‘Sex Swap Doc’ saved my life – my experiences of Dr Russell Reid
October 13, 2006 37 Comments
One of the psychiatrists who was involved in treating me is currently facing the music at the GMC.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1126835,00.html
Who is Russell Reid?
Russell Reid is a psychiatrist in the UK with a large private practice treating transgender patients. The GMC is the body that regulates Doctors in the UK. Dr Reid had a reputation as being sympathetic to transgendered people, he started practice at a time when many of the other experts weren’t sympathetic. I’ve heard rumours than in the 1980s and early 90s they would insist that a MtF would wear a skirt – not a trouser suit I know someone who was a punk, and dressed as a female punk and was sent to a group to learn to be feminine. It was a time when Gay and Lesbian transpeople were very rarely treated, and when Doctors had control of your transitions not you. It was paternalistic medicine at a time when paternalistic medicine was common in every other branch of medicine, and was by and large what people wanted.
Dr Reid recognised there was a need for more sympathetic treatment of transsexuals and set up a private clinic – he got a good reputation and did very well. He thought more flexibly about transsexualism – he was nice to people, he also prescribed hormones quicker than the other psychiatrists did. The guidelines at the moment aren’t onerous – three months living in role or psychotherapy before hormones two years before surgery – though he would make exceptions to those guidelines at times. This isn’t unusual – every Doctor makes exceptions to guidelines at times – that’s part of the art of medicine, patients are individuals and guidelines aren’t.
Oh look – more about me:
I was 20 when I tranistioned. when I was 19 and a second year medical student, I was referred to a very sympathetic psycho-sexual therapist, she thought I was the most obvious case she’d seen for a while, but my local NHS PCT didn’t have any money available for treatment so we couldn’t go any further. After a few months talking about it I found Russell Reid’s details and she referred me. Dr Reid saw me once, spent an hour and a half doing a psychiatric history and agreed with her. He offered to start treatment then – but I decided to wait until the University Holidays, when I started both hormone treatment and chest surgery. He only saw me once before prescribing, but I had spent 3 months seeing a local therapist who had already made the diagnosis.
I’m forever grateful to Russell Reid for prescribing hormones and referring me for surgery, and for not giving me a lecture about being 20 and needing more time to think about it, he’d treated a lot of cases and he said that regret was more common in older patients. I trusted him – he’d seen many more transgendered people and followed them up.
So why is Russell Reid facing the GMC?
A complaint was made by several psychiatrists who worked at the Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic – the largest in the Uk, that there had been occasions when patients had been referred to Russell Reid too soon, and had later regret it. The names of the patients concerned aren’t yet in the public domain – however one of them has ‘gone public’: Charles Kane – a male to female transsexual who had felt that he was referred for surgery too soon.
There are a number of people who do have gender reassignment and regret it – and a small number of those go into the media and tell all and sundry that they regret it. They understandably blame the psychiatrist who referred them for the surgery.
‘Sex swap doc ruined my life’
What’s interesting is how these cases are reported in the media - I regret my ‘sex change therefore we should stop doing sex changes’, what they always gloss over is that there are many many more who will say ‘if I hadn’t had a sex change I’d have killed myself, it was undoubtedly the right decision’. There are some people who look at the small minority who regrets the decision and say ‘well all sex changes are a mistake, we must stop doing them, we are ruining peoples lives’. But some people who take Penicillin have allergic reactions – yet they don’t say ‘never take Penicillin, it gave me a rash, therefore it will give you a rash’. A doctor prescribing penicillin or any other antibiotic will weigh up the risk of an allergic reaction (small) to the risk of the infection (large). That was just what Dr Reid did: the risk of regret was small, but the risk of not having the operation was large.
I do wonder if the Doctors who complained about Dr Reid actually knew what the consequences of delayed treatment were? I’m willing to bet at least a free pen than almost every patient they delayed went to Russell Reid, so they never knew would happen if they don’t treat. This is where I should add a ‘disclaimer’ I don’t know these Doctors, and they do work at one of the leading Gender Identity Clinics in the Uk, so the probably do know what they are talking about.
Ooh look, you’re still reading – well done.
The issue is ‘did Russell Reid refer patients for surgery too soon therefore leading to regret?’ – there’s a bigger issue as well – how much control should trans people have over their own treatment. If the case goes against Russell Reid then Psychiatrists are going to be a lot more cautious about referring, they’re going to demand a longer real life test, and more psychotherapy – they’re going to cause the majority of transpeople more hassle in order to help the minority. The key is finding the right balance – not to delay everyone so much than they are more likely to get suicide and depression, but not to let everyone through and risk a few more cases of regret.
Weighting up risks and benefits – like every other situation in medicine.
And finally:
I’m eternally grateful that I could have treatment – it completely changed my life for the better. The fundamental change was from a miserable person to a happy one, from a withdrawn peson to a sociable one. Russell Reid may have harmed a few people – but he helped far far more.
Mind you, just because you help some people doesn’t give you a right to harm others: just because he acted perfectly responsibly 99% of the time doesn’t mean that he didn’t act irresponsibly the rest of the time: that’s for the GMC to decide. They can look through the evidence and make an impartial decsiont: I can do neither.
About Z
It’s difficult isn’t it? Having met Russel Ried for the briefest of moments, and having met people he has treated, I wish him, his practice, and both trans communities well.
I find myself wondering to what extent this is clouded by the willie-issue. The huh?-factor seems to be much greater for MtFs because of the willie-issue. I’ll admit breasts get slightly nervous around FtMs (they aren’t very bright, my breasts, and I think they worry that I’ll get ideas and want a double-masectomy myself), so I guess I can understand why cis-Men get so worried about wilies.
Ach, I don’t really have anything intelligent to add, except that I wish him well.
AB
The willie issue is a huge one, I think. I’ve heard that families are apparently more likely to file lawsuits when surgical errors botch male genitalia than they are when similar errors damage female genitalia. And the public in general seems to have a much more visceral reaction to the surgical part of MtF transitions than for FtM ones. I wonder if willies may be more deeply rooted to identity than breasts or vaginas — you could give me a double mastectomy and somehow close up my vagina, and while I’d be awfully upset about it, I think I would still feel like the real *me* in the end. But I don’t know many men who would say the same about their willies.
There is a porn star in the US who is a FtM without a penis, using the tagline ‘the man with a vagina’ – he is obviously about 15 stones of muscle bound hunk as masculine as you can get, but some people out there in blogland will still insist he’s a woman. Which I find quite strange!
It’s all about threat, isn’t it? Undermining who people think they are themselves. For some reason another person moving from F to M does not undermine most women’s sence of womanhood, but someone moving from M to F challenges a lot of men and many women.
It also says a lot about how much we value men in our society. Both obviousl points I guess. If you want incisiveness, it’ll have to be much later in the day than this.
AB
I think there’s a lot of stuff in the lesbian community about the about of Stone butches transisioning – that seems to be challenging the sense of womanhood. There was a talk of a ‘butch drain’a few years ago.
It seems there used to be ‘stone butches’ who would touch but not be touched – but now they are mainly transisioning FtMs.
Hi. I’m writing an article on Dr Reid for our regular monthly newsletter (see link to past issues) and I wanted to quote part of your blogpost. I wondered if I could have your permission to cite your blog to let people read the rest. Would be glad to send you complete article when finished (likely to be 1st November).
Yes, that would be great. I’d really appreciate that. It’s great that an LGBT organisation’s covering specifically trans issues.
Gosh. I have just noticed how many typos were in that post: Please do correct them all – I have. In my defence I typed all 1000 plus words of it in a fifteen minute lunch break.
Still: Must learn to proofread.
I complained to the gender clinic at charring cross the way i was treated was bad but they just glossed over it. Im sorry i did not see Dr Reid it could have saved me a lot of hartake
Interesting – seems to me though that Russell Reid was a rubber stamp for treatment. of course he was popular, he gave what people wanted! That usually boosts popularity, doesn’t it?
Maybe he was very hasty too – first consultation, first impressions and you could get hormones prescribed and fast-track to ‘surgery’ too.
And mostly this seems to have been without consultation with friends and family of the patient – shouldn’t ALL aspects of treatment be considered properly? Unless the patient lives in total isolation!
Pat Meehan say’s ; He was popular, he gave people what they WANTED. Now if you change wanted to NEEDED then maybe that’s a start. Perhaps people are that stupid that they don’t know themselves and they need Friends and Family to consult with the self-appointed masters of the Gender selectors at Charring Cross to decide there fate. Maybe trans-whatever are possessed by the devil and need to be dealt with accordingly? Or are they as Good, As, You.= GAY. Yep that’s the way forward, let’s make “Trans” Illegal. Gay in fine no complications there. No need for operation’s or treatment just hand out a few more Free condoms. It will save the N.H.S. PLENTY, And after all that’s what it’s all about.
Sadly I’ve never met Dr Russell Reid he sounds like a nice guy and a understanding, compassionate and Knowledgeable person. Perhaps that’s what we are short of in this World!
Transsexuals are not Gay, they are miles apart. Why ‘Press for Change’ amalgamated with ‘Gay Pride’ I don’t know, our needs are totally different to that of Gays. I was a member of Press for Change till they became associated with the poofs – I left in disgust.
I see where you’re coming from, and without doubt some people were treated too soon.
I’m not sure where you’re coming from about family – nearly ever trans-person’s family will say that they haven’t thought it through but that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong decsion.
My family say it’s the right thing now, but at the time they were trying to talk me out of it.
Maybe it was the right decision – but rather by default!
I haven’t really tried to talk R out of anything – but the feeling of a foregone conclusion is a bit tough. Like being run over by a steamroller (though I admit I haven’t tried that – might be preferable)… and nowhere to run.
And I am going to feel the effect for years to come if I live that long.
Sometimes think I might find something for me just as life disturbing and just go ahead with it – carry on regardless. Only one thing comes to mind to make such an impact!
Pat I take it you are a friend/family of a trans-person, who is feeling steamrollered by the momentum.
Are they caught up the self-centred euphoria of it all? Hard not to be, but that will pass as well.
I spent 2 years trying to be talked out of it with various therapists but I didn’t tell my family a word of this – I thought they would have too much vested interests in me ending up one way and would bias the process.
I wouldn’t have even told my family at all if I hadn’t decided for sure. I didn’t see any reason to put them through the pain if I wasn’t going ahead.
Does anyone know whether Dr Reid is open to different presentations of sexuality and is this a deciding factor in his recommendation of individuals for GRS?
Hi – well first of all Dr Reid has retired over this general rubbish. He does have a replacement though – Dr Richard Curtis. I believe they have both treated trans-people who ever they wish to go to bed with. And there’s no insistance that they be heterosexual people after treatment either.
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Hi i think that is appropiate for us to be investigating the doings of Dr Reid but we have to give him a prize as well for all those lifes he saved who could imagine the pain and suicidal feelings we go through prior to transition and the fact that we dont readjust right away after treatment isnt alarming at all its a difficult process and to adjust to society can take years its part of the healing process like any other illness but most patients with therapy do come through and end up leading happy lives
Hi i really think that Dr reid has to be investigated,for this is no simple matter suggesting treatmet within 45 minutes of seeing somebody i mean we are dealing here with a lifes decison which will affect the patient eternaly but let us make sure that we are not dealing here with a patient that walked in with a convincing tale about feeling suicidal e.t.c. which was fabricating his/her way through because that happens sometimes where a quick decison has to be made due to an emergancy which was fabricated
How I wish I had gone to see Russell Reid.
I am 61 years of age and quite capable of making decision about what I want my body to be.
I have been under the gender clinic at Charing Cross since 2005 and I am stilll hoping that the outcome will be the one I am seeking.
I have a feeling that they tend to consider the ones who are younger and more feminine looking.
Yes, I do intend having facial surgery and breast augmentation etc to make me more feminine but I am not prepared to pay for this prior to the major surgery but once it is done I can then confidently proceed with this.
Does anyone have the details of the doctor who took over from Russell Reid I believe his first name is Richard.
My email address is rayalanward@tiscali.co.uk if anyone can help me with this.
Russell was a breath of fresh air! I can’t say he saved my life, I HOPE I would have found other ways. But at the time he was the only one listening. We all knew Charing Cross meant humiliating doubting of our sincerity and unbearable delays. When transsexuals finally find the courage to change their destiny it’s a frightening and desperate time, during which everyone thinks us mad and uses guilt to cow and discourage us. Russell listened. We all learned that the first hormones prescribed were so weak we could change our minds and anyone not certain would run a mile at the first signs of any lack of ‘virility’ and pictures of genital reassignment surgery. To then persevere against the personal attacks on our sincerity from family, friends and employers takes true inner certainty. To live in gender with little more than cosmetic support then invites years of endless abuse and problems. Having shared my life-saving journey with other TS’s, I do know that reliably identifying the transsexual from the transvestite takes a lot of time and inner honesty. Practitioners can help us with that, but in the end it is up to us to be true to ourselves. Russell’s support helped me to find what was best for me, complete my surgery six years ago and integrate seamlessly into the world in the gender I should have always been. Without his timely help I would probably have been another sad suicide.
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Dr Russel Reid was my consultant way back in 1991. He was very professional, he was very helpful when I had any difficulties with any official.
I was originally referred to Charing Cross Hospital by my GP, but they were so incompetent I decided to go private – and jolly pleased I did.
I changed Gender role in October 1992, and was very successful in that I kept my job as a Senior Cargo Claims Adjuster for a firm of Lloyd’s Brokers in London. I had my surgery done in September 1994 by Michael Royle, and have not looked back since. Apparently, I am the first Transsexual in the City.
If I had stayed at Charing Cross Hospital, goodnes knows what would have happened, they were idiots.
I first saw Russel Reid in late 1993. He prescribed a low dose of oestrogen at my first visit and explained that by so doing it would help to determine whether I was indeed transexual or whether I might be a TV who thought they were TS. The reasoning was that if I was TV, the hormones would reduce the desire to cross dress and assist with the diagnosis before any long lasting physical change took place. This seemed to me, and still does, to be a sensible approach. Six months later he increased the prescribed dose and I underwent gender reassignment surgery in February 1995 at the age of 48 and have never regretted my decision. True, I lost my job in engineering and spent 5 years on the dole before finding a new career in the civil service, but my peace of mind more than compensates. My surgery was carried out by Michael Royle privately at Brighton, before he took over at Charing Cross, as my local Health Authority refused to fund treatment. Amazingly, within one month of returning home from the op, they wrote to me and said they had revised their policy and were now prepared to fund my treatment on the NHS. However, when I told them that I had just had the surgery privately and requested they refund all, or part, of the charges, they declined to do so. Still, what’s £6000 when you’re getting £48 per week on the dole; only all the money you’ve managed to save over a lifetime!
Nevertheless, in retrospect I’m glad that I went private. I have a friend who went through the NHS/Charing Cross route. She was already into 3 years of assessment by the psychiatrists at Charing Cross when I met her, shortly after I first saw Russel Reid, and she was still being put through mental torture and ritual humiliation for almost 3 years after I’d had surgery, before they eventually agreed to give her the surgery she desperately wanted, and that was despite the fact that they knew that she’d already made one suicide attempt.
Charing Cross Hospital, as I said before are incompetent. In 1991 Dr Hoenberger was still alive, he was livid when I told him I had gone private. I told him everything he has told me contradicted what the first Consultant had said about their procedures, then they lost my file – that was the end.
I had my surgery in 1994 at the Avenue Private Clinic by Michael Royle, this clinic has since closed down – don’t know what it is now.
The stupid thing is, I paid for all my consultancy, my hormones, electolosis etc, but because I had lost my job for a couple of months and lost some of my savings, I needed a small amount of help from the N.H.S. Dr Russell Reid applied for the funding, the N.H.S. tried to force me to go through the whole proceedure again (which I had paid for) wasting tax payers money.
I know of many people who had surgery at Charing Cross, and have suffered many infections due to the surgery being rushed. Michael Royle did it properly, and after over 16 years I have had no problems except from having to have a Urinal trim.
Typical Charing Cross, I have heard of a few suicides because of the stress caused. Yes Dr Reid did use the hormones as a ‘Diagnostic tool’, but he would only do so after the first consultation which lasted an hour, he could often tell whether you where genuine, the first 3 months on the hormones would confirm things – he was right 75% of the time.
He was a good man, the action taken against him by Charing Cross, just showed they were troubled by their own methods. A friend of mine who recently had her op. there said it was done in 2 hours and she has had nothing abut trouble. My op. by Michael Royle took over 6 hours according to the nurses I spoke to afterwards.
How sad that nothing has changed over the years, what’s wrong with Transsexuals. Dr Russell Reid went to the wall and they just stood by and watched.Why didn’t all the people he helped go and protest at Charring Cross. As for the people who put in the complaint, WHY were they not investigated? obviously they ether Lied through there teeth or were/are mentally ill in which case it should have been picked up by the TWO Psychiatrist’s seen before referral. When will people wake up and realise that they are responsible for there own being. NOT THE STATE. The Roman’s new what they were doing. “Divide and Conquer ” works every time. I know of no other group of people that would take so much, misery, humiliation, frustration, Interrogation, and complete lack of any a semblance of respect than the Transsexual. Charring Cross is a Research Centre funded by the N.H.S. Google Human rights, Access to Health Care-Transgender. There is no mention of the rude Interrogation unit at Charring Cross.
The reason why many of us who were helped by Dr Russell Reid didn’t go to his aid when in trouble, was because we were not notified of what was happening.
Charing Cross Hospital should be the party being tried. I do know many Transsexuals who were treated there, either committed suicide because of incompetance, or had their operations there and suffered numerous infections because of the way the surgery was carried out.
They only took action against Dr Reid, because of his successes compared to their failures.
Miss Natasha Crist
I agree 100% about Dr Reid. With reference to “not notified of what was happening” each and every person that has attended Charring Cross is fully aware of how there clandestine system operates. 11 years ago when i had the misfortune to meet the infamous Dr Barret, I formally complained about him and the clinic. At that time i had already been living for two years full time in my Nomgender (normal gender) as a Transsexual woman. “How dare I” WITHOUT his consent .He wrote to my G.P. and told her to stop prescribing my hormones. That just about sum’s up all the help i received from Charring Cross. My Birth Certificate, states GIRL, both my Passport and drivers licence states Female and yet for Medical Treatment from the N.H.S. I am still having to go through the Charring Cross unit ?? I am going through my M.P. to the Human Rights to try and enforce there legislation into use. It’s difficult trying to to bring about change on your own, I’ve been swimming against the tides of indifference now for 11years, Getting old and tired now, But i do wish people would stand up for what is right. I heard a comment the other week ” i’m not getting my sausages from Sainbury’s any-more” That’s where the interrogation unit hat relocated
Because of Dr Reid’s success, most of us who were treated by him have gone on to live successful lives. I for one kept my high status job as a Senior Claims Adjuster for a firm of Marine Insurance Brokers in London, and got heavily involved in Politics. I lost contact with the Transsexual scene as life was good, If we had been advised of Dr Reid’s plight, I for one would have done all I could to help.
I fully understand, I have never been involved with the Scene just tried to live my life. When I had to return to charring Cross a couple of weeks ago, after 10 years. I made the mistake of taking my son with me as he wanted to go to London. It was like walking onto a set of Little Britten complete with a camp Psychiatrist. My son was out of there like a shot. Until sensible successful people start getting involved then nothing will change. In order to be taken seriously and treated with respect the whole of this Tranny/joke needs to be addressed. Transgender= Drag acts,cross-dressers, transvestites, transsexuals, and anyone that puts on there wife’s ear-rings.Trans implies movement. Myself well I am not moving anywhere just living in my normal gender not chosen gender as the medical Profession Implies, Or Tranny as the media would have it .
Sorry to hear that about your son. I don’t have that problem as I never married. I find people get confused with Transvestite, Transsexual and Gay – I have been accused of being a peadophile.
When I first went to Charing Cross way back in 1990, the main person there was a Dr Hoenberger, he was a twat. When I told him I was fed up with what they were doing and went to Dr Reid, he went up the wall. I saw one of their Consultants, he gave me run down on what would happen, then I saw Hoenberger, he totally contradicted what the first Consultant said. I had two consultations with Hoenberger and felt we were getting no where.
When I saw Dr Reid, I had an hours consultation with him, felt totally at ease with him. He prescribed 3 months of Ethinylostriadol, I felt so relieved, went to the first chemist to get them. I went to see him again 3 months later, as I was getting on well with them and had no panic about losing my Male libido, he prescribed another 3 months of hormones and Suppoterone Acetate to stop my body producing any male hormones, everything went really well.
He left it up to me to decide when it was time to change over fully to the female role. When I decided, I told my employer, they were ok about it. That was in September 1992, because everything went well, Dr Reid put me forward for the Gender operation late in 1993. If I stayed at Charing Cross, we would still be just talking. The operation took over 6 hours at the Avenue Clinic in Hove – have had no problems. They rush it at Charing Cross, which is why so many people have problems there.
I used to be an active member of Press for Change until they linked up with Gay Pride. We are not Gay, I was fuming and left them in disgust.
I cannot work anymore due to ill health, but when I was at work, my collegues said I was a much happier person to work with. All my ambitions came to the fore and got involved in politics, I worked very hard and was successful. I was a candidate in the local Council Elections in 1999, I didn’t win but severely reduced the oppositions majority. I was contacted by the Sundat Times later that year because I was doing so well and was the first Transsexual in the City.
Charing Cross is a failure, I feel so sorry for Dr Reid. I wish you well
Thanks hon.x
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