TPT#82 - When I'm Not Paying Fifty Dollars

Doctor visits can be stressful. George's semi-annual endocrinologist visit is coming up, and that means blood work, and between that and all the other visits he's been taking his mom or his rear-end to, he's developed a case of "White Coat Syndrome".

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TPT#81 - Making Eyebrow Contact

A new school year for our kids means new meetings and conferences with teachers for us, and with their special needs it's always an experience. As our children adjust to the schedules and routines, we adjust to the behaviour struggles that often accompany such transitions.

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TPT#80 - Wanh WaWa Wanh

The adult voices in the old Peanuts cartoons were all played by a muted trombone. We often feel like when we're talking to our kids, they seem to hear that same "Wanh-wah, wa-wa-WANH-wa" sound, hearing that we are speaking but not really listening or being fully aware of what's being said. Of course, that sometimes happens with adults too, whether it's between ourselves or with the nice officials at the Social Security office.

The current policy for change of gender on Social Security records is at https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110212200, and you can find specific information about exactly how those policies affect transgender individuals and how to effectively use the procedures listed there at http://www.transequality.org/Resources/SSAResource_June2013.pdf.

We would really appreciate, if you haven't taken our quick and anonymous survey, if you would please do so by going to poll.pollcode.com/15998381.

TPT#79 - The Gender Front

While George finishes up the issues regarding his rear end, and the various interactions with doctors that we began discussing a few weeks ago, he can't help but find himself disappointed in the way his body responds to surgery and invasive medical procedures. This can occasionally become a dysphoria trigger, as he deals with just how unattainable and impractical any lower surgery would be.

We would really appreciate, if you haven't taken our quick and anonymous survey, if you would please do so by going to poll.pollcode.com/15998381.

TPT#78 - Validate My Reality

When situations and circumstances become too much to deal with, or when we find that we are not dealing well with our situation, one way to get help coping is in therapy. Many trans folk seek therapy as part of the "Standards Of Care", an old model for medical transition, but it's good for much more than that.

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TPT#77 - Little White Bowls

Sometimes things get misplaced. While we endeavour to find lost items promptly, it often happens that the hunt for missing objects is preempted by our busy lives. Back-to-school has made our lives busier than usual, so the to-do list has gotten completely shuffled and lost-and-found hasn't been a priority.

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TPT#76 - More Q's and A's

More questions have been asked, so more answers are being recorded for your enjoyment, enlightenment, or timepassment. From the term "PrincessMan" to our favorite fandoms, from pod-stats to voice lessons, from Maryland to Kazakhstan, we've covered the topics you've asked about in today's episode.

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TPT#75 - A Bad Case of Butthurt

Every once in a while, we have a problem that won't go away until we talk about it in a podcast episode. We've come to call this phenomenon "microphone magic". This time the problem is health-related, prompting a few visits to new doctors and the anxiety that can induce in trans folk.

As discussed at about 11:50, we recorded the process of finding our doctor in episode #21 "Doctor, Doctor" (which can be found at http://transpantastic.net/2013/08/doctor-doctor.html if your podcatcher doesn't pull all the old episodes).

At 26:20 we incorrectly state that nitroglycerin is a vasoconstrictor. It is actually a vasodilator. Hence the lowered blood pressure.

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TPT#74 - ThunderCats and Sparkly Streamers

From the moment a newborn emerges and the doctor takes note of their genitals, any child born into most western cultures is assigned a set of expections and cultural norms we refer to as "gender". It takes only a little experience to realize that the majority of these expectations are nonsense.

We would really appreciate, if you haven't taken our quick and anonymous survey, if you would please do so by going to poll.pollcode.com/15998381.

TPT#73 - Doing It As A Man

George's transition has made him clearly male in appearance, and this affects everything from his health to his social interactions. Jess is generally happy to support him in each situation, even when her own queerness gets lost in the shuffle. When hiking or exercising, when dealing with his mom, or when dealing with strangers in public, there are new experiences for both of us to explore.

We would really appreciate, if you haven't taken our quick and anonymous survey, if you would please do so by going to poll.pollcode.com/15998381.