Olympia Family & Internal Medicine at 3920 Capital Mall Drive Southwest # 200 in Olympia, Washington

Customer Reviews about Olympia Family & Internal Medicine

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  Do not see Terry Rice if you are trans. Before taking HRT, I was out as trans in my personal life but didn't feel the need to speak to my doctors about it. I do not get read as trans, therefore I would just put up with constant misgendering for the sake of getting the care I needed. After attending the Gender Odyssey in Seattle, a doctor from California said in their panel that even if you have not done anything to physically transition, you should still tell your doctor that you are trans. At the time, I was trying to get treatment for endometriosis, which is a very painful condition affecting the uterus. Uterine tissue grows out of the uterus, attaching itself to other organs in your system and causing extreme pain as hormone fluctuations cause the tissue to grow and shrink throughout the menstrual cycle, pushing and pulling on your organs. The nurses and doctors were extremely against me getting a hysterectomy, because "you are a young woman, and women change their minds." I explained that I had no plans to utilize my fertility, and that if I decided I wanted kids later I was comfortable with adoption. Endometriosis has a very high likelihood of causing infertility or deadly ectopic pregnancies in any case. However, they still would not listen to me, saying that I was too young (I was 22-23) to make that decision and even if there was a 1% chance that I might be able to carry a pregnancy in the future they would not remove my uterus. They simply would not believe that I really had *no* plans to birth children, and even if I were a cis woman that is extremely disrespectful and patronizing. Thinking back to what the doctor at the Gender Odyssey had said, I told me doctor "No, you see, I *really* am not going to give birth in my life. I am transgender and that is not something I would choose for myself." Terry Rice instantly began treating me very rudely and with derision. She said she would have to refer me elsewhere, and since we were discussing my endometriosis I thought she had referred me to a specialist. Instead, when I went to the appointment, I found out that she had non-consensually called a local women's health clinic and told them that I was looking to get a "sex change operation". She scheduled an appointment for me to a facility that didn't specialize in trans care, in order to get me a "sex change operation" even though that is not something I had *ever* mentioned to her. I just wanted treatment for my very painful medical condition which was harming my quality of life. My hysterectomy was completely unrelated to physical transition, if I had been a cis woman I would have asked the same thing. In subsequent appointments she told me that "you will have a hard time finding a doctor who will give you a hysterectomy for *those* reasons." For what reasons? You can't find a doctor who will give me a hysterectomy to treat my endometriosis? Really? It was so frustrating, but immediately upon hearing that I was trans she had decided that I was also a liar, and that my medical condition was made up. (Despite the fact that I had been diagnosed by a gynecological specialist already.) I switched to another doctor after that, and found out that in addition to endometriosis my sudden increase in pain was caused by an infection. Luckily, I got treatment, but they told me that if I hadn't it could have spread to my liver and killed me. Basically, this doctor risked my life by refusing to provide me with non-trans related medical care, all because she was discriminatory towards transgender people.
  December 27, 2016

  by daikirai kimi

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