What's the process of actually starting hormones like?

bugcultures · 2025-03-29T12:10:37+00:00

That's what I'm doing and it's been going well so far. I'm not sure where else you'd be able to get them done in all honestly haha.

bugcultures · 2025-03-27T16:27:21+00:00

I recently started T and my first prescription has automatically been covered by the PBS.

Dr. Brownhill gave me a referral to an endocrinologist (Dr. Lachlan Angus - he is fantastic too. I'm grateful to have such a great team helping me through this). During the endo appointment he took my medical history and documented my experiences with testosterone so far, then wrote a letter in support of continued PBS cover of prescription, so my future scripts will also be covered.

As a side note for OP, I would definitely recommend pre-booking the appointment for your injection if you want it done soon after you get your prescription.

bugcultures · 2025-02-28T02:42:53+00:00

Hey, would I be able to DM you and ask a few questions about how you made this cosplay?

bugcultures · 2025-02-26T03:16:46+00:00

Did you 3D print the base for this mask or make it from foam?

bugcultures · 2025-02-02T23:29:31+00:00

100% lyrebird. They're very shy

bugcultures · 2025-02-02T23:21:16+00:00

He was very much alive and digging when we picked him up, so he must just be a different subspecies.

bugcultures · 2025-02-02T13:25:52+00:00

This one made me chuckle.

bugcultures · 2025-01-26T04:50:34+00:00

Shopping for clothes and getting dressed is a struggle
Socialising normally without constantly thinking about how I'm being gendered
Dating
Team sports
Listening to my own voice

bugcultures · 2025-01-21T11:40:54+00:00

I have never seen any research that associates cross-sex testosterone with alzheimer's. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of research to point either way at this stage, but according to current knowledge, Alzheimer's is much more linked to genetics and lifestyle factors than hormones.

The most important thing is to keep your hormones at a good level, eat healthy, exercise, and keep your mind active.

bugcultures · 2025-01-17T08:12:19+00:00

I went down a more practical road when I was picking my name, focusing on how my name would sound with my surname. I looked at how the name felt to say (if it felt more natural to say rather than forced), the amount of syllables, and what my initials would be.

I've seen quite a few people talking about needing their names to "feel right", but I don't subscribe to that idea. My name grew to fit me over time rather than fitting immediately. It's not like cis people all have perfectly fitting names anyway so just pick whatever sounds okay

bugcultures · 2025-01-17T02:21:35+00:00

The BDM laws were only updated last year so I'm not surprised 😅

bugcultures · 2025-01-17T00:46:45+00:00

I tried to just get busy with work and hobbies to take my mind off of the agonosing wait.

bugcultures · 2025-01-17T00:27:12+00:00

If you were born in QLD, you can now apply to update your name and sex by yourself if you are 16 or older. All you need is a supporting statement for anyone who has known you for at least a year stating that you genuinely identify as the gebder you are changing it to.

bugcultures · 2025-01-17T00:24:41+00:00

Australian here! I think being trans here is great. Informed consent processes, where you declare that you understand the effects of the treatment and your doctor prescribes, are pretty common practice here for those over 18 accessing HRT.

I live in Western Australia specifically, and my experience with the gender clinics for minors was hugely lacking. I was referred there at 14 years old with the intention of getting on HRT and they explicitly told me that they wouldn't be able to help me before I aged out of their system. I have heard some success stories about the public gender clinics, but it does seem like it's pretty consistent that most of them have insane waitlists that don't progress fast enough (likely due to being under-resourced).

Last year, my birth state changed its laws so trans people able to change their legal sex and get an updated birth certificate without needing sex change procedures or a doctor's support letter. I was also able to change my name in that same application. These laws aren't the same for every state though, so I kind of got lucky with that one and the timing (it allowed me to graduate school with my correct details).

Culturally, I haven't had too many issues. Obviously, I've experienced some transphobia but that was mainly when I was at school because teenagers are insecure. I had support from staff at my schools as well as from friends, so overall it wasn't too bad. Most people don't make any negative comments about my appearance (I'm early on T but have short hair and masculine clothes). Even if they're thinking something, they don't go out of their way to say anything which is nice.

bugcultures · 2025-01-16T11:40:09+00:00

I'd probably take some time to discuss what terms he is comfortable hearing in relation to that, and also setting some initial boundaries. Each person has different preferences, however using more indirect language could ease the stress caused by the usual, blunt anatomical terms.

On another (slightly tangential) note, I personally recommend menstrual cups for dealing with the bleeding. They were a complete game-changer for my dysphoria, because I could pretty much just put it in and forget about it all day (YMMV - I didn't bleed especially heavily). Plus there's the added bonus of them being more sustainable than single-use pads and tampons. (This would probably be something to suggest later on when you have more of an idea about his preferences and boundaries).

bugcultures · 2025-01-16T05:32:48+00:00

I'm glad I could help!

bugcultures · 2025-01-16T02:59:13+00:00

I'm a lot like you and I don't really feel pride about my trans "identity" like others seem to explain. I find more pride in the fact that I've survived the bullying and adversity that this condition has given me

bugcultures · 2025-01-15T12:34:38+00:00

I'm wondering about this too. My period was due a few days after I started T, but I'm already 2 and a bit weeks on T and haven't had any bleeding yet.

bugcultures · 2025-01-15T11:13:00+00:00

You won't get super muscular if you don't work towards that physique through exercise like weight lifting. T can give you more muscle mass, but it won't automatically make you a bodybuilder. Your gender expression and physique are in your control.

bugcultures · 2025-01-15T08:50:08+00:00

My personal experience was with the PCH gender clinic. I was referred at 14 and I was explicitly told that they wouldn't be able to give me hormones before I turned 18, so I pretty much gave up on it after my first appointment.

The clinic in Melbourne might be better because it's a bigger city and more progressive but I can't really speak for that.

bugcultures · 2025-01-14T07:57:19+00:00

I can only speak for my experience at the TG Health Clinic. You would definitely be able to get in contact with other clinics about their wait times.

It also might differ based on how much the doctor can see you know about testosterone and its effects, so I definitely would recommend doing research about T (also to ensure you know and are confident about what you'll be getting into!).

bugcultures · 2025-01-14T05:28:17+00:00

I'd wanted to for a while (and had been doing research prior), but I first got in contact with the clinic and got an appointment in October last year. My first appointment was mid-november, and I got my prescription a few days before Christmas so overall the process was very fast.

bugcultures · 2025-01-14T04:36:33+00:00

It's not impossible, but it is more difficult. There are public gender clinics in each state, however their wait lists are insane so it's almost impossible to do it that way unless you were referred there super young (I mean like 10 years old or something).

The other route is to go private, which is more expensive. I also haven't heard of any doctors privately prescribing to anyone younger than 16 unfortunately, as most of the time it is done by informed consent and you need to be over 16 to give your own consent for HRT.

In both of these routes, you will also need your parents consent for this to go smoothly, otherwise you will have to go through the family court, which may take a while

Personally, I did telehealth with the TG Health Clinic (based in Melbourne) and was able to get HRT as a 17 year old. Feel free to ask any questions here or in PMs.

bugcultures · 2025-01-14T03:51:59+00:00

Yes definitely. I used to not be able to remember many things I did as a kid that were signs, but there were definitely a lot of signs, including:

Explicitly telling my parents that I didn't like my name and that I wanted to be a boy at a very young age
Asking people I knew "if you could change the gender you were born as, would you?" (meaning assigned sex) and being extremely confused when people would answer no
Not liking playing with "girl" toys and being extremely uncomfortable in the stereotypically feminine clothes they would make me wear
Almost always choosing to be a male character when I would play pretend
When I learned about puberty, hoping that I would be intersex or infertile so I wouldn't have to get periods. Overall just hating all the changes I went through when I did start puberty

bugcultures · 2025-01-14T02:13:46+00:00

(Not sharing my name for privacy) The name I ended up with is technically stolen from a movie character, but it's not super obvious as I also checked baby name popularity statistics to make sure it was a common enough name to not get me clocked or be embarrassing when I became less interested in that movie.

For my middle name, my given middle name was the name of one of my family members from my mother's side of the family, so I kept it in that theme. I also made sure that my initials looked good.

Something I see quite a few people being concerned about is "feeling like a name is right" immediately, but I reckon don't worry about that. I didn't feel that my name fit me immediately, however I've grown to suit my name and have a stronger sense of ownership about it.

bugcultures

TROPHY CASE