It's Been An Eventful Month

[Guest Michael J.]

And I'm not sure about how I feel about it having been an eventful month. January was stressful and full of its own little relapses into horrible places words don't describe. :/ Bite me, depressive episodes.

I had my consultation with a therapist a couple of weeks ago, and it went fantastically. To be honest, I was nervous the entire time just because I'd had the image in my head that somehow it was going to be a 'you talk, and I'll decide whether or not I believe your feelings are valid' experience ... Which I'm not going to go off on, because that didn't happen. It actually got much easier to talk when it became clear that there wasn't some judgmental analysis floating over my head. Thus, the consultation went amazing, and my first session with my therapist went even better.

So, following up on that: I found someone and it's going great - I'm much happier and it's easier for me to deal with things. :'D I was actually kind of surprised with how much I started looking forward to future appointments after my consultation.

My therapist actually had offered to give me a list of physicians who work with transgendered patients and HRT during that, and I'd ended up following up to get that list. Although I constantly keep looking back to the SoC and the things I've read in one place or another. The whole 'you must have x amount of visits for y' kind of thing that's very ... Procedural? Unless I've been misunderstanding it. Am I ready? Hell yeah. That list being provided and the opportunity to make that phone call and talk to someone about possibly start on testosterone actually kicked me from feeling suicidal to feeling optimistic about being able to do this (I was in a place of 'this is never going to happen, I should just go ahead and die', then I thought I'd actually, you know ... Try something other than telling myself I couldn't do it / it would never happen). I just wouldn't want starting HRT now to come back and bite me in the donkey because I didn't wait three months or x-amount of sessions or something to actually see a physician and start discussing this. Last thing I really want is to make this more difficult than necessary.

But the fact that opportunity is there right now? Can't explain how much hope that gave me about the future and having one.

[Guest BeckyTG]

Michael,

You're right, it's absolutely amazing how quickly our thoughts can turn from quite negative to pretty positive.

I'm just like you and started therapy a few months ago. She said I was "hands down, GID" on the first visit and gave me my letter on the 4th visit.

Things I did to make this happen you might consider doing yourself--First, I told her on my initial phone call that I was seeking a letter for HRT and was willing to commit to 12 therapy sessions as part of the SOC. You have to be open and sincere about what you want, they don't just hand it out. On the third visit, she said she was considering giving me the letter early. I told her that I'd committed to 12 visits and I'm a woman of my word, so she gave me the letter.

I've since finished the 12 sessions. She'd told me on about the 8th visit that I was probably good to go, but she was helping me sort out some things that were helping me adapt to my new life and I said I wanted to continue.

One thing you might consider is to visit with your therapist on your next visit about the letter and treatment. If you can get a clue as to when the letter might come, you could then call Doctors and set something up for the future. In my case, it was 2 or 3 weeks before I could get into the endocrinologist and another 2 weeks before I could get into the General Dr. that she recommended.

You might be able to cut some of that time off with advance planning.

Oh, and welcome back to the world, Dude.

Have a Happy Day!

Becky

[Guest sarah f]

Good For you man. I am happy for you. Going to the therapist for me the first time was exciting but I was nervous to. I am glad yours made you feel good about yourself again and gave you a new appreciation for life. You will get on T very soon and become the man you should always have been. I wish you all the best.

Love,

Sarah F

[Guest Donna Jean]

Hi, Michael....

Sounds good, Hon...you're getting on track now!

But let me tell you something.The SOC is a set of guidelines. Some therapists use them as such but make their own decisions about when you should start HRT.

Others follow it as if were the letter of the law and are not one bit flexible.

So, I've seen it both ways...people getting their letter after a few visits and others not getting it until minutes after that 12th visit!

Good luck on yours, Hon

HUGGS!

Donna Jean