Walk Your Transgender Path

I am sitting outside the local Walgreens in my car holding the pill in my hands. The sun is gently breaking through the clouds as if to create a boundary around which my world would pivot. My heart is beating a nervous tune infused with melodies of contentment.  As I swallow the pill the next stage of my journey to womanhood begins. Thursday September 9th 2010 at 4:30pm.

Coincidentally it was many years ago at this same store I had begun an earlier leg of my journey. I made my first admission to a checkout clerk that the feminine paraphernalia I had gathered for purchase were mine. But today the questions and consequences were different.

Then I had feared rejection, embarrassment and ridicule. Today my thoughts lingered on the fuller consequences of gender transition, and the irreversible changes that will be created.

One month on testosterone blockers. Slowly ramping up to give my body a chance to adapt. They will allow the estrogen I start taking next month to work to it’s fullest potential. I’ll take testosterone blockers until bottom surgery is complete. I’ll take estrogen for the rest of my life.

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Over time my body hair growth will slow, fat will redistribute throughout my body and I’ll lose muscle mass. Breasts will grow, skin will soften and I’ll become infertile. I won’t dwell on any unintended side effects – I’ve long pondered what could go wrong physically and chemically. The risks cannot compare to the interminable pain of spending the rest of my life as the wrong gender.

Step Softly

As I pill disappears inside to work it’s magic I’m left with a deep sense of contentment. It’s impossibly soon for even a thought of physical changes, but my emotional changes have already begun. ‘Will do’ has been replaced by ‘doing’. Intention has been replaced with reality. The world around me moved on as if nothing happened – at most someone spied a woman taking a water bottle from her lips and thought nothing of it. Softly she took her first step.

Walk Carefully

Getting to this point in my life has itself been a marathon journey of self discovery. Regular readers have shared in my journey through acceptance and first steps, mishaps and learnings. Yet my inner journey was only part of my careful travel. Before hormone therapy can begin you need to see a counselor for at least three months. Once they write a recommendation letter your doctor then runs a battery of tests – blood work, physicals  and anything else needed to satisfy safety’s caution. Blood tests and regular monitoring will become a regular diet.

I feel blessed that this portion of the ‘standards of care‘ has gone so smoothly for me. My counselor and doctor have been partners to help me, not gatekeepers to stop me. I know that others are not as lucky. Despite all my years of working through being transgendered, I am happy so far with the pace prescribed. 3 months seemed like an eternity, yet the decision is so large that it will affect my eternity. 3 months is a small price to pay.

The Narrow, Untrodden Path

I’m not the first transgendered woman to walk this path. So few have traveled it I can barely see the trail through the overgrowth.  Yet I am grateful to those who forged ahead before me – transgender care is light years ahead of where it was just fifty years ago. Despite all this progress, and even though optimistically we number in the hundreds of thousands, drug treatments for transgender woman are still classified as experimental. And health insurance benefits to cover surgery are still few and far between.

To you, my dear reader, I thank you for reading this far and for sharing my journey. It feels like I’m just started, but when I look back I can see how far I’ve come. I pray that your journey is fulfilling, and leads to the destination which is right for you.

Hugs and blessings,
Vanessa

P.S. Follow me on Google Buzz or Gmail to hear the bite sized thoughts about life, womanhood and the joys of femininity.

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claire
claire
13 years ago

Vanessa,

Thanks for being brave enough to share your journey so far with the world. I am 30 years old and married myself, and still trying to figure out my own gender issues. It's great to have so many thoughtful blogs like yours and others out there to help us all realise that we are not the only ones going through these things. I have no doubt that your blog has been a comfort for many, many people. Best wishes for a smooth transition!

Amanda
Amanda
13 years ago

Vanessa,

Such an earth moving blog (for me personnally), the feelings came straight from the heart straight to my heart. We all love you so much for putting self out there like this. To be such an inspiration. My own journey still in the fledgling stages itself, I look to you and your website with all of the lovely ladies as a guide to understanding.

Best wishes and much love,
Amanda

Carol
Carol
13 years ago

A month from now, my surgury will be over, and Ill just want to blend in, and get on with my life. I have given deep thought to what is different, what is it about being a woman… what is it… what is it?….. Well Years ago I was on hormones, but had to drop away from transition due to job issues. Now, I have my letters and plane ticket, and am ready for the big adventure. Now back to the question,,, what is the difference. I can truthfully say NOTHING. Yes nothing you can see, sure Im changed a… Read more »

Brett Blatchley
Brett Blatchley
13 years ago

I *so* understand this…to this day I want hormones again…I will not take them again while my wife lives, it is a oneness issue for her. Poetically, I am a predominately female soul clothed in a male form. Bluntly I am a male to female transsexual who has chosen to remain in male form out of love and commitment to my wife and the vows I made to her and God. Christ gives me the strength to endure my gender dysphoria, and each day I have to abandon this to Him… I made the decisions to give up my “right"… Read more »

Michelle Hart
Michelle Hart
11 years ago

Thank you Vanessa for this inspiring article. It is truly words of wisdom and experience for all those that follow us on the narrow, untrodden path. As you stated the “standards of care" and treatment have jumped light years ahead than what they were prior the 90’s. I feel that if the medical community had understood more about the condition that we have back then, many of us would have fulfilled our quest to become who we are.

I thank you again for sharing your journey, alone with the trials and tribulations that accompanied it.

Brett Blatchley
Brett Blatchley
13 years ago

Oh, I think I should also mention, that I am firmly convinced that our God does not have a problem with transition per se, only that in my case, my family depends upon my remaining in (mostly) male form and role. I married Judi as her husband and she needs me remain that way, and we could not remain married if I transitioned (though I would still love and support her: she is chronically ill). Our situation *is* quite odd, because my wife Judi is transgendered too: she is a predominately male soul clothed in a female body. Her path… Read more »

Penny Forthem
Lady
Member
4 years ago

You write so beautifully Vanessa !

Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown
3 years ago

I envy you. I wish I’d done it myself at a real early age. Now as I get older, I refuse to put my elderly parents through anymore of my crap. So while they are alive I stay as I am. I love my folks and they deserve some consideration. But I dream of it every second.

Julie (Jules) Anderson
Duchess
Trusted Member

Vanessa, thank you for sharing such a personal story so thoughtfully and poignantly!
i wish all your hopes and dreams are realized during this coming New Year!
Hugs
Jules

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