Trans youth will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at NHS England gender identity clinics in a new “blow” to gender-affirming healthcare.
Puberty blockers are a type of medicine that prevent puberty from starting by blocking the hormones – like testosterone and oestrogen – that lead to puberty-related changes in the body. In the case of trans youth, this can delay unwanted physical changes like menstruation, breast growth, voice changes or facial hair growth.
On Tuesday (12 March), NHS England confirmed the medicine, which has been described as “life-saving” medical care for trans youth, will only be available to young people as part of clinical research trials.
The government described the move as a “landmark decision”, Sky News reported. It believed such a move is in the “best interests of the child”.
God damn Tories. What do they know about “best interests of the child” that a doctor doesn’t already know? Less than nothing is the answer.
If a young person is suffering from gender dysmorphia to the point of considering gender affirmation procedures, then I think it’d be in their best interest to not exacerbate that condition. Delaying the onset of puberty via puberty blockers until they’re at the age where that can legally consent to such procedures isn’t exactly novel.
Even if they eventually decide not to undergo those procedures, all you habr to do is take them off the blockers and they’d undergo puberty as normal. There’s not all that much downside for an awful lot of upside for those in need.
What you fail to take into account is the pink haired lesbian man haters dragging kids into alleyways and stopping them from having puberty. This is a totally real thing. A child can’t even walk to school without being accosted by pink haired lesbian man haters armed with syringes and a copy of a Dworkin book.
Is that actually true? Do those medications actually permanently prevent puberty after a certain point?
No, barring some other condition, puberty resumes once you stop using puberty blockers. There are increasing risks of side effects when staying on puberty blockers for more than a couple years, so it’s usually a temporary measure to give children with gender dysphoria more time to explore their identity without subjecting them to the irreversible effects of puberty yet. As a result, doctors won’t allow a patient to stay on puberty blockers permanently (barring outliers where it would actually be safer to do so, e.g. because of cancer risk associated with sex hormones). There are two typical outcomes:
There are side effects last I looked, people like to pretend their aren’t, even fucking ibuprofen has side effects.
So idk, it depends on how bad maybe?
Yes, there are side effects. They vary depending on the length of treatment (generally patients are not allowed to stay on them indefinitely to mitigate this) and the medication used, but puberty blockers have been used for ~40 years now and we have a good understanding of the risks. GnRH agonists are the most common type of puberty blocker used today, and the typical side effects are:
These side effects generally end once treatment stops, whether switching to hormone replacement therapy or stopping all gender-affirming treatment. These side effects are typical of low sex hormone levels in general, and are generally annoyances that can be managed rather than major risks that are likely to harm the patient long term. It’s also worth noting that some of these are seen as neutral or even positive to some patients - e.g. patients who were assigned male at birth and are interested in feminizing treatment often consider gynecomastia and decreased erectile function as positive effects.
When puberty blockers are continued for longer periods of time, there are additional risks which grow with the duration of the treatment:
These risks are more serious, which is why puberty blockers are not prescribed indefinitely. For gender affirming treatment, puberty blockers are generally prescribed for up to two or three years, depending on local regulations and the patient’s tolerance of the treatment. After this period, patients have the option of either continuing gender affirming treatment with hormone replacement therapy (so that they can experience a different puberty than the one typically associated with their birth sex), or stopping treatment and allowing puberty to run its course as usual.
It’s also worth noting that puberty blockers are not considered in a vacuum - the risks are considered against the risk of allowing puberty to continue as usual. For children with gender dysphoria, puberty is often a severely traumatic experience. This can cause or worsen depression and suicidality, and can leave a transgender person with sexual characteristics they do not want and will have to treat later with riskier and/or more intense forms of treatment like surgery. The risks of puberty blockers are comparatively mild, which is part of why the side effects are regarded as safe for transgender patients.
Lastly, I’ll also note that all of this treatment involves mental health professionals as well. While adults in some regions can choose to start gender affirming treatment on their own without needing a formal diagnosis, treatment for children requires much more work and dedication. Typically, a minor who wants to begin gender affirming treatment for gender dysphoria will need:
They have side effects. Permanent puberty block isn’t one of them. We’ve had these drugs on the market since the '80s, and they treat more than just trans youth. We have a pretty good idea on how puberty progresses with them.
Oh, don’t worry. Statistically, people who start puberty blockers almost always go on to receive hormone therapy as adults, so you don’t really have to worry about people deciding not to continue. It’s definitely* because of the medicine that they go on to do HRT, and not because the kids that are getting through the bullshit to actually start blockers are the kids who are almost 100% guaranteed to be trans. Don’t think too hard and it’ll all just go away.
seen doctors force sex change to children that lead to the child killing themselves in adulthood. Doctors are just people and people are all the same
edit: mods that remove this are biased and pushing an angenta
Good thing puberty blockers aren’t a fucking sex change. Even if your almost certainly bullshit comment was true, it still as relevant to puberty blockers as birth control pills are to abortion; related, but a completely different function.
Calm down. Why are you getting so mad because he made a rational comment?
This fierce tribalism needs to stop.
Bullshit. Source or it didn’t happen.
I’ve seen this claim many, many times, but I have yet to see my very first news article (from an actual source!) confirming it.
Even if there was a cherrypicked case out there, the vast majority of suicides are by those who are denied medical treatment and/or suffer discrimination.
By forcing puberty, politicians are forcing these teens to face a future where for example they have to live as a woman with a male sounding voice or beard. Needing more expensive and painful treatments to partially reverse such as facial feminization surgery. That is life full of discrimination and didn’t have to be.
Do you have sources comparing the suicide rates of those denied trans treatment and those granted it at an early age?
I am only aware of smaller studies such as this that are about generalized mental health. This is definitely something that needs more funding.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35212746/
I have worked with and met hundreds of people who transitioned. There is an extensive problem of suicidal ideation amongst people who are denied medical treatment for one reason or another. It is almost universal that they are suffering stress, depression, anxiety, and/or PTSD directly resulting from the effects of going through a puberty they didn’t want, and the resulting discrimination from that.
I have never seen a case of someone who merely had puberty delayed before transitioning regretting it. I can’t say that it never happens, as everyone is their own person. While I do personally know people who have died after being denied medical coverage for transition.
It makes sense to strive towards filtering out those who don’t need medical intervention, just don’t completely block those who actually do need it. Cutting funding for medically necessary treatment is also a form off blocking since many can’t afford it otherwise.
Transition surgeries have among the lowest regret rates for any kind of surgery. They are life saving.
Where did you get this information?
On the off chance that you’re actually asking, there have been studies that have shown the regret rate for transitioning is less than 1%.
Here’s an article about a recent study which tracked people up to 23 years post-transition, showing median regret as 0 out of 100.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself “but that’s just one study, with around 200 participants, and the results were so uniform it caused issues with the statistics. Maybe it’s wrong.” Well, here is a meta-analysis of 27 additional studies, with almost 8,000 participants, which also shows regret rates are <1%.
Hope that helps.
Or it may ruin a life https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/i/Q7KnaA/rikshospitalet-om-aleksander-en-medisinsk-katastrofe
Please read the other comment below that details the regret rate for transition related surgeries. Unfortunately my browser is unable to translate that article, but one bad case doesn’t not outweight the many, many good ones.
https://www-vg-no.translate.goog/nyheter/innenriks/i/Q7KnaA/rikshospitalet-om-aleksander-en-medisinsk-katastrofe?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=no&_x_tr_pto=wapp
The article mentions that there are likely many more cases of regrets, that the numbers are underreported, and that regret doesn’t typically set in straight away, but typically after 5-10 years
Why do transphobes lie all the fucking time? Like, is there something wrong with your brain preventing you from not lying?
Why do you people always argue in bad faith?
Detransitioning is real and a lot of people end up regretting the decisions that you pressure them into making.
Regret after Gender-affirmation Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence
Detransitioning is a different claim than doctors forcing children to transition you dumbass. Nobody’s saying detransitioning isn’t a thing
the guy was forced from his parents due to doctors advice
Even assuming it is true,
did i say we should allow politicians to choose? i swear most people here try to push their agenta one way or another. People replying saying things that dont exist in my comment. My reply was about letting each person choose their path when they are old enough to make that choice but it turned into fashion, countles stories of parents that want to have the “im progressive” stamp so they push their children to change gender, why not let them be? if they ask to change gender then you can talk about it and have specialists talk to the child to make sure that this is really what it wants, but letting doctors be the one to suggest it is crazy to me, if the child doesn’t initiate that conversation.
I’ve seen space vampires enslave circus clowns in a plot to corner the world’s market on instant ramen, too.
Source: Trust me bro.
I’ve seen space vampires enslave circus clowns in a plot to corner the world’s market on instant ramen, too.
Source: Trust me bro.
Agreed. That’s a very rational take to have on these forums.
Most people here get mad at you if you don’t show unwavering, blind support for their tribe.
Doctors can be manipulated to support an agenda, too.
They used to classify homosexuality as a mental disorder, for example.
They also used to recommend lobotomies as treatment for unruly wives.
Do you think there are no instances of doctors being manipulated or corrupt in the current day? They of course have a profit incentive to get as much business as possible. It’s why you seen cosmetic surgeons lie through their teeth to manipulate vulnerable people into giving them money.
Doctors still have a lot more experience of what works than Conservative politicians do. And if you took “it must be impossible for any doctor ever to abuse this power for corrupt ends” as the standard for approving a treatment, no treatments would ever get approved.