Hey , im a ftm in the uk , early 20's , im out to a few people , living I suppose as a guy short hair guy clothes
I have to see my gp every few weeks for depression im on meds , im ment to have counselling ,
I need to come out to my gp , but im not sure how ?
im afraid of my gp saying she doesnt know what to do with me
or her saying its my depression
or just treating me like a weirdo ,
I really dont feel like I can deal with the rejection I think ill get ,
iv not been able to go out for years , im highly depressed and suicidal more then usual infact iv only been out 2weeks
I feel better but im still terrified im really upset that I was born the wrong gender , I feel like my lifes a waste iv been robbed of my identity
im in a dark place and im worried about talking to my gp about it , im worried and concerned as well that it make take along time to
move forward on the nhs , in my mental state , its hard

:/

I don't know how corny this is gonna sound, but you're not alone in this.
Everyone in the ftm section knows what it's like and is going through or has gone through it.
What does gp stand for?

Hi ukftminneed, welcome to Susan's Place!  I'll jump on the corny wagon, too. You're among friends who understand here. Relax and get to know everybody. See you around, hugs, Devlyn

Hey man, you're not alone here. There's tons of guys here who had been in your shoes and can give you great advice on gaining the confidence to come out to your GP. 

Quote from: Psycho on October 03, 2013, 06:50:08 PM
it.
What does gp stand for?

It usually means General practitioner.

Thankyou guys , im just finding it really hard atm , its like breaking point
thanks for taking the time to get back to me
:/
Ive got to see my doctor tomorrow not sure how to come out any help ?

I think you need to be honest with them.  You are the only person who can initiate this.  If you like, perhaps write a letter to your GP and bring it with you.  Make notes of the points you want to stress to them if you don't want to write an actual letter - it doesn't have to be scripted, but I would tell them exactly what you're telling all of us. 

thanks your right

Hi there,

I am a M2F in the UK, I approached my GP about being transgender about 6 months ago, she knew nothing about how to deal with me and was honest with me about that, she made another appointment for me a week later and set to work, when I went back she knew everything she needed to know and set my feet on my path to transition, that was around June and I already have my appointment set for the GIC in Sheffield!

Sweetie, she knows you are depressed and finding that you have gender dsyphoria will give her a better idea of how to help you.

I spent years afraid to approach a doctor because my doctor was close friends with my father and at that stage I wasn't ready to come out as Trans.

She won't reject you, that is against everything she has been taught, as for saying it's your depression it is linked to your depression but its more likely your gender dysphoria is causing your depression not the other way round......

Hello, I am a M2F in the U.S. First, we have all felt like you at one point or another. I felt weird, abnormal, depressed you name it. I mean other people have been fed lies by the press, television and other groups and do not know what the truth is about our issue. Where I live is NOT very supportive of the LGBT community as a whole. In rural area's you can actually be attacked or something worse. We ALL have things you told us that we deal with so YOU ARE NOT ALONE! This forum is a great place full of people here to help, encourage and support you. SO, take a deep breathe. Relax do not do anything that could rob you of a future. Science is slowly finding out that transexxulism may actually have a biological component to it. It is not a choice. I mean, who would choose to have something that can take your family away, cause you to lose friends, cause a financial burden, lose your identity and many other things. No one would choose gender dysphoria, it just cost's us too much. This is NOT your fault and if you stay here you will learn that and how to deal with it. I dealt with it by coming out (I hate that term, I would rather use notifying), getting on HRT (hormone replacement therapy, and planning a full SRS (sexual reassignment surgery). I am 47, so a decision of this path WAS NOT easy. Beside the transition, I have to worry about medical issue's which could block some of my plan's. Being on hormones (the correct one's for my body) for 7 weeks has made an immense difference in my mental health. I no longer have depression and they have all but eliminated my PTSD issue's. My advice is to investigate the possibilities available to you before doing something that you can't take back (suicide). I mean it, the right hormones for your mindset will help. Take care.

tell your gp that you need a referral to a gender identity clinic (that's what she should do about these matters). if she says it's just your depression, tell her that it could just as well be the reason for your depression, and that's why you need to talk to a specialist on these matters.

if your gp gives you trouble over this, come back here and complain to us. you'll get help to get through it.

Quote from: Taka on October 04, 2013, 07:07:37 AM
tell your gp that you need a referral to a gender identity clinic (that's what she should do about these matters). if she says it's just your depression, tell her that it could just as well be the reason for your depression, and that's why you need to talk to a specialist on these matters.

if your gp gives you trouble over this, come back here and complain to us. you'll get help to get through it.

Sound advice

I'm M2F in Blackpool,I was in your position 24 years ago,telling your Doctor is the best thing you can do.My doctor didn't know anything about GID but he found out and got me an appointment at Charing Cross.

Quote from: alex rogers on October 04, 2013, 05:09:23 AM
Hi there,

I am a M2F in the UK, I approached my GP about being transgender about 6 months ago, she knew nothing about how to deal with me and was honest with me about that, she made another appointment for me a week later and set to work, when I went back she knew everything she needed to know and set my feet on my path to transition, that was around June and I already have my appointment set for the GIC in Sheffield!

Sweetie, she knows you are depressed and finding that you have gender dsyphoria will give her a better idea of how to help you.

I spent years afraid to approach a doctor because my doctor was close friends with my father and at that stage I wasn't ready to come out as Trans.

She won't reject you, that is against everything she has been taught, as for saying it's your depression it is linked to your depression but its more likely your gender dysphoria is causing your depression not the other way round......

Thankyou , I feel better knowing that , she went away and found out how to help you , I think iv developed a fear of rejection medically , I know its in my head but its a hard thing to get around , thanks for sharing with me your personal experience

Quote from: Jessica Merriman on October 04, 2013, 05:46:07 AM
Hello, I am a M2F in the U.S. First, we have all felt like you at one point or another. I felt weird, abnormal, depressed you name it. I mean other people have been fed lies by the press, television and other groups and do not know what the truth is about our issue. Where I live is NOT very supportive of the LGBT community as a whole. In rural area's you can actually be attacked or something worse. We ALL have things you told us that we deal with so YOU ARE NOT ALONE! This forum is a great place full of people here to help, encourage and support you. SO, take a deep breathe. Relax do not do anything that could rob you of a future. Science is slowly finding out that transexxulism may actually have a biological component to it. It is not a choice. I mean, who would choose to have something that can take your family away, cause you to lose friends, cause a financial burden, lose your identity and many other things. No one would choose gender dysphoria, it just cost's us too much. This is NOT your fault and if you stay here you will learn that and how to deal with it. I dealt with it by coming out (I hate that term, I would rather use notifying), getting on HRT (hormone replacement therapy, and planning a full SRS (sexual reassignment surgery). I am 47, so a decision of this path WAS NOT easy. Beside the transition, I have to worry about medical issue's which could block some of my plan's. Being on hormones (the correct one's for my body) for 7 weeks has made an immense difference in my mental health. I no longer have depression and they have all but eliminated my PTSD issue's. My advice is to investigate the possibilities available to you before doing something that you can't take back (suicide). I mean it, the right hormones for your mindset will help. Take care.

thanks your right about society , I have nothing against gays at all , but I hate that trans its apart of it , to me gender and sexuality are completely different and it really hurts me when people say why cant you just be gay ?! because im not im straight im a guy , the media view on being trans it horrid , and its hard for me to see and think am I like that , or have they been portrayed wrong ?!-yes, media wise I feel like im led to believe im a horrible monster thats disgusting and inhuman , so I feel like im in a corner in every way infact Iv never said out loud im trans because around here its like a dirty word , I say I have gender identity issues and explain how I feel and im excepted , but I know if I said I was trans id be danger and abandoned

I think it must be biological , alot of people say how can you know your a guy when you dont know what its like to be a guy you were born a girl ,
I was born with a guys brain and soul in that I know myself identity is a guy I believe we all have a sense of self identity BUT we only realise this when our identity doesn't match our body ,when we are born after all when society wasn't society and we were cave folk we had roles I imagine based on gender for example men were hunters and gathers
no one told them to do that and act like that its our dna we know who we are what we can do and we our role in society is
our self indenity is imprinted in us from birth as a child I always thought id grow up to be a man

but thats just what I think :/

thankyou for taking the time to respond I feel better less alone

Quote from: Taka on October 04, 2013, 07:07:37 AM
tell your gp that you need a referral to a gender identity clinic (that's what she should do about these matters). if she says it's just your depression, tell her that it could just as well be the reason for your depression, and that's why you need to talk to a specialist on these matters.

if your gp gives you trouble over this, come back here and complain to us. you'll get help to get through it.

good thanks , I see her next week

Quote from: big kim on October 04, 2013, 07:42:37 AM
I'm M2F in Blackpool,I was in your position 24 years ago,telling your Doctor is the best thing you can do.My doctor didn't know anything about GID but he found out and got me an appointment at Charing Cross.

thanks thats my main worry but knowing they find out is reassuring to read 

Hi there! I'm in the UK too. Well, you say you're in the UK but there are different rules and procedures for each country, so I'm going to presume you mean England.

As Taka said, just tell your GP that you have problems with your gender identity and you need to be referred to a Gender Identity Clinic. She should ask you to give her a bit more information, and then she's supposed to write directly to an appropriate GIC to refer you for further treatment.

Your doctor is not allowed to refuse to treat you, or to refuse to send you to a GIC. That's actually against the law, so rest assured she'll have to help you. Nor are they allowed to refuse to treat you because you're depressed.

It's true that some GPs don't know what they ought to do with a trans* patient, because we are relatively rare and they might not have encountered one of us before. But that's OK, because the NHS has protocols that tell GPs how they should deal with us. 

There is some useful information that you might want to familiarise yourself with over the weekend, so that you'll have a good idea of what to expect and what your doctor is supposed to do. That way, if she doesn't know what to do or seems to do the wrong thing, you can gently point out the procedures she should follow. Perhaps you might even want to print out these documents so you can hand them to her if she asks for them.

Here's the NHS's guidelines to GPs on how they should treat trans* patients and what they should do when one of us consults them: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Transhealth/Documents/gender-dysphoria-guide-for-gps-and-other-health-care-staff.pdf

And here's the NHS's protocol for the treatment of Gender Dysphoria: http://www.cliniq.org.uk/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/nhsenglandinterimgenderprotocolcpag12072013.pdf

Oh, and just so you're aware: Charing Cross is heavily oversubscribed at the moment, so you might want to consider asking for a referral to a different GIC. Your doctor will be able to access a list of all the available GICs and you're entitled to pick any of them if you wish.

Good luck!