Been to the doctor and working on my hormones now. Taking Estridal via patch and spiro via pills.  I am really curious and concerned about what I need to do next.  Electro? What?

Anyone have a list of it all that would make sense?

Well here are a few pointers.

If not done facial hair removal is a must
Also determine if you can have gcs/srs for free(covered in some way) or if you have to pay it(read that find the money). The rest depends on your body and your level of dysphoria, but this would include things like adams apple shaving, ffs, b. Augmentation. All those things are dependent on you and how you develop. Though b. Augm. will also depend on what nature gives you, as me I got natural 44DD so i would have regretted any surgery there.

One thing to keep in mind, all those surgeries cost a lot. And, gcs/srs will require therapist letters down the line.

Facial hair, facial hair, and facial hair.  When I was starting out, I read a couple of people stating that this should be started before almost anything else because it takes so long - and I can't tell you how glad I am that I followed that advice.

I am lucky enough to have pale skin and dark hair, so I was a good candidate for laser hair removal.  I have my last treatment next week, in fact.  I will still need some electrolysis for the coarse pale/blonde hairs on my chin and upper lip, but laser has saved me probably hundreds of hours of electrolysis, so if you are a good candidate then do it.

I can absolutely say that if I still had a beard shadow, I might be able to almost afford a surgery by now but I would NOT be able to live day to day.  Eliminating that hair has been a psychological relief in so many ways that I am still discovering new ways to appreciate its absence.  Definitely make this a high priority, it takes a ton of time and is SO worth it.  The earlier it's started the better.

My plan is minimal but I want to let HRT work its magic.

Facial hair will be a challenge for me. I have darker skin.

After HRT works its magic, maybe VFS then maybe some minimal FFS and SRS down the line. I care about passing but I have other priorities. I have no real adam's apple and my face filled out should pass.

Facial hair removal.....  definitely......  start yesterday!

If you're lucky and can do laser it will go quicker but if you're like me and have to go all electrolysis it will take a very long time.  I have 27 hours in so far, probably at least another 100-125 to go....

Get that hair zapped ASAP, admittedly a razor hasn't been anywhere near my face in over two years and I'm down to 15 minutes every three weeks, but I'm still having electrolysis and hair removal was the first thing that I started over 4 years ago.

I did it all wrong but circumstances did play a part in that. No help till full time and legally changed name were the orders I was given and by this time I couldn't face 2 more years pretending to be a man. Facial hair has been my bug bear for years now because of this. Yes you can shave and thankfully I don't have a shadow post shaves but I did develop a follicle infection which limits shaving and I couldn't afford Laser so I had problems until the woman doing my down below laser took pity on me and did some on my face while nobody was looking. Yes my original surgeon wanted me hair free down there unlike the Thai one who'll actually do my op.

Being full time and no facial hair removal can be done but unless you are really needing to be full time I would advise that you sort the face out first. The choice between FFS and SRS as the next step again is a personal choice. I've not had any FFS and unless my Adams Apple really sticks out when all my weight is off I'll likely not have any other surgeries as I have a nice D cup naturally thanks to Estrogen. I did have an Orchie because Mr Terry refused me SRS in 2009 due to me being too heavy and he accepted the hormones were contributing to my weight gain and a lower dose would help me lose it. I don't regret the Orchie but I would say unless you really need one don't do it. Some SRS surgeons won't do it if you've had an Orchie or will want more money from you. The only benefits are you'll need less Estrogen and no Anti Androgen's and your SRS won't take as long as they've already took some away Another surgery some folks have is for their voice but again that is dependent on how well you can feminise the voice you have.

Hope that's some help

Sorcha

So the best case plan would be:
1) HRT
2) Laser/Electro
3) More Therapy
4) Consider GRS. BA, or FFS
5) Go from there

Everyone's own timetable is unique to their situation. In my case I knew that living with facial hair was out of the question and since it takes so long to complete (my face took 3 years of blend before I could say, done) I started there. Then I started therapy. By that point I was being stupid and self medicating. It really didn't do much to be honest. Then I started HRT for real with endo. I took a long look in the mirror and I knew that there were some aspects of my face that I would need to change in order to live full time. So I started researching surgeons and procedures. In the end I settled on doing my forehead, nose and trachea shave. Before I left for surgery I filed my court ordered name change. When I got back home, my face still in bandages, I worked on getting my name change done everywhere. Over the ensuing years I realized I missed a few places, but the key thing was I was officially full time all the time. I did my 12 month RLE just like the standards state, received 2 letters and by that time I had already decided that I wanted to go to Montreal for my SRS surgery. It took me a while to get ready but once I was, then I was so happy the day it was done, and could never be undone. After living full time for a few years and dealing with my body changes post-Srs I decided I wanted to get a boob job. Again I researched and ended up in Thailand . This time I did my boobs and lower jaw reshaping. After that I can safely say I consider myself a done deal. So my own timeline was like this:
Electrolysis
Therapy
Voice training
Hormones
FFS (1st part)
New wardrobe
Full time (yay!)
Ear piercing
Ongoing electrolysis plus very careful electro of genital region (even though it is not a requirement of Dr Brassard)
Srs
Boobs (2nd part of FFS)
Done deal!

My only motivation for doing things the way I did is 3 reasons. The first is that electrolysis is a pain and takes a long time. The second is the ongoing cost of electrolysis. It was one of the most expensive and pervasive costs I dealt with. The third reason is what I could afford to do at one time. Plus I knew that Srs was going to require a lot of aftercare and having a career and maintaining a dilating schedule alone was a pain in the neck never mind doing other areas. Plus I wanted to make sure that of all the changes I made was happy when I walked into it. In others words I did my research before sending my money.

Let's assume you have no significant other issues, such as starting out as a professional body builder in terms of shape.

Assuming the above, in terms of passing, the three biggest things that I've seen that allow one to pass are:

• Facial hair removal
• Voice training/surgery
• Learning to behave as a female (undoing male socialization)

If you can get those three things done, you can pass, period. It doesn't matter if you're nearly flat chested.

After that, why do you need an order? Do what you need done for yourself and yourself alone.

Do you have major genital dysphoria? Aim for GRS first. Do you really hate the way your face looks? Aim for FFS first. Do you want a large bustline but have had almost no development? Get a BA done first.

For me, given that I have, on more than one occasion come close to self-harm over genitalia, my therapist and I agree that me seeking GRS first is the best course for me. Further, as an older transwoman, and as a guy who didn't have an excessively male face, FFS is something I can wait on til later.

But you? You're the one who gets to decide what you do. Decide for you first and foremost. Then go for it!

Good luck!

parentheses
exponents
multiplication
division
addition
subtraction

Just remember Breast Enhancement is not a one time surgery. They have to be removed and replaced every 7-10 years. 

Quote from: Jessica Merriman on September 17, 2014, 01:22:11 AM
Just remember Breast Enhancement is not a one time surgery. They have to be removed and replaced every 7-10 years. 

*note to self, rotate tires on car while in for brakes*

Without a doubt; electrolysis. It takes forever to complete.

My aim is to first look like a woman and be accepted as one, and then solve the genitalia issue as a secondary problem. My genital dyshoria is mild, but being treated as a man heightens it a lot:

- Continous stuff: Things that are always done and "active", long terms tasks that must be done side to side regardless of operations. HRT, Hair Removal.


Surgey order:
- FFS
- BA
- SRS

So far I keep working in body and face hair removal, and I will keep working on it after FFS. It will be a long process that will keep going while I save money for SRS.

Quote from: Julia (Apple-Whatever) on September 17, 2014, 06:36:15 AM
My aim is to first look like a woman and be accepted as one, and then solve the genitalia issue as a secondary problem. My genital dyshoria is mild, but being treated as a man heightens it a lot:

Likewise, body hair is far more of a dysphoria trigger for me.

Order
- laser hair removal (currently ongoing with promising results. Pale skin, Raven hair )
- HRT (to start soon hopefully)
- FFS
- SRS

I'm not really thinking about BA right now, I'll just have to see what my genes give me and make my decision later.

For me the first thing I did was hair removal. Mostly what I had on my face but also in my bikini area. I never had much hair anywhere else and hrt took care of that for me. Now, I just have a few grays to get rid of that my lasers are ineffective on without dye. For me, facial hair seems to take the longest to rid yourself of and it directly effects your appearance. Now tho, even the few straggler grays can wait as I feel my SRS to be most important due to my severe genital dysphoria. So for me my order is as follows:

1. Facial hair removal
2. SRS/GRS/GCS (scheduling in progress)
3. FFS (Includes Rinoplasty & Trachea Shave) only if needed after 2 years on hrt and SRS
4. VFS only if needed to fine tune my voice after 2 years

I doubt I'll need the last one now that I've found my voice. I no longer get sirr'd on the phone and people tell me my voice sounds great.

Ally