Hormones: A Guide for FTMs (via VCH)
transhealth.vch.caAwesome guide put out by Vancouver Coastal Health about the ins and outs of hormone replacement therapy for FTMs.
While there are some health risks involved with hormone therapy, it can have positive and important effects on trans people’s quality of life. Knowing what you can expect will help you work with your health care providers to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks.
The purpose of this booklet is to:
• explain how hormones work
• describe the changes to expect from testosterone
• outline possible risks and side effects of testosterone
• give you information about how to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks
This booklet is written specifically for people in the FTM spectrum who are considering taking testosterone. It may also be a helpful resource for partners, family, and friends who are wondering how testosterone works and what it does.
Highlights/Topics it covers:
- “How Hormones Work”
- “What Medications Are Involved in FTM Hormone Therapy?”
- “Forms of testosterone commonly used by FTMs”
- “What Changes Can I Expect, and How Soon? (Benefits/Timeline)”
- “Are These Changes Permanent?”
- “What Won’t Change?”
- “won’t solve all body image problems”
- “won’t make you into somebody else”
- “won’t provide you with the perfect community”
- “won’t remove all “female”/“feminine” aspects of your body” - What are the Possible Side Effects/Risks of Testosterone?
- Health Checkups While You’re Taking Testosterone
- Maximizing the Benefits, Minimizing the Risks
Be Informed
Understanding how testosterone works, what to expect, possible side effects/risks, and guidelines for care gives you the tools to be in charge of your health and to make informed decisions. Do your own research and ask questions.
Online Resources for Changing Legal Documents
Name Change
State Licenses
Social Security
Birth Certificate
- VA Application for Certification of a Vital Record form
- Changing Name and Sex on Birtch Certificates (US, New Citizens and Ontario, CA)
- Instructions for Changing Name and Sex on Birth Certificates
Passport
You don't need surgery to change the gender on your US passport
http://transequality.org/Resources/passports_2012.pdf
Under the new policy, you can obtain a full ten-year passport with an updated gender if you have had CLINICAL TREATMENT determined by your doctor to be appropriate in your case to facilitate gender transition.
This is especially awesome since, in most cases, you can use a passport as proof of identity in lieu of a birth certificate, which is more difficult to change.
Anyone else have useful tips about document changing in the U.S. or in another country?
Why is This Trans Kid in Afghanistan Jubilant?
advocate.comBY DIANE ANDERSON-MINSHALL
Enamullah, the youngest person in Afghanistan to have a gender reassignment surgery, and his father.
Sixteen-year-old Enamullah has become the youngest person in Afghanistan to have a gender reassignment surgery. According to the Lahore Times, Enamullah was assigned female at birth, lived in the Paloso naw village of Kunar province, and began to talk to his parents about being a boy about two years ago.
“I understood that I have not seen any marks that I am a girl, so I shared it with my uncle’s wife, and she told to my parents,” Enamullah told Lahore Times reporter Hamayoun Mahzon. After getting referred from a local physician to Dr. Haider, the chief of Kunar Provincial Hospital, Mahzon writes that Haider told Enamullah “that you are 70% boy, and we will have a small operation, and you will become ok.”
The 16-year-old trans boy told reporters he’s incredibly happy after the operation, as are his parents, in large part because he is the only boy in the family. He has 10 sisters. Even Enamullah’s former fiance helped him celebrate his transition, though he’s now planning to marry someone else.
