yes, unfortunately you're not gonna get prescribed T unless you've been undergoing regular counselling (say weekly) for 3 months. it's tedious, and in my own case, i found it unnecessary, but that's the way the guidelines are at the moment for trans patients- as i'd say most, if not all, gender psychs follow the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care. Dr Curtis is one of those that do.

as for your gp, they may not have any idea what 'trans' means, and may need the whole word 'transgendered', or even better, the medical term 'gender dysphoria'. you could always print off some information about it to give to them incase they're still completely stumped.

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Get your self to a psychiatrist son, the quicker you do that the better you'll get on T.

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" Too many years fighting the tears, Why can't the past just die. Try to for give, teach me to live, give me the strength to try. No more memories, no more silent tears, no more gazing across the wasted years, help me to say. Goodbye"
From Phantom Of The Opera

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thanks guys. i have to say that it's put a bit of a dampener on my mood - like you, will, i'm certain that attending counselling will be a waste of my time. but i need t, so i guess it's a means to an end.

and argh, i'm so annoyed. my father keeps looking through magazines trying to pick out feminine tops for me to wear. i'm going to have to come out tomorrow, whether i like it or not...there's no way i'm wearing girls clothing.

i'm a bit confused...i live in a small village basically, with one doctors surgery. they have doctors there, but i'm not too sure about gp's. would it be pointless to make an appointment with my doctor, or would i have to specifically see a general practitioner? sorry about the amount of questions also, once i tell them that i'm suffering from gender dysphoria, will they refer me to a councillor if i ask?

Hi Lucas

I went through it all in a small village. Here's what I did:

I made an appointment to see my GP. I'd known him for about five years and I'd been seeing him regularly for most of that time on account of my depression.

I wrote to him in advance of the appointment to say I believed I had a good case for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. I enclosed a copy of NHS Direct's web pages on the subject just in case he didn't know what it was.

I went to see him and we talked it through. I asked him for an appointment to see the local mental health team's psychiatrist. Two months later, I met the psychiatrist and he gave me a diagnosis and put it in writing. I then had a piece of paper to present to my mother. She knew roughly what was going on anyway. Dad was not impressed. Still isn't.

Mum had always suspected that I might be gay, but now she knows the truth she's a lot more settled. I can't say how your two will react, but I think you need to make an approach because it sounds like holding back is bothering you.

I'd recommend seeing a doctor you're familiar with and tell whichever parent you feel most comfortable with.

Tell dad not to chose your clothes. What fashion sense do dads have anyway?

Reenie

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The Daily Turnout - King of the Throne Room

thank you reenie

well, the plan sort of didn't work. my brother had an asthma attack this morning and got rushed to hospital. he's okay thank god, but i thought it was a fairly bad idea to talk to my parents while they were preocupied with my brother. they're keeping him in the hospital for a couple of days, but hopefully he'll be home by friday.

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This website http://www.bacp.co.uk/ might help you find a counsellor.

That's a bummer re your brother, and it scuppering your plans. Although I'd say there's never an easy time to tell your parents, there's definitely times when it would be worse, and that would be one of them.

As TDP's already said, your GP is your family doctor. GP just stands for general practitioner - as opposed to one who specialises in a particular branch of medicine. If your GP is supportive, they will be able to refer you for counselling (well, they'll be able to whether they're supportive or not, but I suppose they might not be willing to!) although there might be a waiting list. If you've got a major city nearby there might be an LGBT centre that provides a counselling service. Or in some cases it's possible to self-refer to a mental health agency or voluntary organisation that runs counselling services.

As far as telling your parents is concerned, have you decided how you're going to tell them? I told mine by giving them a letter that I'd written previously - I found that this helped as it meant I could say everything I wanted to say without being interrupted or forgetting any of it. If you want to have a look at the letter I wrote, it's on page 1 of my blog, about 5 posts down.

Good luck!

Dave

It will come believe you me.

Things happen for a reason, so just never give up.

Best of luck to your bro.

_________________
" Too many years fighting the tears, Why can't the past just die. Try to for give, teach me to live, give me the strength to try. No more memories, no more silent tears, no more gazing across the wasted years, help me to say. Goodbye"
From Phantom Of The Opera

Fishkeeper is Admin staff for FTM's.
My Bio. http://www.transgenderzone.com/bio.htm
we have a library
http://www.transgenderzone.com/library

feel free to browse

Tell your brother "get well soon" from me.

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The Daily Turnout - King of the Throne Room

I'm glad to hear your brother is ok and you are right that it would have been a bad time to come out. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that the next time you plan to come out nothing else bad happens.

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Chrissy
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Always have faith and believe in yourself.
Never run from the truth.
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thanks everyone, and my brother is doing fine which is excellent.

oh shit oh shit oh shit. i'm actually terrified right now...my mum found my coming out letter amongst my college stuff.

_________________
Chrissy
Forums Moderator.

Always have faith and believe in yourself.
Never run from the truth.
Have the will to change your fate and your spirit will never die.
Check out the tzone team bios here: http://www.transgenderzone.com/bio.htm

I can completely understand why you're terrified, but in some ways it might make it easier. I'm assuming this is a letter you wrote to her but hadn't given her yet? In which case, at least the difficult bit - having to pluck up the courage to actually hand it to her - has been done!

Keep us posted on her reaction - and I hope it all goes well for you!

Dave