HRT and living "Full Time"

[Anatta]

Kia Ora,

I just thought it would be interesting to find an average[if its' at all possible] time spent on HRT before going "full time"...What I mean by full time is 24/7/365 no digressing, that is, no popping back to visit your old birth sex so to speak...

It took me 18 months on HRT[to sort my life out whilst living in androgynous limbo] before I left the closet for good...It was society's constant use of the "correct" pronoun that finally unlocked[or you could say forced open] my closet door and set me free...

Well how about you ? How long were you on HRT before your closet door was opened/unlocked ?

Metta Zenda

[Vincent E.S.]

This may seem strange, but in a way I've been full time since just before high school started. I'm pre-everything, but because of how I ended up passing/living my whole life, my gender therapist says I won't need to do any number of years  of RLE since I've already done so without even intending to. Of course, I was fortunate enough to have been given a unisex name at birth, so if it weren't for that, none of this would be the case.

[Anatta]

This may seem strange, but in a way I've been full time since just before high school started. I'm pre-everything, but because of how I ended up passing/living my whole life, my gender therapist says I won't need to do any number of years of RLE since I've already done so without even intending to. Of course, I was fortunate enough to have been given a unisex name at birth, so if it weren't for that, none of this would be the case.

Kia Ora Vincent,

No it's not that strange, especially for F2Ms...I think for the most part many F2Ms are better positioned to "physically" go 24/7 before HRT...

When will you start HRT ?

Metta Zenda

[JungianZoe]

Just over two months HRT before I went full time.  And before full time, I never popped in and out of genders, never crossdressed, nothing.  Well, except that I'd been wearing makeup almost every day for two years before.  Noticeable makeup too.

[JessicaH]

I'm not sure why some people rush transitioning before HRT or so soon after starting HRT but for all I know is that the GID demands it and they are just doing what they have to do to see tomorrow. For me, I'm sure I will do 2 years HRT before trying to go full time. I guess we all have to figure out what is best for ourselves.

[JungianZoe]

I'm not sure why some people rush transitioning before HRT or so soon after starting HRT

Well in my case, HRT was the end of my first stage, not the beginning of it all.  I spent two years growing out my hair, learning how to apply makeup and wearing it everywhere (even to work, because I could), and making my appearance quite androgynous.  Though I knew since at least the age of 4 that I desperately wanted to be female, I had to know definitively that physical and social feminization would make me feel better or if it would make me more confused.  The further this androgyny progressed, the more I feminized, the more exquisite I felt.

So when I knew for sure that total transition was right for me, I began HRT.  I waited only two months to go full time because that's when I saw enough changes that I was confident of my ability to pass.  Now, almost six months later, I'm beyond the point of even thinking about passing.   Now I'm just me, a woman, all the time.  The concept of passing never even crosses my mind.

[Anatta]

Kia Ora Folks,

Just a reminder....
Please remember to click the option closest to your HRT full time period thanks...This will make it easy for others to quickly check the results without having to read all the posts...

Kia Ora Jessica,

It's true...The right time is any time one feels comfortable enough to boot/kick their closet door off it's hinges...  Society helped me to remove my closet door by unscrewing the screws and carefully taking it off its hinges...


Metta Zenda      

[eli77]

I went full time at six months, and should have only waited five. That last month was pretty ridiculous given that I was entirely failing to pass as male by that point. (I started out with very "gender-neutral" features, which has its good and bad points.) I'd say I was kicked out of the closet, nothing so gentle as "unlocked."

And, like Zoe, the term "full time" always seems a bit weird to me given I was never part time. I purchased and wore girl clothes for the first time in my life the day AFTER I went "full time." My full time date (July 27th) is marked for the haircut and eyebrow plucking, and stopping using my old name.

[Anatta]

Kia Ora Sarah,

You bring up a good point...Full time can mean different things to different people, however for the purpose of this thread  and poll- "full time" means, when one discards their old skin "once and for all"  that is with HRT, name change, etc-[but not necessarily surgery] and one struts their stuff 24/7/365 in private and "public"[that is, one interact in public "Full Time" as the gender opposite to ones birth sex= work, school, University, etc]

For the most part one could say we have been "full time" on a "mental" level 24/7/365 from the moment we understood what gender meant...But this is not what the polls about...

Thank you to all those who have participated so far...

Metta Zenda

[justmeinoz]

I was passing ok before starting HRT, and as my name change came through weeks earlier than I was led to believe it would, really had no choice.  My Gender Therapist was quite supportive of the idea after I discussed it. Sometimes the Public Service likes to stuff us around by being quick for a change.

As I had resigned from my job due to the changes that were being made there, with a view to returning to study interstate, I felt I had nothing to lose.  I came out to everyone I used to work with by letter and they have all been great any time I have been back to my old town.

Karen.

[eli77]

Kia Ora Sarah,

You bring up a good point...Full time can mean different things to different people, however for the purpose of this thread  and poll- "full time" means, when one discards their old skin "once and for all"  that is with HRT, name change, etc-[but not necessarily surgery] and one struts their stuff 24/7/365 in private and "public"[that is, one interact in public "Full Time" as the gender opposite to ones birth sex= work, school, University, etc]

For the most part one could say we have been "full time" on a "mental" level 24/7/365 from the moment we understood what gender meant...But this is not what the polls about...

Thank you to all those who have participated so far...

Metta Zenda

That really wasn't my point. My name is Sarah - using it exclusively means gendering myself as female under all circumstances as it cannot ever be perceived as male. My definition for full time is essentially the same as yours, though I would use slightly different language given I don't consider myself to have been born male - just a somewhat defective female.

I was referring to the oddity of the word itself for those of us that never had a part time period of their life, that went from 0% to 100% in a day. Full time as opposed to what? No time? Seems dorky. Sometimes I just say I came out in public on that date as it sounds less weird.

[Anatta]

I was passing ok before starting HRT, and as my name change came through weeks earlier than I was led to believe it would, really had no choice.  My Gender Therapist was quite supportive of the idea after I discussed it. Sometimes the Public Service likes to stuff us around by being quick for a change.

As I had resigned from my job due to the changes that were being made there, with a view to returning to study interstate, I felt I had nothing to lose.  I came out to everyone I used to work with by letter and they have all been great any time I have been back to my old town.

Karen.

Kia Ora J,

Here is Kiwiland one can change their name but until they actually start to use it "officially" their old name still applies...I had changed my name by deed poll around 8 months before I went "full time" but it wasn't until I changed it on my driver's licence that it became official...I'm not sure how it works in Aussie, I haven't lived there for around twenty odd years...

Another good thing here is there's no gender marker on our driver's licences, so if one looks the part one can use their licence has official id-which I had done for four and half years prior to my surgery...

Metta Zenda  

[amybenedict]

Currently I am intending on going full time in January, which will be nearly 5 months but we will have to wait and see...

[Lily]

I plan to around my 1 year anniversary, I'm almost to 4 months now.

[Stephe]

I was living full time (name change, 24/7/365 etc) 3ish years before I looked into HRT and therapy. I had just had enough of fighting my true gender and at least for me it was a "just do it" sort of thing.

[Stephe]

Well in my case, HRT was the end of my first stage, not the beginning of it all.  I spent two years growing out my hair, learning how to apply makeup and wearing it everywhere (even to work, because I could), and making my appearance quite androgynous.  Though I knew since at least the age of 4 that I desperately wanted to be female, I had to know definitively that physical and social feminization would make me feel better or if it would make me more confused.  The further this androgyny progressed, the more I feminized, the more exquisite I felt.

That's pretty much how it went for me but I was full time for several years before I decided to look into HRT (which turned out to be mostly a failure but that's another story..)

[Vincent E.S.]

Kia Ora Vincent,

No it's not that strange, especially for F2Ms...I think for the most part many F2Ms are better positioned to "physically" go 24/7 before HRT...

When will you start HRT ?

Metta Zenda

Eh, actually, most females I know would have a lot of trouble passing, especially those who are skinny, but have large breasts. Some of us just get lucky.

There are only a few doctors in my area who will work with trans-youth, but I should be able to see one of them for a medical assessment/evaluation in a month or so. Once I've gone in, I'll have to inform my gender therapist so she can give me a letter for the next appointment. If everything goes well, I'll be able to start HRT the second appointment, so I'm estimating somewhere from 4-6 months from now is when I'll start.

- Vincent

[Janet_Girl]

It just worked out that I was 5 months into HRT when I went full time.  I started HRT in April of 2008, and I had planned on RLE the first of the year.  But my name change came thru in September of that same year.  I had been living part time for those five months.  And when I took my vacation later that month I notified my work that I was going to be going full time.  They already had a heads up, so it was just a matter of setting the date.

[Anatta]

Eh, actually, most females I know would have a lot of trouble passing, especially those who are skinny, but have large breasts. Some of us just get lucky.

There are only a few doctors in my area who will work with trans-youth, but I should be able to see one of them for a medical assessment/evaluation in a month or so. Once I've gone in, I'll have to inform my gender therapist so she can give me a letter for the next appointment. If everything goes well, I'll be able to start HRT the second appointment, so I'm estimating somewhere from 4-6 months from now is when I'll start.

- Vincent

Kia Ora Vincent,

It sounds like you have got a head start[already living the dream]...The next few months will fly by and then you'll make your dream a reality....

Good luck...

Metta Zenda

[Amaranth]

I started going full time before I had arranged possibilities for HRT.  Passing doesn't carry too much weight in a small town like mine.  Everyone already knows, and looking more femme than I can manage at this point won't fool anyone.  The few times I've gone out of town recently, though, I haven't been met with strange looks and I always get ma'amed.  I'm happy enough with it that I don't think i could go back to wait for HRT even if I wanted to.