Hello, Everyone -- Introduction from a Trans Woman

[Guest Hannah]

Hi, everyone! I'm a trans woman who is just kinda beginning the transision process. I'm twenty nine years old and finally made my first appointment with a gender therapist last week, although I've been living as a woman to the greatest extent practical for a few months.

I was raised in a conservative farming community in South Dakota, and my life has been a bit of an emotional mess until I got to the point where I was either going to kill myself or become a girl. It's sad that in some places there's a strong stigma behind transgender behavior, especially male to female, and that I internalized that fear, but I guess that's another topic alltogether.

I'm still here, so I guess you know the ending to that story. I'm lucky in that most of my fears were unfounded -- my parents didn't disown me or anything. So my next challenge is getting my name changed, learning how to speak, finding work as a woman, and starting hormones after I get approval from my therapist. It's exciting, though, because a few months ago all this seemed impossible, but now it seems doable.

I see that this board is fairly busy, and sometimes I get overwhemed and have troulbe keeping up, but I'll try my best. I hope to get to know some of you, and perhaps make some friends.

[Guest ~Brenda~]

Hi and Welcome Hannah

Welcome to Laura`s Playground hon.

Love

Brenda

[Guest Hannah]

Hi, Brenda and thanks for the welcome! *hugs*

Is your avatar Joan of Arc?

[Guest JazzySmurf]

Heyyy, welcome to Laura's and I hope you find all that you're looking for :-) I'm glad things worked out for you with your family. Best of luck for every step of your transition :-)

[Guest Tamar]

Hi Hannah. . Welcome to Lauras. Looking forward.to getting to know you.

Hugs Tamar

[Guest angels wings]

Hello Hannah Welcome to Laura's

Great to have you join us . You will meet wonderful people here who understand your journey .

We ask all our members to please read the terms and conditions , your an find these on the bottom right of any page . We all follow these rules as it helps keep Laura's a safe and warm place for all to come and share .

We have chat available also , you will need a different registration for this .

Looking forward to getting to know you

Angel

[Charlize]

Hi and welcome to Laura's. You will find that you are not alone as you travel your path.

Please take a moment to read the terms and conditions at the bottom of any page. By using them we keep the site safe and good for any of us regardless of path.

hope to read more from you.

Hugs,

charlie

[Guest Sarah Faith]

Heyas Hannah Welcome to Laura's Playground.

You've come to a great place to learn and make new friends as you transition!

[Guest Hannah]

Heyyy, welcome to Laura's and I hope you find all that you're looking for :-) I'm glad things worked out for you with your family. Best of luck for every step of your transition :-)

Oh, thank you, SamWithE. (You look good. )

Hi Hannah. . Welcome to Lauras. Looking forward.to getting to know you.

Hugs Tamar

*hugs* to you, too, Tamar. ^^

--

Hi, Charlie and Angle! It's nice to meet you.

I hope that being asked about the terms and conditions is standard...and not implying I've somehow been naughty. Sorry, just messing with you -- I read them. Overall, this seems like a very nice site.

[Guest miss kindheart]

Hi Hannah,
<<< hug >>>
Welcome to Laura's Playground.
Please feel free to come over and chat sometime.
The Chat room does require another registration that is separate from from your forums one.
Please read the chat room rules before coming in, and expect a short interview with one of the chat room moderators.
One of the things that they will ask you is if you read the rules.
We have MTF meetings-Mon & Sat 9pm est, and you are welcome to attend.
We all look forward to seeing you.
vanna

[Guest RachelAnn]

Hi hi, Hannah!

From one newbie to another, welcome to the forum!

You'll find that although we're all different and each an individual, there's so much common ground in our lives that you'll quickly enter a comfort zone.

Hope you do well on your transition. It can be wonderful and rough at the same time, but ALWAYS worth it. Just be certain to take care of yourself and listen to your doctors!

*hugs*

Rachel

[Guest Hannah]

Hi, Vanna!

And hi, Rachel! I'll try to take care of myself. Try to take care of yourself, too, sweetie!

I told my ballet instructor last week, and she asked what to expect in terms of physical changes. I know essentially what's going to happen, such as a decrease in muscle mass, but I realized I'm uncertain about the degree. I read one study that said males had about twice the cross-sectional area when it cames to biceps and so forth -- a 50% decrease in muscle mass would be a pretty big deal, but I expect only small changes due to hormones. In ballet males typically do more jumps because they are stronger, females dance on their toes because they are lighter. It will be interesting to see how transition effects my ability to dance... (Although I should note I'm an adult beginner, so it's not like it's my career, but something to think about, I guess...)

Anyway, have a great evening, everyone!

[Guest Jamie_cd]

Hey Hannah welcome!

[Guest JohnV]

Hey Hannah! Welcome to Laura's.

You'll feel at home here very quickly. I've only met the nicest ladies and gents here.

Can't wait to hear more from you!

-JohnV

[gennee]

Hello Hannah and welcome to Laura's.

[Bulldog1948]

Welcome to Lauras. You have just chosen the best Trans site on the web. This is truly an award winninng site. Laura and her crew of mods take extra care a nda very special pride in their efforts to make this a safe place to visit, find info and make new friends. I've been here for years and I can honestly say that being here is like coming home to family after a hard days work.

[Guest Hannah]

Hey Hannah welcome!

Hi, Jamie!

Hey Hannah! Welcome to Laura's.

You'll feel at home here very quickly. I've only met the nicest ladies and gents here.

Can't wait to hear more from you!

-JohnV

Thanks for the welcome, JohnV! It's nice to meet you.

Hello Hannah and welcome to Laura's.

Hi, Gennee!

-

Hi, Bulldog1948. This is a really nice site. It's nice to meet you.

[Guest RachelAnn]

told my ballet instructor last week, and she asked what to expect in terms of physical changes. I know essentially what's going to happen, such as a decrease in muscle mass, but I realized I'm uncertain about the degree. I read one study that said males had about twice the cross-sectional area when it cames to biceps and so forth -- a 50% decrease in muscle mass would be a pretty big deal, but I expect only small changes due to hormones. In ballet males typically do more jumps because they are stronger, females dance on their toes because they are lighter. It will be interesting to see how transition effects my ability to dance... (Although I should note I'm an adult beginner, so it's not like it's my career, but something to think about, I guess...)

Well, when I first went on HRT, about 13 years ago, I took Premarin to raise the estrogen and Spironolactone to lower the testosterone. Over the weeks and month, by strength did fade some. (I'm 6'1, with broad shoulders and a deep chest and strong legs. I don't work out or left, but had some natural strength that came with the build.) It took some adjustment. Fortunately, we had five sons, and the older ones could help me out.

Around 2003 I had an orchiectomy (removal of the testicles). This meant I no longer had to take the high doses of Spiro, or any Spiro at all. But it also sent my testosterone to female normal levels. (About 25 for me.) That DID lead to a loss of significant strength. I don't know if it was half, but I do know that I now have my sons do the heavy lifting and moving for me. Carrying a 35 lb. box of peanut oil for a couple hundred yards last Saturday made my arm muscles ache some.

Hope this helps!

Rachel Ann

[Guest marissa anastasia1]

Hello and welcome Hannah

I'm happy everything is working out for you and I wish you all the best!!!

Love,

Marissa Anastasia aka Rissa

[Guest Hannah]

Hope this helps!

Rachel Ann

Oh, thanks, Rachel! We'll see I guess. I would be interesting to take measurements of my strength over time versus my doses. I'll have to think about that. Numbers are always fun.

Hello and welcome Hannah

I'm happy everything is working out for you and I wish you all the best!!!

Love,

Marissa Anastasia aka Rissa

Hi, Rissa! Nice to meet you!

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Just submitted my name change paperwork. Feels both great and scary at the same time. Like everything in this process -- I couldn't imagine not doing it, but I also can hardly imagine doing it.

[Guest Roberta-Belinda]

Hi Hannah, hope you have fun on Lauras. We are a great bunch of girls. Nice to welcome a new girl.

[Guest Hannah]

Hi Hannah, hope you have fun on Lauras. We are a great bunch of girls. Nice to welcome a new girl.

Hi, Roberta. It's nice to meet you.

The gender selection thing says you're a cross-dresser. I can't say I've really ever talked to someone who identified as such, I'm curious about your views on gender and how it relates to who you are, Roberta...