| Confused and troubled and don't know what to do |
[May. 17th, 2008|04:09 am] |
I don't know how to start this or bring the subject up because I am afraid of this community hating/bashing/etc me.
I've id'ed as FTM since October...well thats when I stopped denying it all and faced the truth. It is now May and for the last two weeks I realized I have come to a dilemma.
I'm a gay FTM who likes to wear skirts. Now it's not regualr kind of skirts. It's the kind I consider very Wiccan-ish or Natur-ish....
google Pyramid Collection Magazine for examples.
According to my friend Destini, she thinks I pass pretty well, except for my voice and sometimes my face. And I have had employees at stores call me Sir.
I also happen to like a particualr style of dressing called Fruits(it's Japanese...go google it) in which people dress more colorfully and what not. I even have customized my jeans with patches....a big step for me.
What I'm wanting is advice and thoughts about what you guys think. I want to pass as male but also want to be true to myself. I want to be my own guy but right now I think with being pre-everything me wearing skirts might defeat the whole purpose.
What do you guys think........HELP PLEASE!!!
x-posted |
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| health insurance coverage |
[May. 17th, 2008|12:44 am] |
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I'm trying to get health coverage and I was just rejected. I can only assume I was rejected because I am trans (the only other health problem I have is exercise-induced asthma and I need an inhaler once every few months). This is OK in a sort of defeatist sense; I just don't know what to do now. Will I continuously be rejected? Should I apply under different (and shittier) plans? Should I try other companies? Has anybody else had luck getting any sort of health insurance post-transition? |
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| Outting to aging children |
[May. 16th, 2008|10:31 pm] |
I have two young cousins, an 8 year old boy and an 11 year old girl, who I am very close to.
I started T four years ago, and transitioned (as much possible pre-T) years before that. I lived as a man, but the kids only saw me among family who were used/use my old name and female pronouns, even when it's obviously wrong.
So their whole lives these kids have known I have two names, and that their parents call me "she" while strangers and my friends call me "he," and I've never looked like a girl to them.
Pre-T, the older cousin constantly asked if I were a boy or a girl. I said I was mostly a boy, but I was a boy-girl, and people got confused, and it was hard for them to understand that I was really a boy. Probably not the best way to describe it, but I didn't know what else to say. They would repeatedly ask about my genitals, and I refused to answer those questions, saying it was none of their business, though I'm sure their parents answered those questions for me.
For years, I've been the cool older boy cousin, especially for the 8 year old boy. I don't think he remembers before I looked male. My (cisgender) younger brother and I are the only boy relatives under the age of 50 he has, who play dinosaur attack and such with him. I absolutely love this. Those kids (and my brother) were the only ones who easily and steadfastly acknowledged me as a guy right from the start. Hell, they correct their parents now when they call me "she."
Now they're both getting old enough to start noticing that something's odd. I have a beard, and their parents still call me "she," and probably always will. I don't care that much about what the parents call me anymore, but I'm afraid as the kids start to realize I'm trans they're going to not want to be around me anymore. The girl is in middle school now and is incredibly worried about being "normal," and the boy's father is a decent guy but very traditional in the "boys play football, girls do cheerleading" type of way.
I will see them both this summer. I am sure they will ask me about it again, they always do. I don't want to brush them off, but I don't know what to tell them. How the hell do I explain this to them in a way they can understand and process?? I don't want to lose them. I love these kids. |
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| Donating Blood |
[May. 16th, 2008|07:08 pm] |
Someone (an unreliable source) told me that now that I'm on T I can no longer donate blood. Does this have any truth to it? I donated blood about four months after I started T with no ill effects, but I wasn't 100% passing at the time, and listed my original name and gender on the paperwork, and had no problems being processed. Now I have been on T over a year and although my legal name is still my birthname/feminine, I am passing 100%. Does this make a difference?
For reference sake, I live--and would be donating in--in California. |
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| Peak testosterone after injection? |
[May. 16th, 2008|11:19 am] |
I'm seeing my endocrinologist in two weeks, and he's given me a blanket order at the clinic laboratory, so I can get blood drawn basically whenever I want. We are rebalancing my hormone dose after hysterectomy. I want to make sure I give him a peak level and a trough level. Trough was easy: I gave them a blood sample right before my weekly shot. When does the peak come? How long after your shot do your testosterone levels peak? One doctor told me 3 days, and another told me 1 day, and now I'm confused. I can't find the right search terms online to come up with an answer I trust.
Any thoughts? |
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| post surgery healing etc |
[May. 16th, 2008|07:11 am] |
Hey guys
so i am about 3 days post op. I had a DI with dr fischer in MD. the staff there are incredible. i felt so at ease with them.
Ive been taking the pain killers and antibiotics. Ive been trying to take it easy. This morning i went for a short walk outside around my building.
ive been having killer headaches and nausea. im not sure if thats from the pilkillers cause i know that is a possible side effect.
anyway i was just wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks on healing faster. I know it all depends on the body but im thinking more in terms of holistic stuff. What foods should i eat. should i drink juice or only water?
that type of stuff
thanks |
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| Birth Cert. query |
[May. 16th, 2008|02:27 am] |
Hello fellas!
I am moving to Portland, OR in 5 days (*squee*) but I have yet to legally alter my name/BC.
What I'm wondering is...will I need to follow Oregon's laws for changing my Certificate or NY's, because it is where I was born?
thanks a lot.
~Erik Josef
(X_posted to ftm_ny) |
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[May. 15th, 2008|10:16 pm] |
I know sun affects how scars heal but does anyone know if tanning before surgery will affect scarring or results in anyway? I'm having peri so there wont be much scarring but I've gotten raised scars on certain parts of my body so just wondering if tanning before surgery would make me any more likely to get thick scars. Thanks.
Kyle |
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| News from Ontario, Canada |
[May. 15th, 2008|07:55 pm] |
Ontario will resume coverage of sexual reassignment surgery: Smitherman
By Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press
TORONTO - Ontario will soon join other provinces in providing coverage for sex-change surgery under the province's health insurance plan, Health Minister George Smitherman confirmed Thursday.
( Read more... ) |
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| compounding pharmacies for gel/cream |
[May. 15th, 2008|03:20 pm] |
So, i just maxed out my perscription coverage through my insurance (which i somehow didn't foresee coming), and i'm on gel and would like to stay on it for at least a few more months.
Can someone remind me what the compounding pharmacies are that make their own gel or cream and what the prices are?
Thanks.
(I did check the tags for compounding pharmacies, but it was unclear from them whether transdermal t was available at any given place) |
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| Dermatological Issues & Hormones |
[May. 14th, 2008|10:07 pm] |
Yes, it's me again with those finger problems. *sigh*
While doing some research on the mysterious bumps appearing in ever-increasing numbers on my fingers, I stumbled upon this dermatology forum in which many, many people are describing the same exact thing. Two conditions seem to be floating around in the posts, and this one sounds like what I have. The first two pictures (especially the second one) on that page look exactly like my condition.
It is noteworthy that most of the people posting there with this have also been diagnosed with PCOS, which is created by an excess of androgenic hormones in biological females. I already was pretty sure it was a direct or indirect effect of my testosterone regimen, and this absolutely confirms it. Has anybody else dealt with this particular issue? Was there any way of treating it without going off of T or lowering the dosage? Did it eventually go away on its own or become less severe? |
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| Queer Youth & Allies Writing Project |
[May. 14th, 2008|10:43 pm] |
WRITERS:
Add Verb Productions presents:
Queer and Ally Youth Writing Project
We are looking for Performance Texts from:
Writers age 12-24
Genres – all texts created to be performed
Queer, gay, lesbian, bi, trans, questioning and allies
Short plays, monologues, scenes,spoken word poetry, songs, stories, etc
We hope to present pieces surrounding the idea of allies. Allies
helping those within the queer community, queers being helped by
allies, and queers being allies to others in the queer community. If
any of your writings reflect these ideas please send them my way!
Send submissions to ellis.d.perry@gmail.com
Submissions will be reviewed by a Youth Editorial Team, under the
guidance of Add Verb staff and artists, and may receive feedback for
further development before put into final script.
Submissions accepted through June 2008
Thanks if you can and thanks anyway if you can't. Please forward this
to anyone you feel might be able to contribute. |
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| History of HRT and SRS |
[May. 13th, 2008|08:50 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  curious | ] |
Hey, I'm going to be doing a presentation in my GLBT History class about history of trans health care. I have done some research but I'm wondering if anyone knows of any good books,websites,articles, or other resources that would help me out. Anything with Harry Benjamin in it would be good. I also think that sharing these resources with each other is a good idea. I think some trans people don't really know trans history and in a way take it for vantage that it's so much easier to medically transition now than it was 30 or more years ago. Thanks. |
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| importance of aspiration |
[May. 13th, 2008|09:17 pm] |
Looked through some things, and there doesn't seem to be anything that answers my question - please point it out to me if there is.
My first shot I had them give to me in the muscle of the butt, this one I decided I wanted to watch and chose the thigh... they didn't aspirate. I've heard time and time again that it's best to aspirate just to make sure you haven't hit a blood vessel... and I asked kind of casually about it and she said that there's really no vessels large enough to receive the needle. And I don't want to be too forward in asking the next time that they just humor me and aspirate, but it's made me wonder... is it really that important? I know that when I start doing my own, I'll do it just for safety because I'm scared of everything, but is this bad practice on their part?
Also, has anyone noticed a dramatic change between the owie of taking a shot in the butt muscle vs. the owie of the thigh? The thigh hurt a good bit more than the butt, but that could just be because the butt (or mine at least) is rather fatty. |
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[May. 13th, 2008|11:28 am] |
Hey Ya'll-Don't forget to check out my "yard sale"-esque lj ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) buy_tommys_shit.
There are lots and lots of Like New Levi's and GAP jeans-PERFECTLY broken in and HELLA cheap.
Check it out! |
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[May. 13th, 2008|10:49 am] |
Has anyone else found that their choice of employment has affected their ability to be correctly read?
I'm 2 years on T, over a year post top surgery, and still fairly regularly get incorrectly read. Frustrating, but I'm used to it. I'm a nanny for a 16-month old and am probably 50/50 getting asked if I'm her Dad versus Mom. It's funny because she often is called a boy. On the other hand, I also do painting/home repair/chore jobs and was surprised that I got sir'd all over the place in the paint store even though I had fuschia nailpolish on. Without nailpolish, dressed in just jeans and a t-shirt but with a baby and I'm called a girl much more often.
Not that I would ever not do this job because of it, but just wondering what other people's experiences are in terms of employment and how they are read.
And now for (in my opinion) a hilarious story about a clueless guy and getting read correctly:
( Hilarity. ) |
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| blah |
[May. 13th, 2008|12:02 pm] |
So for the past 4 months of shots (I was PRESCRIBED 200mg/bi weekly), I have been going to the doctor. The past 2 shots I've gone too, after watching self injection videos on youtube with similar dosages, I have noticed that the amount of T in MY syringe is way less than what I've seen on the videos. I tried to convince myself that maybe it was a different syringe or something but no, I asked my nurse yesterday doing my injections what dose my doc is giving me and she said 100mg.
Right away my heart kinda sunk for two reasons: I am paying 40$ per shot (BLAAAAH, stupid of me) and it makes me wonder what changes I could've had with that other 100mg. I've already had a fair amount of hair on my chin. My neck is hairy as hell and my stomach is getting there.
So at the same time I feel kind of cheated that since I am paying the office to shoot me in the butt but not getting my full dosage, but then again I am kind of relieved that I didnt start out at 200mg because I cant even put my head down to watch tv without my upper chest getting scraped by my neck. ... That makes me sound super fat lol But it kind of is weird to me and so yeah, gotta shave every day there.
Anyway my nurse called today and told me she talked to my doctor and he told her that he preferred to keep me at 100mg and they are sorry (I had requested to be moved up yesterday).
So here's my purpose in posting: By the 2nd or so month, on 100mg, I had a decent amount of chin hair that it would take maybe a 17 year old male to grow. My voice is deep, but I know it's not it's deepest, and there's some other changes I know are there but don't pay much attention to. ... How much more do you think I would've changed if I would have taken the entire 200mg? Do you think it should be up to me to be moved up to 200 if he prescribed me that in the first place?
Maybe I'm just looking for peace of mind, trying to see what I would be missing and how stupid I was to continue going to be injected by them. I'm not asking anyone to tell me "Oh yes, you were going to have more growth down there and have big bushy sideburns as well! Shame!" but maybe tell me, honestly, if I just missed 4 months of bigger changes.
Thanks. |
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[May. 12th, 2008|10:52 pm] |
Does anyone here have experience seeking anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication from Callen-Lorde?
I'm not sure where else to go seeking such a prescription, but I also get my T from them. I'm probably being paranoid, but part of me is very worried about having both my access to testosterone and anything relating to brain drugs handled by the same organization. |
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| underworks |
[May. 12th, 2008|09:24 pm] |
Hey guys, one rather easy yet complex question: Last Monday I ordered my first Underworks binders (that weren't hand-me-downs--YAY new ones!) and I ordered online with my Visa. I received an email saying once my card was verified that they'd be shipped and since then haven't received any form of confirmation email. I emailed them asking if they would, or if they had already shipped since I have horrible luck with neighbors stealing my items so I like to know when things are arriving. I just wanted to know if you guys knew their normal protocol for email correspondence before/during shipping.
Thanks-
Adam |
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