Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Started at 17 here.

Just before I turned 29 :). That is approx 1,5 months ago now.

Started when I was 40 ... little late but still making the change

Does the first time count?  Was 28, am 33 now.
I really wanted to start when I was a teen, but didn't work out that way.

Changes are happening so fast though but are still pretty subtle

Quote from: Stephanie_b on June 07, 2012, 03:52:11 PM
Does the first time count?  Was 28, am 33 now.
I really wanted to start when I was a teen, but didn't work out that way.

Changes are happening so fast though but are still pretty subtle

Yup first time counts even if you stop.

19

I started at about 3 months before my 42nd birthday.

This time I was 54.  I tried before when I was 30, but in those days it was hard for me.

I haven't started HRT but if I don't by the time I'm 30 heads will roll. Probably mine. *sigh*

I talked to a transwoman who said I shouldn't even bother trying to get "the letter" and should just spend my time looking for an informed consent place. As a compromise I'm going to keep seeing my therapist while looking into places that might be willing to go that route. It looks like informed consent is becoming more common though so it seems like if I'm alive at 30 (I plan to be) I'll be on HRT.

 I started at seventeen.

First time was ~20 while still in college, low dose
Second time was ~24, Third ~28, Last(?) was 3 years ago at 53 and still going.

Juuuuuuust before my 21st birthday, in last February. So 20. In a few countries I would have started as (barely) a minor. *Rolls eyes* minor consolation.

By the way, I think you should have subdivided differently. There's a huge difference between 12 and 18; likewise, 19 and 29 make a huge difference. On the other hand, from the age of 50, it's pretty much the same, and there's bound to be a very low number of people after 60... Because:

1. Generally, at that age, people have either realised it already for a while, so either they've transitioned already, either they decided not to.
2. Past the age of 60, many might feel it's not worth it for their remaining time and the expected results.
3. At that age, the rate of morbidity begins increasing very fast with every year, meaning that many of them are already too sick to even be allowed transition, let alone live it properly.
4. Seriously, how many of them are going to be comfortable enough with computers to actively participate on a forum? They're from another age, literally. Aged people either don't really understand computers or don't enjoy them enough to use them much in their leisure time, except for playing computer board games maybe.

And both Kelly and Ghost should be burned. Where's my jealousy flame thrower? Gaaah, they'll get the chance to find a fire blanket by the time I find it now!

 If it's any consolation, then despite the fact that I started at seventeen, I have probably gone through more years of puberty than you, A.

:)

Uhm, I don't understand. o:

 I mean to say that, since I likely started puberty earlier than you, the fact that I started hormones at seventeen probably doesn't make me luckier than you - in all likelihood, I have had testosterone in my body longer than you, and therefore, you are luckier than me in that regard.

I started puberty at seven, so that is ten years of puberty. Unless you started at ten, or before then, you need not feel jealous. :)

Twenty. A lot later than I had hoped, buuut... non-supportive home environment, no foothold in the world, what can ya do?  ::)

It doesn't really matter though. Afaik I finished puberty at 13 so the damage (however small) was done as far as that's concerned.

Finished puberty at 13... That's special. Are you sure?

And Kelly, wow, that's precocious... And unlucky that it fell on one of the people in the world for whom it would be the worst for. Luckily though, you ended up more than okay, heh.

Weeeell, actually, I'm not so sure about our "puberty times"... My puberty was so gradual, and I have so little memory, and I'm just such a daze that I can't tell precisely (the psychiatrist actually asked me once and I was unable to reply). However, I do think it was relatively early, since I remember seeing a picture of me at 9 or 10 years old with definitely hairy legs and arms, and I remember very clearly a masturbation that felt very wrong in grade 4, I believe, which is 8 or 9 years old. And, well, since I wasn't interested in it at all, knew next to nothing about sex and didn't want to do it to begin with, it very much sounds like a testosterone surge, and not an isolated one, since I really, really don't think that was my first time.

But well, either way, I have crappy genetics in some respects. I looked masculine and ugly to begin with. I don't think I would've passed very well if you'd dressed even a very young me as a girl.

Edit: With three near posts of weird puberties, I wonder if transsexuals are more likely to have such irregularities for some reason.

 It would seem that probability has foiled my guesses yet again.

The masturbating thing was definitely interesting at such a young age - I get a giggle out of the fact that I could have had children who would only be eight years younger than me. And just think... if those children had kids at eighteen, I could have been a grandparent at 26!

:P

Woops, chest dysphoria time... gotta stop drop and roll.

Interesting.  I am 58 and I have 4 children, 11 grand children (soon to be 12) and soon I will have my first great grandchild.  And what nice about that is that my first grandson is the father of my first great grandson.

Quote from: A on June 07, 2012, 08:27:21 PM
Finished puberty at 13... That's special. Are you sure?

Idk... but I had all the effects and all the growth (upward and outward) by then and they didn't really change right up until starting HRT at 20.  :)

I started at 37. But I wish I stated in my 20's.

I started at 27 (July of 2011).

I started a few months after my 25th birthday

  Age 58 as a birthday present.  I would be in the 19-30 group if my first sessions with a shrink were a lot better. 
  Joelene

I started self medicating with birth control pills in my early 20's (which was back in the 1980's) but I didn't start officially on HRT until I was in my 30's! I'm now a lot older.

I think those of you who can get on HRT at an earlier age, the more beneficial it will be. When I started there wasn't the internet or the help available like there is these days.

Quote from: Joelene9 on June 08, 2012, 12:09:12 AM
  Age 58 as a birthday present. I would be in the 19-30 group if my first sessions with a shrink were a lot better. 
  Joelene

Tell. Me. About. It!

I sooooo would have been the same ....

17.

I started at 18.

Puberty kicked in when I was about 15 or very early 16 I cant really remember. So I guess I got lucky, that I was a late bloomer.

I started puberty at 16 and a half so I guess I only had high amounts of testosterone in me for a few months. I wonder why I started so late but then again, I know why   >:-)

As has already been said, the worst part of transitioning a little later may be due to all the time lost.

It doesnt seem to make a difference as far as the effectiveness of the hrt in some cases, it can be just the same for a 30 something year old as a 17 year old.  I barely had a puberty at all, so not much damage done by t.

All the lost time is a major bummer though. But I plan on living as a 20 something year old for the next few years and then as a 30something year old when I'm in my 40's.

It helps when you don't age and look younger, so i will make up for lost time.

My mom looked like she was about 18 when she was hitting close to 40 and my dad has always looked way yonger than his age too.  Lucky me that this seems to be my case as well...

This doesn't change that I wanted to transiton in my teens but couldn't.  Will never get to do that now.  :(

Did no one here have a normal puberty? It really does look like we're likely to have weird puberties for some reason.

Quote from: Joelene9 on June 08, 2012, 12:09:12 AM
  Age 58 as a birthday present.  I would be in the 19-30 group if my first sessions with a shrink were a lot better. 
  Joelene

I'm pretty sure the therapist I'm seeing is 60+ years old and he is very "old school" in his beliefs (although he is nice and takes me seriously which makes up for it some). I can only imagine what seeing a 40-60 year old therapist 30 years ago would have been like.

Quote from: A on June 08, 2012, 10:25:39 AM
Did no one here have a normal puberty? It really does look like we're likely to have weird puberties for some reason.

I probably started a bit earlier than most but it was otherwise normal. And I'll bet tons of people didn't have a completely "normal" puberty.

Quote from: A on June 08, 2012, 10:25:39 AM
Did no one here have a normal puberty? It really does look like we're likely to have weird puberties for some reason.

That raises an interesting point.  With me it was because of a very underactive pituitary gland and I'm starting to wonder also if I'm intersex as well.  I had some weird operation when I was very young (must have been before 3 years old because I can remember that far back).  My parents won't talk about the operation at all and have always just said that there was something wrong so I had an op to fix it.  That's all.  I do have another reason to suspect this too but its a bit personal

Quote from: Stephanie_b on June 08, 2012, 10:16:16 AM


It doesnt seem to make a difference as far as the effectiveness of the hrt in some cases, it can be just the same for a 30 something year old as a 17 year old. 

This doesn't change that I wanted to transiton in my teens but couldn't.  Will never get to do that now.  :(

Well it's true that hormones work better for a person at 17 than at 30 if we are talking about just that same person at different ages. I guess a lot of us are lucky to be starting younger but I could not imagine ever growing up as a man and living as one.

Quote from: Stephanie_b on June 08, 2012, 10:36:17 AM
That raises an interesting point.  With me it was because of a very underactive pituitary gland and I'm starting to wonder also if I'm intersex as well.  I had some weird operation when I was very young (must have been before 3 years old because I can remember that far back).  My parents won't talk about the operation at all and have always just said that there was something wrong so I had an op to fix it.  That's all.  I do have another reason to suspect this too but its a bit personal

I kept my body weight below an 18 bmi from 13-17. I read before that anorexia and low body weight can delay a girls puberty so I thought it would do the same for a boys puberty andi think it did.

Quote from: A on June 08, 2012, 10:25:39 AM
Did no one here have a normal puberty? It really does look like we're likely to have weird puberties for some reason.

I think mine was fairly "normal." I had other issues, like low calcium count in my blood and very little muscle mass. But, those were both before and after puberty, too.

I accidentally found an old topic about whether or not people had a normal puberty:
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,26033.msg193953.html (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,26033.msg193953.html)

Quote from: GhostTown11 on June 08, 2012, 10:45:24 AM
Well it's true that hormones work better for a person at 17 than at 30 if we are talking about just that same person at different ages. I guess a lot of us are lucky to be starting younger but I could not imagine ever growing up as a man and living as one.

There are rare exceptions to that, I'm not going by my own knowledge or anything I'm just relaying what my Dr. Has been telling me, based on a few things.  For some reason the hrt works better for me at my age than it should, very similar to how it would have been if i were in may late teens.  There is something different about me and i don't know why.

I'm seeing some good results already and I was expecting it to be at least a month or more before noticing any changes at all. 

Just be glad that you are able to start your journey when you're so young.  It sucks to have to pretend to be a man. I was abused physically and verbally by my father and was a mess for a long time over it, and it was because I'm trans. 

That's the only reason i transitioned later instead of in my teens.

Take care, I wish you the best

Age 29. I actually just started today!!

We have cookies???....Really?...The cookies arent a lie?

I have not stopped giggling for like two hours. My coworkers think I gave lost my mind. I guess they are kind of right.

Quote from: A on June 08, 2012, 10:25:39 AM
Did no one here have a normal puberty? It really does look like we're likely to have weird puberties for some reason.

Apparently. I have my set of weirdnesses: my voice not dropping, less body hair than my sister, never enough dark hair on my face for a shadow, female-range body shape, and starting with really androgynous facial features - I stopped being able to pass as a guy after 5 months of HRT. I am 6' tall... but then my cousin, she's 5'11". Oh, and I still look about 16. Like I haven't aged in the last 12 years or something. It sounds awesome, but it's mostly just really irritating.

I wonder if it's like a subconscious brain thing. We're screaming inside our heads to make it stop, make it stop... and it kinda does. I know my hormone levels were pretty weird when I started HRT, but my endo didn't even blink. I think it's almost normal for trans girls to have weird hormone levels.

It's funny how we can mess with our own heads about this stuff. I used to feel so completely horrible about how masculine I looked, and all the things happening to my body during puberty and... Now I can look back and remember all the times people saw me as a girl.

Quote from: Brooke777 on June 08, 2012, 02:59:24 PM
I have not stopped giggling for like two hours. My coworkers think I gave lost my mind. I guess they are kind of right.

Aww... super congrats! I felt high as a kite for hours after I took that first tiny blue pill.

My puberty was a little weird. I weighed no more than 120 lbs (and wore size 27-28 jeans) until i got to my late 20s and then i ballooned on out to my current weight of 180 lbs and my upper body filled out. I had a high pitched voice that my dad compared to the girl that lived across the street. I have long eyelashes and a femme face that got me carded the other night at the grocery store (i'm almost 50) when i was wearing a cap (I think that the cap emphasizes my face shape and always causes people to give me quizzical looks). The grocery guy asked if i was old enough and didn't believe me so he carded me and then did a double take and apologized.

I have some other femme features too. I would have been a great candidate to transition up until my late 20s if I had decided to do so back then.

I started low dose HRT in my mid 40s to control GID and i can see it emphasizing those same femme features more and more now.

Quote from: Carolina1983 on June 08, 2012, 02:47:24 PM
We have cookies???....Really?...The cookies arent a lie?

Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, white chocolate/macadamia nut, snickerdoodles, Mexican wedding cakes.  As long as Laura doesn't see them.  (https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsmileys.on-my-web.com%2Frepository%2FAnimals%2Fferret-2.gif&hash=923c682388a8cabcd6dffaa51761530cad754750)

My puberty was quite weird, Even though I was only in it for about 2 and a half years before I started hormones, I never developed facial hair, was super skinny, had like no muscle mass, no body hair and my adams apple is very tiny.
I'm guessing me being very skinny and having a low BMI like GhostTown11, that helped stop any manliness from showing it self.
But now I need to try and gain weight so HRT can be more effective, but my body is like no :/

Quote from: Ms. OBrien on June 08, 2012, 03:49:39 PM
Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, white chocolate/macadamia nut, snickerdoodles, Mexican wedding cakes.  As long as Laura doesn't see them.  (https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsmileys.on-my-web.com%2Frepository%2FAnimals%2Fferret-2.gif&hash=923c682388a8cabcd6dffaa51761530cad754750)

Hey hey hey!

I haven't gotten my cookie from the last time you offered  >:(

My puberty started at 9 - but then I had very high testosterone levels until I started HRT last September.

Quote from: A on June 07, 2012, 07:54:25 PM
Juuuuuuust before my 21st birthday, in last February. So 20.

Hey! Me too! *high fives*


When I started it felt like I was kind of late, but at 20.5 years old I still managed to get hips which was hugely surprising.

Quote from: Erin H on June 08, 2012, 04:03:32 PM
My puberty was quite weird, Even though I was only in it for about 2 and a half years before I started hormones, I never developed facial hair, was super skinny, had like no muscle mass, no body hair and my adams apple is very tiny.
I'm guessing me being very skinny and having a low BMI like GhostTown11, that helped stop any manliness from showing it self.
But now I need to try and gain weight so HRT can be more effective, but my body is like no :/

The weird thing is that while I was andstill am skinny I always had from 22-24 percent body fat. I think that's why my breasts are ballooning so fast :laugh:

Quote from: GhostTown11 on June 08, 2012, 04:44:53 PM
The weird thing is that while I was andstill am skinny I always had from 22-24 percent body fat. I think that's why my breasts are ballooning so fast :laugh:

that's not fair :( your like really lucky, my breasts are like barely a AA  :'(

Quote from: Erin H on June 08, 2012, 04:56:01 PM
that's not fair :( your like really lucky, my breasts are like barely a AA  :'(

If it's any consolation, I can no longer sleep on my belly cause my "buds" (they are bigger than golf balls we need a new name lol) do not react kindly to being squished. :laugh:

Quote from: GhostTown11 on June 08, 2012, 05:03:05 PM
If it's any consolation, I can no longer sleep on my belly cause my "buds" (they are bigger than golf balls we need a new name lol) do not react kindly to being squished. :laugh:

I guess that is one of the benefits of tiny boobs :P But I can't wait when mine get bigger.

Quote from: Hannah on June 08, 2012, 04:42:37 PM
When I started it felt like I was kind of late, but at 20.5 years old I still managed to get hips which was hugely surprising.

Heh, I have been noticing slight (or imaginary; too early to say for sure!) growth for about a month, since I started HRT. I wonder if it will grow noticeably. How much growth did you get, and how much time did it take?

Sarah7: Heh, maybe there -is- a subconscious effect on how we grow. I remember, when I was a child, once, during a weird phase, I noticed that I found guys with a relatively prominent sternum somewhat attractive, and since I had been told that I couldn't be a girl (obedient °°'), I thought it would be nice to be a sexy guy in that case (autoandrophilia anyone?) and wanted that trait. One year later, I had it. I regret that one, but maybe the fact that I've always wanted broad hips, even in that weird phase, has contributed to the fact that I do have some hips rather than none.

However, since my puberty was especially early and despite having maybe more girly traits than the average male, I definitely don't look like I'm in such a lucky bucket, I guess there are limits.

Quote from: A on June 08, 2012, 06:46:36 PM
Heh, I have been noticing slight (or imaginary; too early to say for sure!) growth for about a month, since I started HRT. I wonder if it will grow noticeably. How much growth did you get, and how much time did it take?

I can't seem to accurately measure them, but I'm guessing they're around 2-2'5" wider (all the way around, not hip to hip). I noticed at around 6 months, I think, and they seemed to have stopped growing at around 10 or so months in. Having a small waist (26") does help a lot to accentuate them, though.

They're only a little smaller than this:
EDIT: In proportion to my waist.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ten24.info%2Fupload%2Fproducts%2Fproduct_large_15.jpg&hash=3226209f39ecf57bfd9b4591fa34186bee9df063)

I'm really looking forward to that. It sounds amazing for sure, and I hope I'm not imagining the growth and that it continues. :3

I started HRT 3 months ago, at 19 yrs of age. I put 18 on the poll though, because 19-30 wounldn't do my age justice... I hadn't finished puberty yet, my chest hair was just starting to come in. I might as well have been 18, because the effects of HRT and rate of change is much different than would happen at the age of 30. 1. Male pattern hair loss is reversing a bit. I'm only 19, but I had the micky mouse ear style hairline already, and it was quite noticeable. I doubt it would reverse in several yrs from now.

Srsly? Only 7 here that started at 18?(or before)

Quote from: Aeris on June 09, 2012, 02:28:56 PM
Srsly? Only 7 here that started at 18?(or before)

I know we got to band together lol! :laugh:

It would appear that many of us are unlucky or fools. I fall in the second category.

Quote from: Aeris on June 09, 2012, 02:28:56 PM
Srsly? Only 7 here that started at 18?(or before)

Well yeah most people don't have their family's support.  :)

XX but 2 months from XX

Please do not post current age if under 18 years old - thanks

I got my hands on some hormones when i was 28. started again at 37.

I got my hands on some at 14, but not nearly enough. Then I got some more at 17. Now im 32 and on hrt fully.

Started both(Spiro and Estrogen) at 25. Only 5 weeks in and already seeing growth.. I never realized how much I hit my chest with things until now  :embarrassed:

Quote from: Claire25 on June 10, 2012, 07:23:17 PM
Started both(Spiro and Estrogen) at 25. Only 5 weeks in and already seeing growth.. I never realized how much I hit my chest with things until now  :embarrassed:

Congratulations on starting growth. That is great to hear.

Quote from: Brooke777 on June 10, 2012, 07:28:46 PM
Congratulations on starting growth. That is great to hear.

Good and bad I guess. I gotta go in for a prolactin test tomrrow :-\

at the tender age of 21.. starting seriously crossdressing at 19.. where i would wear full outfits .. started exploring my womanhood. i remember how right it felt.

Started Saturday

Quote from: mari34608 on June 11, 2012, 12:04:51 PM
Started Saturday

   

Quote from: Ms. OBrien on June 11, 2012, 03:28:26 PM

Welcome to the Dark Side.   >:-) >:-) >:-) >:-)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi9.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fa73%2FLudeman99%2FBlog%2520Pics%2Femperor_palpatine.jpg&hash=1e785fd9959956266bfb4d98d1024490e62c2e66)

Male forehead /w brow bossing, square chin. Could probably still pass after some work but might need FFS to bring the forehead and chin into female lines. Otherwise these are nice feminine features.