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My first appointment + looking for some advice for coming out

Started by Galyo, November 05, 2015, 09:48:36 AM

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Galyo

Quote from: Martine A. on November 09, 2015, 02:36:35 PM
Good luck with that. I am far away from my mom, otherwise I would prefer talking with her face to face. So I can also observe and thus understand where her reactions will be going.

This is the thread:
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,194775.0.html

I also like to talk to my mom face to face about personal things like this, but I'm also very quick to get emotional which can make it hard for me...

I'm sorry to hear you can't talk with your mother face to face about yourself. o_o

Quote from: Girl Beyond Doubt on November 09, 2015, 03:18:45 PM
You know her and your relationship with her best.
That said, I would give her the original letter (including venting), and then talk to her and explain to her why I had written it and how I had had intended to give it to her.
I would.

Hmm... Perhaps that is a good idea indeed. It might provide her some insight into my feelings.
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Galyo

Update time!

Yesterday I had 'the' talk with my mother. My boyfriend was there too, which helped me a lot emotionally. I had a lot of trouble getting it out... I was stammering and stuttering like an idiot, but it came out eventually. She did get stunned when I finally told her that I can't identify with being male. I started crying as I told her why I feel this way, and she did too.

The next morning I woke up to see a message from her on my phone, saying that she will always support me. She even offered to drive me to to Amsterdam for my first appointment at the genderteam! I'm so happy I can finally put this to rest and be honest about myself towards her.
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TG CLare

Congratulations on having such a supportive Mom!! Hard part is over, it gets easier now as time passes.

Wishing you much happiness on your journey.

Love,
Clare
I am the same on the inside, just different wrapping on the outside.

It is vain to quarrel with destiny.-Thomas Middleton.

Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dr. McGinn girl, June 2015!
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Galyo

Thanks! I'm very thankful of my mom being as understanding as she is. Now to get things started and move towards HRT! ^_^

Taking my journey one step at a time.
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FromAtoZ

good that you took the big step to tell your mother ^^.

And that she is supportive as well :D, good luck on your journey ^^
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FluffyPunk

Physical distance did come into some play, but I decided to tell mi famile of mi status an intentions via e-mail. I gave mi undivided attention, I was able to state facts an how I feel an not get thrown off course bi interjection. Bi print they can start an stop reading to do or say whatever, but na direct message remains there undisturbed. Bifor I did this I spoke with mi gender therapist on what kind of format to use, like what things to cover. Na format I used seemed simple, direct an best.

1) Tell them whats going on
.
2) a brief scientific explanation of what being trans is, what causes it, an enforcement that it's neither parents fault.

3) Tell them how you know, an both how an how long being trans has effected yer life.

4) Tell them what yer doing about this, how it works an what to expect.

5) Re-enforce again that neither parent is at fault an offer links to pflag an other support networks including yer therapists contact info.

6) DON'T Apologize, no one did anything wrong!

We got a saying bak home in refferance to na politics of ar country that I feel applys to transition.
" Iffin yer not confused, ye don't know whats goin on"....
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FluffyPunk

Oh an yes, both congradulations an best of luck to ye love hugs.
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Galyo

More updates! Yesterday I rewrote my letter partially, and send it to my brothers and the rest of my family by e-mail. My oldest brother got on the phone with my mom about 15 minutes after I pressed the 'send' button. He was pretty shocked. My mom told him I was visiting and asked if he wanted to talk to me. He didn't want to talk to me. I suppose it will take some time for him to accept.
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Galyo

More updates!

Today I had my first 'screening' at the genderteam in Amsterdam! It was a great success, and both the endocrynologist and psycholist were very nice and reassuring. I told them my backstory, and I've been given the thumbs up to move to the diagnostic phase. This does mean that they now recognize me as transgender (or someone with gender dysphoria as they called it), which is great to hear!

Unfortunately, the waiting time for taking part in the diagnostic phase was estimated at around five or six months, so that means I have a whoooole lot of waiting to do.

One funny thing that occured while in the waitingroom: a woman approached me and assumed i was a cis female! Possibly the best compliment I got in a long time! XD
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archlord

Quote from: Galyo on January 22, 2016, 09:34:41 AM


Unfortunately, the waiting time for taking part in the diagnostic phase was estimated at around five or six months, so that means I have a whoooole lot of waiting to do.

Wait .. what!?? woow 6 month for a diagnostic?  thats crazy at least you are followed by a specialist team but.. isnt there a different way to achieve your goal faster?

If i followed the standard procedure( well i did but i speeded up things)  i would still be waiting for an endocrinologist call.    Here is how i got on prescribed HRT by an endocrinologist:

- i found a qualified private psychologist/sexologist that was following trans allready , i saw her like 5-6 time.

- I went to private health clinic to get a referal letter to see an endocrinologist, i also asked her for the required blood test for HRT that i had previously found on the web.

- She refered me to a public endocrinologist, from july to october i didnt have any news.  I called directly to the endocrinologist office and guess what?  she wasnt able to provide me an average date/month of when i will have my first appointment.  She said that they are dealing with cancer as priority.. wtf.. like if being transgender is not important.. i told her i was about to commit suicide and i couldnt wait longer.  ( We are in january and i still havent heard back from them  ..)

- I called back my doctor then she pointed me that i could see a private endocrinologist and have an appointment the same month.  This is what i did and i had my appointment 2 weeks later .  I brought my referal letter from doctor and my blood test . I also told him i was a transsexual and i was being followed by a therapist. He asked me her name and asked me how many appointments i had  then he said it was enough.  The endocrinologist prescribed me HRT for 3 month and asked me to have full report from my therapist  before next appointment. ( that i still see weekly)

- Something went bad, when i asked my therapist for my report she told me she was about to leave in vacation.  She left for 1.5 month at xmas  so when i saw my endo for the 3 month appointment i had nothing to give him.  He asked more question this time and prescribed HRT to me for 2.5 month and said that he will extend my prescription by phone once he recieve my report from psychologist.  (She is currently writing it)


Still it didnt take me long to be on HRT and it could have been 3 month earlier if i knew about private clinic.. However it cost money but to my eyes i prefer paying 150$ then waiting a whole stupid year.

good luck, happy that things are progressing for you

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Galyo

Quote from: archlord on January 22, 2016, 10:08:36 AM
Wait .. what!?? woow 6 month for a diagnostic?  thats crazy at least you are followed by a specialist team but.. isnt there a different way to achieve your goal faster?

(snip)

Still it didnt take me long to be on HRT and it could have been 3 month earlier if i knew about private clinic.. However it cost money but to my eyes i prefer paying 150$ then waiting a whole stupid year.

good luck, happy that things are progressing for you

This is the way things work in the Netherlands I think. As far as I know, I can't make separate appointments like that but only follow the program as it is at the genderteam. The waiting list is getting longer and longer each month, so I already kind of feel sorry for the transgender people who got their first appointment in the future...

I try to remain positive and feel confident with the fact that at least now the ball has started rolling and I'm on the waiting list for future treatment.

Thanks for your kind words!
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Galyo

Okay. So, some other things happened... My dad returned a phone call at 1:30 at night / in the morning (!!), and I told him that I would like to offer him the opportunity to have a conversation with me (like I did before) and talk about me being trans and how it will affect my future. Instead of taking up my offer, he derailed the conversation into how I'm supposedly not being grateful towards anything he's done for me in the past (I'm not sure what those things are, since he has NEVER been there for me at ANY point...).

After a couple of minutes of trying to get back to the topic at hand, he said that me being trans was "disturbing" to him. I again offered to explain my situation to him in person, so that he would understand it and no longer feel that way, but he kept on derailing it and spinning it to talk about him instead. I then got fed up with him and told him the truth, that this was the only time in my life that I'm thinking about my own needs instead of that of others, and that he's being obnoxiously arrogant by putting his own needs before something that means incredibly much to me. Then he hung up on me...

I took to Whatsapp and wrote my frustrations to him in text, saying that it's okay for him to break contact with me if he wants to, but that he shouldn't come crying back after five years (like he did after he got divorced from my mom) because he doesn't have any contact with his child. I also took the opportunity to call him an idiot for calling me at such RIDICULOUS times. -_- He said "goodbye", and I proceeded to block him on Whatsapp.

There goes my mood...
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Galyo

More venting / updates. My relationship with my brother is now officially over.

Because my mom kept pressuring me, I attempted for the third time to contact my youngest brother (I have two brothers) to invite him over for a conversation about myself and me being transgender. He replied with "Hey, I would love to talk to you some time! Though I hope you don't want to talk about your transgender thing or something. I prefer to ignore that completely". I was stunned and I briefly didn't know what to reply to this... In a few reply messages I explained to him why it means so much to me to be able to have this conversation and explain to him why I feel the way I do and why I cannot be happy with myself while living as a man. His reply: "I'm not interested in having a conversation with you when you already made up your mind about it". Again, I was just stunned. Suddenly it hit me: he didn't have any interest to talk about me. He only cares for himself, as evident by the fact that he thinks this is something he deserves to reason or negotiate with me. I also wrote to him that me being transgender is NOT a question, but an announcement. This went ignored.

After even more replies in which I told him that this was NOT about him for once, he replied, saying "I hope you get a good psychologist that will talk you out of your extreme ideas". At that point, I told him to drop dead. I proceeded to tell him the truth about him, and that I think he's always been a rude, and arrogant excuse of a brother and that I've only ever contacted him on mom's request. I haven't lied a single word.

I really do not know what to feel any more. I feel like my family has betrayed me, and turned against me for trying to be something else than their shallow projection that they have always cast upon me. I also feel jealous, because I see a lot of people who DO have supporting parents and family, who would never treat they child / siblings like this even if they came out as transgender. I don't think I've ever known such a situation during all of my almost thirty years I've been alive. I don't think I've ever known a loving family relationship. I talk to people who say they've regularly played games and video-games together with their parents and brothers... My family would never even THINK about doing something like that, as they would be more preoccupied with important things. Anything that doesn't involve me. To them, I'm just a weirdo with mental problems who doesn't deserve any attention.

I really, really, really, REALLY wish I was born as an only child. That would have at least made my life more eventful. I just feel like a huge prick because whenever people bring up how much they love their brother(s) in conversations, I cannot say the same thing, and by GOD I wish I could... The truth is that if my brother really would drop dead any second, I honestly wouldn't care. I just wouldn't care. I wouldn't care because he's like a stranger to me. Except he's not a stranger, he's an arrogant douche that just happens to be tied to me because of my stupid bloodline.

One other interesting thing happened though... My dad actually messaged me, asking me to talk to him. Just to clarify, I asked him what he wants to talk about. He told me he will call me next week. If it turns out that he doesn't want to talk about me, I'm not going to have a conversation with him of any kind. If he can't be bothered to listen to his child about something that means so very much to me, he's not deserving to be in contact with me. For my own sanity and (already bad) self-esteem, I have to do so. I just can't take the negativity and transphobia anymore, and I certainly can't trust my family anymore. That much I have come to learn over the past week. It actually saddens me very much to see it go down the drain like this... My depression has reached an all-time new low now.
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Tessa James

This is quite a thread Galyo.  You have poured your heart out and it is sadly too familiar to hear of unsupportive family members and people who demonstrate their ignorance with arrogance.  My fears kept me in one closet or another most of my long life.  Perhaps that is why I was determined not to let anyone stop me once I worked to find self acceptance as a transgender person.  I came out back in the 80s as queer and bisexual because it was true and obviously how i behaved.  What people cannot see is our true gender identity.  Wearing a skirt or pants does not tell us anything anymore, it is our right to make it a personal declaration of independence!

A new and better life awaits us.  One that can be unencumbered by silly prejudice or hurtful ideology.  Please keep moving forward.  Consider that we have the opportunity to create an intentional family of dear friends.  Your family of origin may be lucky enough to catch up some day.
Open, out and evolving queer trans person forever with HRT support since March 13, 2013
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Galyo

Quote from: Tessa James on February 03, 2016, 07:42:03 PM
This is quite a thread Galyo.  You have poured your heart out and it is sadly too familiar to hear of unsupportive family members and people who demonstrate their ignorance with arrogance.  My fears kept me in one closet or another most of my long life.  Perhaps that is why I was determined not to let anyone stop me once I worked to find self acceptance as a transgender person.  I came out back in the 80s as queer and bisexual because it was true and obviously how i behaved.  What people cannot see is our true gender identity.  Wearing a skirt or pants does not tell us anything anymore, it is our right to make it a personal declaration of independence!

A new and better life awaits us.  One that can be unencumbered by silly prejudice or hurtful ideology.  Please keep moving forward.  Consider that we have the opportunity to create an intentional family of dear friends.  Your family of origin may be lucky enough to catch up some day.

Thanks for your reply and your nice words.

I did ramble quite a lot, didn't I? I'm not a very social person, so venting like this is much easier for me to do. Besides that, I also don't want to burden my boyfriend too much with my issues, since he's pretty much the closest to me.

My mom also frequently told me that my coming out was a complete surprise to her and the rest of the family. When I replied that most people close to me didn't think it was that much of a surprise, she acted as if this was all my fault. Never once did she try to be reasonable and accept that I'm not the antagonist in this situation. Just for once in my life I would have really appreciated if she could open her eyes, look at herself and her family, and accept the fact that they were never there for me and never shared any personal connection with me to be able to share these sort of feelings. Now I feel like it's too late, but I'm trying to stay hopeful and keep in mind that people change, and hope that the future will make things easier to accept for them.

Thanks a lot for reading.
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