Living full time-preT/surgery

[Adio]

Forgive me for the wall of text.  I'm using quotes from the SOC.  Feel free to skip over those (or this whole post lol).  I've read the thread, but I'd rather just address the original question.  Yes, some people do regret transitioning.  That's why we have a SOC (right or wrong).  But I think to answer your question, the SOC needs to be explained as it is written.  Here are the eligibility requirements for hormones:

Eligibility Criteria. The administration of hormones is not to be lightly undertaken because of their medical and social risks. Three criteria exist.
1.   Age 18 years;
2.   Demonstrable knowledge of what hormones medically can and cannot do and their social benefits and risks;
3. Either:
a. A documented real-life experience of at least three months prior to the administration of hormones; or
b. A period of psychotherapy of a duration specified by the mental health professional after the initial evaluation (usually a minimum of three months).

Okay.  So it's either RLE or therapy.  A lot of people can't "pass" well without hormones/surgery, or be "recognized" as their true gender for various reasons.  That's why there is an option here.  Also note that 3 months is the minimum for RLE, not for therapy.  In the VI section in the SOC, it says this:

Psychotherapy is Not an Absolute Requirement for Triadic Therapy. Not every adult gender patient requires psychotherapy in order to proceed with hormone therapy, the real-life experience, hormones, or surgery. Individual programs vary to the extent that they perceive a need for psychotherapy...There is no required minimum number of psychotherapy sessions prior to hormone therapy, the real-life experience, or surgery, for three reasons: 1) patients differ widely in their abilities to attain similar goals in a specified time; 2) a minimum number of sessions tends to be construed as a hurdle, which discourages the genuine opportunity for personal growth; 3) the mental health professional can be an important support to the patient throughout all phases of gender transition. Individual programs may set eligibility criteria to some minimum number of sessions or months of psychotherapy.

It makes sense then that some get their letter within the first or second session.  Not all therapists adhere to the "minimum" of 3 months.  So as long as you meet the eligibility and readiness criteria and you and your therapist feel comfortable receiving a letter for T/surgery, you should be able to proceed.  That's with or without RLE, depending on what path was decided.  Here are the readiness criteria for hormones:

Readiness Criteria. Three criteria exist:
1.   The patient has had further consolidation of gender identity during the real-life experience or psychotherapy;
2.   The patient has made some progress in mastering other identified problems leading to improving or continuing stable mental health (this implies satisfactory control of problems such as sociopathy, substance abuse, psychosis and suicidality;
3.   The patient is likely to take hormones in a responsible manner.

The requirements for surgery are different and can be read here:  http://www.wpath.org/publications_standards.cfm

[Noah G.]

Adio, I think you have definitively cleared this matter up.

On an unrelated note (to this entire thread): I find it interesting that sociopathy is listed amongst the problems in the second criteria to determine readiness. I'd always understood sociopathy to be something that could not be improved or "controlled" but rather masked, so to speak (i.e. a sociopath can, and often does, learn how to act more appropriately, or more "normally," but sociopathy is something that is always present and in effect). Double-checking now it seems confirmed that the efficacy of treatments and therapies is unclear and controversial due to the nature of the disorder.

Just something I found curious.

[N.Chaos]

This just got me wondering.
I've been, I think, living more or less full time since last summer. I say more or less because I haven't been doing too much. I don't have a job, but I flat out refuse to leave the house without a binder, and I'm anal retentive about pronouns. My family that knows is working on it, slowly, but they're aware of it, and accepting of it.

So now I'm thinking, if I finally get to a therapist, would I be able to tell them that I've been doing this for x amount of time? I don't want HRT, I just want top surgery and hysterectomy. Would all this time possibly speed that up at all, or am I a moron for thinking this?

[El Capitan]

I've been told that if I was to be considered for hormones etc. I'd need a year of RLE. Seems to be the way in the UK at least. That includes a name change I believe. I don't see how I'd ever pass without testosterone and if it's not my image giving me away, it's my voice for sure. I understand the need to be certain but I'm not sure how it would work tbh

[N.Chaos]

I've been told that if I was to be considered for hormones etc. I'd need a year of RLE. Seems to be the way in the UK at least. That includes a name change I believe. I don't see how I'd ever pass without testosterone and if it's not my image giving me away, it's my voice for sure. I understand the need to be certain but I'm not sure how it would work tbh

That's kind of screwed up. It's like everything is intentionally made against us, even things that are supposed to help.

[Da Monkey]

That sounds like CAMH. I wouldn't transition through anything like that. It is demeaning and biased.

Anyway living full time while being pre-T and pre-op if you even plan on taking T and getting surgery depends on the person. Not whether they 'pass' or not but their attitude and confidence.

I considered my first step in transitioning to be acknowledging I was trans and planning steps on what I wanted to do with it. But I have to say I went a rather 'androgynous' route. I was too shy and nervous to change my name legally or introduce myself by my full new name so I went by Jay everywhere. I got a brand new job around the same time so it was easy to start off as Jay to everyone and I only had one semester of college left to be [birth name].

I let people think whatever they wanted of me. If they referred to me as she I never corrected them even though a part of me shattered inside. If they referred to me as he, I felt this whole new feeling of happy I just could never explain. I lived in between for a year even though I knew I was FTM I didn't want to live full time as one until I started T. Once I started T about 6 months in I moved to a new city so it worked out. I went from being socially in between to full out male.

That being said though my roommate is pre-T and pre-op and he changed his name already and told everyone he is transitioning and doesn't allow anyone to mistake his pronouns or anything and then right when he moved here with me he still carries himself that way and I don't think anyone knows he's trans.

Also: I forgot to say that I lived in stealth PRE-op for about 9 months. That was probably the hardest part since I was a DD and if you can imagine it based of my DP they weren't proportional to the rest of me.