Scarleteen

So I'm going going in for a transvaginal (?) ultrasound. I can't remember the word, but the one where it's inside the vagina. I'm 19, transmasc, and have never been sexually active with another person. As you can imagine, Im INCREDIBLY nervous. Right now Im okay, but because of my anxiety I have a tendency to be very suddenly Not Okay in situations that i'm unfamiliar with and will breakdown suddenly without much notice.
Its odd, but one specific worry is that I don't shave, and Im worried I'll be embarrassed about my pubic hair?
For other people who were nervous about their first ultrasounds - what helped you? Any advice to help me avoid embarrassing myself, be a little more confident, or stay calm during the actual ultrasound will be greatly appreciated.

Hi sodabutt,

Ooof, I can see how this would be anxiety inducing for you! There are a few different things you could try (and hopefully folks who've had a transvaginal ultrasound can chime in as well). For starters, if you haven't talked about it with them yet, I would tell the healthcare provider you'll be working with that this might be something that sets off your anxiety. Odds are they've worked with folks who got anxious during the procedure before and may have some advice or approaches they use in those situations.

Too, I have several transmasc friends who set up a reward for themselves after a medical appointment that they know is likely to be stressful. That both gives them a way to do self-care after the appointment, and gives them something to focus on and look forward too if they're trying o take their minds off of what's going on so they don't stress out.

Do either of those things sound doable?