So i am pretty new here and after some thinking and analyzing i came to the conclusion that i could very likely actually be a woman, i had thoughts about it before but i always suppressed them with some excuses. I do intend to be 100% sure about it(97.5% sure about it now) through some gender therapy but because i am pretty certain i am worried about how I should schedule my life and transition.

I ll be 22 this may, study in the maritime academy in Greece(couldnt have i been born to a more progressive place???Horrible luck) and i have to schedule everything so i can organize it in my mind, i am a very practical person.
So I would like to ask a few things in order to see what i can do.

First of all currently i am not able to do anything major cause I spend the majority on my money from my previous sea phase(working as deck cadet required in order to complete the academy) in entertainment, electronics etc since i said statistically it is highly unlikely that something could happen that requires me to keep some extra money.(SUPRISE! you are trans, you didnt expect that, did you? )

Anyway so from now till July i ll be studying, from July till February 2015 i ll be working on board a vessel so i cant do much there either.
Now after that i have almost 1,5-2 years of studying before graduation which in that period i could start gender therapy, get hormone approval and start HrT which bring me to my first serious questions.
(1)How fast boobs grow on HrT? And are they easily concealable?  I am a pretty proud person and would refuse to go around looking like a man in a dress and humiliate myself like this, and since I am in Greece and in a Maritime academy for that matter you cant expect many open minded people there. What if i kept a tiny beard/mustache before i start HrT in order to go stealth(In case the effects of HrT are very big on my face? (2)Are they very big?)

(3)How big could the changes of HrT be on me after 2 years? Do the changes differ vastly from person to person aka HaHa genetics do whatever they please.

Now let's say there are two scenarios, either I pass or I dont.(Keep pretending to be a man, in both cases i would still wear mostly male clothing because i am not a big fan of dresses or over exposing clothes, trousers and flannels ftw  )
Not passing would be a good thing since i could possibly spend another extra year collecting the necessary money for all the necessary surgeries later on. (4)What is the cost of the major of all major surgeries(FFS,SRS,VOICE, Anything else??)? And I assume FFS and voice will be the most important ones when you are looking to pass 100% as female.

Now if I pass I would definitely need to focus on my voice since i doubt i ll have enough for the surgery. (5)How exactly do the exercises work? Are they a pain in the butt to do? Do you always have to be concentrated in order not to slip up?

And then i arrive at the final part, the paperwork which usually is 10 times worse in Greece than any other civilized country.(6) In your country, what is the usual process of changing your diploma or certificates so they will have your new name?? Do they give you new diplomas with a new name or do you need to always have with you a paper saying that you changed your name in order to prove that is you?

After both cases i could possibly go on living full-time(as long as i pass that is) and start searching for possibly a new maritime company. Good thing that this type of work is international and i am not limited to only Greek companies.

(7)Based on some research i think i could have the "Klinefelter Syndrome XXY" since some descriptions and images describe my body pretty well, is that a bad or a good thing in my case??

thanks.

Hello and welcome,
The effects of HRT vary tremendously from person to person.  By six months you'll have some breast development, eventually they will be something like your mom.  I didn't go full time for almost two years, and could pass mostly by default, as a guy for that whole time.  You lose a fair amount of muscle without testosterone in your system, so assuming you are fit, you get slighter and your shape changes a little.  Your bones haven't completely capped yet, so if you start soon, you may develop more feminine features than if you wait.
Since you are Greek, probably have a pretty good beard.  Getting rid of facial hair takes a long time, and I would start just as soon as you can.  If you can't manage professional laser or electrolysis, a home electrolysis kit is not too expensive and pretty effective.  I used one for six months or so early on, and it has both saved me some money, and helped me fit in.
First thing though, is to talk to a professional.  A counselor, can help you with the set of decisions that you'll have to make about your future regardless of whether you transition or not.  The process is straight forward, but don't let anyone tell you this is easy or without cost.  It isn't, the costs to relationships, employment and financial security can be high.  For some trans-women very, very high.  I wish you luck and success no matter what you decide or do.  In any case, I hope to see you around the forums.
Hugs,
Julie

Hi

You are from Greece or just living here? Im from greece

In order to change your documents you need to undergo orchiectomy, then you go to court to request gender marker change...this proccess could take up to a year...
But getting hormones isnt difficult...if you live in athens its the easiest thing

First of all, yeah, it's all to genetics and individual variation.

And I did still have facial changes after 2 years, though less dramatic.

[repost]

I started HRT in February and was a C cup by early May, at which point I ended up telling supervisors at work and moving up the date to transition there (I'd planned on August, but was full-time by the beginning of June). It's *not* recommended to use a binder on growing breast tissue as it can damage your breasts, so my choices were basically to try increasingly unsuccessfully to hide things or give up and come out.  (I'm a 42DDD now, and was at least a 42D by the end of that year, so I wasn't going to be able to keep hiding.)

However, while I *was* keeping them under wraps, I had the most luck wearing a constrictive sports bra under a loose T-shirt with another loose overshirt over that. It managed to mostly conceal the shape, so that I looked like I was gaining weight all over instead of sticking out in the chest.


Also, although it was the boobs that drove me to reveal to people, I found out later that rumors had been going around at work that I was sick - my lower body shape and face had changed so drastically so fast that the general reaction was "thank goodness it's not something serious!" when my coworkers all found out.

Quote from: ♡ Emily ♡ on April 06, 2014, 03:57:50 PM
Quite a lot of questions here . Well, lets try to give at least some answers, shall we? .

1. With trans-related issues You are never ever going 100% about what You are doing. Just forget about this ideal state of mind. With therapist or not, there will be those moments of "what the hell I am doing?", so just be ready for that.
2. Congrats on trying to transition in the maritime area. I just could not figure out any more "female-un-friendly" environment than this and really, I cant imagine. OK, maybe lumberjacks... But yeah, in Your place I would think very hard about how to tweak Your career now so that You might have a chance to adapt it in the future... Are any female marine officers in 21st century btw?
4. How fast and big Your boobs might be? You never know it beforehands and it all boils down to Your genetics and pure luck.
7.Intersex conditions. Now,please dont assume that You have something just on the basis that "You could". Intersex people are very sensitive to those remarks, especially when TS people just start claiming that they are intersex too without any medical basis for such claims. Both conditions are quite distinct and involve different diagnosis and treatments. The only way to find out if You have XXY condition is to undergo genetic karyotype test which is simple submission of blood sample (I know because I have done this I am XY). Now, if we are talking about various conditions of Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome then there is more complex testing involved but You would know if Your have Complete or Partial AIS conditions by simply looking in the mirror, and as far as Mild Androgen Insensitivity Syndrom is concerned there is not much reason to bother if You have it or not.

Thanks very much for the answers everyone
1. Ye i always questioned this myself but only as of late i have really started accepting myself and taking it more seriously. It does feel confusing and a pain since you have to change all your plans because of it.

2. Actually there are quite a few female officers in the maritime industry in the recent years, It is still a male dominated job but there are quite a few women there too especially as officers(less captains though). Plus in the worse case scenario I could still try to just find a usual office job in some maritime company's office although i would prefer to avoid this, i kinda like the job and the money and there is also the chance that you could try to become a surveyor in some harbor later when you have more experience, and i have seen a few female surveyors too.

4. Oh i just hate randomness, are there anyway you can get an idea if your genetics are good for that or the best way to find out is through hormones?

7. Ah i see, i ll be careful then. Is there any other value in this test? Or it is only useful to sate my curiosity?

Quote from: FalsePrincess on April 06, 2014, 05:59:12 PM
Hi

You are from Greece or just living here? Im from greece

In order to change your documents you need to undergo orchiectomy, then you go to court to request gender marker change...this proccess could take up to a year...
But getting hormones isnt difficult...if you live in athens its the easiest thing

Oh i just cant believe i would find somebody from Greece in here so fast!! Ye i am Greek and live here, in the edges of Athens actually(Petroupoli) so everything is closeby if i need it, sadly thought i will probably not be able to get hormones for a loong time

And in order to change your ID you have to undergo orchiectomy?? Which afaik is not good since you still need these parts for srs? Which means you cant change your ID without undergoing the srs surgery and therefore you ll need to go full time with an idea that possibly looks nothing like you(since going full time is a requirement for therapist's letter). Sigh i guess i could lose it to avoid the whole "How do we know you arent lying" thing though i am pretty sure people are still gonna look at me like wtf when they see the name. At least they are going to be trolled a little when my legal name is male but has a grammar mistake from the female name because the priest didnt know grammar, oh god their confusion will probably be hilarious at the start.

Anyway nice to meet you, how long since you realized you were transgender? Do you have any email so i could contact you and ask you a few things? Know any good gender therapist or vampiric doctors that need your blood for the needed tests etc?

Now i have another general question for everyone. What is your opinion of online therapy?? I found this from a thread here and i was wondering if it is a good idea, legally at least. Does the certification authority of the therapists license limit you to a certain number of countries where you can only have surgeries in these countries?

add me on fb we can talk there 

Quote from: ♡ Emily ♡ on April 07, 2014, 11:38:30 AM
Umm, I dunno, but my endo just imposed it as one of mandatory requirements together with blood testing. She said that an endo needs to know karyotype because having different set of chromosomes might lead to strange side effects from the HRT.

And sadly I cant say anything about online therapy - I am not seeing a therapist myself and I am not really a believer that You need a therapy because "everybody does".

But dont you technically need a recommendation from a therapist to start HrT? and surgeries later on?

Quote from: FalsePrincess on April 07, 2014, 11:35:38 AM
add me on fb we can talk there 

What is your name there? I am pretty new so i dont have access to look at your profile in case the link is there.