as far as teens go...

[Jack]

can anyone tell me wether minors can get horamones or not? iv asked and i never seem to get a streight answer. am i getting my hopes up or is it possable for a 15 year old to gethoramones?

[Kimberly]

I am not certain, but as far as I know a minor will need parent/guardian permission, at least in the United States. I am really not sure about the rest of the world, however.

[beth]

        Hello Jack,

              it is possible for a teen under 18 to get a prescription for hormones if their psychiatrist and medical doctor agree that it is warranted and their parents approve. hormones will cause life long changes that are irreversable so your psychiatrist will have to be sure that this is the best treatment for you. they also can cause dangerous conditions in the body so the approval of your medical doctor and monitoring by an endocronologist is essential or serious illness and even death could result.


beth

[Jack]

yeah i know what they do and what could happen iv been doing diffrent reserch since i was about 13. my parents are ok with it and im going to a therapist but they sed that they didnt thhink kids my age could get it so im kinda just stuck at a road block...kinda frusterateing relly...oh yeah and im from the US so i dont know the diffrent laws or anything about that.

[Cassandra]

Hi Jack,

If the folks are okay with it and the therapist and your doctor give the thumbs up, then your good to go. Your parents may be okay with it for now because it is just talk at this point. Are you living outside the house as a girl? I know from personal experience that a boy going about dressed as a girl when everyone knows they're a boy can result in the sudden need to move. Even a teen transexual who is actively transitioning can cause great upheaval in the lives of their family friends and loved ones. Are your parents aware of this factor and are they prepared to deal with it? Also before and during hormone therapy you will be required to live full time as a girl. This means at school as well as home.

Are you prepared for that and what that entails? The school will have to accomadate your special needs. School boards can be very obstinate and may not even allow you to come to school as a girl, regardless of what any doctor says. If you are taking hormones at your age the effects could be very rapid and profound. If you are forced by the school into the male areas, i.e. restrooms, locker rooms, etc. this will be a great hardship you might have to be pulled from school and your parents forced to find a cooperative school elsewhere. They may have to relocate to find one, change jobs, sell the house to buy one in the TS friendly area. Do you still think your parents would be okay with it under those circumstances.

There are a lot of issues here. There are a lot of things you will have to work out. You're seeing a therapist and that is good. Is the therapist experienced in handling transgender youth, or transgender issues of any kind? I think legal issues are the least of your problems. If you are determined any obstacle can be overcome. I am not trying to discourage you or rain on your parade I'm just pointing out a few facts you may not have thought of.

Good Journey,


Cassie

[Jack]

  accualy...umm im not mtf im ftm....just as a note....and i do, to my best extent, present myself to others as male and have done so for over a year now. my shcool accualy has a  gblt suport club thing that is well respected and there is very litte discrimination of any of those situations where i live. but i also know that its a bit easyer in my situation than it would be if it were the other way around...your info would be usefull to one of my friends though...shes mtf and was planning on going to shcool dressed as a girl this upcoming year and it will, at least i think so, be more difficult for her to pass than me. but my point is that moving will probably not be an issue. but about the therapist i dont think she has a clue. i mean she knows about it but dosnt know what to do with the information. so thus my roadblock...

[Cassandra]

Ooops! Sorry Jack. Gee, your name is Jack I should have known. Duuuh!  Boy is my face red! Just having another one of my blond moments. Well good to here that you have a great support group and that your school is so tolerant. Things are lot different apparently then they were when I was your age. Don't ask when that was. But at least it will help your friend to be ready for the possible pitfalls.

That being said a tranistioning FtM in the boys room could be a bit of a sticking point but it sounds like your school would not have a problem making some adjustments to accomadate you. As to your therapist there are a lot of good links here and they should be of some help in finding a therapist more suitable for your needs. Also you might put him or her on to some of the info found in the Wiki section here. Just a suggestion.

Oh by the way, welcome to Susan's. We do try to be helpful and supportive and I think you will enjoy interacting with the good folks here. Good Luck

Good Journey,

Cassie

[Dennis]

One thing they can do for kids your age is put you on hormone blockers that delay puberty until you're old enough to legally make the decision about transitioning. I don't think they'd prescribe T for you though. At least hormone blockers would prevent or limit breast growth, which could save you trouble down the road.

Dennis

[Terri-Gene]

Dennis is right Jack, the psychologists and such do not like to make a GID diagnoses in teenagers and most or many won't, as there are just to many varibles involved in teen agers.  Without the GID diagnoses, T is probably out of it, but as Dennis said, blockers (of which I know nothing in the MtF sense) most likely could be perscribed until you are 18 and of legal age to make that particular decision about your life.

In the case of MtF's, which I do know a thing or two, the GID diagnoses will generally not be officially made until the age of 18 has been reached and surgery will not be recommended until the age of 21.  There are exceptions to this but they are very rare.


If I were in your situation, I would explore the blocker situation for right now as it will slow down further feminization, though that is the natural state of the human body.

Terri

[Jack]

ok well thanx for the info ya'll

[flashzoom]

hi jack
how did your HRT go?
did u started on ur HRT yet?
just wanted to check up on you.

[zoey22982]

hii..everyone...
i'm a newbie here,my name is zoey.i'm 23 years old and i consider myself as a transgender but until now i havent been with hormone therapy.i've seen and read a lot conversation about hormone replacement therapy in this forum and i think they really help me alot in giving me important information.and i'm really really glad that i'm not the only one in this world who feel being a transgender person 
and i haven't told anything about myself except to Gina,one of Susans Forum member,gosh u never know how much u've been helping me a lot,sis 
i'm afraid to tell this to my folks..but i'm really really excited to have hormone therapy as soon as possible 
so,what i wanna know is,where and how am i supposed to look for a doctor to tell him what i've been going thru??and do u gals have any experience how to tell it to the doctor?i really need a lot of help form everyone here coz i'm so desperate and i dunno how i'm supposed to live anymore 
and do u gals have any experience in ur breast developing?i mean, i need to know more stories about breast development(based from ur own experience)and du u wear bra everyday?coz i really really desperate in having my breast developed and wearing bra...thanx a bunch fro ur information,and i'm looking forward to hear a lot from u gals 

[zoey22982]

btw i forget to tell u,i'm a MtF transgender,please please everyone i really really nedd ur help,u gals are the only persons who can help me with this thx a lot 

[Kimberly]

You will probably find more luck if you start at a therapist rather than a doctor.

[zoey22982]

what's the different between a therapist and a doctor?does therapist have the same association with a psychiatry??thx for ur reply,dennis 

[Cassandra]

A therapist will determine based on what you tell them about you rather or not you should proceed with HRT. Their reccommendation to a doctor will pave the way for the next step. That is not the only thing the therapist is for though. Primarily the therapists job is to help guide you in your own self discovery. According to the Benjamin protocols the therapist should make the recomendations to your doctor.

A therepist usually has a masters degree in Psychiatry or Psycology.

Hope that clears things up for you.

Cassie

[zoey22982]

thx a lot cassandra for ur reply 
do u have any experience in finding a good therapist?and waht should i say?i mean, should i say to the therapist that i'm a transgender and want to take HRT 
i'm really glad if u could share ur own experince  in seeing a therapist
and how about the breast development,does it really grow..woooww i think that is the most amazing part in HRT..and do u always wear bra for the whole day  ?
thz a lot 

[Kimberly]

Finding a therapist tends to be a hit or miss affair. If you make an informed choice you should have pretty good luck the first try. That said, ask around/search and see what people think of their current therapists. (Not in this thread please.)

As mentioned previously, tell the therapist (once you find a good one) the truth. It will not (again, "good therapist", one experienced in transgendered issues) be the first time they have heard the concepts.

As far as breast development and all that jazz, yes dear, HRT does that to a body. Roughly (and I do mean that) expect a breast size similar to that of your mother before she first gave birth. As for bras... they are an annoyance. Speaking of which if you really want to wear a bra why not do so? Just be sane and safe about it (i.e. think; I.e. "Gee, I am wearing a bra today, I had best *NOT* rip off my shirt in the boys locker room today. Etc.)

[kloud9]

can anyone tell me wether minors can get horamones or not? iv asked and i never seem to get a streight answer. am i getting my hopes up or is it possable for a 15 year old to gethoramones?

Hi!

I had to wait till I turned 18, but then when I turned 18, I was able to start with my hormones and find a better doctor. I was told that the younger you can start hormones, the better because your body hasn't completly been changed by your hormones permanantly. It also took me a while to find a good doctor who would help me. I had one who seemed to just sit there and take my money and do nothing but listen while I talked. I am a m2f and I have been on hormones for about 5 months and I already need a bra!

Anyways, you say you are 15, you have 3 years to go on those years will go so quickly! I knew I wanted to go through all of this when I was about 13. I also knew my mom had estrogen pills somewhere and I even went looking for them once but I never found them. Anyways, just be patient and if it's something you really want to do, you will still want to do it when you are 18 and can leggaly do so!

[Leigh]

Read this then if you have questions ask them.

Click on the Standrards of Care at the top of the page.

http://www.hbigda.org/soc.htm