Am I transgendered

[Guest G_Unit]

Hi Ladies..

My name is Stacy Anne.. I have been a Cross Dresser for quite sometime. I've always wondered if I was TG. Well most recently I've been questioning that even more because of feelings I get at random times. These are feelings I have never in my life felt before. I'm left wondering why I feel this way and what does it mean. The feelings can be described like the actual feeling of body parts being changed, even though I know it can't physically happen on their own, and other body parts growing where they should be growing. This feeling has been going on and off throughout the entire day today. Sometimes it's stronger than other times and sometimes it's weaker. I don't really know what to think and I haven't gotten a call back from my therapist to set up a time to have him help me figure some of this out. So I'm turning here for now. Maybe someone here can help me figure out what exactly it is I'm feeling and why I feel that way. So please, any help with this is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time ladies.

Stacy Anne.

[Guest]

Well girl friend, I don't really know the answer. The coolest thing about feelings is we can feel them. They can be weird sometimes and wonderful others. Maybe the girl in you is waking up fully and it is her time to explore those feelings. Run with it and don't do anything off the wall until you meet your GT. Giggle. JodyAnn

[Guest]

BTW, I know HRT shouldn't change bone structure but I sweat at two years HRT I could feel my pelvis growing wider. Probably wishful thinking, but it works for me. Giggle. Hug. Jody

[Guest G_Unit]

Thanks Jody Ann.. My therapist is a certified Gender Therapist. So Hopefully he can help me figure out everything. I may have to call my therapist again to see when I can see him.

[Charlize]

Please dear take your time here. Seeing your GT is the right way to go for sure. In the end you are the one to decide on your path. There is no ranking system and that is important to consider. Just try to be yourself. No magic answers, i wish there were. Just a slow growth into understanding of oneself. Eventually many doubts faded for me and the road became clear. Your path may be different. Best to remember the adage "it's the path not the destination". We are always in flux. Try to enjoy the ride. It can be a wild one.

Hugs,

Charlie

[Guest Opal]

Hi Stacy Anne,

We each probably have a little different idea as to what it means to be Transgendered, as our experiences and research are unique. Being Transgendered covers a pretty broad spectrum. As Charlie mentioned, please take your time. There is a lot to discuss and think about.

Huggs,

Opal

[Guest G_Unit]

I just don't know where else to start other than my Therapist. which I really am waiting on a call back from. But thanks ladies for all the support.

[Guest]

Maybe paint your nails while you are waiting? Giggle. Sally Hansen Diamond Strength in Platinum #130 is a color that you can sneak past the boys. It is very translucent and your natural nails show well. Hug. Jody

[Guest G_Unit]

I'll have to do that when I get a manicure.. Cause I really need one. Good thing I can get one next month. I happen to do the worst thing a girl can do to her nails. That's chew them. I've honestly infected one of my fingers cause I chewed the nail down so much. Not really proud of it but it happened. Hasn't happened since. But that's only due to the anxiety meds I'm on and mood stabilizers as well. It's not entirely controlled but it's better. So getting myself a manicure will be a big help for me. Cause I don't really trust myself to give myself one cause the products I would want to use aren't sold in normal stores like Wal-Mart. They are only sold in beauty supply stores. Plus my mom has a close friend that owns her own salon that would probably be happy to give me a manicure and paint my nails for me. So I'll let you gals know how it goes.

Stacy Anne.

[Guest]

Oh, let me make mention I had that problem too. I started with the clear nail biting polish. Whoa does it work! One little nibble and you will be trying to get the rude taste off your tongue. Soon you won't want to go there. Hug. Jody

[Guest G_Unit]

Jody.. I've actually tried that and had it not work. My mom tried that when I was younger and it honestly didn't work. I chewed them anyways. Nothing really has worked expect a manicure when my fingers were looking really crappy. I don't bite them very often anymore.. But when I do I kind of go to town on them. I mean I may not get them infected anymore but still, I tear off what I can get at. So I've been looking for something to actually use to help stop me from biting them. I've really tried everything humanly possible.. All the way down to gum.. Though that was quite expensive. So I gave up on that. I'm just glad it's as controlled as it is with the anxiety meds. So, yeah, if you can think of something else that may work I'm all ears.

Stacy

[Guest]

No answers here, but be sure and take your prenatal vitamins. They are so good for healthy nails and hair growth. You don't have to be expecting and they won't get you pregnant. LOL! Jody

[Guest G_Unit]

Is there a place I can get them besides the doctor?

[Guest]

Doctors no longer prescribe then usually, because the over the counter ones are just as strong and work good. So any Pharmacy, large chain grocery, or a WalMart, CVS, Walgreens, whatever is close by. I can say they are the only vitamins that I ever noticed visible results from.

[Guest G_Unit]

what are they called? I can pick some up on Tuesday.

[Guest]

Giggle. Right off my bottle. Nature Made- Multi Prenatal, 90 tablets for less than ten bucks. You can use any brand name, all will have the key word Prenatal. It takes about two to three weeks to see any results. Trust that they are the good stuff. If you can't find them in the usual vitamin section, look in the baby section. Once you get the knack of tracking them down you will find them everywhere. Hug. Jody

[Guest G_Unit]

What results would I see after a few weeks?

[Guest LizMarie]

Whether you are "transgender" or not depends on who you ask and what definition of the word you use. In the broadest sense, cross dressers are often considered transgender, for example. But does that mean they have gender identity dysphoria (GID)? Some do and some don't. And those that do may see sufficient relief from the GID just by cross dressing that they feel no need to make further changes in their lives.

Others may suffer more deeply from GID and need more or different treatments to address it. In some cases, GID is sufficiently deep and problematic that performing a social role transition (often along with associated medical and surgical treatments) is called for.

Don't assume anything because you have certain feelings. They don't change who you are inside. The most important thing you can do is find whatever you need to live happily with yourself. If that's working as a man in women's fashion, then do that! If it's cross dressing, then do that. If it's writing female centric fiction, then do that. And if it's transitioning, then do that. But don't do things you don't need to do.

Take your time. Figure yourself out first. Find out what works for you.

[Guest G_Unit]

thanks for that LizMarie. I've been slowly trying to figure myself out.. Just so unsure where to really start. Kind of think the first step is getting a place of my own again so I can do what I want, when I want. Living with a roommate that happens to be my best friend hasn't really worked out all the time. Because of certain reasons. I live around a lot of elderly people who are pretty well set in their ways. So discovering what makes me happy around them is kind of difficult. So maybe that's my real first step is moving to a place where being me is more socially accepted than it is in a small town. So maybe that is what I really need to do.. Move away from it all and discover who I am and what works for me. What ever that is.

[Guest G_Unit]

Ladies,

When I think about how I truly feel on the inside it's like I know what the answer is just I'm afraid to admit to not only my friends and family, but to myself. Yes, I have thought long and hard about what the true answer is, probably for the past 2-3 weeks on and on and off basis. So maybe moving is what I really need to do. To make myself happy.

[Guest LizMarie]

If you decide to move, try to choose a reasonably large city, just to have a wide diversity of services available. Try to find employment with a company that has pro-GLBT policies in place. Securing your income and your privacy will give you a wealth of opportunities to experiment and to discover yourself.

[Guest G_Unit]

Gals, would it mean something different if I knew for like a 75% surety that back when my Freshman year of High School started is when I really started feeling different.. As in I started to identify as a girl more than a boy and that has been the case since?

[Guest LizMarie]

No, it wouldn't means anything at all.

There are people who only realize their gender issues later in life. There are those of us who have known all our lives. And there are all sorts of people in between.

When you make that connection can be impacted by the degree of your dysphoria, by your socialization (which may have emphasized male so heavily that you simply shoved the rest aside), and by multiple other factors as well. Also, dysphoria can vary in degree over the years. I was like a sine wave. There were years I was miserable and years when things were tolerable, until I finally hit a wall where the misery brought me to the edge of suicide. My GID impacted my marriage. At its worst, my GID made me loathe myself that there were periods of weeks, months, and even once over a year, where I was not intimate with my spouse, yet I managed to father three children.

Dysphoria is usually not a constant. You may find that your dysphoria can be managed by other means or that it goes away if you allow yourself X (whatever X might be). Or, you may find yourself needing to transition.

But when you realize you are dysphoric doesn't mean much by itself.

[Guest G_Unit]

Well I'm not sure I'm at that point yet, but I do notice some major confusion going on.. I was at my therapist today who happens to be a GT and he noticed some points that I was confused with. So I'll be going back for a few sessions to see if we can clear it all up.I just know I've not felt the same since Freshman Year of High School

[Guest Opal]

Just want to wish you well on your visits with your therapist.

Huggs,

Opal