Hi everyone,
I used to frequent trans forums when I was a teenager and pre-transition. I extracted a great amount of support from people then and in short, it is the reason I've sought out another forum so that I can share my own experiences since now I'm much older and wiser. In a way, I also want to try and support other people in the same way I was in the roughest times.
First off, my name is Sean and I'm now 22 years old. I'm a student about to study business now that I've finally decided upon what career suits my abilities. I won't bore you too much with all the intricate details if I can. I live with my flatmate, whom is also a transman and his girlfriend, although he'll soon be gone for university and my girlfriend will be moving in; we've been together 2 and some years.
The transgender part of the story started when I was 14 and became badly depressed and started bunking off school. It seemed like I had changed overnight as I was a promising student who was very social and involved in everything. I just became really down and confused over something I couldn't quite understand, and started self-harming. From there, I was taken into a children's psychiatric unit to stay while they tried to treat me, however I was discharged early there when a police incident (a small fire had been started by one of the boys there) took place.
To be honest, leaving the unit affected me even worse as it had cut short something which I think would've helped me and kept me in school, but from there on I was an outpatient and under social work care, which was completely useless until I found a child psychiatrist with an interest in transsexualism. I spoke to him about the issues I had and they really unravelled from there. I realised that from an early age I had lived quite happily as a boy who went by a female name as I looked like, played like and was often mistaken for a boy right through to the age of ten. I can't honestly tell you how I got to where I am now except that as a 15 year old transgender person, I felt at war with the medical profession to get on testosterone and get my surgery. Writing about it, I'm just so glad the hard part is over with
To bring you guys up to date, I've been on testosterone since I was 18 and am already starting to bald a little. I've had my chest surgery with a surgeon here in the UK, Guy Sterne, although I want a revision due to too much tissue being left over (I'll be sure to post pictures somewhere at some point) and I'm not considering any bottom surgery as it's something I think I would only consider when I'm a little older and perhaps the techniques have advanced.
Lastly, I just want to say to all the younger ftms here: I really admire you guys as I know how difficult it is when you're reading about everyone else getting that step further and feeling as though you're stuck in a rut with shrinks and doctors. Although I'm no expert, I'll try and give my two cents where I can.
