Hello from the Czech Republic

[eerie]

OK, sorry for my necromancy, I definitely see that red box which says that this topic is older than 30 days, but still...

I am from Czech Republic too, though not a Czech myself, just have been living here for some time. I have a really bad day today, why of these than you want to cry, your head is spinning from all the thoughts... like I am 28 and why I still look like a guy and should I do something about it or not, or what am I in general, transgender, not transgender... or maybe gender fluid and have one of this swings and that is why I was on a shopping spree today and spent a lot on makeup and clothes.... especially on that absolutely gorgeous purple beanie... or maybe I am just a normal pervert  So, it is almost night in Prague, I am having a glass of absinthe and googling HRT, and this makes me even more sad, that is how I have found this forum, or even this particular topic.

Anyway, I guess I should say hi at least, therefore - Hi to you all!  I don't have any particular female name to which I tend to cling, I guess because I mainly speak English (because my Czech really sucks) and pick English names to which I can't really attach because it is not my native language. My mother tongue I also don't use that much, but let's say I'll be Anja.

OK, enough babbling, I just wanted to say hi and I am in hope to connect to some people here in Prague and vicinity. And maybe to see you in person one day, I think it can help me to figure out there I, myself, am standing on this spectrum of self-identification. My last lady friend used to call me "my lady", because according to her I behave like a chick  But she is a tough one, according to her everyone she knows is a pussy. 

[Rachel]

A warm welcome from Philadelphia, PA USA (it is -4.0 C tonight).

[eerie]

A warm reply  , it is 0C this evening. Still hope to hear from people in CR. As I am new to this forum I can't do much, looks like my access is very limited...

[Mary81]

Hello eerie,
Hello from Plzen, and welcome to susan's.
As you probably read in this thread, I am also not from the Czech Republic originally so I know how difficult it seems to even start the process of transitiioning. If it is any help, there are some doctors (including sexologists) who speak English in Prague. 
I don't really make it into Prague very often except for doctor's appointments, which for some reason are mostly in the late evening. There are two girls that I know of here that are from Prague, but I am not sure how active they are on the forum. Hopefully you'll be able to connect with them.
Anyhow, feel free to PM me after you reach 15 posts.
Have a nice evening,
Mary

[eerie]

Hi Mary!
It is good to hear from someone who is at least in CR 
Yeah, it looks hardly feasible, just tell me, what do you think is harder - applying for modra karta or for HRT? 
Usually I don't have any problems executing my plans, I am very determined and stubborn person. The problem is that I don't know what I want... I am not a pure transgender, I am kind of androgynous who seems to cling to his female part more and more. So, I am giving it a test drive, shifting my social behaviour to a neutral zone, picking up some female traits, trying to do something with my voice and many other things. It helps, I feel less irritated, I am more calm and can focus better because I don't have to force myself and pretend to be something that I am not. It is still a long way though, if I decide to start HRT and come out one day...

And I am not sure what to do with doctors. Does it makes sense to go to a sexologist before I feel like I am absolutely ready to start HRT and that is the way I want to go? What is your experience? Are they more into binary model, like if you don't want to get rid of your cock then no hormones for you or do they see the whole spectrum? I don't want to blow my chance, I guess it is not that many of them here in Prague who can help me.

So, you also want me to complete my 15 posts quest  Sure, I can spam a little bit here and there!

[Mary81]

Good morning eerie,

To be honest, I found it harder to get approval to have a tonsillectomy than to get approval for HRT, once I entered the system. It was a lot harder to figure out what I was supposed to do and who I was supposed to see. Though I fit into the binary pretty easily. You should try to connect with Sarah84.

About the doctors etc. I saw a therapist for several months before I made an appointment to see a sexologist and I was already pretty sure of what I wanted by then. It might be useful for you to do something similar, though I have no idea of who to recommend for you to see in Prague. Doctor Fifkova in Zizkov is a sexologist and a therapist, but she doesn't speak English. It is likely a good idea to be pretty sure of what you want before you get too deep into the system. After you see the sexologist you will need to get a diagnosis from a clinical psychologist. Prof Weiss, who is the main person who does the diagnosis unless you are in Moravia, is a firm believer in the binary model. He writes frequently in Lidovky or HN (I don't remember which), and he has said that people will eventually choose one gender or another and that being in the middle is just for trying to make a choice...

Well, I need to get ready to go to work.
Take care and have a nice day,
Mary

[eerie]

Good evening Mary 

I will certainly try to reach Sarah84, but as you can see my 15 posts quests is still ongoing... I don't have that much time and don't want to write complete nonsense 
Yesterday I made my first voice record! I want to track my progress, if any. I was disappointed on so many levels! Even my male voice sucks  Articulation is not so good, I mumble, and as English is not my native language the accent is also strong. Then I made a spectrogram to see where is my main resonance, it turned out to be even lower than average male resonance. Luckily for me my range is not so bad for someone who never sings, I can go up to C4 without switching to falsetto (at least I think it is not falsetto) and even higher... Though I can't really speak around C4, well, no one said it is going to be easy...

I have another question, if you don't mind. About a therapist, I guess I need someone who specializes in this field (and what is it called?), right? Like Doctor Fifkova? Do they have any modifier to their "therapist" title, and what are they called in Czech?

[Jamie D]

OK, sorry for my necromancy, I definitely see that red box which says that this topic is older than 30 days, but still...

I am from Czech Republic too, though not a Czech myself, just have been living here for some time. I have a really bad day today, why of these than you want to cry, your head is spinning from all the thoughts... like I am 28 and why I still look like a guy and should I do something about it or not, or what am I in general, transgender, not transgender... or maybe gender fluid and have one of this swings and that is why I was on a shopping spree today and spent a lot on makeup and clothes.... especially on that absolutely gorgeous purple beanie... or maybe I am just a normal pervert  So, it is almost night in Prague, I am having a glass of absinthe and googling HRT, and this makes me even more sad, that is how I have found this forum, or even this particular topic.

Anyway, I guess I should say hi at least, therefore - Hi to you all!  I don't have any particular female name to which I tend to cling, I guess because I mainly speak English (because my Czech really sucks) and pick English names to which I can't really attach because it is not my native language. My mother tongue I also don't use that much, but let's say I'll be Anja.

OK, enough babbling, I just wanted to say hi and I am in hope to connect to some people here in Prague and vicinity. And maybe to see you in person one day, I think it can help me to figure out there I, myself, am standing on this spectrum of self-identification. My last lady friend used to call me "my lady", because according to her I behave like a chick  But she is a tough one, according to her everyone she knows is a pussy. 

Welcome, Anja.  We have several other residents of the Czech Republic who post here.

[Mary81]

Hello eerie,

Congratulations on starting to work on your voice. Try not to get discouraged, it takes a lot of practice. My voice is also a work in progress. I have started to see a voice therapist at a place called comhealth. It is near the zoo in Prague. I go there once every two weeks.

About the therapist. To be honest, I really don't know what the Czech terms are for a specialist in gender etc aside from sexuolog. My therapist wasn't an expert in gender. She was just someone I could talk to confidentially. I did ask MUDr. Prochazka, the sexologist I saw first, about a therapist who spoke English and specialized in gender and he seemed pretty certain there wasn't one in Prague. Perhaps you could check on www.expats.cz. Alternatively, there are two fairly useful websites for general advice etc, but they are in Czech - www.transsexualita.cz and www.translide.cz. You might be able to find something there if you look under poradna or you could send them an email. Or maybe you could try to get an appointment with MUDr Fifkova and just bring a friend to interpret for you if you need. I know she also runs a support group. If you don't mind me asking, what is your native language? You might have more luck if you look for someone who speaks that language.

Time for breakfast.
Take care and have a nice day,
Mary

[eerie]

Hi Mary!

This is going to be my 15th message!
Thank you for the information, I'll look around. How did it work with your therapist? Did you just said something like - "Hi, I am a transgender person, please help me reassure myself that I am doing the right thing?"

I went to a bar yesterday, I was drinking, smoking, talking really loud of course, so, all my good work of the past days is gone  But, it is still good to chat with friends...
Anyway, I hope I'll be able to PM you and answer your question, I don't want to put too much personal information here, at least right now.