I posted in another sub about possible FMS options for me since I struggle a lot with facial dysphoria. This isn’t super relevant to that thread but something people commented on there has me thinking a lot about this experience and how it continues to affect me.

Firstly it’s relevant that I have struggled with acne for almost my whole life. I had a precocious puberty that was not treated and so I started having acne when I was 6. There has never been a time in my memory when I have not had acne.

My parents were never…to say it nicely…very attentive to my medical needs. When I was 11 or so my parents took me to a dermatologist, actually the same dermatologist as later, who prescribed me medication for acne. The medication required food to be taken with it, nobody told me this so I threw up and stopped taking it. My mom did not take me to the dermatologist since.

I saw the same dermatologist as an adult, after I started testosterone, when I was 21 or so. I don’t think he remembered me from the one visit a decade prior. He was at a different practice as well. His one suggestion for me was to stop taking testosterone. I flat out told him no, I am a transgender man, testosterone has saved my life. He told me because I’m biologically female it’s not healthy for me to take T and refused to help me further unless I stopped, so I never saw him or another dermatologist again.

I know I need to see a dermatologist, I have a ton of skin issues. I am honestly too afraid of being told I can’t be helped unless I stop taking testosterone. That is not an option for me, so I feel like I am stuck.