so many questions...

[wallflowerXo]

hi all!

So I'm Aubrey and basically i'm here to ask you all a few of the questions that have been plaguing me about transition, and to ask for a critique of my brand spanking new, and extremely rough timetable! <#Cue applause!>
First thing is first though, a few basics about myself, I'm 26yr's old, I'm from Wollongong Australia And I've really only just decided over the last few weeks to pull my life together.
Anyway here i am, very excited to be taking steps in the right direction for myself and hoping some of my lovely new friends will have advice i can benefit from    I'd be especially interested in hearing from others here in Australia, it might help me get a better handle on the process over here.

Anyway here is my rough timetable outline

#1 Dec 2013/early january 2014 Find a local G.P. with experience in the field

#2 January 2014 Find therapist / counselor with experience, book 1st session.

#3 February 2014 Singing lessons / Speech therapy, hopefully both but depends on cost.

#4 March 2014 Begin Laser / Electrolysis

#5 March/April 2014 Begin HRT if I'm ready (if? lol)

Now on to the question's yay!

#1 At the moment, i don't have any specific medical practitioner, i pretty much just go to whatever doctor is available at the local medical center is this going to be a problem when it comes to getting a referral for a therapist? if so... any pointers on finding a new doctor? Or better still, a good doctor?

#2 Very similar to Q1. I haven't had to go and see a therapist/counselor or what have you since i was like 13, and i have no idea where to start... i have tried to contact the gender center in Sydney, but i never got any response to my email so i just shrugged it off and went for a long sulk lol anyway i guess i could call them again, but im not very local to sydney is the problem.

#3 Final question for now!  Ok so this one is about laser/electrolysis and a little bit of HRT. Now i've read so many different things about all 3 of these that it's kind of thrown my whole train into chaos.... I'm a fairly hairy person, if i let my chest hair grow out and don't clip it, its a stern-bush of epically Austin Powers-esque proportions and getting rid of that more than anything is my major concern. I was wondering if others had any experience in this area? and how it was that they went about "clearing the forest" so to speak lol I've read about HRT, the combination of E  and AA's having a reducing effect on body hair, but to what extent? will it eventually be light enough to just have it lasered away permanently?? will i need my tummy electrolyzed

Oky doky, that's it for me, thanks!

sorry about the super long post lol
!Aubrey!

[Catherine Sarah]

Hi Aubrey,
Welcome to Susan's family. It's good of you to drop in and say "Hi". Hope you like it here, and you stay for a while.

There is a mountain of information, resources and friendship waiting for you here, you just need to jump in start talking and ask any question you like. You're quite safe here and we are very accepting.

Just to let you know, I'm from north of Sydney and know a few girls from down your way. And as you've probably worked out, the 'Gong' is not all that Trans friendly. Most women I know from there travel to Sydney for therapy, electro, Endo, and voice therapy. Personally I don't of any medical professionals from there that are gender experienced.

Having said that, the Gender Centre will most probably be your best point of contact for the services you are looking for.

Anyhow, you first question first. Any doctor at your medical centre should be able to give you a referral to a therapist specialising in gender identity issues. You simply need to ask for one as you feel you have some gender identity issues. You do not need to be more specific than that, unless the doctor demonstrates knowledge and a willingness to help you.

Second. The Gender Centre have a good in-house counselor, or you can ask for a list of therapists specialising in gender issues.

Third. (a) laser (b) electrolysis (c) HRT
(a) HRT will change the dynamics of your body hair. To what extent is pretty much an individual result. There are topical applications your Endocronologist may recommend. When it comes to laser, shop around as the treatment, methodologies and prices vary widely. As does the effectiveness. I might suggest you look into this after you start HT and see what effects it has. And yes, if you are well endowed with hair, you'll need the tummy done as well. Of course don't forget your face. The top lip is a great exercise in pain management    Depending on your surgeon, if you go that far, scrotal electrolysis may also be required. Again if you're well endowed with hair, it may be mandatory. You don't really want hairs growing in your vulva. And electrolysis IS the only effective method that works.
(b) Electrolysis. Pretty much a ditto of the above. One practioner that some women use is in Balmain and charges something like $75-120 per hour. 
(c) HT Again the Gender Centre should be able to give you a list of reputable Endocronologist. These people are few and far between. I know of only 2 in Sydney that really know their salt.

About transition timetables. They don't really exist. There is no hard and fast way to transition. You basically transition at your own comfort and speed. Once you get into it, you kind of sense when things need to be done.

If your considering singing lesson in order to learn how to sing; great. If you are thinking of it as feminine voice therapy; forget it. Singing lessons don't work that way. Stay with the Speech Therapist. The Gender Centre had a speech therapist in last month, outlining what a therapist would do with respects to voice training.
So roughly speaking, if you're still into timetables, here's a revised one. (a) do you research and find a good therapist, Endo and speech therapist. (b) check in with your local GP and ask for referrals to said specialists. (c) sit back, do the work and enjoy and embrace the journey.

Looking forward to hearing more of your story in time to come, but in the meantime, be safe, well and happy.

Lotsa huggs
Catherine

P.S. If you get bewildered or bamboozled along the way, PM  after you get 15 posts and I'll see what can be done.

[Mogu]

IMHO, you should start electrolysis as early as possible, it takes time and doesn't require any kind of therapist approval. HRT will often reduce body hair growth and make the hair lighter, the extent probably varies. The voice therapy can be hazy on that, my voice therapist wanted me to see a doctor first, but wasn't heavy on requirements.

Not sure about finding a good doctor, I looked up lists of places that do informed consent and found a good place near me, my psychologist even suggested it. Being next to a major city is helpful like that.

I'd suggest you also start saving, this stuff can be expensive.

[wallflowerXo]

Thanks for your replies

very good info to have cath, thanks  as for the singing lessons though, the idea is just to help me get more comfortable in the higher register, not to alter my speech, my voice is fairly deep, almost baritone  but I've always had fun playing with my voice so i can do high or low, but i need to practice, singing i thought would be a great way to build confidence with my voice as well as a nice method for practicing control of basic vocal techniques.... but i'm probably wrong lol i don't know.

Yeah i wouldn't know much about the gong not being trans-friendly my contact with people is fairly limited, i mean the people here are all friendly and happy and outgoing enough but I'm not lol. truth be told, im aware that timetables are a little bit of a crock, but it's nice to have a rough plan of how i want to go about myself, Considering I'm unemployed right now i see it taking quite a bit longer than I've got set down, but who knows with medicare and my teachers health insurance (mum's a teacher) and my centrelink freebies i may get a bit further than i think, so I'm trying to remain cautiously optimistic about my future...
The one thing that's kind of keeping me afloat at the moment is that I'm pretty sure that centrelink entitles me to 8 or so free therapist/counselling sessions a year, medicare takes care of the majority of any medication bills etc and my teachers health fund account... i have no clue about.......... lol i should look into that  every little bit is going to help...

One more quick (series of) question(s) because the body hair is still confusing me, i get that i should start electrolysis on the face ASAP... but should i start getting my chest/tummy lasered around the same time? or wait till a few months after starting hrt to see what i'll be dealing with? as i said before my chest hair is really thick and dark, my skin is very light though, the phrase "lilly white" comes to mind lol.
so from what i've read laser should work well on my torso.... however Ive also read that laser isn't permanent hair removal... i don't want to end up 5 years down the line with stubbly boobs....  but i'm guessing that usually HRT has taken its toll by that period and the "girls" are in full effect stopping that kind of physical activity??

thanks again to everyone for reading sorry bout the long-ass posts

[Cindy]

Hi Hon,

I'm in Adelaide. My sister Catherine has already contacted you and she knows the Sydney scene very well. She is also very supportive.

Body hair well it varies, the face is most important, I'd tend to go for waxing for body hair and see what HRT does, laser is pretty permanent for dark hair, I have only had laser and I have no body hair or facial hair, beyond normal female distribution. I shave my legs maybe once a fortnight? My pits of course and my bikini line, but doesn't every girl

Aussies are very accepting of trans*people so there are few issues there.

So my suggestion would be, wax the body, get on HRT and enjoy the ride! It can be a doozy!

Cindy

[Catherine Sarah]

Hi Aubrey,
OK. You're now on a very limited budget. But apart from that, forget the singing lessons for the reasons you've stated, unless you are planning singing to people in normal conversation. Speech therapy isn't cheap so you best spend the money on them instead of singing lessons.

Cindy is right. Electro the face first, wax the body and see what HT does over time (3-5 years)

Laser: it's a mine field. Some, swear by it, others are walking disasters. Remember when reading about anything on the web; who wrote the article? Are they qualified to write about the topic. A good 70% of info on the web is unadultered trash.

HT plus time plus topical applications your Endo recommends should clear your torso.

............ but i'm guessing that usually HRT has taken its toll by that period and the "girls" are in full effect stopping that kind of physical activity??

Not so. Essentially breasts are made of fat tissue, apart for the glandular structure in them. They can be lasered and electro'd. Might be bloody uncomfortable but still.

In summary, your health benefits card from Centrelink, Medicare and whatever features the Teacher Health Care can offer you, should provide a reasonable start for therapy, HT and with a GP's referral, a speech pathologist. Electro, you'll have to provide.

If you are planning to take this through to GCS (Gender Correction Surgery) you best be looking for a job now. Transition is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. It's a high risk category procedure. My personal opinion is, there are no suitable surgeons in Australia, capable of carrying out this procedure; effectively. This means you'll need to look overseas for the procedure. So start your research now. There's a lot to it. Essentially there are 6 major invasive procedures that constitute GCS.  You need to know exactly what your surgeon is going to do. 

Use the following link to get to the "External Links" section and have a look at the video by Dr Marci Bowers SRS.
https://www.susans.org/wiki/Penile_inversion
It's short, sharp and to the point.

Don't worry about how long or short your posts are. All your questions are relevant and need answers.

Huggs
Catherine

[wallflowerXo]

Thanks for all the advice,

I'm not sure if i'll go for the full SRS, i've thought about the double orchy eventually but thats as far as im willing to go for the moment, who knows how i'll feel in the future though. You're all absolutely right about my needing to find work, to help with the bills... i think i'll have to bite the bullet and apply at the local leagues/pub, i hate working around alcohol lol ive been trying to find some retail work, i figured "hey christmas time, there should be loads of spots available" but no luck so far

I'll survive though, i mostly need a job so i can get my own place right now, I'm living with my older brother and the environment is not helpful to my condition he's constantly borrowing money and eating all the groceries i buy, never cleaning, his dogs always inside etc but that's a rant for a different board i think... i saw a promising board labeled "AAAAARRGH!!!" might let it out there...

anywho, great advice all, i'll remember to scratch the singing lessons off my list aswell cath lol

[Jenny07]

Hi Aubrey

Jen in Sydney here just up the coast.

I have had excellent results clearing my front, back and legs using laser and it worked fantastically well.
Put a priority on clearing the face as others have said, as this took considerably longer.

I have gone it alone with therapist and Doctors as I also had no reply, so if you need help let me know and I can guide you to people who know what to do and not waste your time. My GP is a bulk biller which helps and is easy to get to by public transport in the city, they see all sorts including backpackers! It took me 5 weeks from my first therapist session to walking out with E. Be ready as I know I was.
Hardest thing is to be able to open up to them about it and mine could not have been better or easier to talk to. Took me too many years to be able to do this.

Keep in touch if you need help.

Jen