Right to surgery vs hormone therapy

Dear @1tm115 ,

Firstly, welcome to the forums. You have posted a very clear post which clearly outlines enough context for the community to understand what might be going on for you at the moment.

I'm sorry to hear how challenging things are for you at the moment. I hope the community will be able to share some experiences related to what you have mentioned as this is beyond my expertise.

I'd also like to quickly point out that as much as members may post their experiences, we/they are unable to provide any medical advice - this is beyond our service boundaries, particularly as these forums are community-led.

I hope you'll find the forums a place of comfort, belonging and connection as you journey through.

Take care,

tyme

Thank you @tyme . Sure, I am hopeful that the divine power from above will make things clear through someone if not someway, need to sit tight 😊

thanks a lot for the kind words. means a lot when you are in the pit

kind regards

I've been in that pit. Your pit may be different to mine, but it is still a pit @1tm115 .

You are not alone. Sitting with you,

tyme

Hi @1tm115

In theory it is your body and you have a right to do what you want but in my experience, once you get involved with the mental health system in Australia, those rights, rapidly evaporate. There are of course mental health laws that are supposed to protect those of us with mental health issues but they are fairly weak in regards to any protection that they provide. Furthermore these laws appear to be regularly ignored or flaunted by the authorities, apparently without consequences.

Within the Mental Health Authority (MHA) framework you can expect to be manipulated, lied to, and generally given the run around. If you try and complain about this you run a very real risk of having your life made unbelievably miserable through frequently abused interventions like Involuntary Treatment Orders (ITO’s).

If I was in your position and was financially in a position to do so I would get as far away from any state (MHA) as possible.

There is no secret that these sort of atrocities are an everyday occurrence in Australia.

In Victoria, a mental health royal commission report was tabled last year. The royal commission's chair, Penny Armytage, at the conclusion of the process stated that the system had catastrophically failed to live up to expectations and had been failing for decades. Similar reports and recommendations for change can also be found for other states. My understanding is that over a number of years, about 30 such reports have been produced and can be found lying around gathering dust but never acted upon. It seems to me that the underlying problem is an entrenched public service culture that refuses to adapt to change. This puts Australia completely out of alignment with the World Health Organisation mental health action plan and creates untold misery for many.

What I have said here is based on my own experiences in both recent times and the distant past. Others on this forum have reported similar experiences.

I am sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. I hope that knowing the truth will help you more than just being left to try and blindly navigate your way through a hopeless situation.

Regards and best of luck
Willy

Hi and welcome, @1tm115 !

I'm sorry you are suffering these conditions 😞

I am not sure about legal rights as such, but I think you have the right to speak up and say to both your treating doctors that you prefer the surgery. I hope they will listen to you.

I personally have had positive and healing experiences with the public mental health system.

I hope the way forward becomes easier for you, @1tm115 ...

@NatureLover : Coming from a foreign country with little regard to mental issues, I greatly appreciate the services mental support. However, if the Psychiatrist doesn't tell me what options are available I am still in kind of in the dark. Blame it on me - I never had the courage to speak up against assault at 14. At 48, I still struggle to speak up.

@Willy : Quite thankful of your detailed mail. In fact, I am re-reading again and again and to make the right choice
It all started with my Urologist saying he is good to either surgery or hormone therapy but said he needs guidance from the Psychiatrist. Which is quite right in my opinion.
Then began my journey of knocking doors, to follow the "proper" route. 4 months have passed and I get the impression the Psych's understand but somehow not ready to take the ownership.
So guess what, desperation forces me to took the easy route, attempts on my life.

But now I understand my utter foolishness. I need to think this over, at least while I am here in hospital. Doesn't happen at home in the love and care of my wife and kids 🙂

Again everyone, I am quite touched by the replies to my post.

Blessings

Hi @1tm115,

I believe you should be engaged in that decision making process.

Each specialist might give the pros and cons to each method, to help you make a more informed decision. At the end of the day, it is your body and your life so what you want is an important part of the decision making process.

Take care,

Girasole

Thanks a lot @Former-Member

Like you suggested, I hope I will gain some courage at the appointment time 😊 and ask something on the below lines

- I would like to be involved in the decision process of the treatment
- What are the options?
- Looking at my age, family and what I am going through, why should I not take up the surgery? As it my body and life, don't I have the right to opt for surgery?

A 1st gen Australian, English is not my 1st language. So hope my words are in line with my medical presentation and don't intend any disrespect to the specialists. I will be grateful for any corrections.

Kind Regards

Hi again @1tm115 , your words seem fine to me. Can you write out what you want to say beforehand, and either give it to the doctors in each case, or read it out? I do that for my appointments with my psychologist.

Good luck...

Hi @1tm115 ,

How are you? I was passing by and thought I'd pop in to say hello.

All the best with whatever decision you make.

tyme