Hello, I've been self-medicating for 6 months (Yes I know it's a bad thing to do), now I'll be seeing a doctor and going through the normal process or route I guess... So with counseling, and doctor/endo... So I'm was wondering if I should tell them about taking hormones already or not, maybe it will show already when I have blood tests etc... I think I'll call them today, to set up an appointment, my college health insurance covers these costs, I don't know to what extent yet but they do.

Also, how should I go about if I wanted my teachers to call me Serena, but I didn't change my legal name yet/nor the gender mark, I don't know if I should ask them, plus I think I am not passable so it might just look stupid, and I was put in a male dorm, and I feel very uncomfortable about that, my college offers a gender neutral housing option, but maybe it's too late to opt for that

Quote from: Serena ♡ on August 11, 2015, 02:58:05 PM
So I'm was wondering if I should tell them about taking hormones already or not, maybe it will show already when I have blood tests etc...

I've always been honest with my doctor about everything. That way his advice is based on the best information.

Quote from: Serena ♡ on August 11, 2015, 02:58:05 PM
Also, how should I go about if I wanted my teachers to call me Serena, but I didn't change my legal name yet/nor the gender mark, I don't know if I should ask them, plus I think I am not passable so it might just look stupid,

Your identity is not dependent on whether you are passable. You are Serena, with our without being passable, and you deserve to be addressed that way.

Quote from: Serena ♡ on August 11, 2015, 02:58:05 PM
and I was put in a male dorm, and I feel very uncomfortable about that, my college offers a gender neutral housing option, but maybe it's too late to opt for that

If it were me, I would contact them and ask. Colleges are usually very accommodating about these sorts of requests given how many problems they avoid.

Enjoy school. Please keep us updated on how it's going.

have a great time at school

Telling your doctor is a good thing only if you know he/she is trans friendly. They will likely leave you at the same dose you were on before but this time you get to buy it cheaper with a prescription from a U.S. pharmacy versus having to overpay at an online pharmacy.

Not only that but some places will see you quicker.

That doesn't mean it's a good thing to self med, it just means that the doctors will work with you and are interested in harm reduction rather than enforcing strict rules.

Hi Serena,

Yes please do be open with your medical providers or they may interpret your current labs as an endocrine problem.  It is a good idea to meet with your professors before class and explain the basics of your situation.  This may help with how the classroom interactions play out.  I would also encourage you to come out and own being trans.  Lots of people have already seen you on you tube, you are passable and you may as well enjoy yourself at college and be placed in that gender neutral housing.  This is a safety consideration as well for you, the male dorm could be very risky and rape is unfortunately part of the college scene.  Most colleges also have an LGBTQ club and policies of non discrimination that you should find out about for your own safety and for socializing.  I am a college trustee and can assure you that students more engaged in campus life are more likely to complete their degree requirements and enjoy their school years.  Glad to hear you are going, good for you!

Hi Serena,

As Suzi said, a doctor's care is only as good as the information he or she is presented with.  You are going to a GP and endocrinologist to help you with your medical needs.  Hormone therapy is not trivial stuff.  If you are coming out to your professor, and explaining to the housing office why you would feel better in a gender-neutral dorm, you should be honest with your medical providers as well. 

As far as asking your professors to call you by your preferred name, that's not a big deal, or at least it shouldn't be.  I  don't know what type of classes you will be taking, but the times the instructor may call upon you by name in class may be close to zero.  I taught organic chemistry to undergrads for four years .  I had 50-70 students in a lecture hall.  Names never came up, except perhaps during office hours, which is a more private setting. I don't think I ever had a trans student, but if I did, and they asked me to call them by their preferred name, I would have had no problem with it.

If you have the opportunity to live in a gender-neutral dorm, you should absolutely ask if it makes you feel more comfortable.  College can be one of the most exhilarating and wonderful times of your life.  It is a coming of age for most.  It can sometimes be a little scary, especially combined with transitioning, but it could also be the best possible time.  You will meet other students coming from all kinds of different places, with all kinds of different backgrounds, with everyone trying to create an identity, in one way or another. 

Ah, to be young again!  In some ways I envy you.  It's the beginning of the rest of your life, something you will remember forever. You are going to have a wonderful time.

Wishing you all the best,

Terri

If i start a new semester with a fresh teacher i just tell them to call me my preferred name when they call attendance. Or if im feeling shy i send them an email afterwards. Haven't had a problem at all.

For the roommate situation, I was moved and now I am going to be in a room with an ftm guy...

Maybe I was in the wrong program or wrong universities, but my professors always addressed us as Mr. <last name>, or Ms. <last name> (or Monsieur <last name> or Madame <last name), but never ever by our first name.

Transgendered people were always called by the title of their preferred gender.

I'd tell the doctor and get off the DIY. That's actually what I did do.

If they follow the WPATH SOC they won't require a psych eval.

Tell your doctor as you may have a medical condition which is contrary to your self HRT. Not Necessarily mine.

Like I have deep vein thrombosis (DVT) where HRT and DVT can be fatal.

also you won't have to worry about any of the street stuff making you ill or giving you pain the rest of your life.


Be Safe
Have a nice day

Quote from: Serena ♡ on August 11, 2015, 02:58:05 PM
Hello, I've been self-medicating for 6 months (Yes I know it's a bad thing to do), now I'll be seeing a doctor and going through the normal process or route I guess... So with counseling, and doctor/endo... So I'm was wondering if I should tell them about taking hormones already or not, maybe it will show already when I have blood tests etc... I think I'll call them today, to set up an appointment, my college health insurance covers these costs, I don't know to what extent yet but they do.

Also, how should I go about if I wanted my teachers to call me Serena, but I didn't change my legal name yet/nor the gender mark, I don't know if I should ask them, plus I think I am not passable so it might just look stupid, and I was put in a male dorm, and I feel very uncomfortable about that, my college offers a gender neutral housing option, but maybe it's too late to opt for that

Hiiii Serena,

So, I'm a university student, and I can tell you that, in my own experience, notifying my instructors that my preferred name and appearance dissents from my birth name proved worthwhile. I could only imagine raising my hand to the name "Tyler" during the first week of classes. Lolwut.

In addition, I TOO commenced my transition through self-medicating. I don't regret it even now, but it's not too hard to determine what the recommended route of transitioning is. Anyway, even while self-medicating, i went the wpath route, eventually admitted that I'd been medicating, and they understood the hardship, but asked me where I got the hormones from. Other than that, no issues.

I transitioned in a male dorm at one time... It was last semester -- and I didn't present ever -- but they sometimes mistook me as female, and thus concluded that I was transitioning. No one took issue with it. I even posted the trans symbol on my dorm door , and someone took it down because they thought that someone else placed it there to make fun of me. Unless you're in the hell that is the Bible Belt, like where I grew up, I think people will be respectful. And on top of that, college rigor seems to play a role too. Intelligent peeps don't find it very intelligent to act bigoted.

Ally

Quote from: Jasper93 on August 12, 2015, 10:34:43 PM
In addition, I TOO commenced my transition through self-medicating. I don't regret it even now, but it's not too hard to determine what the recommended route of transitioning is. Anyway, even while self-medicating, i went the wpath route, eventually admitted that I'd been medicating, and they understood the hardship, but asked me where I got the hormones from. Other than that, no issues.

I don't think there are many trans women who haven't self medicated to be quite honest.

When I went the informed consent route, I told them I was self medicating and I was basically given the same dosages, then she added spiro which I wasn't taking.

My old GP which I had to drop due to insurance issues was actually going to prescribe T for me because my T was so low. I told him don't bother...