Wating times really depend on where you are. I was expecting months wait but upon talking to my GP about it, he wanted to see me for a second appointment following our first meeting (which was only 4 days wait between them) and on that 2nd appointment he had written my referral to the psychiatrist who specialises in gender issues, 2 days letter I received a letter from them with my appointment. From seeing my GP to going to my referral appointment it will be a month in total. Having a really good GP helps alot. Mine has dealt with a few MTFs previously but I am his first FTM patient. He has been great about everything and got this done amazingly quickly and said pretty much all of it will be on the NHS. What type of surgery is available depends on what the clinic offers. If they dont have a procedure I want or whatever I can self refer to a specialist gender clinic if I want to. My GP would only refer me to the local hospital as he can do that on the NHS, if I wanted to go to the specialist clinic I would have to self refer. My first appointment is on the 11th so I can find out how it will all work in terms of waiting times, when I can start T etc

I dont think the whole system is set in stone with like you MUST do 3 months RLE before you're allowed HRT or whatever. It has to depend on the individual circumstances. As I told my GP there is nothing else I can do to change how people see me without intervention so what good is another however many months of living exactly the same going to do me. He said if they feel this is the case with me then I might not have to do it. Of course you need to show them you are committed to going through with it in terms of living as your identified gender but how long is necessary should be done on a personal basis. That should be a purpose of the initial psychiatric evaluation to determine what is suitable for each patient's needs

Im sure I would need at least another appointment before I would be prescribed anything though but I need to find all this out when I go. Hoping I can speed the whole process up I've waited my entire life for all this, I dont need to wait any longer.. It can be months between appointments if you're going to a busy clinic where alot of people end up going but it will depend on this. The NHS is typically slow in general but I've been surprised by how quickly mine has been done so its not always that bad. Just saying it might not necessarily be as slow as you think. I was expecting to wait like 3 months for this appointment so 3 days is very good

Even so it would still take a bit before you would be allowed to start T and it of course takes months for effects to kick in so not sure going stealth would be possible for a uni start. Once changes start I doubt they would be that easy to hide. Hair can be shaved but cant really hide an obvious voice change for long. Seeing you in person you would likely change alot too from facial structure to fat redistribution. I know it might seem easier to try hide it but its probably easier to not have them suddenly find out later and seen it done behind their backs (though its your decision not theirs) It just wouldnt be an easy thing to hide and eventually they would see it. Depends how long you could put it off for. Also depends what you would be prescribed. Most common seems to be injection but some are started on gel or cream, in either case it would likely be a lower dose to start with before moving to a higher dose to bring faster changes. If you were on a low dose then the changes would happen alot slower. Still wouldnt be able to control what happened and when but it might be easier than the alternative in your situation. I dont know if we get any option though to say we want a low dose, or you want cream or whatever or just have to go with what they say

I would see a GP as soon as possible though to at least get the process started and talk about your options. Not all doctors are up to speed on trans issues but they should at least still listen to you and advise you as best they can. It is becoming more common these days than it used to so many doctors have dealt with other trans patients before and will know the drill

I'm amazed at how easy it is to do by Deed Poll. I'll get started on the that right away!

I've thought about the gel as an alternative... I'm just really torn because on the one hand I think a slower transition would maybe be easier to manage when confronted with the more problematic aspects of my situation (maybe less drastic for parents) - but then on the other hand I think 'Screw everyone else. I should go for it and do what's best for me because, at the moment, the sooner things change, the better'. Then again, if it's all dependent on what the doctors prescribe then I suppose it doesn't matter. I'll just be happy to be on the road to T.

Quote from: Leo. on June 22, 2013, 08:56:48 PM
I know it might seem easier to try hide it but its probably easier to not have them suddenly find out later and seen it done behind their backs (though its your decision not theirs) It just wouldnt be an easy thing to hide and eventually they would see it. Depends how long you could put it off for.

Heeding what most people have said, I am now truly considering the fact that I may just have to face it and tell my parents outright - either before I start any treatment or early on. But then, of course, I have no support at all if they turn their backs.

Bah, I just really don't know how to deal with this... It's come to the point where something has to give-- and soon! I suppose I'll simply have to accept that bad changes are bound to come with the good - and a change has to happen, so so be it. Ach, I'm so sorry, I'm just bothered my incapacity to make a decision!

Parents can be oblivious.  I sport a full beard and my mother still thinks I'm female and look like a woman.  When someone calls me HE, she says oh, they paid you a compliment!  I'm like, NO, you're the only one who still thinks of me as F.

So if you're already butch looking, they may not notice much.  OTOH, if they do, you then can come out.


Jay

I am, unfortnately, not very butch. If I pass at all people think I am my friend's little brother, and I don't often pass. I've been working out a lot recently, though, trying to change how weak and effeminate I am. Maybe that will help, but I doubt my parents will fail to see the man-ness if what I've been hearing about the depth of change is correct. Especially on me, I suspect the masculinisation will be quite obvious. But who knows? Maybe, like your mother, they'll just see whatever still remains female. And I wouldn't have a problem with that if it made them happy.

Quote from: sneakersjay on June 23, 2013, 11:48:09 AM
Parents can be oblivious.  I sport a full beard and my mother still thinks I'm female and look like a woman. 

I know a guy whose father still treats him this way...and when I look at this trans man, there's no way that ANYONE would ever believe he had EVER lived as a woman.

I guess parents are a special breed.

Exactly, Arch.  I just met another trans man a few weeks ago.  He transitioned 4 years ago.  I can't even picture him ever as a woman.  He is just a regular guy.

Quote from: AlexanderC on June 22, 2013, 07:18:10 PM
As for the name change, the most common way to do that is via deed poll, but you can get it done by going to a solicitor.  Techically you can just get it changed by an ad in the papers, or a letter from your GP/priest or someone else responsible, but the Passport agency and a couple of other places won't accept that.  There are quite a few websites offering deed poll services for reasonable prices, just google "UK Deed Poll" and you'll get a list of them.  The prices seem to vary between £15 and £40 from what I've seen when I had a quick look.

You can print your own deed poll using the standard wording and have it witnessed by anyone at all, and it will be accepted by the passport people, the DVLA and all other authorities in my experience.

I'm not having a go at you, I'm just annoyed by these parasitic "UK deed poll" people who aren't doing anything for their £40 other than print out the standard wording and stick it in the post.

Quote from: JoW on June 23, 2013, 04:03:03 PM
You can print your own deed poll using the standard wording and have it witnessed by anyone at all, and it will be accepted by the passport people, the DVLA and all other authorities in my experience.

I'm not having a go at you, I'm just annoyed by these parasitic "UK deed poll" people who aren't doing anything for their £40 other than print out the standard wording and stick it in the post.

I never said there weren't other ways, just that deed poll is the most common.  I'm personally thinking of going for a deed poll company simply because they save a copy of it for you and you can order legal copies from them for a couple of quid.  Seeing as I've already damaged the exam certificates I got last year I think that would be a wise choice.  So they do do a bit more for their money.

Quote from: FTMDiaries on June 22, 2013, 06:25:14 PM
You're more than welcome.

As for changing your name: the simplest way is to do it via Deed Poll. I did mine last year, over the Internet. Just type 'deed poll uk' into Google for some options; the first one that comes up is the one I used and I can thoroughly recommend them. It took a little over two weeks in total and it cost less than £60 in total.

You fill in their online form & pay by card, then a couple of days later they send you the paperwork to be signed. It has to be countersigned by a professional person (such as your GP, or a teacher, or a family friend who has a professional job) - my boss signed mine for me - then you check everything is correct and post it back to them. They then get one of their lawyers to notarise it and it is then sent back to you for you to use.

A couple of tips:

• Under UK law, you can use any common title you like (e.g. Mr, Mrs, Miss or whatever). The Deed Poll people allow you to record a change in your title on your deed poll for no extra charge. Whilst not strictly necessary, I found it very useful when insisting that my bank etc. should now address me as 'Mr' - it really strengthened my case.
• I paid a little bit more for their Archiving service (where they keep a copy in case you ever lost your original) and I paid for several Certified Copies to be made & sent to me. This proved to be a godsend because you'll be surprised how many organisations insist on the 'original' (never send that to anyone) but a certified copy is perfectly adequate for everyone I've sent it to, including the Government.

Deed Polls aren't recorded or published anywhere, so your parents wouldn't find out. The only way they'd know is if you started receiving letters in your new name... but the Deed Poll service even lets you specify that their correspondence with you should go to your old name so they've got that covered too.

Also thank you for this information, I had no idea it was this simple to do a legal name change here. I thought it had to be done via the courts


Has anyone changed their name (and title) before going to their first appointment? My GP referred me a few weeks ago for the first step of the psychiatric evaluation and my appointment is the 11th. I was going to wait til then to ask him about the process of doing it but having looked into it with this it seems to be the best way of doing it and it can all happen really quickly. Im thinking whats the point in waiting when I could already have it done by the time I first meet him. I feel it would strengthen my case and show from the start that Im completely committed to this. The fact its not just a name change but being able to change title to Mr too without any proof at all needed should show that. Just trying to decide if I should go ahead and get the deed poll now or wait til the appointment

Just want to add to the name changing thing

You can do it for free, you don't need to pay any solicitor. Just google something like "statutory declaration template" or "deed poll template" ... fill it in, print it out, get it signed by somebody - doesn't need to be a solicitor or anybody special. I used my brothers girlfriend.

That's all it takes, I promise 100% this is a perfectly acceptable way to do it, I did it 5-6 years ago and have had no issues and I've shown several other trans people how to do it.

If you also get a letter from your GP saying that you have been diagnosed with GID and your name change is going to be permanent you can change your gender markers (some places don't need a letter and will do the gender marker on request, but other places will get sniffy about it...like the passport office or DVLA)

Sorry, I know this has already been said, but I really want to make sure it's out there that you do not need to pay god knows how much to get a name change in the UK. I know several people who refuse to believe me on this matter and are still stuck with their old name because they "can't afford it" and it drives me potty


edit: one more thing to add. Yes I changed my name way before my actual GIC appointment and the fact that I was already socially transitioned and had my name changed by the time I got there made the process quicker.

If I were to do it myself would I still not need to send the completed form to someone? Or do I just present it to the passport people and anyone else who needs to see it whenever I need the proof? It all seems to bewilderingly easy, which I totally didn't expect. Thank you for all the useful info.

Quote from: Jeatyn on June 25, 2013, 09:20:22 AM
edit: one more thing to add. Yes I changed my name way before my actual GIC appointment and the fact that I was already socially transitioned and had my name changed by the time I got there made the process quicker.

This sounds like a good idea. I'll definitely be following your lead on that. 

Quote from: Jeatyn on June 25, 2013, 09:20:22 AM
Just want to add to the name changing thing

You can do it for free, you don't need to pay any solicitor. Just google something like "statutory declaration template" or "deed poll template" ... fill it in, print it out, get it signed by somebody - doesn't need to be a solicitor or anybody special. I used my brothers girlfriend.

That's all it takes, I promise 100% this is a perfectly acceptable way to do it, I did it 5-6 years ago and have had no issues and I've shown several other trans people how to do it.

If you also get a letter from your GP saying that you have been diagnosed with GID and your name change is going to be permanent you can change your gender markers (some places don't need a letter and will do the gender marker on request, but other places will get sniffy about it...like the passport office or DVLA)

Sorry, I know this has already been said, but I really want to make sure it's out there that you do not need to pay god knows how much to get a name change in the UK. I know several people who refuse to believe me on this matter and are still stuck with their old name because they "can't afford it" and it drives me potty


edit: one more thing to add. Yes I changed my name way before my actual GIC appointment and the fact that I was already socially transitioned and had my name changed by the time I got there made the process quicker.

I know it can be done using a template, I just wanted to pay the small fee to have it sent to me as when its sent back to them they notify it with a lawyer then its sent back ready for use. I wanted to make sure it was all ok. I dont trust myself doing things myself to know its completely correct so I want to ensure all is fine. I would also like some copies as heard places you need to inform of the change might not accept a photocopy of it and I'd rather know Im able to obtain copies if I need them. Its still alot cheaper than I thought it was so it doesnt really bother me. The site I looked at is highly recognised and wouldnt give any problems

The gender marker can be changed too? I thought in order to do that you have to wait 2 years from full time and the marker cant be changed without obtaining the Gender Recognition Certificate? I can easily have Mr on my driving licence without anything needed and there is no gender field on my licence so this is fine. Its just passport really. I was going to ask about this at the meeting if I should put M on that but I cant if Im not legally allowed to until the 2 years are up. I havent actually been diagnosed yet as that should come from this appointment but I could easily wait until then to do my passport and anything else that has gender on it to see if I can or not. I just thought we couldnt legally change gender without the certificate, even coming from a GP or whatever. Im sure birth certificate would be 2 years with the GRC either way but I thought everything else would be too. Not that it makes sense to have Mr then an F next to gender.. Im never even sure how to answer that question when I see gender/sex on forms and stuff, I have no idea what to put. Yes I am male but legally? No idea really. Im going to talk about all this when I get there


Thank you for that, that is very encouraging to know it does speed things up. Exactly what Im trying to do. Aiming to try get T by the end of the year. Ideally top surgery too but I'll likely have to wait longer for that. I think I will go ahead and get the deed poll tonight then and should have it back in time before my appointment with him.

+1 to Jeatyn's comments about changing your name beforehand speeding things up. My Gender Therapist was impressed that I'd taken this step before my first appointment; she said it demonstrated my commitment to the process. In fact, she counted the official start of my RLE as being the date on which I officially changed my name (although I committed to my social transition six months previously) so it really did move things along for me. If you have no reason to wait, why not change it as soon as possible.

A couple of other points:

I went the lawyer route for my Deed Poll because of my Asperger's: there's nothing that messes with my anxiety more than feeling that I've not done something the 'correct' way. Getting a lawyer to notarise the Deed Poll adds an extra air of authority to the document, which can help when dealing with certain officious bureaucrats. However, most of the businesses I've contacted were happy to change my name & title merely on the strength of a phone call, even with my ridiculously girly voice: it was only the more formal organisations (such as banks) that insisted on Certified Copies or seeing an original document.

Please be aware: under Common Law, you don't need anything in writing to change your name and/or title. You can call yourself anything you like (apart from certain professional and noble titles) at any time without drawing up any formal documentation. The benefit to getting a Deed Poll is that you then have an official-looking piece of paper that you can show to bureaucrats & officials, because many of them aren't satisfied with just taking your word for things.

Also, Leo, I thought you might want to know that the wait between GPs and the community psychiatrists is very quick for most people... but unfortunately the big wait is between the community psychiatrist and the GIC. The reason for this is two-fold: 1) GICs tend to have long waiting lists; and 2) they have to apply for Exceptional Funding for your case before they can see you, because GD isn't routinely funded. I saw my community psychiatrist exactly three weeks after seeing my GP, but it took another 8 months for me to get into the GIC.

So... when you see your community shrink, ask him which GICs are available in your area (generally speaking, they'll have funding arrangements with certain GICs only) then phone each of those to find out what their waiting times are before choosing one. I made the mistake of choosing the more famous one because my shrink didn't know about the massive difference in waiting times for each clinic.

And yes, a letter from your doctor saying you've been diagnosed with GD will enable you to change your gender marker with the DVLA & passport people... but this will almost certainly not come from your GP. At least, not until you've been assessed by the GIC and formally diagnosed with GD. My letter came from my GIC; my GP was not willing to write anything until I'd been formally assessed. You might be lucky & have a sympathetic GP, but don't be surprised if they tell you you have to wait until you've seen the GIC first.

Oh, and if anyone's curious, I'm also happy to let you know how to get a new NHS number once you've changed your name. It's a bit of a palaver but please let me know if you want more info. (You'll need a new number because NHS numbers are gender-specific, so your GP won't be able to change your title on their system without a new number - and you don't want them to call for "Miss Joe Bloggs"). 

Quote from: FTMDiaries on June 25, 2013, 10:39:30 AM
+1 to Jeatyn's comments about changing your name beforehand speeding things up. My Gender Therapist was impressed that I'd taken this step before my first appointment; she said it demonstrated my commitment to the process. In fact, she counted the official start of my RLE as being the date on which I officially changed my name (although I committed to my social transition six months previously) so it really did move things along for me. If you have no reason to wait, why not change it as soon as possible.

A couple of other points:

I went the lawyer route for my Deed Poll because of my Asperger's: there's nothing that messes with my anxiety more than feeling that I've not done something the 'correct' way. Getting a lawyer to notarise the Deed Poll adds an extra air of authority to the document, which can help when dealing with certain officious bureaucrats. However, most of the businesses I've contacted were happy to change my name & title merely on the strength of a phone call, even with my ridiculously girly voice: it was only the more formal organisations (such as banks) that insisted on Certified Copies or seeing an original document.

Please be aware: under Common Law, you don't need anything in writing to change your name and/or title. You can call yourself anything you like (apart from certain professional and noble titles) at any time without drawing up any formal documentation. The benefit to getting a Deed Poll is that you then have an official-looking piece of paper that you can show to bureaucrats & officials, because many of them aren't satisfied with just taking your word for things.

Also, Leo, I thought you might want to know that the wait between GPs and the community psychiatrists is very quick for most people... but unfortunately the big wait is between the community psychiatrist and the GIC. The reason for this is two-fold: 1) GICs tend to have long waiting lists; and 2) they have to apply for Exceptional Funding for your case before they can see you, because GD isn't routinely funded. I saw my community psychiatrist exactly three weeks after seeing my GP, but it took another 8 months for me to get into the GIC.

So... when you see your community shrink, ask him which GICs are available in your area (generally speaking, they'll have funding arrangements with certain GICs only) then phone each of those to find out what their waiting times are before choosing one. I made the mistake of choosing the more famous one because my shrink didn't know about the massive difference in waiting times for each clinic.

And yes, a letter from your doctor saying you've been diagnosed with GD will enable you to change your gender marker with the DVLA & passport people... but this will almost certainly not come from your GP. At least, not until you've been assessed by the GIC and formally diagnosed with GD. My letter came from my GIC; my GP was not willing to write anything until I'd been formally assessed. You might be lucky & have a sympathetic GP, but don't be surprised if they tell you you have to wait until you've seen the GIC first.

Oh, and if anyone's curious, I'm also happy to let you know how to get a new NHS number once you've changed your name. It's a bit of a palaver but please let me know if you want more info. (You'll need a new number because NHS numbers are gender-specific, so your GP won't be able to change your title on their system without a new number - and you don't want them to call for "Miss Joe Bloggs"). 

I have just submitted my application I was having second thoughts this morning about whether I should do it now or wait until then so thanks for helping me decide on this. Im sure it will help. I would rather get on with things as quickly as possible than dragging RLE on forever but its not really up to me. I've done about all I can now besides changing gender marker. Im going with the Legal Copy and Archive service so I have several legal copies to send off to places that wont accept a photocopy. I just wanted this all documented as proof of a change than just giving myself a new name one day and demanding everyone call me by it

Oh ok. I dont think we have a GIC as such here. What my GP said was this stuff itself can be considered a clinic then its just referral to an endo. My GP isnt specialist in gender issues but he has had 2 MTF patients and they went through it in the same way Im going to. I was originally going to be going to a specialist gender clinic but its alot further away and if this way works it would be easier going here. Im not entirely sure about the clinic side of it from what he told me. Im in Scotland and there is only 1 specialist gender clinic in the country. I have been referred to the local hospital to a psychiatrist that specialises in gender issues, what happens after this Im not really sure yet. My GP doesnt know a huge amount about it. He has been really good with me though. Hes genuinely interested in all of it and wants to learn. I have an appointment with him a few days after my referral appointment just so he knows how it went. Seems to want to learn the process and how it all works so he can help other patients in the future. Im just confused by what the clinic side of this actually is or its just getting the diagnosis then endo referral? Thats how he made it out but Im really not sure. I really dont want to wait any longer than I already have. Been not far off 20 years now Im just at the point  I cant take any more of it. Couldnt stand my name or hideous title and longer so this will be gone in a few weeks. Going to the specialist clinic I'd likely have a long wait if everyone has to go there but if I can do it all here I would assume it would be quicker if theres less people and everything else. 8 months is pretty ridiculous even for the NHS

I need to ask him about this cause Im pretty confused by it how it works here. My GP has never heard of the specialist clinc I was told by my other GP (when I had to transfer from my GP at home to the surgery here at my uni address) He has referred his other patients here and one is completely post-op and has everything done. I gave him a printout about that clinic so he can show other patients it just so they're aware it exists if they prefer to go to a specialised clinic

I had no idea gender could be changed without the certificate. Is the only purpose of that then for changing the birth certificate (basically declaring birth sex as the identified sex)? They make all this more confusing than it needs to be. Nowhere have I read that its ok to change gender like this without a GRC. I will wait until I have the diagnosis for that. As I am seeing my GP a few days after that Im sure he would do it for me then so I can hold the passport stuff back and send it along with that. He would likely do it for me now but its best to wait anyway so he can officially say I've been diagnosed with it and need it changed

I hadnt thought of that, thank you. I was going to have my medical records changed (assuming I can also put M on those too) but didnt realise the number was gender linked. I would like to do this


Thanks for all the information, has helped alot

Quote from: Leo. on June 25, 2013, 11:06:57 AM
Thanks for all the information, has helped alot

You're welcome.

Oh, and you're in Scotland? You lucky fish! Guess what... you can refer yourself to the only GIC in Scotland; you don't even need to see your GP first. Here are the details I gleaned about a month ago:

Quote
With the Sandyford, it isn't necessary to have a GP's referral. Prospective service users can phone for an initial appointment by phoning 0141 211 8137 and asking for a first appointment. This is available to anyone who lives in Scotland.

Sandyford Clinic, Glasgow
2-6 Sandyford Place
Sauchiehall Street
Glasgow
G3 7NB
Telephone: 0141 211 8130
http://www.sandyford.org/do-you-want-information-on-sexual-orientation-or-gender-identity/gender-identity.aspx

According to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, you don't need to undergo any medical treatment whatsoever to change your birth certificate etc. and be fully recognised as your new gender. You only need to have been 'transitioned' for two years, and by 'transitioned' that can also mean 'socially transitioned'. The wording of the Act is very clear: transitioning is considered a personal rather than a medical process. This enables people who are unable or unwilling to medically transition to be fully recognised as their new gender.

As you're in Scotland, your NHS number is managed by the Registrar General. Ask your GP whether they're able to contact them on your behalf, or whether you need to write to them yourself (they'll have the address). I had to write to the equivalent in England for mine, with a cover letter & a certified copy of my Deed Poll. They sorted out my NHS number within a week and my doctors changed my name & title as soon as they got the new number.

Quote from: FTMDiaries on June 25, 2013, 11:40:09 AM
You're welcome.

Oh, and you're in Scotland? You lucky fish! Guess what... you can refer yourself to the only GIC in Scotland; you don't even need to see your GP first. Here are the details I gleaned about a month ago:According to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, you don't need to undergo any medical treatment whatsoever to change your birth certificate etc. and be fully recognised as your new gender. You only need to have been 'transitioned' for two years, and by 'transitioned' that can also mean 'socially transitioned'. The wording of the Act is very clear: transitioning is considered a personal rather than a medical process. This enables people who are unable or unwilling to medically transition to be fully recognised as their new gender.

As you're in Scotland, your NHS number is managed by the Registrar General. Ask your GP whether they're able to contact them on your behalf, or whether you need to write to them yourself (they'll have the address). I had to write to the equivalent in England for mine, with a cover letter & a certified copy of my Deed Poll. They sorted out my NHS number within a week and my doctors changed my name & title as soon as they got the new number.

I am yes I know I can self refer there, as my GP knows nothing about it I am going with his suggestion to do it here as it would make it easier for me. He advised to take the info about Sandyford with me to the appointment and discuss the options, like if they dont do a particular surgical procedure while Sandyford might etc and decide then if it would be best to refer there or do it here. I know its not a medical orientated thing, in my case it wouldnt matter since Im going all the way with that but it does make it easier and quicker that its not needed to change BC

I was just confused by changing gender markers as I thought the 2 year transition period had to be complete before you could do that. I will ask my GP about doing a letter for me once I have the diagnosis

Ah ok, I will ask him next time then about doing that. He could likely take care of it for me but if I need to do it its fine as long as I know how to. That sounds quick, glad it was easy for you. Feels good to finally have things moving in the right direction


Im sure all this info will be helpful to many others who read this too. I get confused by things alot so being able to clarify it with others has made it so much easier

Yes, thank you FTMDiaries. This is all incredibly helpful - especially about changing NHS numbers - I never even knew that it was possible to change them, nor that they were gendered. Thank you so much for clearing it all up - it's going to make putting everything into action a lot simpler!

One last post on this... just wanted to point out that the NHS Number procedure is slightly different in England & Wales than it is in Scotland (I have no idea what the process is in NI).

In England, as in Scotland, you start with your GP's receptionist. However, please be aware that whilst all surgeries have plenty of experience dealing with name changes (such as through marriage or divorce), most don't know that there is a different procedure when dealing with name changes due to gender reassignment.

The standard name-change procedure (for marriage etc.) is for the receptionist to give you a Name Change Form, which they then use to simply change a patient from Miss Smith to Mrs Jones (notice the gender doesn't change there). But as I said previously, NHS Numbers are gender-specific, so if you're changing gender they can't change your name from Miss Smith to Mr Smith at the surgery; the computers simply don't allow it.

So to change your gender and title on their system, they need a new NHS Number for you... and in England these come from your local office of NHS England. Your surgery will have their contact details, so when you go in to the surgery to change your name, please let them know that you can't simply use their name change form because you actually need a new NHS Number due to gender reassignment. Ask them whether they can contact NHS England on your behalf or to give you the address to write to with your new details. Oh, and if you do need to write to anyone, it'll move things along if you ask your surgery for your current NHS Number and provide it in your letter.

Just don't do it the way I did it: in my case, it took three months to change my name, gender & title at my surgery because I didn't know any of this beforehand. I filled in the name-change form; got a letter back from my surgery month later (addressed to my old name & title - genius!) telling me they couldn't do it and asking me to contact the equivalent of NHS England; I phoned NHS England to ask what I needed to do, which is when they told me about the gender-specific nature of NHS Numbers; so I then wrote to them with a copy of my Deed Poll and they gave me a new NHS Number within a week of my letter. My doctors changed my details a few days later, and ever since then I haven't had to press that awful 'female' button on the appointments screen when I arrive at the surgery, and I get called by the correct name & title.

Even with low doses, you are going to change. People are going to notice the changes. Some of them (acne, deeper voice, facial hair) are difficult if not impossible to hide. I don't know how things work in the UK as far as going off and on T like some guys do here in the states, but even that is not a viable or healthy long term option.

Just gonna throw this in about the gel: it's not necessarily going to make your changes slow down. I've used the gel and have had changes hit me pretty rapidly. It depends on the individual and whether or not you actually allow the gel to dry before putting clothes on. It lessens the amount the is absorbed into your body if you let it stick to clothes etc.