Among post-op trans women what is called professionally in the English-speaking world "regretters" this rate is statistically less than 2%. So I'd call a 98% satisfaction rate rather excellent -- wouldn't you ? In this context "post-op" means GRS surgery to get a genuine vagina.
When having doubts sooner than that, a small percentage of folks do what is called "detransitioning." Susan's Place has multiple discussion groups dealing with this subject which I don't visit as this has no bearing on me. I'm full-time Jennifer for the rest of my life and this was literally life or death for me. I would for sure have killed myself if I had not gone full-time Jennifer when I did. I basically said to myself "f- it, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks I much prefer simply going full-time as Jennifer rather than do suicide" even though I lost my job because of it and had the resultant major financial problems for awhile. I was briefly literally homeless in the streets for nearly 24 hours. But I will NEVER stop being Jennifer 24 / 7.
No one should start medical HRT hormones until they are 100% sure. 90% sure is NOT NOT NOT sufficient. Some of hormonal changes are irreversible about a few months. After 6 months on anti-androgens such as spiro a MTF very likely will be infertile for example. And breast growth is permanent and only slightly shrinks back upon de-transitioning.
I agree that sometimes some doctors take a cautious approach to medical HRT and prescribe a very low dose of estrogen and/or very low dose of anti-androgen. Among doctors who takes this approach, by talking with thousands of trans friends they have told me the anti-androgen approach without estrogen is the most conservative approach.
The theory here is apparently that if you feel great emotionaly to finally be getting the correct hormones, then the choice is correct to transition to womanhood. The theory apparently also says that if one reacts in horrified fashion to for example loss of erectile function with severe negative feelings about it, then it was the wrong decision.
My feelings are that there are maybe some advantages to this medical approach, but I hear of major contrary indicators to this approach. One is: the BEST idea is simply to be 100% sure before HRT starts in my opinion.
The other major drawback I have had many trans friends tell me is that the "roadblocking obstacles to happiness by not getting the right hormones" likely increases both suicide rates (from being forbidden to get the right hormones) and also likely increases self-medicatiom rates (which is bad because of heightened health risks under self-medication). But some of my trans friends in both USA and UK have told me that waiting a year or two to get properly prescribed HRT meds has made them more suicidal or caused them to start self-medding neither of which is a good outcome. This particularly seems to happen among some of my British trans friends due to sometimes multiple-year delays in being allowed to start HRT under the NHS, the free National Health Service.
