Wonderful transition without any RLE

[rmaddy]

I would also argue that hrt isn't a drug, it's a normal and essential part of our bodies that are absolutely essential for metabolic and mental health (hormones are an essential to the body's healing systems as well as for production of neurotransmitters).

By that standard, insulin, epinephrine and tissue plasminogen activase are not drugs.  Good luck with that. 

If you mean to say that one should not be permitted to transition as far as HRT will allow unless also proceeding to GCS, I say bollocks! First off, one hardly remains virile just because there's still a penis in place. In my own case I determined that I'd be happier on HRT and foregoing vaginoplasty than doing nothing and I weighed this exhaustively with my psychiatrist and my gf. Ultimately I decided I needed GCS as well and so far hindsight says the decision was far more correct and necessary than I'd imagined.

Let me venture a guess.  You went through the process as envisioned by WPATH, meeting with physicians, coming to fully informed consent at every step along the way.  Perhaps you encountered someone along the way that didn't understand WPATH and seemed to be in your way.  You recognized this.  You educated yourself.  You found a provider who knew the guidelines.  You were supported in your transition.  It worked out well for you. 

How close did I get?

[SadieBlake]

Never felt anyone was in the way or gatekeeping. My pshrink wasn't especially knowledgeable about transexualism however there was no time that I felt she wasn't both behind me and fully supportive, fair to say we educated ourselves as a team effort.

[rmaddy]

Never felt anyone was in the way or gatekeeping. My pshrink wasn't especially knowledgeable about transexualism however there was no time that I felt she wasn't both behind me and fully supportive, fair to say we educated ourselves as a team effort.

Ok, so what gives?  The system works.

[Complete]

If you mean to say that one should not be permitted to transition as far as HRT will allow unless also proceeding to GCS, I say bollocks! First off, one hardly remains virile just because there's still a penis in place. In my own case I determined that I'd be happier on HRT and foregoing vaginoplasty than doing nothing and I weighed this exhaustively with my psychiatrist and my gf. Ultimately I decided I needed GCS as well and so far hindsight says the decision was far more correct and necessary than I'd imagined.

Again,  l am happy for you that you have found your way to happiness. You are one of those very special people who have found a cultural acceptance, although l think perhaps being accepted as a third gender is not the same as being perceived as simply a man or a woman. As l said in another thread,  it is up to to each person to find their own happiness and personal fulfillment.

[warlockmaker]

Here in Thailand 50 pct of the tgs retain their penis, they look every bit the female and equally  win major beauty pagents. No one cares if there us a penis or not, we are female tgs. and we are also bi, llesbian and hetro or any combination. Maybe some transphobic, and uneducated cis male or female may find it hard to accept. But we as TGs surely can accept our diversity.

We as TG must strive to unite, accept with our hearts and celebrate our diversity. Only then, united, without hate can the we change the heart of our country's  population.

[Paige]

I would so love to do your approach Warlockmaker.  Maybe someday  I do like the idea of GCS before you come out.  In my opinion it's the easiest thing to be stealth about.  You can have it your whole life and no one except maybe your doctor need ever know. 

Take care,
Paige

[Soli]

from the start, years ago, my therapist was telling me I needed to first start to wear more women's clothing, wear bras and fake breasts, and I just thought it was not the right way to go. I felt I needed to transition from the inside out, not reverse as she was telling me. So that's what I did, I took hormones and slowly slipped into female clothing and looks as the woman in me was blooming out. I don't pass, a little more than I would have then with fake breasts, but I'm solid inside, female inside, biochemically and psychologically, and I know a little more who I am. RLE sound to me like a really hard core psychological experiment.

[Complete]

from the start, years ago, my therapist was telling me I needed to first start to wear more women's clothing, wear bras and fake breasts, and I just thought it was not the right way to go. I felt I needed to transition from the inside out, not reverse as she was telling me. So that's what I did, I took hormones and slowly slipped into female clothing and looks as the woman in me was blooming out. I don't pass, a little more than I would have then with fake breasts, but I'm solid inside, female inside, biochemically and psychologically, and I know a little more who I am. RLE sound to me like a really hard core psychological experiment.

I don't know when you transitioned. But it seems that you were able to manage your own transition w/o to much outside interference. When l started my transition,  l spent an entire year on a serious trans-sexual hormonal regimen while continuing to present male. At the end of that year underwent srs and did my facial hair removal while recovering and still under doctor supervised pain medications. I guess my point is that if you are absolutely sure where you are going,  all you have to do is to find the best way to get there.

[Lisa_K]

We're all so different.

I started HRT in 1972 between my junior and senior year in high school. Transitioning in school was impossible back then even though I wasn't really passing as a boy after I was 15 or so, so it was what is was. After graduating and going "full time" at 18, it wasn't until four years later when I was 22 that I was able to have SRS.

By then, everything had stabilized in my life and I'd been at the same job for several years. After much deliberation and back and forth between insurance providers and my doctors, my procedures were covered through my group plan at work. Met Life™ told me I was the first they had ever provided this type of coverage for. That was in 1977.

I took six weeks off at work and resumed the same job for another two years. I guess you could say I has four years of RLE before having SRS which was about three years too long. The only thing surgery changed in my life was my private relationship with my body and made no outward differences whatsoever.

[Complete]

The only thing surgery changed in my life was my private relationship with my body and made no outward differences whatsoever.

Exactly. The only other thing that significantly changed in my life was my ability to have a meaningful and normal sexual relations with another.

[Devlyn]

So it seems there are more than a few trains of thought running through this thread. One is that a responsible approach to hrt is for the patient to fully understand the effects and the ultimate result of long term use. Another seems to be that any adult should be entitled to these drugs without any responsibility for the consequences or even to pay for them. Some seem to think that these powerful drugs should be dispensed for whatever reason that someone might want. There are many on this forum who want or use these drugs for simple feminization, while still wanting to maintain their virility.
Is this not a misuse of these drugs? Is it the right of these people to have these drugs and make the rest of us to pay for them? Personally, l don't think so.

No, I don't think it is a misuse of the drugs. What's wrong with wanting to maintain male function? That was my desire, but it hasn't been my reality. I accepted that as a risk going in.

You're not being very accepting of the diversity in this community.

Hugs, Devlyn

[rmaddy]

No, I don't think it is a misuse of the drugs. What's wrong with wanting to maintain male function? That was my desire, but it hasn't been my reality. I accepted that as a risk going in.

There's nothing wrong with it.  The problem occurs when people consider Google to be a valid substitute for medical consultation and beef that the latter is unreasonable in order to obtain a prescription.

[Devlyn]

No, I don't think it is a misuse of the drugs. What's wrong with wanting to maintain male function? That was my desire, but it hasn't been my reality. I accepted that as a risk going in.

There's nothing wrong with it.  The problem occurs when people consider Google to be a valid substitute for medical consultation and beef that the latter is unreasonable in order to obtain a prescription.

Tell it to Complete, not me. 

Hugs, Devlyn

[Complete]

I am all for diversity. I am happy that you are able to accept those with views like mine that are different from yours.
I guess l am not much of an "anything goes" type of person. If presenting female while functioning male is your desire then why worry,  be happy. Not sure what this has to do with RLE.

[Myranda]

To take it a step further, I'm all for doing SRS first and RLE some years later. If ever. I got enough problems without social transtion making it all worse.

This right here has never been more of an issue than in today's social and culture climate, at least here in the US.  Since the 2016 elections America has taken major steps backwards in regards to issue such as the ones we face.  And quite honestly, is one of the reasons I'm really conflicted about any possible transition for myself.  Mentally and pyschologically, I know something is off and it is causing me problems, butin the much larger picture those problems are so much easier to deal with compared to the problems I may face if I were to come out and try and transition, especially given our political climate right now, and the empowerment given to those who have extremely conservative views and the power they are being given to dictate how others live their own lives.

[Zoe_Kay]

It's ok for those who want RLE but to force it on a person, of age, to do RLE,  is cruel and takes away our rights as human beings.

I also feel that forcing a person who feels uncomfortable in dressing up as a female when they feel they are not physically ready in appearance is barbaric.

Look at me today...I'm a happy female , I could not image the ridicule I would have received dressed up as a female when I looked and felt physically as a man.

^^This right here is why its such a barrier for so many people!  And I'm so glad that you are a happy woman now!!!  <3