And now the wait begins...

[Shiratori]

Hi Shiratori

  I just read this thread and I'm sorry that you folks across the pond have such a devil of a time having to wait so long for anything to be started. I waited 64 years but that was my doing. I changed all that in a short time once I figured out  crossdressing was not enough. I took matters into my own hands then told my doctor and was getting my meds the right way in about 6 weeks and therapy about 2 months after.

  Hearing about you folks  makes me feel guilty over the ease of my start.

Hang in there, it will happen for you Shiratori. It will.

Hugs,
    Laurie

It's the price you pay for free healthcare, I guess. I could go private if I could afford it and be seen quickly but I'm happy to at least have the option to transition via the NHS.

[coldHeart]

Hi shiratori looks like Daventry is the nearest one to me, if I have to wait that long I,ll go mad or something but great news for you.

[Shiratori]

Just had a call from Lynne at Daventry GIC. I have my first appointment on Wednesday 23rd August with Dr Vaidya.

[Devlyn]

Yays! Let's get this show on the road. 

Hugs, Devlyn

[davina61]

Good for you, have 18 mth wait (referred to Nottingham in Feb) or 2 years for Daventry, GP thought it would be Quicker!!!!!!!! Attempting to fund  HRT in the meantime .

[Shiratori]

Well, the time has finally come. My first appointment at Daventry GIC is tomorrow afternoon. I'm currently experiencing a mixture of panic, elation and relief. It actually feels real now. Things are going to start happening.

One of the things they ask you to do is to write a short essay about yourself to make the process easier so that if you get an attack of nerves you have stuff written down that the therapist can refer to. I thought you fine ladies and gentlemen would like to see what I wrote:

Probably my earliest memory of not wanting to be a little boy was when I was sent to a local preschool and I learned that there was a difference between girls and boys. I always wanted to do the things that the girls got to do rather than "boy things". This being the 1970s I didn't really have a choice in the matter and had to do the stuff the boys did. My best friend there was a girl and so we usually hung out together at playtime and avoided the boys.

When it came time to start proper school it started to become even more apparent to me that I wasn't allowed to do things with the girls, particularly during PE lessons. 5 year old me started to think that if I were allowed to wear girls' uniform then maybe I'd turn into a girl, although I never actually got up the courage to try this.

When I was at home there were actually some girly clothes in the dressing up box so I would usually pick out one of the skirts to wear and would play at being Wonder Woman. It wasn't too long before my father's amusement turned to annoyance that his son was "a bloody jessie" and I wasn't allowed to do that anymore and was pushed towards things that would "toughen me up".

During most of my childhood at school there were usually at least a couple of other boys who preferred to hand out with the girls at play at playtime instead of playing football so I would usually spend my time with them.

Once I started at secondary school I had a reputation with the others who had transferred to that school with me as "the weird kid" so most of those 5 years were spent as one of the school outcasts and I spent most of my time with my own company as the girls at secondary school weren't interested in hanging out like they previously had. I spent most break times in the school library reading or using the computers.
 
I got a Saturday job at Woolworths and would occasionally steal girls' clothing from the stock room (either underwear or swimsuits that I could put on under my clothes and not be noticed) but soon stopped that due to feelings of shame.

I only had a couple of girlfriends during my teenage years and early 20s and those relationships didn't last very long as I would end up feeling jealous and resentful that they had the body that I wanted so badly. I think the longest I managed to sustain a relationship during those years was about 3 months and I would normally end up ignoring them until they left me.

The majority of my 20s and 30s were spent smoking lots of cannabis and getting drunk every night as it helped to supress the feelings that hurt so much. I also decided that it was easier to not pursue any more relationships as I hated the way they made me feel and the way they made me hurt the girls I was with.

All that came to an end 4½ years ago when a girl I'd known for many years and I suddenly discovered that we had become a couple. As the relationship progressed I came to realise that I would have to tell her the truth about myself if we were to have a future. I was nervous as hell, but luckily she was very accepting and has been really supportive and was the one who encouraged me to get our GP to refer me to the GIC as I kept chickening out. We have been engaged for a little over 3½ years but have agreed to hold off getting married until after I transition. She is the one who, when I get depressed about my body hair, baldness or masculine features reassures me that I'm a pretty girl and that she loves me. When I read about other transwomen losing their partners when they come out I realise how fortunate I am to be with Jem.

[Megan.]

Good luck and try your best to relax. If it's anything like my first appointment it'll be mostly very formulaic Q&A stuff. X

There is a Northampton GIC thread you're welcome to follow and contribute to.

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[Shiratori]

There is a Northampton GIC thread you're welcome to follow and contribute to.

Do you have a link? I don't seem to be able to find it.

[Megan.]

Try this:
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php?topic=197743.0


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[Shiratori]

Thanks. Looks like I've actually posted in that thread. 

[Megan.]

Haha,  we're caught in some wierd paradoxical loop! [emoji3]

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[Shiratori]

Don't get me started. We have enough trouble with time loops on the Transgender Trekkies Facebook group. 

[Shiratori]

That went well.

We basically went over what I'd written down in the essay in a bit more detail. I'm so glad they ask you to do that because it makes it a whole lot easier as you can get down what you want to say beforehand in case you go blank. As it turns out I ended up being really open and chatty and at the end he was happy to provide an initial diagnosis (to be confirmed at my next appointment with a different therapist. Apparently I'm transgender, who'd have thought it?

There was a second psychiatrist sitting in at the session. Apparently he's in training to be a gender therapist as Northants GIC are trying to increase the number of therapist s available so that they can get the waiting times back down to a reasonable level (they're currently up to 24 months from initial referral). I was asked if I was happy to have him sit in so I said yes. Anything that helps to ease the strain and get people treated quicker is a good thing in my books.

He says that I'll have another appointment in 3-4 months and after that I should get the OK to start hormone treatment and facial hair removal. He's also going to see about some vocal training for me.

[RobynTx]

Congrats, that is some great news.  Now for a long three months.

[Megan.]

I'm glad it went well for you. I have several friends at Daventry,  the staff seem good on the whole.
I go to CX,  and they are far worse. I've never had a diagnosis from them,  despite explicitly asking; this might (possibly ) help my Mum in dealing with things,  which she currently isn't.

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[Shiratori]

Just got back from my second GIC appointment at Daventry. I saw Dr Timmins this time and he really is as nice as everyone says.

He gave me a clean bill of health after the physical, although he did say that I need to lose about 10kg. Apparently my T level is right at the bottom of the male range. My testosterone is 9mmol and my oestrogen is 64mmol.

He gave me the consent form to start hormones, I have to wait a 4-week cooling off period before I can return that so it looks like I'll be starting in the new year. He also gave me the application form for funding for hair removal and says that my hair is dark enough that I should be able to just use laser and not need to use electrolysis.