Site News and Information => Introductions => Topic started by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 03:35:28 PM Return to Full Version
Title: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 03:35:28 PM
Post by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 03:35:28 PM
Hi,
I used to come to this forum a long time ago and am glad to see its still around. I had tried to live in both worlds for a long time and hid my true self for the last 8 or 9 years. I am now in therapy to find a path to transition. I have been doing DIY HRT since about 2014. I don't know what all to say her but I am looking for friends and a group that would help support me through my transition.
I used to come to this forum a long time ago and am glad to see its still around. I had tried to live in both worlds for a long time and hid my true self for the last 8 or 9 years. I am now in therapy to find a path to transition. I have been doing DIY HRT since about 2014. I don't know what all to say her but I am looking for friends and a group that would help support me through my transition.
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: Rochelle on May 19, 2026, 03:42:20 PM
Post by: Rochelle on May 19, 2026, 03:42:20 PM
Welcome to Susan's Place. I'm sure you can find peer support here. Everyone has a journey and experiences to share if you ask questions. One of the welcoming committee will be along shortly to greet you. We're happy your here. If you can identify your earlier account, they may be able to help restore it for you. 💚
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 03:50:06 PM
Post by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 03:50:06 PM
I have developed social anxiety\agoraphobia. My therapist has been on me to join a support group is there any online ones that people have experience with. I am in my 50's now so looking for one for older people if possible.
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: Charlotte Kitty on May 19, 2026, 03:52:55 PM
Post by: Charlotte Kitty on May 19, 2026, 03:52:55 PM
Hey Tammy753,
I'm Charlotte😻 and I'm pleased to welcome you back to Susan's Place!
Thank you for your post and introduction. I'm sure you'll find the friendships you are looking for here. We all support each other so you are definitely back in the right place.
I look forward to hearing more and getting to know you better.
We strive to make this a safe space where you can be yourself without judgement. A place to find information but also share your own thoughts, feelings and observations. No matter who you are, you are always welcome at Susan's Place.
When you click on the HOME button, you will see a page listing all of the various sub-forums by category and topic. Each sub-forum includes a description of what the forum is about, as well as any posting guidelines.
Please keep in mind when posting that this is an ALL-AGES PUBLIC Forum and the internet never forgets.
Do not post anything that you do not want to be made public.
I will add links below that are important for new and returning members.
Pay special attention to the links in RED.
When you reach 15 posts, you will be able to send and reply to private messages and you will also be able to add an avatar to your profile, until then if you have any questions about the Susan's Place site and the Forums, please feel free to contact, the Forum Admin Danielle Northern Star Girl at alaskandanielle@yahoo.com.
Once again, welcome to Susan's Place!
Kind regards,
Charlotte😻
(Forum Staff)
Please familiarize yourself with these resources.
@Devlyn @Jessica_Rose @Mariah @Northern Star Girl @Lori Dee @Sarah B
@tammy753
I'm Charlotte😻 and I'm pleased to welcome you back to Susan's Place!
Thank you for your post and introduction. I'm sure you'll find the friendships you are looking for here. We all support each other so you are definitely back in the right place.
I look forward to hearing more and getting to know you better.
We strive to make this a safe space where you can be yourself without judgement. A place to find information but also share your own thoughts, feelings and observations. No matter who you are, you are always welcome at Susan's Place.
When you click on the HOME button, you will see a page listing all of the various sub-forums by category and topic. Each sub-forum includes a description of what the forum is about, as well as any posting guidelines.
Please keep in mind when posting that this is an ALL-AGES PUBLIC Forum and the internet never forgets.
Do not post anything that you do not want to be made public.
I will add links below that are important for new and returning members.
Pay special attention to the links in RED.
When you reach 15 posts, you will be able to send and reply to private messages and you will also be able to add an avatar to your profile, until then if you have any questions about the Susan's Place site and the Forums, please feel free to contact, the Forum Admin Danielle Northern Star Girl at alaskandanielle@yahoo.com.
Once again, welcome to Susan's Place!
Kind regards,
Charlotte😻
(Forum Staff)
Please familiarize yourself with these resources.
- New Members... Please Read this First (https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,250343.msg2295001.html#msg2295001)
- Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By (https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,2.0.html)
- Site Policies and stuff to remember (https://www.susans.org/index.php/board,492.0.html)
- Membership Agreement (https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,216851.0.html)
- Cautionary Note (https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,82221.0.html)
- How to Contact Forum Staff Members (https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,246913.0.html)
- Standard Terms & Definitions (https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,54369.0.html)
- News posting & quoting guidelines (https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,174951.0.html)
- Photos, avatars, & signature images (https://www.susans.org//index.php/topic,59974.msg383866.html#msg383866)
@Devlyn @Jessica_Rose @Mariah @Northern Star Girl @Lori Dee @Sarah B
@tammy753
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: ChrissyRyan on May 19, 2026, 03:53:31 PM
Post by: ChrissyRyan on May 19, 2026, 03:53:31 PM
Welcome back Tammy!
Chrissy
Chrissy
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: Lori Dee on May 19, 2026, 04:00:16 PM
Post by: Lori Dee on May 19, 2026, 04:00:16 PM
Welcome back, Tammy.
It is always good to see returning members. If you are interested in reviving your old account, or keeping this one and just merging old posts to this account, we can make that happen. Don't post any details here. Instead, send an email to Danielle, our Forum Administrator at AlaskanDanielle@yahoo.com. She will ask for some information to locate the old account and verify that you own it.
We lost many accounts in the New Years Eve Crash of 2024, but Danielle has been able to work some magic reviving many. Just let her know what you want to do.
Welcome back to Susan's Place!
@Northern Star Girl
It is always good to see returning members. If you are interested in reviving your old account, or keeping this one and just merging old posts to this account, we can make that happen. Don't post any details here. Instead, send an email to Danielle, our Forum Administrator at AlaskanDanielle@yahoo.com. She will ask for some information to locate the old account and verify that you own it.
We lost many accounts in the New Years Eve Crash of 2024, but Danielle has been able to work some magic reviving many. Just let her know what you want to do.
Welcome back to Susan's Place!
@Northern Star Girl
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 04:03:11 PM
Post by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 04:03:11 PM
It was with an old yahoo account I don't have anymore. This one will be fine. A fresh start is always good!
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: Lori Dee on May 19, 2026, 04:05:00 PM
Post by: Lori Dee on May 19, 2026, 04:05:00 PM
Quote from: tammy753 on Yesterday at 04:03:11 PMIt was with an old yahoo account I don't have anymore. This one will be fine. A fresh start is always good!
A fresh start is always a wonderful thing. Glad to have you here.
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: Stottie Girl on May 19, 2026, 04:06:01 PM
Post by: Stottie Girl on May 19, 2026, 04:06:01 PM
Hello Tammy, I've only been a member since January so we wouldn't have met last time round.
Welcome back anyway!
I'm Sarah😁
I am an introverted 50 year old and it sounds like I'm in a similar place as yourself. Unfortunately, I'm over in the UK so can't offer advice on local groups and stuff but I hope, if you can't find it here, you find the support and sense of community that you need locally.
Welcome back anyway!
I'm Sarah😁
I am an introverted 50 year old and it sounds like I'm in a similar place as yourself. Unfortunately, I'm over in the UK so can't offer advice on local groups and stuff but I hope, if you can't find it here, you find the support and sense of community that you need locally.
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: Lori Dee on May 19, 2026, 04:08:36 PM
Post by: Lori Dee on May 19, 2026, 04:08:36 PM
@tammy753
If you are looking to chat with members, you can join our Discord server from the Home page. You will be greeted there, so just introduce yourself and you will find plenty of people to chat with.
If you are looking to chat with members, you can join our Discord server from the Home page. You will be greeted there, so just introduce yourself and you will find plenty of people to chat with.
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 04:15:31 PM
Post by: tammy753 on May 19, 2026, 04:15:31 PM
I really appreciate the warm greetings. It might take some time for me to get to the Discord channel. I thought I had killed this side of my self and am just now trying to let myself live.
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: Dawn Kellie on May 19, 2026, 04:23:56 PM
Post by: Dawn Kellie on May 19, 2026, 04:23:56 PM
Hi Tammy
Welcome (back)
There are a lot of wonderful people here. You'll find a bunch of support.
Welcome (back)
There are a lot of wonderful people here. You'll find a bunch of support.
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: Susan on May 19, 2026, 09:02:49 PM
Post by: Susan on May 19, 2026, 09:02:49 PM
Hi Tammy, welcome back!
Thirty-plus years of running this place and the returning members still get me right in the chest — you came back, and that takes something.
What you said about thinking you'd killed that side of yourself and just now letting yourself live — that's the whole thing, isn't it.
A lot of us have been there. The hiding takes a toll that doesn't always show up until you finally stop doing it, and then everything you pushed down comes up at once.
Be gentle with yourself through that part. There's no schedule, and "trying to let myself live" is exactly the right framing — it's a practice, not a switch.
A few practical things, since you asked:
On older-member community here. We have a sub-forum specifically for this — Late-Onset Transsexual talk — where the conversations skew toward folks transitioning in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.
The concerns there (careers, long marriages, adult kids, decades of suppression, aging bodies on HRT) are different from what you'll see in the general forums, and you'll find your people there faster.
Also worth browsing: the Real-Life Experiences board and Transitioning Later in Life threads that pop up across several sub-forums.
On the anxiety piece. The forum itself is genuinely a good first step for someone with social anxiety — you can read, think, and respond on your own time, no camera, no voice, no real-time pressure.
Don't feel like you have to push yourself to Discord or video meetups before you're ready. A lot of members start by lurking and reading for weeks before they post much, and that's a completely legitimate way to use the place.
The Discord is there when and if you want it, not as a graduation requirement.
If your therapist wants you in a group for clinical reasons, asynchronous text forums like this one do count as peer support in most therapeutic frameworks — it's worth telling them you've joined here and seeing if that satisfies what they're looking for, at least as a starting point while you work up to anything more synchronous.
On the DIY HRT. Twelve years is a long stretch, and I want to gently flag this: please make sure your therapist knows, and if you don't currently have a prescribing provider doing regular bloodwork, that should move toward the top of the list.
Estrogen and any anti-androgens you might be on affect liver function, clotting risk, lipids, prolactin, and bone density, and those risks compound with age — especially moving into your 50s.
None of this is a lecture, and nobody here is going to judge how you got your meds. But getting into a monitored situation protects you, and a lot of members have made that transition from DIY to prescribed without drama.
Planned Parenthood, informed-consent clinics, and Plume (telehealth) are common routes if your area is thin on trans-competent providers. If you want, I can point you to threads where folks have discussed making that switch.
One more thing. "A fresh start is always good" — yes. And you don't owe anyone, here or anywhere else, the story of the years you spent hiding. Share what serves you, when it serves you. This place runs at your pace.
We are really glad you're here,
— Susan💜
Thirty-plus years of running this place and the returning members still get me right in the chest — you came back, and that takes something.
What you said about thinking you'd killed that side of yourself and just now letting yourself live — that's the whole thing, isn't it.
A lot of us have been there. The hiding takes a toll that doesn't always show up until you finally stop doing it, and then everything you pushed down comes up at once.
Be gentle with yourself through that part. There's no schedule, and "trying to let myself live" is exactly the right framing — it's a practice, not a switch.
A few practical things, since you asked:
On older-member community here. We have a sub-forum specifically for this — Late-Onset Transsexual talk — where the conversations skew toward folks transitioning in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.
The concerns there (careers, long marriages, adult kids, decades of suppression, aging bodies on HRT) are different from what you'll see in the general forums, and you'll find your people there faster.
Also worth browsing: the Real-Life Experiences board and Transitioning Later in Life threads that pop up across several sub-forums.
On the anxiety piece. The forum itself is genuinely a good first step for someone with social anxiety — you can read, think, and respond on your own time, no camera, no voice, no real-time pressure.
Don't feel like you have to push yourself to Discord or video meetups before you're ready. A lot of members start by lurking and reading for weeks before they post much, and that's a completely legitimate way to use the place.
The Discord is there when and if you want it, not as a graduation requirement.
If your therapist wants you in a group for clinical reasons, asynchronous text forums like this one do count as peer support in most therapeutic frameworks — it's worth telling them you've joined here and seeing if that satisfies what they're looking for, at least as a starting point while you work up to anything more synchronous.
On the DIY HRT. Twelve years is a long stretch, and I want to gently flag this: please make sure your therapist knows, and if you don't currently have a prescribing provider doing regular bloodwork, that should move toward the top of the list.
Estrogen and any anti-androgens you might be on affect liver function, clotting risk, lipids, prolactin, and bone density, and those risks compound with age — especially moving into your 50s.
None of this is a lecture, and nobody here is going to judge how you got your meds. But getting into a monitored situation protects you, and a lot of members have made that transition from DIY to prescribed without drama.
Planned Parenthood, informed-consent clinics, and Plume (telehealth) are common routes if your area is thin on trans-competent providers. If you want, I can point you to threads where folks have discussed making that switch.
One more thing. "A fresh start is always good" — yes. And you don't owe anyone, here or anywhere else, the story of the years you spent hiding. Share what serves you, when it serves you. This place runs at your pace.
We are really glad you're here,
— Susan💜
Title: Re: Hi New\Returning Member
Post by: tgirlamg on May 19, 2026, 11:03:46 PM
Post by: tgirlamg on May 19, 2026, 11:03:46 PM
Welcome Back Tammy!!!
Lots of us here past the mid century mark who have navigated the challenges and built amazing lives!... Your answers are out there and worth all your good efforts to find... Amazing things await!... I am so glad you're here!
Onward We Go Brave Sister!
Ashley 💕
Lots of us here past the mid century mark who have navigated the challenges and built amazing lives!... Your answers are out there and worth all your good efforts to find... Amazing things await!... I am so glad you're here!
Onward We Go Brave Sister!
Ashley 💕