Transgender Community (original) (raw)
testosterone and smoking cigarettes
at March 25th, 2018 (06:09 pm)
im in northern ireland and i had an appointment with the gender identity clinic for under 18's 3 days ago about medically transitioning.
they told me when i get referred to the adult clinic (next year) that they will automatically turn me down for testosterone if im a smoker, they also said i have to loose a bit of weight even tho im at a healthy weight for my height and age. they said im not allowed energy drinks either and i have to cut out junk food from my diet, even though ive had check ups at my doctors office and they said im perfectly healthy (for what i can be being a smoker, but the doctor also said that surprisingly smoking hasn't affected me that much). the under 18's clinic said i have to loose weight, stop smoking, cut junk food out of my diet and exercise more by my 18th birthday which is in may 2019. im worried about not being able to do it, i have the motivation but its such a short period of time and they said if i don't then i don't get testosterone and i don't have enough money to go to a private doctors/hospital. can anyone offer any advise? i don't know what to do and its putting me under a lot of stress. i don't exactly want to quit smoking and ive heard of a few trans people who smoke so? idk?
2016 TDOR Webcomic Project
at November 18th, 2016 (04:27 pm)
The Transgender Day of Remembrance is on the 20th November, as always. It's way too late here to do a call-out for the Webcomic Project, but I will say that I've moved the archive from ComicDish to ComicFury.
(the new logo for the ComicFury version)
The ComicDish version is still there, until February when ComicDish disappears forever. But all of it has been copied over to ComicFury, and I'm glad I made this move. The archives can now be searched!
If you are still interested in doing something for the project (which is advertising TDOR by use of webcomic/art/prose/video, go to the Contributing page. Just remember, "...you don't have to be a transgender person to participate, just appreciating or understanding the tragedy of the lives lost that are memorialized by the event is enough".
And if you spot a online comic / artwork / video / poetry or prose that's relevant to this, you can always post a link in a comment to this post.
at August 3rd, 2016 (06:31 pm)
Almost 3 months on T and I'm loving the progress I'm making already. My voice has dropped significantly and my facial hair is coming in nicely..
My sex drive sky rocketed a bit too much for my liking and it's MUCH harder to reach orgasm.. Does anyone else have this issue?
My facial hair is really light so I darkened it up to see how it would look and how much I have already. For the first time in my life I don't hate looking in the mirror or having my picture taken!
Meta with Miro
at June 28th, 2016 (11:39 pm)
Hi all, I'm looking to touch base with someone who has had a meta with Miro. Hopefully someone who had surgery with him when he was in NYC earlier this year. Thanks!
Orchiectomy aftercare question
at June 10th, 2016 (02:15 pm)
Okay, weird symmetry here with my last post to this community (three years ago) being about spironalactone, and today's entry being about wanting to get off of spironalactone ... But yeah, I'd like to stop taking it, and my primary physician has said he'll write me a referral for an orchiectomy, so now I have to figure out logistics, find a surgeon (urologist?) who takes my insurance, etc.
Reading aftercare instructions on the web, I see (a) advice to walk a little, then each day a little more, and (b) not do anything strenuous for a while. My bedroom is at the top of a three-storey rowhouse, and even if I put an air mattress in the living room to be on the same floor as the kitchen, I'll have to go up a long flight to the second floor to get to the bathroom. So what I want to know is: does this count as "walking a little" (thus okay immediately post-surgery), or as a risky amount of exervion at first, so I should try to arrange to stay with a friend who lives in a one-storey house for at least a few days after the surgery?
A secondary question, that I figure I'm less likely to get answered but may as well ask anyhow as long as I'm here: since Maryland removed trans exclusions from Medicaid coverage at the end of last year, have folks gotten things like this covered by it, or are the insurance companies handling Medicaid for the state still dragging their feet? (Specifically, I'm with United Healthcare.) If I'm going to have to argue or fight to get this covered, I'm gonna need to psyche myself up for that.
TransGression; or Nope, Not Everything Is About the Male Gaze
at February 28th, 2016 (12:14 pm)
Feminist theorist Laura Mulvey introduced the idea of the "male gaze" originally when talking about movies. She claimed, pointed out examples, and made her case that film footage was shot, directed, planned, and edited by males imagining (consciously or by default) a male audience, and that the depiction of women onscreen in particular was being shaped by this: that the camera ogled actresses, that the way the cameras tracked them throughout, etc, was guided and structured around this male gaze.
So sick of fear mongering about medical transition.
at December 7th, 2015 (02:20 am)
Well I just got pissed off... Again. How do I put this, I found out about some cisgender people who just out of their own choice entirely get surgeries that are far more risky than any surgeries that are trans related... And yet the other cis people talking about said cis people, respond by criticizing trans peoples surgeries.
Now... I actually am pro-bodily autonomy, including yes, cis people who want to get extremely risky surgeries- otherwise I feel like I'd be a massive hypocrite, but seeing cis people, entirely of their free will choose to get their ribs removed- not due to disease or health or whatever, and then commentators every, immediately start bringing up trans people, then criticizing trans people for getting surgery makes me upset.
To be totally fair, the cisgender woman in question is experiencing a ton of extremely judgmental hateful comments towards her... And I support her choice to do that, even if I'll never understand that. But... People are comparing removing the ribs- one of the riskiest procedures in the entire world, that makes you far far more likely to get fatally injured... To SRS SURGERY and HRT!!!!!! It's all the fear mongering about trans specific surgery, and all the fear mongering about medical transition that upsets me so much.
And please note, I don't endorse criticizing cis people who seek out very risky surgeries for reasons that are hard to understand, rather I'm simply saying that often times there's a lot of fear mongering, where trans people medically transitioning seems to always inevitably get brought up, you know with all the classic transphobic fearmongering.
So many cis people act like medical transition- especially involving surgery in risk factor, is somehow comparable to a cis person, with no known detectable medical brain problems- just eagerly choosing to get brain surgery for no known reason.
Which to someone who actually knows about these things, knows that's just transphobic fear mongering. Of course there's risks but they are just so vastly exaggerated. I wish cis people, would stop treating trans people, like they are cis people who are seeking some of the riskiest procedures in the world. I wish more cis people would for once realize, that not all surgery is the same thing.
Now whenever I heard of a cisgender person seeking an extremely risky surgery- done because they want it, I'm afraid that it's nearly guaranteed a lot of cis people are going to start bringing up trans people, and then start their fear mongering again. Why do so many cis people do this? It's so aggravating.
I believe everyone should be able to do what they want with their bodies... Cis people seeking ultra risky surgeries included- and without being harassed about it... But I sure do wish people didn't start fear mongering about medical transition of TRANS PEOPLE whenever a CIS PERSON seeks out a SURGERY that is NOT RELATED to being TRANS.
Going forward. Will I be diagnosed?
at November 4th, 2015 (03:50 pm)
So, yesterday I talked with my fiancee and confirmed that I considered transition. I will now be seeking a gender therapist. Now, I wonder if I'll actually get diagnosed. I do not suffer from dysphoria (or very mildly), am not girly or effeminate in any way. The only thing is that I would feel more at home in a female body. What do you guys think?
Uncomfortable with some aspects...
at September 14th, 2015 (10:07 am)
Hi,
I'm new here, and quite new in all this transgenderism and identity stuff. I still can't define what I am as no term seem to fit me. Everything feels off. I joined this community so I could share, and get to understand myself better, maybe make some friends that would only know this side of me, and get some advice on what I am uncomfortable about.
What I can say is how I actually feel: like I have a second superimposed body that is female, and that feels like it is the real me, or rather, an upgraded me. I still feel comfortable with my body (no dysphoria), but whenever I have positive emotions (joy, love, mostly), I feel this second skin quite vividly.
I have thought about transitioning, but I have many concerns, once of which feels superficial: I am afraid that I wouldn't turn up as beautiful as I feel I would be...
Some good news
at June 24th, 2015 (11:08 am)
Mood: hopeful
Transition fund
at June 17th, 2015 (11:51 pm)
Trans Community Survey 2015
at May 25th, 2015 (08:45 am)
Night depression
at May 21st, 2015 (01:09 pm)
Does anyone ever get the feeling at night when you take your packer out and your binder off that your never going to be who you really want and it just makes you sad like that right now your trying to live a lie or something. Let me know if you get feelings like this. I hope I'm not the only one!
Thailand
at May 11th, 2015 (04:43 pm)
Had anyone or does anyone know someone who has gone to Thailand to get surgery? Heard it's cheaper there and that American doctors go there to learn from them. If you have any information if you could comment or send me a message that would be great!
"Trans Girl Diaries" Archive
at May 9th, 2015 (11:19 pm)
Hi everyone!
I suppose some of you remember such a webcomic as Trans Girl Diaries (transgirldiaries.com) by Evelyn Poor. I've crushed with its liveliness, laughed and cried when I've been reading it for the first time. Recently I tried to read it once again but unfortunately the site was suspended. There are a lot of scattered strips of the comic on the Internet but I want to find the full archive. So if you have any idea where I might find it, I would greatly appreciate it!
New here
at May 6th, 2015 (09:26 pm)
Hey everyone I'm new here and looking for some friends that I can talk with while going through my transition. It would be great if yall could help me out!! I would really appreciate it and of course will add you back!
First counseling appt
at May 6th, 2015 (09:11 pm)
So today I made my first appointment with a counselor! I'm kinda nervous but also excited to get this whole thing going!!
Youtube
at April 29th, 2015 (04:03 pm)
Getting HRT... When I have a transphobic payee.
at April 14th, 2015 (12:47 pm)
So good news, and bad news. Good news: I can finally live alone in something like 2-5 months from now. No more living with my parents whose constant presence, and surveillance has been making me unable to transition at all for countless years now... It's the only place I can afford to live, I am disabled. I don't have much choice about where I live. For the first time in years, I'll be able to at least interact over the internet without eavesdropping, dress however I want in my own home /etc/.
The bad news is... Both my parents are very transphobic especially my mom. She's a radical fundamentalist Christian, and she's said countless things that are homophobic or transphobic. My own father also said that my dream is his nightmare when it comes to medical transition, so I know he can't be reasoned with... My mother is also my payee unfortunately.
So with all that taken into context, it would appear, I only have one choice to manage this all- medically transition, without socially transitioning. It's the only solution I can come up with, to balance between treating my physical dysphoria which by the way is almost exclusively physical, with the very... Delicate situation my life is in, money wise. It's the only compromise I can think of, that won't make me extremely dysphoric, and also won't deprive me of basic needs.
And yes I'm aware... That estrogenizing my body, and getting rid of testosterone markers on it, while still socially remaining male could result in me encountering some pretty ugly prejudice, especially considering I've already been frequently assumed to be a cis woman even without HRT. Probably because of me having a very gracile build, not having big muscles, having nearly waist length hair, being very short, wearing clothes that come across as gender neutral to many, and not having a very deep voice, I've already been mistreated/laughed at, when all I did was wear concealer to hide my unwanted facial hair shadow, because that was literally all it took for people to code me as female instead of male.
And I know, that HRT would make that type of mistreatment even worse, but... Frankly because of the situation I'm in, it seems there's nothing else I can do- whatever mistreatment I might face from all that, is nothing compared to the agony of no medical transition or not having my own home or whatever. So anyways... Here's my options. And my parents... And me being dependent on them/still having to literally basically be their neighbor, is, the primary reason for the whole trying to avoid social transition thing.
A. Acquire HRT/estrogen/T-Blockers without my payee/mother who will live right in a unit underneath me finding out... Is this even possible?
B. Find some political allies or something like that, willing to charge my payee with a hate crime or something akin to that, if as my payee she refuses to cooperate with allowing me medical transition.
C. Change who my payee is.
Help please?
Negative side effects of T
at April 8th, 2015 (03:55 pm)
I noticed that this is something that no one really talks about. So before I start T I would like to hear from people who have taken it what their negative side effects were. This would be a good thing for people new to transition to hear and to think about. Thanks everyone!
Hello
at March 7th, 2015 (12:14 pm)
Mood: hopeful
I just want to say hello community. I look forward to asking questions, taking questions, and making new friends in and around the Seattle area. I currently live in Suquamish.
at January 15th, 2015 (07:46 pm)
Since my last post, I visited the Clinical Psychologist my GP referred me to. She has some experience with the subject and agreed. She sent the GP a letter recommending that I get my ID corrected.
Based off that, the GP wrote the letter needed by the Australian Passport office to alter the gender on a passport.
I’ve known the GP for years (school friends with Dad), so he also did the photo guarantor stuff. He was hesitant to correct the letter (he entered the wrong number on the first one and had to do it again) to match that photo with a female passport, thinking it would cause “issues” with some places given where I was traveling.
Between hotel and airline staff and security and border officials in Australia, US, UK, Qatar, UAE, France, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore, I must have dealt with over 800 different people who had to view ID and/or name at some stage. Only a handful of people showed any confusion over the name (all airline staff). The worst “issue” was the hotel in Tokyo altering the title on my reservation from Miss to Mr when I checked in (despite my passport saying female).
One Qantas flight attendant noticed the “difference” on the manifest and rather then question it, asked how I would like to be addressed. :D
Before I left on my holiday, my parents “demanded” that I leave a copy of my itinerary. They had noticed that I had started getting “official” mail with my preferred name and questioned it. They were away when I left, so I left a note with the itinerary explaining that yes, I had changed my name and what was happening.
Mum normally sends me text messages when I’m away, so I had been expecting to get a message a week or so into the trip. Never got anything until the morning I returned to Australia trying to organise picking me up at the airport. When I saw them, they said nothing about it. After dropping me off at home, they went shopping so I was at home alone for a while. When I was going through my pile of mail, I found a note from them. The note indicated that they accepted the whole thing, but it hasn’t been mentioned since. So they are aware of it and seem to accept it, but seem to want me to discuss it first.
I don’t want to discuss it with them. There is nothing to discuss. I just want them to be aware of it. ie, “This is the situation. This is what’s happening. Period.”
I still have the issue of telling others, such as extended family, siblings, work…
I had intended to tell the rest of the family over Christmas (at least about the name change. They’d likely work out anything else from that). Of course, every time I attempted to say something, I was interrupted or spoken over.
Next chance, at least with some of the family, is over the Australia Day long weekend.
Still don’t know about telling work at this stage. The HR situation is unknown. There hasn’t been a stable store manager for the last 13 months, and there are people at work who think the entire concept of transgender is quite funny.
Of course, it seems that any time something happens, half the city knows about it within a few weeks. I see customers at work (even when I’m there as a customer) who I don’t know, who sure seem to know me. I can only assume that they work with Mum in some way (eg, girl guides).
Then, my sister is also a guide leader. Someone on the front end at work goes to guides with my sister. My sister finds out about this, she’ll tell that person from work (it will come up somehow)... within a week, everyone at work will have heard rumours about it.
I saw the Psychologist in August. I have to see her again soon to get hormones (well, a referral to an endocrinologist). Between my holiday and the busy Christmas period at work, I haven’t been able to get back there, but I’m not sure if I should wait until I’ve be able to tell more of the family. But I would like to get started on hormones soon...
Speaking of hormones, how quickly do they start making noticeable changes to appearance (eg measurements)? Days? Weeks? Months? How major/drastic are said changes?
I have possible plans coming up that such changes may impact (possible trip to Anime Expo and next round the world holiday for 4-6 weeks during September-November).
need a sleep study, what can I expect re: privacy/binding/etc
at January 6th, 2015 (11:43 am)
I need to schedule a sleep study but don't know what to expect in regards to what sort of environment I'll be sleeping in, how much privacy I'll have, whether I can avoid having anybody see me without my binder (I don't mean sleep in it, but like, being covered up/not having to move around once it's off).
Trans Lifeline - a trans suicide hotline run by trans people, for trans people
at November 26th, 2014 (01:20 pm)
Just discovered something excellent: a trans suicide hotline run by trans people for trans people.
It can be found here: http://www.translifeline.org/
This project is in desperate need of volunteers, so please check it out, spread the word, and consider volunteering.
Hello Everyone!
at November 21st, 2014 (06:44 pm)
My name is Farren and I have for the past few years tried my very best to fit in genderwise. I grew my hair out, started wearing dresses and tried to be "pretty". With every step I felt like I lost part of myself but wasnt sure what that something was. This year was different but I still didn't understand why and it started with a name change. I gravitated towards a male name still not getting it. Its in the past few months that Ive started to understand myself more. I found words to describe what I feel on the inside! I started wearing what ever the hell I want and now rock a popadour. I feel like Im finding my center and it seems to be somewhere in between. I still feel a little lost though and hope to find a few friends who understand what I am going through. Thanks for reading!