This operation involves recreating a person’s genitals to that of the opposite sex. Guidelines recommend people spend 12 months on hormone therapy before they get genital reassignment surgery (GRS). Both patients and their surgeons must be certain it’s the right decision. But it’s a major and, depending on the procedure, irreversible choice. In cases where hormones alone aren’t enough, surgery is an option. But for many people, hormone therapy is enough to relieve feelings of gender dysphoria.
BODY CHANGED BOY TO GIRL FULL
Step 3: SurgeryĪs many as 75% of people who transition to a different gender never pursue surgery, Green and Leis say.įor some, it’s a matter of cost - the full range of surgical procedures can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and insurance coverage may vary.
BODY CHANGED BOY TO GIRL PROFESSIONAL
So it’s important to keep getting counseling with a mental health professional and see your endocrinologist or hormone specialist. Leis says you must get regular and frequent checkups, especially in the early months of treatment, to be sure you're adapting well to their hormone regimen.Īlso, some people also feel anxiety and uncertainty when starting a hormone regimen. Hormone therapy can boost the risks of high blood pressure, weight gain, sleep apnea, elevated liver enzymes, heart disease, infertility, tumors of the pituitary gland in the brain, blood clots, and other serious conditions. “Before they start therapy, we have to make sure they are healthy,” Leis says, “and we have to be sure that they take enough (hormones) to be effective, but not too much to be dangerous.” Hormone therapy comes with risks, though, says surgeon Sherman Leis, DO, of The Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery. “What some people say is, ‘I now feel normal, I feel balanced.’ It’s very subjective, of course.” “Within a few weeks of starting hormone therapy, people begin to feel more relaxed, less intense and uptight,” he says. It can also dramatically and quickly ease feelings of gender dysphoria, Green says. For example, men transitioning to women can expect A-cup and occasionally larger breasts to fully grow within 2 to 3 years.īut hormone therapy does more than alter your appearance. Some of the physical changes begin in as little as a month, though it may take as long as 5 years to see the maximum effect.
Women making the transition to men take male hormones, or androgens. Hormones control what doctors call secondary sexual characteristics, such as body hair, muscle mass, and breast size. If all goes well, the therapist then refers you to an endocrinologist or hormone specialist. Green says most people have two to three visits. “They also can evaluate whether their patients have a social network that is going to support them or determine that they have enough internal strength to manage on their own,” says Jamison Green, PhD, president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Many doctors require that you first talk to a psychologist or other mental health professional who specializes in gender issues.įirst, the therapist will confirm you have gender dysphoria, which used to be called “gender identity disorder.” People with this condition feel they should be the opposite sex, which causes them distress.Īfter that, the therapist will gauge your understanding of what’s involved, including the risks and limitations of gender reassignment surgery, and your ability to give informed consent for hormone treatment and, potentially, surgery. Others go further, getting major surgeries to make the transition. Some people choose hormone therapy alone. We do know, though, that physically changing your sex is a complex process, and not everyone follows the same path. But it’s unclear exactly how large the transgender population might be. A report from The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law estimates that about 700,000 Americans identify this way. People who wish to live their lives as the opposite sex are known as transgender. Ap- As many as hundreds of thousands of Americans don’t feel they fit the gender they were born with, and some take steps to change that.
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