Big day tomorrow

[Amy A]

In the morning I'm getting a train to London to see Dr Richard Curtis at Transhealth. This first appointment is an hour long session delving into my gender problems and discussing future options. Hopefully in under three months time I'll be on hormones, at last!

The journey is filling me with fear but I'm looking forward to the appointment itself. It'll be nice just to talk to someone qualified in gender therapy.

Wish me luck!

[gonegirl]

Good luck!, and congratulations Amy.

[Leah Lynn]

Good luck, Amy. Hope everything goes well.

Hugs,

Leah

[Carla Stevens]

Great! Good luck Amy.
Does that mean you've decided to go private rather than get stuck with the NHS pathway?

[emma5410]

Good luck Amy! Hope everything goes well.

[mikiSJ]

Good luck on your trip and visit.

Is this doctor the "gatekeeper" in you health system? Is he a "one stop" doctor, will you have to jump through hoops to get to your end result?

[Suzanne F]

Good luck Amy!

[PretzelGirl]

I will hope for better than three months.

[KayleeTaylor]

Good luck and congrats! :)

[Amy A]

I'm just going private to get started on hormones a bit earlier; once the nhs give me an appointment I'll stop the private treatment and put myself in the care of Leeds GIC. I've spoken to Dr Curtis' assistant and he said that many of their patients see them whilst waiting for nhs treatment. I'd rather not have to spend the money but it's going to be at least another 8 months before the nhs get round to giving me hormones and that's a best case scenario, and I don't think I'd survive that. Before I made this appointment I was getting extremely depressed about the amount of waiting ahead of me.

Dr Curtis runs a private clinic capable of dispensing hormones and giving referrals for surgery. There's no way I could ever afford to do the surgery privately though. He is a trans man himself so he has a much better insight into gd than most doctors.

Right, guess I'd better get up and get ready!

[Kaitlyn Michele]

thinking of you and I hope you have a great session!

[Angela Campbell]

There is nothing to fear, it will be quite enjoyable most likely.

[I Am Paula]

I sounds like you're on the right track. from what I've read, the NHS is terminally slow.
Don't worry about fear. I would worry about the girl who went in without fear. You are in good company.

[alisa63]

Best wishes Amy! Keep us posted.

[GabbiSophia]

Good luck!!

[lesli]

luck girl!
hugs,
lesli

[Ceri Anne]

Best of luck on your exciting journey.

[Irena]

Hi Amy,

Good luck! And best wishes. I think you moving in the right direction.

Hugs, Irena

[Dana M]

good luck Amy

[Erica_xox]

Awesome Amy.. I am happy for you. Don't fear it, but enjoy in the excitement.

[Amy A]

Thanks to you all for the messages!

Yesterday nearly went horribly wrong, I spent so long trying to decide what to wear that I nearly missed the train. I managed to get to the station with 5 minutes to spare, then found my seat. The train was boiling hot but quiet. The people nearest to me were a group of artists and being an artist by trade I would have liked to have had a chat with them but I wasn't confident enough.

Anyway once I got off the train (it was a two hour journey) I made my way out of Euston station. Now, Manchester is a busy city, but nothing quite prepares you for the sheer amount of people in London, or the pace at which everything moves. Nobody gives anyone an inch, not in that part of the city anyway. With an hour and a half to kill I made my way to Regents park and found a quiet bench which I shared with a friendly Robin for half an hour whilst I fixed my makeup after the muggy heat of the train. I've got to admit I really needed that time out because in amongst the crowds I was starting to get a bit panicky.

Looking at the time I realised that I had half an hour to get to my appointment, so I brought up the map on my phone to see where I was going. My phone promptly crashed out, flashing up with a battery empty warning, despite it only seconds before telling me it was on 50%. So I got a bit lost and was lucky to find the clinic in time.

The appointment itself went really well. We went over my history and talked about my gender problems, then general health, current situation, support network etc. Dr Curtis is really easy to talk to and competely non judgemental, and I suspect that the fact that he has transitioned from female to male helps people open up to him about gender problems. He then discussed treatment and what to expect, rates of regret, and what was required for further treatment. He also explained that I'd already done all the hard work by telling everyone and going full time last year.

He told me that when I went in he had been expecting me to ask for a gender recognition certificate (which is a service he provides), as he thought I had already transitioned, and then went on to say that he felt that I came across as a woman both in appearance and mannerism, and even said my voice was good. This gave me a pretty big lift and when I left I had a bit more confidence. Now I was walking with my head up a bit more I realised that no one was looking at me.

With some time to kill I walked to Leicester Square to watch Gravity (for the second time) and then went back to Euston to get the 19.40 back to Manchester.

So now I need to go to see a gender therapist in Cheadle for the second opinion that Dr Curtis requires. Once I've seen her and got some blood tests done I can go back to begin my hormone treatment. Dr Curtis said that in my case he would be happy to see me and start treatment as soon as I am ready, so I've made the appointment with the therapist and will go back to Dr Curtis next month. Then I can finally get going.

[Dawn cd]

It sounds like you are going pretty well already.

[Dana M]

Amy,
Glad things went so well for you. Good luck with you continued journey.

[Suzanne F]

Congratulations Amy! It sounds like it went perfectly. I applaud your courage and journey.
Suzanne

[Maggie O'neal]

It sounds like it went well for you ! Not to mention how exciting to hear the doctor say what he did.

[Sarah Marie]

Good luck Amy! You are brave and beautiful. You have the courage to make the first steps in the direction so many of us would have wanted!

[dreamer_2.0]

Glad to hear things are going well, Amy!

[Daphne Renee]

Glad things are going so well for you. I wish you the best of luck in the future

[Amy A]

After expecting to have to wait months and months before I'd be able to start HRT, my decision to go private whilst waiting for the NHS to see me has meant that I'm now only two weeks away from starting hormones.

I went to see a gender therapist last night who is happy to write a supporting letter to Dr Curtis for hormone treatment, and my GP has agreed to carry out the required blood tests, saving me a fair bit of money.

I'm excited and anxious; I wish I was doing this much earlier but then so does everyone I guess. I'm 33 and pass fairly well, and having spent 3 months full time I'm starting to see a glimpse of the woman I want to be in the mirror. So I'm hopeful that hormones will push me that extra 10-15% and give me the extra confidence I need.

Also I recognise that this is the time that I really need to get things in order and eat healthily, and stop drinking (not that my diet is terrible, just not great, and I don't drink a lot).

Rather unbelievably, I'm actually feeling fairly positive tonight :).

[whowhatwhen]

Congrats! Looks like there are going to be a bunch of girls here starting at the same time!
:)

[PaulaQ]

Congratulations Amy. I expect you will find a peace you've never known in your life. I certainly have. You are also about to embark on the roller coaster ride of your life. Please remain seated, and keep your hands inside of the car at all times...

Seriously, congrats - you will like this, a lot.

[Angela Campbell]

Well getting started will be something different anyway. Hopefully you will like it as much as I have. I love my estradiol.

[JayeB]

Wonderful news :)