Hi everyone, It's my Birthday!!!

[Laurie]

Thank you Rebecca,

   I did send off a message to my doctor requesting EMLA and asking him for his ideas and/or suggestions. We shall see how it goes in a week.

Hugs,
   Laurie

[amberwaves]

Hi Ladies,

Just checking in.  All this talk of electrolysis.  I could use it, but it's not in the cards anytime soon due to financial reasons.  Luckily my facial hair is blonde so not a whole lot of beard shadow.  It would be nice to not have to spend so much time shaving every morning though.  I can get by with every other day, but it irritates me.  Living in the middle of nowhere means my options are limited for electrolysis anyway.  It's on my someday list.

Sorry to hear about your emotional day Sarah.  They happen sometimes.  I hope your doing better now.  I've been pretty emotionally unstable lately myself.  Not weepy, but irritable and such.  I honestly believe it's a reaction to being cooped up in the house so much lately.  I turn into a real jerk after about 2 days cooped up.  Plenty of things to be doing, but no desire to do them.

Our eldest daughter was formally diagnosed with ADHD and we started her on medicine.  It seems to help her somewhat, though I think the dosing will change next week when we go back for a follow up.  This has been another source of my foul mood lately.  She is a little me.  She acts so similar to how I did as a child.  I've suspected strongly for years that I had, and still suffer from, undiagnosed ADHD.  To get her help makes me so happy.  However, I see the effects on her and lament that I am unable to get that same help.  Back in 2012 I was seeing a psychiatrist about depression and moods.  I brought up that I thought I had ADHD and she just said, "we don't deal with adult ADHD here". That was it, end of discussion.  Seriously wtf.  I just let it drop.  I wan to do something about it but we are poor, have crappy health insurance and I can't afford to go out of network to do anything about getting help.  We are getting prescriptions for our daughter through our family Dr.  I've thought about asking him, but I assume he will just try to refer me back to psychiatry (the same a-holes who dismissed it to begin with).  It sucks to be poor and it's incredibly difficult to not be poor when your conditions remove most chance of successful long term employment.  Just very frustrating.

[SarahElizabeth1981]

Hey everyone,
great news about getting your appointment Laurie. EMLA cream is an over the counter item here. Canada, Alberta to be specific I suppose it could vary from one province to the next. i also only use it on my upper lip the rest is tolerable without anything. I don't know about there but it's also not cheap and you only get a tiny little tube of it. 

I don't know if anyone else mentioned but I know for myself it's more painful if I'm not well rested. Also being as relaxed as possible usually makes it more tolerable for me as well.

I know I've mentioned it before but for anyone that reads this that lives in a larger city. I go to a school it's a fraction of the cost of professional electrolysis. I would not be anywhere  near as far along if I had to pay full price. after my session yesterday the girl let me look at my sheet and I counted up how many appointments I've had. I've had about 60 hours of electrolysis on my face.  which is how much I thought I had. I'm guesstimating about another 15 - 20 and my face will be pretty much clear. perhaps a little less. it will depend a lot on the students I get to work on me. Also, since I started taking Estrogen the area under my jaw is a lot more sensitive. 

Sorry to hear about your difficulties Amber. It seems a little weird that a Psychiatrist would say they don't treat it but not give you some advice about who would. Doesn't seem very helpful.

[Rebecca]

Oh good call Sarah I forgot electrolysis tips and great news for your progress. Won't be long until you can bin the razor

Drink loads of water which you should be doing anyway to keep your skin hydrated to speed up healing and reduce initial damage.

Also one I learned the hard way is to avoid caffeine. Being a stimulant it amplifies pain.

After a particularly late night at work I was hitting the caffeine hard through coffee, chocolate and tablets but OMG the pain that night at electrolysis was through the roof. Tears flowing freely as time went on but I managed to stay still and avoid ugly crying until the end.

My electrolycist was surprised as although it has hurt a bit more each time I've handled it well. When chatting to her I mentioned I was maybe just tired as my body was running on caffeine and sugar that day.

She gave me "that look" and went like yeah caffeine boosts all your responses including pain.

So obvious I should have known after that I've pretty much stopped caffeine. Well for that and I heard it can inhibit breast development (right or wrong I don't care I'll play safe).

[Rebecca]

No idea what you use after but I've got the Sterex witch hazel gel which feels great.

I get mine done at night and the next morning I'm all back to normal. Well close enough at least; I can see a bit or 2 but nothing that would draw attention.

At first I got it done on a Saturday morning and by the Monday I'd still look a bit like I'd been attacked by a swarm of angry bees but I was doing 3-4 hours at a time. By the next session my skin would be flawless and ready to go through it all again.

One thing is for sure though it's worth every second.

[LizK]

I don't know if anyone else mentioned but I know for myself it's more painful if I'm not well rested. Also being as relaxed as possible usually makes it more tolerable for me as well.

I know for me if I am able to relax I can cope much better, I have Valium prescribed if I need it. The more relaxed I am the more likely I am being able to "breathe" through the pain. I have been Asking my Tech to target specific hairs and show me different levels of "currents" to see what I can tolerate. I have numbing injections but I also get my Tech to work on other area's other then the numb area alternating between so I can "recover"....being relaxed makes such a difference when she is working in the area with no coverage.

Also one I learned the hard way is to avoid caffeine. Being a stimulant it amplifies pain.

After a particularly late night at work I was hitting the caffeine hard through coffee, chocolate and tablets but OMG the pain that night at electrolysis was through the roof. Tears flowing freely as time went on but I managed to stay still and avoid ugly crying until the end.

I understood that caffeine can make things worse but I didn't realise the impact could make such a difference. I will normally have 2 -3 cups in the morning and then nothing till later again in the day....Looks like I need to revaluate my coffee intake. I have always ensured I drank plenty of water and moisturise religiously...but the caffeine
I have elected to have additional short 20 min sessions each week with Emla cream only, to clear up the stragglers. I really need to have a look at my prep for these days, because if I am honest the last prep I did was awful and so was my session....thanks for the timely reminders ladies 

[Dena]

Part of the problem is caffeine is a diuretic which would counter your effort to remain hydrated. Not all people respond to caffeine in the same way. In my  case, I seem to be somewhat sensitive to most of the effects and while it keeps me from sleeping well, it doesn't really keep me from feeling sleepy when I drink it. Because of this, I limit my self to ice tea once in a while.

[Laurie]

Hi ladies,

  Thanks for the tips and info. It took me two attempts but my doctor said he will have some EMLA creme sent out. My electrologist did warn me about caffeine and recommended drinking lots of water. Seems everyone wants me to drown myself these days. That reminds me I need to get drink some more in prep of my labs and IV on Monday. 3 month CT scan don'tcha know?  I think I'll go to the store and look for some witch hazel too.  I'm excited to be starting electrolysis but a little apprehensive at the same time.

  Hugs,
   Laurie

[amberwaves]

So this thread died for a bit.  Hey Ladies, how's things?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[Rachel_Christina]

Haha hey Amber, I was just thinking of dropping a line this morning, and never got round.
Mad old coincidence lol
For me things are honestly, Fantastic, I couldn't ask for more

[amberwaves]

Well that sounds awesome Rachel.  Things are till very hit or miss for me.  Not a whole lot of changes from before other than fighting with my insurance about ADHD medication prior authorization and crap.  I just miss hearing about how everyone is doing.

[Rachel_Christina]

Just life then so, Insurance can be annoying as hell, like every form of it :@
At the minute I'm just trying to finish registration of my old Bemmer, it has been a real hassle

[Christine1]

Nice Bemmer  girl!

[Rachel_Christina]

Thanks Christine, she has been a torture so far as regards registration.
But at 58k kilometers and 1989 I think she is worth it.

[Tasha_]

Hey ladies,  just wanted to drop in and say hi. I have too much going on right now to spend much time keeping up. I love and miss you all!!! Hope everything is going well,  glad to see the thread is still alive and kicking!!!

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk

[SarahElizabeth1981]

Hi girls,  thanks for checking in Amber.

not much going on with me just yet. I see an Endo next week and the gender psychiastrist. The endo is the same one that i saw last year that started me on blockers. She wouldn't start me on estrogen because I hadn't seen a gender psychiatrist. I found a family doctor who prescribed me estrogen.  I know I posted about all this before but I'm reminding you all of things.  I don't think I'm taking enough estrogen though so I'm curious to see what she says. I talked to my doctor about it and he says it's fine. but a second opinion can't hurt.

I'm also nervous and anxious to see the gender psychiatrist I will find out if I can apply for funding for surgery. I was going to post and will post an update next week about that.   

as not quite all of you are on my Facebook I will post a short blurb about pride. Pride week was earlier in June here and I walked in the parade. the feeling is indescribable although I wish I got to see all the other floats. I just updated my avatar with a picture of me that day. I was wearing a hat that I'm not in that picture though. I'm not big on hats but I looked super cute with it on. It was the only pride gear I was able to find in stores before the parade.

As i talked about before I'm continuing to make great progress with electrolysis. it's just sooo exciting and I love not having much hair. I'm just over 100 hours now. I easily have a couple dozen more hours left. it's strange the area below my jaw is a lot more sensitive since I started HRT.

[Rachel_Christina]

You look amazing going by your do Sarah, wow!

[amberwaves]

Omg Sarah, you are cute as a button!  I hope the gender psychiatrist visit goes well.

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[SarahElizabeth1981]

awwww thanks Amber and Rachel. I'm not big on hats but I looked even cuter with it on that day. 

So doctor appointment # 1 for the week is done. I saw the endocrinologist this morning. She changed everything. she said the patch the other doctor put me on;  they don't use it for girls that are transitioning. it is ONLY a birth control patch.  So she changed my patch to one called Climara. This one doesn't have progesterone but she gave me a prescription for that. She also told me to cut back on the Spiro, again. the other doctor had doubled the dose that she originally put me on. at my request he has cut it back twice but she told me to go back to the original dose she had prescribed. which from my research should be more then enough.

  she said I should see even better changes with all of this so hopefully she is right.

I hope you all are doing good. 

[Rebecca]

All going great hon and sorry it too me so long to check the thread.
I've been weaning myself off of Tapatalk as I tend to get drawn in way too easily

Bizarre yet ultimately fab news that your meds are being changed.
You're gorgeous already but always good to get the numbers where you want them.

All busy here just getting on with life is exhausting. I really should just retire (lol I wish I've got years left until then).
Even with there being 2 moms in the house we're always busy one way or another.

Very rarely think about anything trans related which I guess means I'm cured but still think about y'all ofc.
Was missing Thailand strangely enough it feels like forever ago but it was one hell of a trip. Think I just miss being on holiday in the sun with no responsibilities or anything.

That said I do love my life. My wife continues to get more awesome and now regularly and comfortably refers to me as her wife  My youngest Mum's me constantly which I love. The others mostly call me by name but that's ok too and I love them just as much as ever.

Ok so body stuff update.

Vag is fully healed with only 2 very small scars left to go away and looks perfectly normal which is a relief given how much I was freaking out postop looking like frankenpussy. As my electrolycist so eloquently put it "Congratulations your vagina looks like a vagina!!!!". The wee scars could easily be attributed to ingrown hairs and she'd not give it a second thought if doing a bikini area. With her not being the compliments for the sake of them type that is as good an approval as I can get.

Sex and the big O. Sounds dramatic like something is coming but no and no lol. Sex I've honestly no interest in which is actually kinda nice but I do get a bit curious at times. When my darling wife ordered me into bed and ravished me sure I enjoyed it OMG did I enjoy it but not that way. Maybe when I grow up things will change but for now I'm totally cool with it as I've got so many other things to keep me busy.

Breasts have recovered from my T exposure and think they are growing. Right is bigger than my left but I'm sure they'll end up close enough. Going braless now which is fun even if DD can't look at me straight if my nipples are pointing at her  I have a totally unprovable theory that being braless is the right thing for me as it allows them to bounce and move which I am hoping will encourage growth. Either way it feels nice so win:win

Will give them to next year before considering progesterone or surgery. Tbh I don't see me doing BA as even what I've got right now looks good. My breasts are small make no mistake about that but they work if you know what I mean.

Electrolysis still on 1 hour a week but will be dropping again soon.

Laser I've not had for ages but will as soon as I can afford it hair is very fine but legs and bikini area still need some work.

My neck surgery didn't really work as it's defo reattached but decided I can handle it for now.
First priority heal the incision and after that I'll focus more directly on breaking the adhesion (difficult but not impossible).
Might get another trip back to London to get the surgeons appraisal. I would let him back in one last time but only if we agree on the adhesion sites being cauterised and a dissolvable membrane being used.

I've been recycling my debts so I've not really paid anything back yet but have got lots of new toys and clothes. I'll repay my debts just need to delay them a wee bit.

And that pretty much brings us up to date for me wee world.