UK Privy Council. I'm hoping as soon as it drops the NHS clinical pathways will update immediately.
Losethem (imported) wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 am
The biggest issue I'd think is SOC 7 doesn't talk about us in any meaningful way, and SOC 8 DOES. That will be the big change here. The difference between having to work us into an existing framework vs. having a actual, recognized path more specific to us.
Talking about “us” in terms of nullification, as opposed to transgender or any of the other alternative gender identities where genitals play a role and function? Asking for a friend
