Daneela

Compare and contrast with Chaz Bono, Janet Mock.

Seems to me that Chaz was also a celebrity but that focus on him was less and of shorter duration. Janet is known as an activist, qualifying as a spokesperson whose opinions and knowledge have helped keep the "conversation" on-topic. Laverne Cox is celebrated for her beauty and acting on OITNB. What happens when the program ends?

Transwomen have shocked American, and possibly all western, cultures for many decades, from Christine Jorgensen to Chelsea Manning, igniting the "flames of hell" with each celebrity outing. I'm sure there were others before Ms. Jorgensen but am not familiar with that part of history. We'll progress more quickly when we no longer shock them.

Crossing my fingers.

Cyrsti, I am pleased to hear you're helping to drag Ohio, kicking and screaming, into the 9th century and no, that's not a typo.

I, too, am a transgendered veteran. In my case, I'm MtF and have known it since I was 7. I've been in the VA health care system for several years after a decades long delay in enrolling. The first two years, I established myself with my primary physician and my mental health social worker. I never expected the VA to treat me any more than that.

Imagine my shock when my primary said, "Instead of seeking an outside Endocrinologist, why not try ours first?" So, I did. She referred me to Endo, set up an intake appointment and gave me the date and time. I attended the appointment, we interviewed for an hour and then the endo offered me HRT. I was so floored! A federal agency offering HRT to a MtF???? Wow.

As it is, I'm on my second prescription fill of 90 days conjugated estrogen and my breasts are symptomatic. I haven't been prescribed a T-blocker, but apparently my original low level isn't enough to prevent some estrogen getting through. There's no more I could ask for and I'm feeling so good.

So, don't give up on the VA yet. Also, there's a group, Transgendered American Veteran Association, or perhaps it's Transsexual American Veteran Association. They have a website, the dues are reasonable. Join so we can show how large our community is and increase our influence.

In the meantime, thanks and HUGG.

It seems to me that you're stressing out, putting to much pressure on yourself.

We have to shelve bits of knowledge while we concentrate on our current life. Eventually, though, new information enters the system and sparks the memory of prior knowledge and when the two fit together, the AHA moment occurs. Take it easy for awhile. Experience, both personal and not, indicate we most often get the results we want when we stop trying to hard to get them.

Ouch, Aenon, especially the bit about wishing for "more interest in suicide"

Here's a HUGG first. Now sit down and let's talk about things.

I'm very sorry that you had to interrupt your HRT. That fit of anger could be tied to a surge of testosterone or the dip in estrogen or both. However, the non-thinking parts of it are definitely a concern to me.

I don't know many facts, Aenon, so I will make a lot of guesses here.

You're a recent college grad and haven't yet found a full-time job. You wish you could snap your fingers, twitch your nose or blink and it would all be alright. Won't happen. The magic is in what we _can_ and _actually_ do, not in wishing or spells. You see a dark place coming and can't seem to stop it.

You mustn't fill out an application incorrectly. If you are found out, a fraud charge is the least of the consequences. You must apply and interview in the mode that will best provide for your health, now and in the future. If that is en homme, you must wear apparel that is not feminine. If you rip up and burn what's in your closet, can you afford to replace it? Likely, no, IMO.

I wish I could offer more, but you need to take a step back into reality before you can step forward on the journey.

HUGG and luv

A few years ago, while I was in Illinois working a contract position, I went to a clinic up the road to get some scrips I needed. While there, I came out to this doctor of similar age. We chatted a bit, then she did a decent physical and ordered some blood labs.

A while later, I returned for the follow-up. She asked if I was ready to start HRT. With tears in my eyes, I fully assented. She wrote the scrip, and I was off and crawling.

A month later, next appointment, she asked about changes. I said I hadn't had any but hadn't expected any that soon. Another month, same result. She went to her office, came back after a bit and said she was upping the dose because her female HRT patients who smoked also needed a higher dosage.

So, that applies to us as well, I'm sure.

I hope neither you nor your girlfriend are going to bank on any sort of apology. If he was drunk enough to do that in front of everyone, he'll either insist he had the right as well as the right of it or he'll blackout. Either way ...

I'm sorry her mother has passed. I hope you can help each other weather the passage.

Mom was definitely my "Goddess" at age 7. I couldn't and so didn't risk any more of her disapproval than I already had.

Try to remember that the "good old days" weren't good. Although transgendered people weren't publicly reviled, they were privately reviled. They were sinners and absolutely everyone knew it. They were left alone because no "ordinary" person would admit they could happen in the "perfect" world.

Those persons couldn't ever be out even though they already were. They never had the chance we "modern" folks have. Now, there are some conclaves we can resort to. Then, they had nowhere else to be. They were the "black sheep" and the "skeletons in the closet." Frankly, I wish every family would admit to one. Then perhaps the children would realize we aren't so abnormal after all.

Thank you Amie. I will definitely search for a pump in my area.

I went to Claire's and had mine pierced for free just a couple of weeks after I decided it was time for me to discard him. The therapist I was using had asked whether I was going to do one or both to which I replied "I'd rather not be viewed as the 'old fool not realizing he's not young'." I very much doubt that I will get multiple pierces in either ear.

It's my unconsidered opinion that "artists" have a better chance at being at least "allowed" our "eccentricity." If that's true, then it's up to you how much acceptance you insist on. In my case, never having memories of being "normal", I don't expect to become normal, even if I can stealth.

You're not falling, you're soaring. You've found wings and are using them in the way they were intended. Eventually, you'll land next to that girl at the foot of the cliff and she will take off and soar with you.