Latest and Greatest

It's been way too long. I meant to post about a month ago when I went to Probate Court and successfully submitted my complete packet for name and gender change. Lots of stamping, stapling, and a little over $400 later (yes you read that right) it was all submitted. I'll hear more information at the end of the month when I have my hearing date. After that it will be the long and tedious process of changing everything over. It will all be worth it in the end. Besides what the best way to eat an elephant - one bite at a time!

The only other real update is that my dosage was upped from .5 mil to 1 mil. It's been a couple of injections now and I don't feel much difference, just feeling more and more like myself every day. I've been so happy with everything lately especially the feeling like I'm finally living in a body that reflects the inside me.

Thank you all again for all of your support and kind comments. I'm so lucky to have such a large and supportive team with me through all of this.

Baby steps

Little by little. Got my work email changed and the recruitment page information change. Next big step is working on legally changing things which is quite a processes. But no time like the present so need to get going.

Finally an update...

I know it's been a while since I've update anything, but not much has been going on. I went to the doc last week for a routine checkup/check-in and everything is fine. My injection schedule did change to now every 10 days (instead of two weeks). I was feeling a bit of a drop off at the end of the two weeks (lack of energy, getting a bit cranky, etc.) so that's why the time between injections has changed. I'm still at 50 cc's at each injection.

Physical changes are happening but very slowly. Starting to get a bit of acne on my face and chest. Voice is definitely getting deeper. No facial hair really, but I can feel it getting thicker on the sides of my face in the side burn area. Leg and arm hair seem to be getting thicker, but since everything is blonde it's hard to really notice. My armpit hair, surprisingly, is what has been the most noticeable in growth and thickness - it's been expanding top to bottom.

I'm definitely feeling happier overall in this growth into myself. It's starting to feel like everything is finally coming together. I've had such support from my friends and family it's been amazing.

Third Injection - First by Friend

It's been a few days since my third injection (last Thursday 6/5), but this one was at home (not at in front of the doc) - actually my friend did the honors which was entertaining in so many ways. Talk about a good bonding experience. But all went well and it was fun to watch him squirm with the size of the needle that draws the serum out (not the same size that actually goes into my thigh). Things don't really feel much different though now that the whole process is going I wish it would go faster. Even a good friend at work said he thought my arms were harrier and I just told him that they've always been a bit furry but it's blonde and he probably never really noticed before. As the good friend who just gave me my shot always says, slow is pro.

Some of the dispatchers have noticed a slight change in my voice but only very slight. Again other than that everything is pretty much the same.

First Self Injection

On Wednesday (May 21st) I went back to the Doc for my second injection. The Doc and I did a review of drawing the T out of the bottle, etc. and then I picked a freckle in the designated area of my left thigh this time. Without hesitation I plunged the needle into my own leg, drew the plunger up a bit and then let it rip. Such an odd feeling sticking a needle into my own leg, but I got the blessing to be able to do my injections at home for the next few weeks until my next appointment.

I am still not feeling many changes except more energy. I don't feel as tired after physical activity and I'm not as sore after either a hard PT or doing an odd job that would have normally made me sore.  A friend of mine who is a transguy and is on pretty much the same injection schedule as me said that he started feeling more hungry all the time. Then I started thinking about what I've been eating and craving. I have noticed an increased craving for red meat but who knows what that is attributed to.

Helpful References

So I was thinking about it last night and I realized that there are probably a million questions that people have (feel free to post them) but there are also a lot of websites out there that could possibly help. So I wanted to post a list of websites that I have found and have passed along that I thought were good references to read. Here we go!

For a list of "PC" transgender terms you can check this out: 
http://transequality.org/Resources/TransTerminology_2014.pdf 

PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) had a good website with information on it:
http://community.pflag.org/transgender 

The National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce has some information/stats on transgendered people and some other links that may be good:  http://www.thetaskforce.org/issues/transgender 

Human Rights Campaign has a good list of transgender FAQ's:
http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/transgender-faq 

I also found a four part YouTube video series with four different trans guys that I thought was a good watch:

Part One:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBbgCOcQIso

Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L85GNxfLn08

Part Three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRGC4aB1_4M

Part Four: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qUWxEtkvWU

 
There is lots of information out there thanks to the internet, just remember that every trans guys experience is different. Please feel free to ask me questions either here or through personal email or phone and I'll try my hardest to get to them quickly.

That needle looks like a nail!

So it's been a few days since my first injection, Thursday, May 8th. Lucky for me my "older brother" who I mentioned on the previous post went with me and the title of this post is a a close quote from him right before I got that nail-like needle stuck into my right thigh. Gee thanks. But overall it went well. No negative reactions to the testosterone. My leg felt like it was burning for a few hours, but other than that nothing has hurt or had a reaction. It was a pretty exhilarating and exciting doctor's visit. My homework until my next doctor's visit is to practice injections with olive oil on an orange at home which I think is interesting.

I haven't felt anything physically different. I did go for a run this morning and though I've been slacking with my PT's(physical training) this week I did feel a bit stronger than normal. Maybe it's mental I have no idea.

I've had a plethora of support from friends which has been awesome and wonderful. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful support group from all over.

I have another doctor's appointment set up for a few weeks from now where a nurse will assist me with my second injection which I will hopefully do myself and then I can inject myself at home in the future. I'll also have the Doc sign my paperwork so I can start the legal process of changing my name and gender. That's is the next big mountain ahead of me - when you really start to look at all the documents, bank accounts, etc. that need to be changed it can be VERY overwhelming. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.