At the Gender Clinic

I have been before so it's not a new experience, actually while I think about it I'll talk about my first time there. Cue wavy cut to soft black and white (Heroes-esque) flashback:

Driving around Newton Abbot, I decided I was a little lost but saw a sign for the hospital which I followed and parked in the car park and made my way in, after talking to the receptionist (I didn't even think about it, I just went up to the counter and asked her where to go) it turned out I was at the wrong hospital. I was cutting it fine as it was so I was sure to be late now, the nice lady gave me directions to the other hospital. I thanked her and went back to my car whilst trying to call the Gender Clinic to let them know I was coming but going to be a little late, I couldn't get through. I proceeded to get lost and resorted to getting google maps on my phone to see where I needed to go, after a little orientation I managed to get on the right road and found the right hospital.

I hurried my way up to what I thought was the right building, which wasn't, again I was pointed in the right direction. Now in the right building I said I had an appointment and was a little late as I'd gone to the wrong hospital to the receptionist, she asked if I'd been there before suggesting to go straight through, realising the fact I'd gone to the wrong hospital she directed me through.

It was all good and a good experience, I didn't even think about talking to people... I just went in. The appointment was good, mostly background, family, childhood how I felt stuff really.

So that was my first experience there, today my third time there didn't provide such a ridiculous story for getting there however it was good. We spoke about how I was getting on spending more time as me which lead to what my thoughts were about going full time.

We also spoke about whether I wanted to go on hormones and what the effects might be, the basics of them being lowering testosterone, softening of the skin, lower libido, and the like. I'm going to talk to their Dr. about the specifics and full details about them and what the long term effects might be. I will do a lot of research before going so I will know what questions to ask.

I mentioned that I wanted to know about what options I have for sperm storage, the NHS can't help me however there is a private clinic that can do it. It would be around £80-100 a month for up to 10 years storage.

I did have a look for a picture to attach to this post but they're on my other machine, I'll dig one out for next time, sorry.

Jenny x

Where I'm at...

In my last post I mentioned I'd had a referral through from the NHS, more specifically the Gender Clinic in Newton Abbot. I've been a couple of times now and I'm due to go again on Friday.

As I said in my previous post, I've been going out when possible as Jenny, this has been fine but I still worry how work/society/family/friends that aren't so close to me will change towards me and wonder if living a split life as I am currently is the best option - I don't wish to be isolated and to not fit in as a male or a genetic female.

I will no doubt have more thoughts on this subject.
Jenny x

True Jenny style

I know it's been a long while since my last post, it kind of got to a point where I didn't know where to start which in it's self became a bit daunting. Happy New Year by the way ;)

Apart from that, I've been well and have been going out a lot more but I'll get on to that in a moment, first I need to get up to speed with what's been happening.

Since London, I've had private head shrinkage which was required by Dr. Curtis if I wanted him to prescribe hormones for me. I did 3 months or so of that and was to my amazement deemed sane, I found it a great help although it did make me think about things (what it's supposed to do) and decided I wasn't at the point where I wanted to start on hormones so I didn't go back to see Dr. Curtis.

I have also been talking to a lady from the NHS about things which has been a great help and my NHS referral came through although I didn't know about it until after Christmas when I spoke to my GP again. I called them up and it turns out they had the wrong address, I corrected them and got another appointment through the post that I received and acknowledged.

Before Christmas I had decided to tell my parents about what has been happening, I actually decided to tell them a few months beforehand but it actually happened about a week or so just before in the end. They were really supportive at first and seemed to take it really well which was great and made me feel really happy about it, reality then hit with what it actually meant and then (/now) are finding it hard to come to terms with. With statements like "But you really like girls", "the music you listen to isn't very girly", "you like outdoor sports" and "you've never shown any signs of being feminine" are a selection.

I've been having (proper) laser on my face since before Christmas at sk:n clinics which I would recommend, the laser snaps a lot more than IPL but the results are so much better - IPL didn't have any real effect but laser worked from the first session with hairs falling out a week or so after the treatment.

I think that's pretty much what's been going on with me over the last 6 months with one omission but I'll talk about that another time. As I said earlier, I've been going out a lot more to public places, I decided before I could make any decisions about going full time it would be a good idea to spend more time out and about so that's what I've been doing. I've been out for walks, to the pub for lunch, cinema, theatre, restaurants, bowling and by no means least shopping.

Sorry I've not put a pic on, I'll dig one out for the next post.
Take care,
Jenny

The Big Smoke

I went to London on Monday to see Dr. Curtis of TransHealth about what options I have with regard to going full time and transitioning.

I stopped over at a friend's house on Sunday as they're about an hour out from London, I was presented with a beautifully wrapped present, a pink t-shirt with a cool binary design, I love it. Unfortunately my friend had to leave quite early so he didn't get to see me in the morning but his lovely wife was about and make me feel completely comfortable. She hadn't met me (Jenny) before I presented myself, she complimented me on my make-up skills and gave me a hug and her best wishes when I left, I really am very lucky to have such lovely friends.

The drive in to London went without incident although I ignored the directions when I got in to London and worked out my own route in which probably took longer but I had left with plenty of time. Once on Wimpole Street I parked up, paid for the congestion charge and the parking so I didn't have to worry about it. As I was early I gave Fiona (Fiona's Boots) a call as she was going for a job interview that afternoon, she had just got to Euston so it'd take a few minutes for her to get to where I was, I suggested to meet at Oxford Circus as that was the easiest tube station for her to get to. I made my way to Oxford Street which didn't take long at all, as I was there I thought it would be rude not to go in to Topshop for a look around, it was really nice to have a look around and felt a lot more comfortable than when in boy mode - I did have to buy a cardigan that I liked the look of. I also went in to H&M and got a vest top for £3, bargain! Luckily Fiona landed at Oxford Circus and greeted me with a big hug saving my bank balance from any more abuse, time was getting on now so she escorted me back to Wimpole Street. She'd been to see Dr. Curtis so knew where to go, we chatted all the way back about this and that as you do.

I pressed the button for Dr. Curtis and managed to get the words "I have an appointment with Dr. Curtis" out in some kind of order, the receptionist buzzed us in. I filled out a form with various questions about history, my details and consent. I was then called in, I said my good bye and good luck (for the job interview) to Fiona. Dr. Curtis had a medical student with him and asked if I minded her sitting in on the consultation which I didn't mind so it was ok, I was asked various questions about my gender history, childhood and the like. We spoke about options for my real hair and that any treatment wouldn't affect having laser hair removal on my face contrary to what they thought at the Nuffield Hospital in Plymouth (grrrh), what could be done with voice therapy and something I hadn't even thought about - Banking sperm so if I wanted to have my own children with a partner in the future I could use my own.

Another thing I hadn't thought of and hadn't come across is that some people return to living as their original gender either permanently or just for work and social gatherings, time will obviously tell on this one but (at this time) I don't think I will revert back once I've transitioned. We then talked about options for hormones, I would either have to go full time for 3 months or have 3 months of gender specific counselling, currently I wouldn't want to go full time as I still have a long way to go with getting rid of facial hair, I wouldn't be comfortable having to put so much foundation on all the time, I hate the amount I need when I do go out at the moment without that being every day. It was great to get things really moving in the right direction.

I had arranged to meet up with Beckie Cannons from TINT so I made my way to Westfield shopping centre not far from the big BBC building near White City, I did take a slight detour on my way but that's not important, I got their and met Beckie who was in drab yet looking dapper. We were both quite hungry so after walking the length of the restaurant strip went back to one of the first ones for an Italian where we chatted about how it went with Dr. Curtis and the like. After that we went around the shops picking outfits for each other, Becca's such a glam tran ;) It's thirsty work shopping so we went to Costa for some refreshments, can't beat a good hot chocolate, it's the best! The time was getting on so we called it a day, it had been such a lovely afternoon and I had felt quite relaxed out and about. We said our goodbyes and I started out on my long drive home, spending the whole day out was great and a real confidence boost - watch out world here I come...

Jenny xx

Browsers

I'm making a website at the moment, Internet Explorer 6 is 8 years old, if it were a human, it would be in a care home hobbling around with a zimmer-frame with senility firmly set in. It's not only slow but it's also inherently insecure. That apart, it's horrid to code for as Microsoft in their infinite wisdom decided that they didn't need to follow web standards and make up their own, as all the modern browsers render pages correctly according to web standards (even IE 8) it's hard to get modern techniques working in IE 6.

Google, You Tube, Amazon and some others are due to stop supporting IE 6, You Tube are already offering an upgrade option to IE 6 users. This means they won't test their sites to see if they work in IE 6 so you might still be able to use the site but it may not behave as expected.

So, my question is if you were using IE 6, would you mind having a message giving you options to upgrade before viewing a site?

Any take on the subject would be greatly welcomed.
Jenny x