what about your body do you not like? everything-my chest, stomach-im a little overweight,vagina. do u have to be a certain weight to height ratio to start hormone therapy? im 5'3'' and i weigh 210. lost 20 lbs. since june 2008-thanks to the NO SODA rule I made for myself.
what makes you think you might be trans? i cant stand being a girl. I HATE IT!!!!!!! i like ALL guy stuff.
do you want facial hair? HELL YES
do you want a penis? YES
r u a FTM? my name is audrey. i just turned 20 sept. 7th. why do i have to wait 6 months for hormone therapy? would my insurance cover any of the changes i want? i have blue cross blue chioce through my dad till im 22. but could i do a clinic type thing with all of this to where it is based on my income? i live by myself in an apartment. my dad told me a year ago that if i wasnt straight he'd disown me. i dont want it to show up on his insurance bill that i am having hormone thearpy. how much does hormone therapy cost? who do i go to to start talking about this? what do i say when i first go see them? what wil they ask me? will they tell my doctor? if so why?
well i got the clothes and the haircut thing down allready. do i have to be on hormone therapy to change my name legally? can i have people i know start calling me by a guy's name now even though im not gonna see a shrink for the first time about this like in another few weeks? i want a name that's not common- like malachi(malaki, ki-as in kite, dustin, trevor, (brett=what I really want my name to be...) got any other good names or where i can find any? how exactly do i bind my chest?
i live in the u.s.
sorry for all the questions..i'll probably have more later on.
well i got the clothes and the haircut thing down allready. do i have to be on hormone therapy to change my name legally? can i have people i know start calling me by a guy's name now even though im not gonna see a shrink for the first time about this like in another few weeks? is there ANYWAY you can out me in contact with the people you know that are transgenders(FTM). if so please have them e-mail me at awb4130578@yahoo.com or ask if i can have their e-mail and e-mail them. this would be GREATLY appreciated. i want to start hormones ASAP. do i have to be in shape to do that? i am 5'3'' and 210 lbs... but ive lost 20lbs. since june 2008 how exactly do i bind my chest?


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Audrey

So, you said you're going to see like a psychiatrist.  They will most likely be able to answer your questions.  I don't think, by law, that you are required to be on hormones to legally change your name.  I mean, people do it all the time, maybe they just don't like their first name...  So I don't think there are any restrictions on that.

In terms of binding your chest, I would buy something specifically made for that.  I've been there and tried binding it myself with gauze or something of the like, and that will make you dizzy and feel sick within minutes.  So if you do want to go about binding your chest, I would look around for something that was made to do that purpose, and not use materials that you may find lying around the house.

Now, I don't know any FTMs personally, so I can't direct you to any of them.  However, you should be able to easily find forums on the internet that are for transgenders, or those who are interested in finding out more about it.  I would look around, and you'll probably come across one.

In terms of starting hormones, they'll probably have to make sure you're ready.  What my MTF friend told me was that there were some risks involved with taking hormones, and that was something you would have to be informed about, and still feel like you want to go through with it (at least that's what I remember).

Again, the steps might go slowly, but what you can do for now is just "appear" male.  That's what I was happy with... for about 2 years, people thought I was a guy at first though until they heard me speak, or I had to take off my sweater :P.  So since it's summer, it may be harder to wear a sweater, and I don't exactly know your bust size... but a big sweater can usually help do the trick in terms of covering them for now.  And haircuts make a HUGE difference.

I wish I could help you out more, I never looked much into the process, because I was always at the stage of trying to decide what I wanted.  I wanted so badly to be a male, and even today, I still feel things would have been much better had I been born a male... but I've come to terms with myself, and I've been able to accept my body.  Personally, I never had any feelings of changing my genitalia, persay, so I had always considered just getting a breast reduction and the like.  But if you want to go through the whole change, do your research.  Look into ALL of these things, look into laws, look into waiting periods, look into the processes and the risks.  These are all things you can find, and again, if you look around, I'm sure you can find a forums for people that have similar thoughts as you do.

And after all that, decide what you want to do next :).  I wish you the best of luck... you're always welcome to talk to me.  While I may not be FTM, and I'm not planning on changing, I have had the same thoughts and feelings, and still get that strong urge to change every now and then as well.  So at least I can relate, even if just a little :).  Best of luck, and I hope it all works out!