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Karolyn
03-04-2015, 01:26 AM
I am entering the most important steps of my transition. I am more ready than ever! Since this week-end, everyday has been a source of new experiences and important steps in starting my transition. I am so happy so far I wanted to share :D

I am now living almost full-time. I'm in guy mode only at work or in front of my parents on Skype (they are still in shock, they need time). So far I came out to 56 people, but the list is going to increase very quickly very soon (at work). So here are my last adventures:

- Friday night, I went out in a small club (25-30 people). I was enjoying the music, started to dance while imitating other girls (I realized it's all in the hips!). After a bit, one of the guys started to hit on me. He was not really sober but was able to speak clearly. He came 5 or 6 times to me, asked me out, called me pretty, he had his hand behind my back, he asked 3 times if I had a boyfriend, and he even asked for my number. I was not interested (as I am only interested in women), but to me, that was a major achievement. I was passable to a genetic male!! I did some more progress on my hair, makeup and manners, that probably helped. I also still lose weight, and I have reached standard size clothes, making me more attractive overall (such a good incentive for losing weight).

- Saturday afternoon, I went to the mall with a GG friend. My goal was to buy clothes I can wear at work (we have no dress code, it is awesome, but still, I need to be passable, not attracting attention too much). I got several types of clothes for which I was inexperienced (like jeans), with the help of my friend. For example, at Forever 21, she came with me in the dressing room, and each time we were both trying a piece of clothing, we were getting out and talking about each other's styles. That was great! And apparently, I am making girls jealous with my legs and back. That afternoon was like a dream in real life. After several stores, we went to find shoes, and I got 5 pairs at Payless, and being able to try them properly is amazing, they all fit great.

- Saturday night, I went to Hamburger Mary's for the first time. That was the first time I was showing my male ID while en femme to get a drink. They are used to it at that place, and it worked well. It was a girls night out (there was still one boyfriend), but I was so happy belonging to a girl group.

- After that, we went downtown, to a club that is not particularly LGBT friendly, just a standard one. It was completely packed (Saturday night at peak time). I presented as Karolyn, showed my ID to enter, the bouncer didn't even twitch. I was able to go in. I was really impressed.

In all those experiences, from the mall to the club, I have never seen a single person doing a double take or looking at me weirdly. As part of a crowd, I think I now blend. Such a great feeling.

- Sunday, I had 4 friends coming to my place to have some barbecue. It was the first time for them to see Karolyn in real-life. It went great too, I got good feedback.

- Today in the morning, I discovered a small patch of beard missing, that was the first positive result of my laser spot test I did 10 days ago. So I will be able to have laser done on my beard.

- Today (Tuesday), I went to my most important doctor appointment, the endocrinologist. And she is going to give me the prescription for hormones. My next visit is in 3 months. I had blood work done, and when the results will be available in about a week, I will get the prescription.

- This afternoon, I talked to the human resources at work to give them the green light for organizing meetings with executives and managers to reveal my transition. I am going to send my coming out email during next week. My planned date to start working en femme is March 16th, in a week and a half. But it might move to the 17th because we are moving our office desks to the upper floor.

- Tomorrow, I will talk to my physician about my transition, and to reevaluate my medication for high blood pressure (as spiro is an anti-hypertension in the first place).

- Thursday, I am going for my first full beard removal with laser. Goodness, I already have nightmares about this one. The pain was so bad during the spot test, I am so scared of that visit. I will be ready to reduce the pain, and I will have numbing cream to help, but it will still be very painful.

I cannot wait to start dressing at work. It is coming very soon!

becky77
03-04-2015, 01:43 AM
You're certainly busy, glad It's going well for you.
Best of luck at work.

VanTG
03-04-2015, 01:50 AM
Busy is right, sounds all good. Keep it up Girl!!

Karen62
03-04-2015, 01:57 AM
What an amazing week, Karolyn! Fantastic! You are incredible. I am really proud of you! Can't wait to hear your HRT story update next week.

Karen

tara.emily
03-04-2015, 02:06 AM
Karolyn, what a success! You are an inspiration :) I'm living part time at the moment; but, hoping to start going out to clubs again (again, after many, many years).

All the best!

Jennifer-GWN
03-04-2015, 02:10 AM
Karolyn... I'm dizzy and have sore feet just reading. You have a lifetime ahead find your pace. Sounds like you've got a good attitude and have the support system around.

You go girl

Cheers... Jennifer

Eringirl
03-04-2015, 09:56 AM
Hope all continues to go well Karolyn. Somewhere in there, try to get some sleep !! ;) I am exhausted just reading about it!

Erin

Kaitlyn Michele
03-04-2015, 10:07 AM
i'm really happy for you!!!!

thanks for sharing those very positive experiences and you are doing great, keep it up!!

Julie Denier
03-04-2015, 01:28 PM
So glad that all is going as you have planned! ;)

Jennaristow
03-04-2015, 01:59 PM
I am so jelous. I am a long ways from full time. Still have to find a new career from what I am currently doing. Need more hair removal, plus much more. I will get there, just taking the slow road.
I am excited for you though.

Jorja
03-04-2015, 02:36 PM
You might want to ask the doctor for an oxygen bottle with that pace! :)

You are on a roll and have started on what will be a fantastic journey. You are doing great! Keep up the good work.

Anne2345
03-04-2015, 02:48 PM
That's a lot of action in just a little bit of time!

Laser hurts. It hurts A LOT right above and below the lips. I got in the habit of icing my face down to make it numb right before going in for my sessions. And if you ask the technician, he or she should give you an icepack to keep your face numb as they work on each specific area. Fwiw, ice helped dull the pain a lot. But OMG could it take my breath away, and I like to think I have a high tolerance for pain. Anyways, good luck . . . .

Rachel Smith
03-04-2015, 05:29 PM
All great news Karolyn I hope it continues to go smoothly for you.

Karolyn
03-04-2015, 11:29 PM
As you said, I was on a roll, and it was great. But as every time I have an incredible day (or set of days), I get one of the worst days happening right after. It is like energy conservation: for each good thing happening, a bad one has to be there to compensate.

- I had a horrible day at work, and I got into a verbal fight with one of my coworkers. I try to be nice with everyone, he tries to make me look like I am the devil. Not the best way to start a day. On top of that, I got lots of software and hardware issues, preventing me to work properly (I'm a software engineer)
- I work 12 hours a day since a week, and Saturday I might work too, which makes me tired and more irritable. That will last for 6 more weeks.
- I went to see my physician, but he did not know what BLT numbing cream was, so I could not get a prescription for it (it is more powerful than over-the-counter numbing cream). That is what I wanted to use to make the pain more tolerable for the laser beard removal. I seem to have a really low pain threshold, and that pain of the spot test has been haunting my nightmares
- My laser beard removal of tomorrow has been cancelled, the machine broke down
- And the WORST of all: bill HB 583 passed in Florida, which makes it illegal for transgender to use public bathrooms for their gender identity. I will have to use the men bathrooms, which makes it a real danger (there are transphobic people everywhere), it is a privacy violation (as it forces me to be outed), and it is a discrimination as a whole. The bill also explicitly states that public places do not have to build unisex bathrooms or anything to accomodate us. It is a really transphobic bill.

At least, on the "good" news side, I am the first on the waiting list for the laser, until they are done fixing the machine. They said it might be a week. I also got a really strong light spot on my beard, proving that the laser pain will be worth it. I also have the support of this forum's members (thank you everyone :hugs: ).

If you think I am crazy for going full-time with my work schedule, there is a reason. I was doing some deep depression. Knowing I was going to transition (after the therapist told me I was getting the HRT letter), I started to hate myself so much. 22 years of hate for my male side just emerged, and as the therapist said, there is no come-back. She was right, and the only way to feel better was to actually transition earlier. I will be full-time in the sense that I will be en femme at work and outside, but I will still be in drab for special cases, like traveling and talking to my parents on Skype (they have not accepted my transition yet). I plan to go really full-time on July 10th, on my birthday.

Anne, I am definitely going to check that ice method, on top of the number with regular over the counter topical cream. If it helped you that much, I will definitely consider it.

Zooey
03-04-2015, 11:37 PM
FYI, I would not put too much stock in the numbing cream - even the good prescription stuff. I think it's definitely a "your mileage may vary" sort of thing.

I tried it at my last session, and it made zero difference. While it made the first few layers of my facial skin ENTIRELY NUMB, it did absolutely nothing for the deeper layers where my hair follicles were being burnt to a crisp.

Karolyn
03-04-2015, 11:41 PM
I see, so the numbing creams just affect the top layers and do not go deep enough, where the laser hits... bummer. That explains why I have seen several posts of people saying it was still very painful even with the cream. I am definitely going to try Anne's ice technique. I will even just try at home to see what kind of numbing I get (without freezing my skin of course).

Zooey
03-05-2015, 12:22 AM
Just to be clear, I think it's worth trying - I have a feeling it's a bit different for everybody. It didn't work for me though. :(

Karolyn
03-05-2015, 12:38 AM
Oh yes, I will definitely try. I will take any chance I have to reduce the pain. I will go to the laser place one hour earlier, and they will apply the over-the-counter numbing cream, and I will stay in the waiting room before the laser session. I cross the fingers for it to have "some" effect.