Heya Wishy,
From the experiences I have had with the NHS gender clinic in Leicester it could be anything from 6 months to a year after you have seen your gender therpaist/counselor before you start hormones. A lot of it depends on waiting times at the clinic you are going to attend, how they diagnose you and the course of action they take.
The first appointment I had at the clinic I was reffered to in Leicester was in April 2005. They explained I would need to live for 2 years as a woman and provide proof that my name had been changed along with a copy of my life story, I dont think that appointment lasted more that 20 minutes. I prepared both of these documents and returned them as requested. In September 2005 they wrote back saying they had authorised hormones to be given to me via my GP and I went full time in October 2005. Due to various complications with the local PCT regarding funding I didn't actually start hormone treatment until October 2006, pretty much a year to the day since I started living as a woman. The one thing I have learned with the NHS though Wishy is that you just have to be patient, there are times that its so frustrating waiting for things to be sorted out and you feel that you are just getting nothing done, but eventually it all just clicks in to place. My 2 year RLE/RLT is up this October, I have a feeling they may want to extend it as I will have only been on hormones for a year but I honestly dont know where the time has gone. Maybe just try to go to your first appointment with an open mind about what they will do and how long its going to take !!
Becky
xx
