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ProfilesYou are in: Suffolk > People > Profiles > Preparing for the big op  Jaqui Lazelle Preparing for the big opBy Jaqui Lazelle In Autumn 2005 I wrote articles for the Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ website about gender dysphoria. Now, After years of medical and psychological treatment, the specialists have agreed the final treatment. In February 2007, I am to undergo a major operation known as Sexual Reassignment Surgery or Vaginoplasty.Ģż This follows two years of intense hormone treatment that has altered the physical shape of my body in line with my brain patterns and the way I think and behave.Ģż Vaginoplasty is the final procedure where a surgeon will restructure the male genitalia, virtually turning it inside out to give me my true female form. Listen to Jaqui's interview with Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ Radio Suffolk's Lesley Dolphin and read her other articles:
Help playing audio/video When I got the call from Lisa, who's the gender specialist nurse at Charing Cross Hospital in London, asking me to a consultation with the eminent surgeon James Bellringer in December, I was cool, calm, collected and was joking with her and her wonderful sense of humour.ĢżĢżĢżĢżĢżĢż The evening of that Monday, and for a couple of days after, I was feeling far from cool, calm and collected.Ģż I had been wandering about like a lost sheep with my mind out of control.Ģż I don't think I slept at all for a few nights. My appointment was for 1.45pm and the morning went well.Ģż A dear friend of mine insisted that she would keep me company for the day.Ģż Louise arrived at my Ipswich flat in good time to accompany me on the drive to Epping and from there we caught the tube to Hammersmith which left us with a short walk to the Hospital.Ģż
I know that building complex well now having been there many times before for consultations in preparation for the enormity of what was to happen to me, but this was Louise's first visit and she had a secondary motive which was an educational one as she is a trained nurse.Ģż As it happened, it was so good to have her with me because for the first timeĢżsince my first visit to the hospital, I was unbelievably nervous. I was coming apart at the seams!Ģż I think if it wasn't for Louise, I would still be lost in that labyrinth-like complex today.Ģż It was good that she knew exactly what departments look for. I was so nervous as I sat in the corridor outside the consulting room squeezing Louiseās hand and it didn't help when a passing nurse joked that my consultant surgeon resembled Sir Lancelot Spratt! [Editor's note: that's the James Justice Robertson character in the Doctor In The House movies] Anyway, the lovely Lisa eventually ushered us into the room where an immaculately suited man who introduced himself as JamesĢż Bellringer greeted us.Ģż I sat at the side of his desk as Louise distanced herself sitting with Julie at the other side of the room.  This must happen time and time again.Ģż The patient sits there trying to look as if things are sinking in, throwing in the odd inane comment or silly question whist all the time floating off on some sort of a cloud caused by one sentence spoken by the consultant.Ģż In my case it was 'Jaqui, I shall be performing your Reconstruction Surgery.'Ģż I was well away with the fairies and didn't take in anything else he said.Ģż I was given a whole load of bumf, which I still needed to give my full concentration to and my next task was to lose any dignity I had left by laying on an examination table with my skirt hitched up to my waist and waited for James to warm his hands.Ģż When he came through the curtain, my anxiety vanished.Ģż He had removed his jacket and I focused on a pair of bright red braces with Father Christmases and reindeers on it.Ģż I began to gain confidence in this man as he made me laugh at a very tense moment.ĢżĢżĢż As I left that room, I had begun preparing myself for a long wait before the next visit but before I was to leave the premises, I needed to take a form to admissions.Ģż Now this is the point that really freaked me out!Ģż The nice lady in the office with the lilac painted walls asked me if I was ready and checked her computer which printed off a letter announcing that I would be admitted on the 6th February 2007.Ģż I make that only seven weeks!Ģż After confirmation that she was actually talking about 2007 and then peeling myself off the ceiling, I stumbled from the office with Louise, who incidentally was just as excited as me and we staggered about the hospital corridors in incomprehensible inebriation. WOW!Ģż After all this timeā¦. All my life and now at the age of 58 it's all happening AT LAST.Ģż It's like having been at the bottom of a lake with a weight tied around my neck and all of a sudden breaking free and shooting to the surface and now I'm bobbing about with my brain starved of oxygen but I'm beginning to see sunlight. It has been a long haul what with my psychiatric treatment whilst completing my āReal Life Testā which lingered on for nearly three years, but now I am now ready for this next step, probably the biggest before the work really starts and I still don't have any doubts about my journey.Ģż I just get really, really cross that it couldn't have started much earlier. I have just spent Christmas with my dear parents, two of my brothers and my two sons who all now quite accept the woman who I really am and the fact that I am not the person I have had to masquerade as for all my life. Although my family really resented my appearance on Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ Radio Suffolk in 2005 [listen to the interviews by clicking on the links on the right], but now they have begun to appreciate why I did it and I truly believe it has became the medium that brought us back together.Ģż The fragility seems to be disappearing with time as they realise how serious I am and how devastating it would have been if I hadn't embarked on this journey. I wish you all health, wealth and happiness throughout 2007.Ģż God bless you. last updated: 23/05/2008 at 10:00 Have Your Say
Mr Cohen has a very narrow view to Gender Dysphoria. You cannot boil transsexuals down to two types. Transsexuals are human beings and deserve much more than your dreadful explanation.
Both of my parents are Brits who immigrated to the USA. I have dual citizenship. My dad is from West Yorkshire and my mum is from Northern Ireland. My daughter is transitioning to male. She (I should say he) is taking male hormones and plans on hysterectomy and breast removal. He plans on clitoral release surgery. I don't know what causes transsexualism. I know it's not a disease just the way that some folks are. Jaqui is an example to all of us. Don't let transphobes get you down. They are just stupid bigots. Cheers!
I had GRS last year at age 16. I'm now the man that I always knew myself to be. I'm 17 and have a great girlfriend. I don't call myself transsexual anymore. I'm now just a guy. I may not be able to father kids but I'm still all man. Cheers.
There are two kinds of male to female transsexuals: the homosexual type and the autogyniphilic type. The homosexual type want GRS to attract a heterosexual man to them. This can include the model and prostitute transsexuals who work in the sex trade. Then there is the autogyniphilic type. These men want their bodies to be female as a form of autoerotic imagery. This is fetishistic behaviour. Both types can be perfect candidates for GRS. The surgery is not perfect but better mutilation of the genitals if it takes stress away from the transsexual's mind.
I'm a 93 year old woman. I had GRS or SRS in Casablanca in 1962. It was painful. I have never once regretted my decision. The surgeon was a pioneer in his field and the first to line the artifical vagina with penile skin. My clitoris is spongiform from my urethra. I love life. I would have committed suicide if I hadn't had the surgery.
I am a psychologist who treats transsexual folks. I am an advocate for GRS in the correct circumstances. I don't accept extremely young people such as teens or kids to be operated on by GRS. I don't accept phenotypical males who want GRS but claim a lesbian identity. These people are not real transsexuals but transvestites with a fetish. Jaqui sounds like a perfect candidate for GRS. And the Mister who mentioned polysurgery aka multiple surgery requests by transsexuals is correct. Many male to female transsexuals want GRS, breast implants and then face lifts, tummy tucks and other plastic procedures. But many members of the general public do too. I consider transsexuals to be neurotic and often psychotic. Castration and GRS can make them so much more content and happier. It is worth the pain for them to have a more stable existence. Thank you.
I'm 15 and post op. I travelled to Mexico and am now 100 percent physically a lady except of course for repro purposes. But I never wanted to be a breeder anyway.LOL. I'm an American with a Geordie mum from Tyneside. I love my mum's ancestral land but I'm so American that I must stay in the US of A. My parents paid for my sex change surgery or sex correction as I should call it. Jaqui is a special woman. I don't know her personally but I feel love for her for her good works. Happy September.
Please read ALL of this:India Dupress obviously didn't read my story because, how many times have I talked about the reason for my actions? I have said that you cannot MAKE anybody change sex. You must make sure that you have a female biased brain and mind and the surgery is there to adjust your body to blend with it thus ending a life long conflict. There seems to be so many unfortunate people who have surgery because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Please, please, make sure that this surgery is right for you. You must get help from specialists first. I believe our NHS system in the UK is to be regarded as one of the best because, for one thing, money will not be spent on those who aren't suitable for this very expensive treatment. Remember, if you just āthinkā that maybe it's ok to go ahead, don't do it. You must be absolutely positive that something needs to be done, then you should go to your doctor and be referred for a course of psychological treatment and adhere to at least a two year āReal Lifeā test with psychiatric treatment to see if the surgery is right for you. Even then, if there is the slightest doubt, donāt do it. If you want to do it for sexual reasons, then you have the attitude of a man. You need to make sure that you feel entirely a woman within your attitude, feelings and dreams. These feelings may make you feel absolutely repulsed by the way your body appears and there would be only two ways to ease your mind, one is the ultimate way to end the conflict between body and mind, and that is to end your life, and the other, get professional help including possibly the bodily adjustments. Remember this drastic surgery is irreversible. That is, IT IS UNTIL YOU DIE. The patient and the reputable specialist has to be absolutely certain that this is the only course of action. Remember also that I have my Christian faith with which I placed, through prayer and meditation, my whole self in Gods hands and I feel it is him who gave me healing through the gifts of the specialists who helped my along my path. You may have your own opinions about me and this subject but then, that is your prerogative but believe me, when I look in the mirror, my body is now in complete harmony with my heart and soul.I feel so sad for those who talk of mutilation and that this hasnāt āmadeā them a woman. Of course it hasnāt āmadeā you a woman, how could it? The way you look isnāt you, you live within your body āYouā are your heart, mind and soul and your body represents the āyouā within.As I have said, you are entitled to your opinion but, please, please, read everything I have said including my comments on this board before you do.
I had grs two years ago. I wasn't made into a woman. The surgery is a deception. Castration is done on cattle to make them steers. Dogs and cats are spade and neutered. That doesn't make them change sex. Jaqui is propogating false and dangerous information. SHAME ON YOU AND SHAME ON THE Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ FOR BEING A PARTY TO IT.
I'm a 29 year old transman. I'm post op on top but am not having phalloplasty. I like my testosterone enlarged clitoris. That is enough for me. Thanks.
I'm a post op transman. I love my new body.
Forgive me for saying, but there is a whole load of crap written by those who call themselves āspecialistā regarding Gender Dysphoria but those two words simply just means that a person is āunhappyā with their gender. Even though a āspecialistā would spend hours reading articles and listening to individuals spouting their life experiences, there is no way they can take all those who experience unhappiness of their gender and put them into a box, shut the lid and stick a label on it! As far as I am concerned, the only āspecialistsā are those who live with such a thing and they all do it in their own way. There is no way of knowing fully what a person is experiencing unless you are indeed, that person!As far as I am concerned, I do not consider myself a āsuffererā as I no longer suffer and I have never had or wanted any surgery other than my āGender Reassignment Surgeryā. I may be told sometimes that I look a bit odd to those who feel its their duty to tell me so, bless them, so in return I would say, āthank you for thatā, and then pick our a ādisorderā in their appearance and return the compliment! But, I do know also, that there are others that want to have plastic surgery, just like anyone from any other walk of life whether others feel they need it or not. What do you call it, Mr Kramer? ..Polysurgery ..why cant you call it plastic like anyone else? My limited psychological know how tells me that you are trying to be better that anyone else. What is more, how dare you suggest a tenuous grip on reality ..quite honestly, the ones who want to spout their opinionated āknowledgeā about others outside the confines of the consulting room seem to me, those who have lost the plot! Hmmm? ..I wonder if Mr Kramer considers himself to be ānormalā?You know, I believe some āexpertsā in this field, themselves, need to be subject to psychological treatment to find out why they need to blow trumpets about professing to know so much about others and using big words and theories to illustrate that. Mr Kramer is right, though, in suggesting that what is normally put into one big box, is several different conditions and there are those who feel they need to be placed in one of the smaller boxes. The big problem is that, by listing symptoms and diagnosis on a comment spot like this Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ one, is that it does tempt people to āself labelā themselves rather than going to see a legitimate specialist within a professional environment and that could be so dangerous to their minds. However, I have never needed a āboxā, I just needed to feel right and now that I do, please take it that I am āMeā ..Just that, thatās all, just āMeā. I donāt need any other description than that except for my name, Jaqui. I am Me, I have been dysphoric, I knew something was wrong and it was driving me to distraction so I needed to do something about it. I have found that tuning my body to my mind has brought me comfort and peace as THE WOMAN THAT I AM. I am now not ātransā sexual, gender or anything, Iāve been through ātransāition and everything has been corrected and to me, that is all that matters. I know there are some who want to know the ins and outs and need the guided or unguided personal opinions of othersā but, please, I donāt want or need to be bogged down with any technicalities, I am āMeā, Jaqui, so, please letās just leave it at that ā¦.Thank you!
I'm 22 and post op GRS. I love the Hijra culture of India too. Their Goddess is Bahucharji. She is loved by transsexuals and many intersexed. Thanx for the website. We love Jaqui. And don't let the transphobes get you down. They just hate you because you are so smart and lovely. Cheers.
I'm a 19 year old post op transwoman. I'm so glad to be whole finally. I had my surgery at 18 1/2. Did you know that in India there is a religous sect called the Hijras? They worship the Goddess. They are males who have become transgendered. Some have GRS. and some do not. Some are castrated and others are not. This is an important aspect of Indian culture. Anne Ogborn the U.S. transsexual woman is an initiated Hijra. They are 100 percent accepting of transsexual people.
Jaqui you are such a role model for transsexual youth. I'm 29 and admire you so much. I love your writing and story. You remind me of Rachel Pollack the American trans-woman writer. Rachel created the first transsexual super hero named 'Coagula' for DC comics. Jaqui and Rachel are real life super heroes. Goddess blessings.
Hello, I am a 25 year old transsexual woman currently pre op. I was such a 'sissy' growing up. My mother sent me to John Hopkins University Hospital as a kid to make me act like a 'boy'. Their brainwashing did not work. Human beings come in all genders and behaviors. I'm lucky that God chose me to be a transsexual person. Its a blessing not a curse. And Jaqui is a blessing to all of us.
Transsexualism is a condition sometimes called gender dysphoria. Its sufferers have other deep seated psychological conditions as well. I have seen many patients suffer from schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and borderline personality disorder. The transsexual conditon is not the same as intersexual conditions such as Androgen insensitivity syndrome or klinefelter's syndrome. Transsexualism is a form of serious mental illness. Many individuals with transsexualism have a tenuous grip on reality. Many are addicted to polysurgery before and after their GRS procedures. I recommend against GRS except in the rarest of cases. Elective castrations and penectomies often help fuel the obsessive ideas of the transsexual. Many have fetichistic behaviors. The shemale phenomenon is a deeply pathological condition in our culture. Many 'straight' men have an attraction to shemales and post op transsexuals.
I am a 28 year old intersex person. I don't define myself as either man or woman. I was born with penis, vagina, uterus and mixed ovarian/testicular tissue. Thankfully my parents didn't have me surgically mutilated as an infant. I'm for the rights of ADULT transpeople and intersexuals having the right to change their bodies via surgery. I want my unique body however. I'm happy being me.
I'm a 31 year old post op Mexican-American woman. I love GRS. I can never look 100 percent like a genetic woman but that is fine with me. I am bisexual. I was once a man named Juan. But I always knew that nature really meant for me to be a woman. I have had lots of plastic surgery since my GRS. My ears have been done as well as my nose, chin and liposuction. I intend to have more surgery. And I'm not finished with my GRS. I want to have more GRS to have a clitoral hood. GRS is life changing and improving surgery. Thanx for sharing your story. Gracias.
Hello everybody. I'm a post operative transsexual lady. I'm 34. I had the surgery in Thailand. I started out being a transvestite and enjoyed it so much that I decided being a lady was too fun to give up doing. I had the surgery in a third world country and paid great rates for it. I had top and bottom surgery. It may be a third world country but the results are awesome. Men just love my gorgous post op body. Thank you for this website. Jaqui rules. God bless.
Hi y'all from Oklahoma, USA. I'm a post op trans-man. I have been post op for a year. I love it. I am now the man that God made me to be. I'm 24 and have a wonderful wife. She had kids by her former husband so I am now their stepdad.
You can postulate as much as you like, Dr Istvan but please donāt do it over me! You are totally wrong about my chromosomal pattern. How dare you take your hurtful assumptions just by looking at some old picture of me. I didnāt ask for your wild and unethical assumptions. How dare you even suggest that you are some expert on the subject when you say men āwantā to ābecomeā women. That certainly wasnāt the case with me. I would have been just as happy to be a man if it was meant to be. It most certainly would have been a lot easier and a lot less painful! I think you should turn your misguided attention away from those, like me, who have been diagnosed as clinically transsexual by real specialists in this field. Yes, there are those who have been happy being transvestites and crossdressers but just simply have gone too far for sexual or other reasons and paid for a āsex swapā and havenāt been through years of psychiatric treatment, endocrinology, deoxyribonucleic acid and chromosomal testing. I am, undeniably, a WOMAN ..I am no longer trans anything. That was just a label whilst the wrinkles were being smoothed out! The only reason my story is here is to try to help others who are in the position that I have been in. It wasnāt because Iām proud of it, it wasnāt for sensationalism, I didnāt want to get some sort of a kick out of it and it most definitely isnāt here so that some quack can make some sort of crackpot diagnosis from it!That is the end of it.. Please leave me in peace to live my life, what I have left of it, as it should have been right from the start.
Hi Jaqui, I'm a transsexual woman from the USA. I'm 29 and am post op. I was born with down's syndrome and Klinefelter's syndrome. I am xxxy. I am only mildly disabled from the Down's syndrome and have no intellectual impairment. I knew that I was a woman from three on. I had the SRS aka GRS three years ago. Boy was it ever painful. I bled like crazy. But I love the results of the vaginoplasty. I am quite the nymphomaniac after my surgery. HA. I am totally heterosexual and just love men. Sex was wonderful with my surgical results. Thank you so much for sharing your heartmoving story. Love.
I'm a post op trans-woman, porn actress and escort. I love the night life. Since my transition life has been so very sweet.
Hello Ms. Jaqui: I'm a scientist engaged in the study of transsexualism. Most of my studies have consisted of interviews and dna testing of male to female transsexuals. Female to male transsexuals are far less common than male to female. Most of my studies have found that men who want to become women have normal male chromosomal readings of XY. We have found only a handful with xxy or xxxy. But our research is certainly pointing to a genetic basis for the condition. I would be interested if Jaqui would share what her sex chromosomal pattern has been shown to be. Looking at the photos of Jaqui I would postulate that she is the typical xy chromosomal pattern.
Hi Jaqui, Happy Easter. I'm a 43 year old post op transsexual woman. Prior to my transsexual transition I was married to two different women. I fathered a son by my first wife and a daughter by my second wife. When I realized that I was transsexual and would be taking hormones and having surgery, I decided to freeze my sperm in case I wanted more kids. This year I became a parent yet again. I had a surrogate mother carry a pregnancy for me. She gave me lovely twin sons. The grs and the birth of all of my children is a great gift from God. I am a Christian woman-a devout Episcopalian. Many Christian clergy are completely accepting of glbt folks.
We are both 25 year old identical twins. We are post op trans-sexual women. We had our srs (as it is called in the USA) in the fine land of Thailand. We never saw counsellors or psychitrists. In Thailand one just shows up and the surgeon decides if the patient is ready for surgery. We agree with this approach. No socalled mental health professional should be our God and decide what we can do or not do with our bodies. This is just how women feel about abortion. It is our body our choice. We both are devout Tibetan Buddhists and the monks told us that they supported our life choices. We know many proud Jewish and Christian and Buddhist and Hindu transsexual people. Cheers to Jacqui. She is an older trans-woman with an inspiring story.
Jaqui Lazelle is such a role model for trans-people. I am 81 and had my surgery at age 76. I should have had the surgery in my twenties or late teens not as an oldster. Thank you and happy Easter.
I'm a 26 year old post op trans-woman from USA. I renamed myself after soap opera diva Erica from the soap ALL MY CHILDREN. I love my neo vagina and clitoris. My clitoris is gorgeous and sensitive.
Good luck Jacqui XXX
Mutilation is such a horrible word. I still insist on calling my surgery, 'corrective'. I believe you have a doubt about the skills of eminent surgeons and other medical specialists by saying these amazing people are āmutilatingā those who have been scientifically proven to be clinically transsexual. Dr X, I thank you for correcting me on your Doctor status but I still donāt understand why you wonāt air your name, I believe that your faith should help you from being afraid of taking that step. I absolutely know that you are not the only Christian specialist in this field and there are many others who have questioned the link between profession, skills and faith and have come to realise that theirsā is a God given Gift. What is more, when a diagnosis has been reached, there should be so much soul searching before any of the specialists and indeed, the patients embark on such a course of action. The word āWANTā has been used so much in this thread. I have never said I āWANTEDā to have female body parts. I āNEEDEDā (Need is positive) to have my body tuned to the thoughts of my brain, and medical science has provided the answer and believe me, that answer certainly was not easy and it involved deep thought, years of psychiatric probing and prayer and believe me, I know emphatically, that my complex answer has been given to me by our God and part of that answer is the procedure to correct my bodily form and the specialists who performed it. Surgery is not absolutely perfect but it most certainly has not āmutilatedā me because I can now most definitely see the female person my mind was telling me who I have been since I was a child.Without doubt, it is not the easy answer. It is just another step on the way to easing the rest of my Earthly life.Love to all.
Jaqui is a lovely trans-woman. Very striking and statueque. She reminds me of the trans-sexual writer from the USA named Rachel Grace Pollack. Jaqui is a witty and intelligent writer just like Pollack too. Happy spring!
GRS aka SRS isn't mutilation, eh? Of course it is. I am a post op trans-woman and am proud of my surgery. But we must be candid that it is mutilating surgery even if we love the results. After all we have to dilate our synthetic vaginas in order to keep them from scarring and closing up. My male organs were not a deformity. No trans-sexuals really think that way. We just want to have female body parts instead of our male ones. Of course our female parts are 'made' up of our old male parts. Even my foreskin went into my new female parts. Mutilation or not, I still love my GRS body.
Dear Ms. Lazelle, I hail from the United States. We don't use terms such as Mr. or Ms. in referring to medical doctors and specialists. That is why I did not call myself Mr. I regret operating on the 'transsexual patients. It is certainly a mutilating procedure. I came to realize that I was doing much harm to my patients. I'm glad that you are happy in life, but let's not kid ourselves that mutilating GRS procedures are easy answers to very commplex problems.
I'm a post op trans-woman from Germany. I live in the USA. Hello to Jacqui. She seems like a sweet lass.
Dr. X.. If your Christianity is strong, if you think that you have offended our loving Lord, you would know that just by asking forgiveness in true faith and believing that prayer WILL be answered, you HAVE been forgiven. I don't often shout about my faith because I know that my relationship with God is a very personal and intimate affair but I know through my faith that I was put on this road for a reason. That is why I continue my life in harmony with femininity without any doubt of who I am.It is interesting that it seems, although Dr. X (Surely, would not this person, if a surgeon, be Mr. or Ms. and not Dr?) feels that gender reconstruction is āmutilationā, other surgery that alters ones appearance apparently is not. Also, it seems that s/he was performing surgery without acquiring psychological evidence of gender imbalance which would be totally unethical. If s/he knew of the imbalance, the mental trauma of the patient would be very evident and a course of action would need to be taken to relieve the situation. May I also add that, I most definitely have not been āmutilatedā; I have in fact had surgery, which has corrected a deformity, which has for all these years, plagued my life and now I can truly place myself within the realms of Womanhood.Praise God for the surgeons who can help Him perform modern day miracles in a truly ethical, moral and professional manor. With love
Hello fellow trans-people. I'm a 26 year old trans-woman of African American descent. I love the story of Jaqui. She is an inspiration. I have not had GRS and probably will never do so. But I live full time as a lady. My mind is a lady. I am sexually attracted only to men. I just don't think GRS is my cup of tea so to speak. But for you girls who have had the op then more power to ya. I'm a big fan of the Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ series 'DOCTOR WHO'. A few years ago there was a trangendered villainess on the show called 'Lady Cassandra'. She was voiced by the straight actress Zoe Wanamaker. I loved that character. Happy St. Patrick's day to lovely Jaqui Lazelle. Cheers!!!
Jaqui looks incredible. I wish her the continued best of luck. I'm a 'straight' woman myself but I have many glbt friends AND family members. Love, Suzie from Arkansas, USA
I am a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. I used to perfrom GRS aka SRS. I performed 24 male to female and 2 female to male. I have since stopped performing the operations. I came to realize that I was merely mutilating my patients and not helping them at all. I am now a born again Christian and hope that God and my patients will forgive me for mutilating people's holy God created genitals.
It is over two years since my surgery now and I will never, ever regret it. Iām absolutely bewildered by comments made here suggesting that this drastic step should āmakeā a person a āwomanā. If somebody is a āmanā in the true sense, a bodily conversion isnāt going to make any difference to how one feels inside except to cause incredible distress. That is why an intense, long and arduous course of psychological treatment is put in the way of anyone āwantingā to have the opposite sexes bits and pieces! Itās got to be a real āneedā not just a āwantā and one that would be caused by the part of the brain which generates the difference between genders. Of course, one has always been able to go and buy surgery but now eminent surgeons who practice around the globe should insist on a report from a specialist psychiatrist before they would even lift a scalpel. A person living in the wrong body isnāt just a fallacy but a fact and it has been proven by neurological science. It happens and it can literately drive a person to distraction so something has to be done about it before life is lost. Anyway, my miracle treatment, to me, family members and friends has been an amazing success and it is an absolute relief to see āmeā when I look in a mirror and I have been able since, to lead a contented life and have now, under the Gender Recognition Act of 2004, been able to have my Birth Certificate altered to show correctly that I am legally female and can even marry the man of my dreams ā¦Only trouble is, whenever I dream about a man, itās always been a nightmare!See, all we have to do now is educate the public that this ādisorderā (if thatās the right word) is, without doubt, real and that would be just like organisations have had to do with most other syndromes that have been discovered in latter years. Letās be plain about this, this is real and although I respect any other kind of transgenderism, a person who has clinically been diagnosed as transsexual should not be confused as being someone who is male and āwantsā to be a woman. That person just āneedsā to be āfine tunedā to the person that they are.
God bless you in the trans-sexual community. You are my role models.
I have swyer's syndrome. This is different than AIS. I am genetically male (XY) but am anatomically female. I have a uterus, cervix and vagina but no ovaries. I plan on adopting some kids. I am 28 and am in solidarity with all trans, gay and intersex folks. I am a lesbian in my sexual orientatin.
Hi, I am 22 and have Complete Androgen Insensitivity syndrome or CAIS. I don't have transsexualism but I can have empathy for all of you. Its hard being a CAIS patient. We are treated like freakshow exhibits. Many famous people such as the chef Julia Child had this condition. All people whether 'normal', intersex, or transsexual deserve respect from our society. Cheers.
I would urge Donna Michelle to reconsider GRS aka SRS. I had the procedure done in Britain three years ago. It did not make me a real woman at all. It merely made me into a mutilated mess. The hormones made me sick. The penectomy was a disaster. I can't even pee normally now. My urinary system is a disaster. This has led to chronic urinary infections. Please reconsider. God bless.
It's been a year since I started hormone treatment, and it has been the most amazing journey that I have ever undertaken. Having been in transition for 15 months, I now have the best job ever, I sing at local venues and alomost everyone that I have met have been extremely supportive. This is not quite what I expected to happen, and I am now waiting for my GRS appt to make this part of my journey complete.Wishing everyone with GD, the strength and determination to fulfil their dreams.
I'm a 32 year old post op trans woman. I'm Jewish and lesbian. Happy Chanukah to everyone in the world reading this Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ article. And happy Chanukah to my role model Tula aka Caroline Cossey. She's Jewish like me.
My thoughts and prayers are with the people affected by the terrorism in Mumbai, India. I am an Englishwoman living in the USA. I was born male and had my gender surgery in INDIA. The surgeons, staff and sisters were so kind and loving. My thoughts are with the special people of India.
Hello, Happy Thanksiving to all of the Americans amongst us. I am a 43 year old post operative transsexual woman. My sexual reassignment was performed in 1987. I always ALWAYS hated my penis. I believe it was because my mum laughed at the male anatomy and told me that a ladie's organs were prettier. I came to think of my penis as a ridiculous pink thing that was better excised from my body. This is similar to what Caroline Cossey felt about her penis. I have to say that the penectomy was a miracle for me. No longer do I have to set eyes on the daft sausage thing between my legs. I am a lady now, thank you GOD!
I had my sex change in Oklahoma City,OK in the early seventies. I am totally unhappy with what I did to myself.
Today 20th november, 2008 is the transgendered day of remembrance. This commemorates the transgendered who have fallen because of intolerance, bigotry and hate crimes. NAMASTE TO OUR TRANSSEXUAL AND TRANSVESTITE BROTHERS AND SISTERS. GOD/DESS BLESS ALL OF YOU.
I'm a 32 year old post operative transsexual woman. I had my surgery in Thailand. The surgery is very satisfactory to me. The Thai surgeons even gave me a hymen. I am just like a lady who has had a complete hysterectomy. The castration and penectomy were painful but well, well, well worth it. I would do it again in a New York minute. HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
This article is so sexist. The idea that a man can have his member and testicles amputated and a cavity created and he is suddenly a WOMAN is utterly sexist to women born women. Castrated men are not suddenly transformed into women. Perhaps in the imaginations of men but in the real reality of women. The whole idea of transsexualism is really misogynistic towards real women. Castrated men can never know what it's like to be a real woman in a real woman's body.
There are so many enemies of the transsexual people. Feminists such as Germaine Greer and mary Daly and Janice Raymond attempt to crucify us. The mental health community such as Richard Green, J. Michael Bailey, Ray Blanchard and the late John Money claim to be our friends but attempt to dehumanize us and make us seem loopy. We must be there for each other. Thank the universe for Jaqui Lazelle, Anne Ogborne, Kate Bornstein and the other activists who fight for our community. Thanks.
Transsexualism is not a mental disorder or disease. To say this is discriminating against the transgendered community. My patients who are transgendered are no more likely to be neurotic or psychotic than any other member of the public. Transsexualism does not impare the mental functionings of those who manifest it. Look at the arts and see the many trans people represented. There is classical composter Wendy Carlos, science fiction writer Rachel Pollack, actress Kate Bornstein. The trans community is benefitting our world. Please be tolerant of this diverse, colourful world in which we live.
If you want to read a no holds barred book on what it's like to be transsexual, then read 'GENDER OUTLAW ' by Kate Bornstein. We don't suffer a disease or dysphoria. This book teaches and promotes tolerance for our trans community.
Hi, I live in the great state of Oklahoma in the U.S. My father is American by birth and my mother is from Liverpool, England. I have visited England many times but I stand out with my Okie accent. LOL. No Brit to my voice. I was born apparently a normal female. When all of my female friends were getting their periods I never did. When I was 14 my mother took me to a doctor. After extensive and embarrassing tests it was learned that I was anatomically female with short vagina and no uterus, cervix or ovaries. Testicles were found in my body. My chromosomes were xy. I have complete androgen insensitivity syndrome. However, all of my life I knew something was wrong with me. I might look like a woman with a strange vagina but I knew that I was male. my body simply cannot absorb androgens and took a female path. This is different than most cases of transsexualism when genitals and chromosomes usually match but the patient's mind is at odds with their anatomy. I had gender reassignment and now am legally a man. I am married to a gorgeous woman and we plan to adopt kids. Most AIS women accept their female status but I did not and never will. My mind in this case matches the chromosomes. Thank you for an interesting topic.
Please don't use the bigoted term 'trapped in a man's body'. We tranpeople aren't trapped in the wrong body. That is not the way to describe our 'differences'. We are spiritually another gender but we are not trapped. That kind of statement takes us back years and years. I had srs in mexico and it is so lovely. Thank you, Jaqui.
Theres something tragi-comic about tvs/ts's but I acknowledge the anguish that must be when you have a sexual or psychological identity crisis. At least straight society now almost accepts people who suffer this and they arent persecuted like they once were. I think we should respect those with gender divisions and let them live their lives in peace. To actually feel like a woman most of your life yet be trapped in a male body must be horrendous. CALLEN [The Voice]
Its just a shame she had to wait for so many years before she got what she needed. Well I suppose better late than never. I wish Jacqui all the joy and fulfillment she desires.
I'm a 43 year old transman. I had srs in 2002. I am so happy being a man. I don't have an artifical penis and probably never will. But I'm happy having had breast removal surgery and a complete hysterectomy. I'm on testosterone therapy and life is lovely.
Hello Jacqui, Happy Christmas to you. I am a 24 year old transsexual woman. I travelled to Thailand when I was 21 and had the SRS/GRS. I am a truly beautiful transsexual lady. I look like a young Caroline Cossey aka Tula.
Hello, I'm a post operative transsexual woman. I'm 42 and had the surgery when I was 39. I believe that transsexualism or transgenderism has multiple causes in different individuals. We should never call it a disease. We are not psychotic and don't have a mental disorder. My transsexuality was caused by the sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of my mother and older sister. The abuse caused me to reject my male body. And transsexuals come in all sexual orientations. I happen to be a lesbian myself. I had my surgery done in Mexico. Of course we don't look 100 percent like a biological woman and to a large extent it could be called mutilation. But people should just live and let live. You only live once. Happy Christmas!!! Love and kisses to Jaqui.
I top are going thrugh the change and am about to have my final meeting with my therapists and hopefully i wll get the go ahead to have the op.
Happy Christmas to Jaqui and her fans.
Tomorrow the 2o November is the trangender day of remembrance. On this day we commemorate the transsexual and other transgendered people who have fallen victim to the violence of hate crimes. Transsexual youths are often targets of hate crimes. We must never forget our fallen. SHALOM AND PEACE TO THE TRANSSEXUAL COMMUNITY. Please post this message.
I need to just post a note to reassure the 'American' that nearly 10 months on from my op, I am healed and feel so good about my body as now, it actually matches my brain patterns and the conflict I've had all my life is no longer there. I'm able to settle into the World of Womanhood with renewed confidence and all is right with the World! Before you go into anything major like this, you must know your own mind and have no doubts! There is no proporganda, why should there be? And if there was, surely you have a mind of your own! You are right though, the op doesn't change you into a woman, you would need to be a woman to begin with although for a freak of nature, look more like a man causing so much grief it is unbearable. You can't just go for surgery expecting it to 'change' you into a woman if you were a man!
My favorite book by a transsexual is 'A SECRET WOMAN' by the author Rachel Pollack. Rachel has written a wonderful mystery starring a transsexual cop. Ms. Pollack is a proud transsexual woman.
I don't understand this promotion of gender reassignment surgery. The procedures are barbaric and mutilating. I had 'male to female' surgery four years ago. The operation didn't 'change' me into a woman. I was merely mutilated. I fell for the propoganda and have paid the price for it.
Hi, I am a 42 yr old transexual ,5 weeks away from my GRS, I go Forward feeling proud of my past and proud of myself and everything i have accomplished.It has taken me all of these years to understand and work out who i am as a person and to also love myself .I finally feel grounded totally .i now feel alive and am ready to go forwards with my GRS.i am so pleased to have worked out who i am ,part of this being the person i have allways been but was so afraid of . all good things come to those who wait . i wish all of you who are transitioning,friends and family luck, support each other and remember love.
I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia and have to take four medications for the disorder. It is hard for the psychiatrists to know if my transsexuality is part of the schizophrenia or a seperate disease.
I'm a 27 year old nonoperative transman. I was taking testosterone but had to stop taking it because of the serious side affects. It was causing my liver enzymes to rise and I was having severe headaches, high blood preasure and acne.
Hi JaquiAt long last I have been to see a gender specialist and all being well I hope to start hormones by Christmas.I now go out regularly and no body has really taken any notice of me. My perception was fear of the unknown but in reallity no body bothers. I feel great and I will be so glad once I have GRS. You are an inspiration.
I am 46 and thank God that I was delivered from transsexualism. I was taking female hormones and preparing for sex reassignment mutilating surgery when I was moved to attend an ERNEST ANGELY crusade in Akron, Ohio. Rev. Angely laid hands on me and I was instantly delivered from the addiction of transsexualism. I am now living as the happy man that God almighty made me to be. AMEN.
DESMartina, I am currently studying information from journals regarding DES, Diethylstilbestrol which is a synthetic oestrogen manufactured under the name 'Stilboestrol'. It was prescribed during the late 1940s - early 1970's to pregnant women and was expected to prevent miscarriage and help with complications such as high bp and diabetes. It is now known to have caused birth defects in the reproductive tracts of some des children and a rare form of cancer of the vagina or cervix of daughters and in sons, testicular cancer, a benign structural abnormality of the reproductive tract and in very rare cases an early opening of the urethra. Other genital abnormalities have been noted but in the few theses I've read so far there has been no mention of psychological effects or malfunction. I believe DES, having caused bodily abnormalities must have had some effect on the organ most sensitive to hormonal disturbance, the brain! I shall keep up my research and if anyone reading this has information, I for one will be most interested.
I am a 43 year old post op transsexual woman. I had SRS when I was 28. The doctors told me that the reason I am transsexual is because my mum took DES when she was pregnant with me. This feminized my brain. I was born with a normal male body. My brain however was feminized by the DES. I am so glad to have had SRS. I am very happy being castrated and without a penis. My artifical vagina is cool.
Jessica Madele, I wish you well. Please don't contemplate suicide. Suicide is never an answer to any of life's difficulties. I feel you are a depressed person. Your depression probably has nothing to do with socalled gender dysphoria. Go to a GP or a psychiatrist. You need some kind of antidepressant. Please do this for yourself. I suffered with major depression and antidepressant drugs helped me so much. Blessings to you and know that God loves you and so do I. You are a worthy person regardless of your gender or inner feelings about your gender. Take care.
Jessica, You need to learn that Religion is different from faith. Just keep Faith and that means Trust. Don't worry about anyone else's personal oppinions. Some people get so bogged down in technicalities and personal opinion. The first person that should matter to you is yourself. You only get one go of the life you have on this planet so please live it as best as you can, Trust, then your NEEDS (not wants, thats different)will come to you, it may take time but if you trust, then you will believe. DO NOT DOUBT THAT but you NEED to be patient. I know because that IS a fact.TRUST
Wow wow you finally got your life long suffering stopped after 58 years lucky you. you are a lucky girl but i hope i dont have to wait as long as u.I am a twenty nine year old girl suffering the same fate as u my suffering is so so painfull it makes me wonder where i get the stregnth from to carry on i am feeling more and more that suicide is the only option because so many people are so convinced about my malness that i fear they would kill me if they found out and besides my religion doesnt help me either
I had the big o in Mexico last year. I had male to female SRS and am satisified at the results. I worked as a sex worker before the surgery and work as a prostitute and adult film actress now. Life is wonderful.
Jessica Madele's post about removing the penis is untrue. Transwomen still have penises. All of the penis is not amputated during the surgery. Some of it is still in the body. And many have the glans made into an artifical clitoris. Most today have their artifical vagina's lined with the penile skin. So transwomen still have penises.
UK GP claims to be an advocate for the trans community but it is obvious that she is transphobic. To call transsexualism devastating and that they suffer from gender dysphoria leading to nervous breakdowns is so transphobic. You are no friend of the trans community. You are doing 'research' on my people? Why don't you research the causes of transphobia which you obviously suffer from. With a friend like you who needs an enemy.
Your a lucky girl you are now in your own flesh and not in some masquerade but why darling did you wait untill your 58 poor you you suffered so many years of torment at least now you have that unwanted piece of flesh that monkey like thing removed i am so so happy for you but maybe you could help me i am a silly girl who didnt listen to expert advice and got married and to top it all off i have a child so innocent why does he deserve a father like me never mind my poor wife she doesnt deserve this
I hope your SRS procedure turned out well. I had mine two years ago and it is a disaster. The socalled artifical vagina is a mess. it is just an open wound with rings of open scrotum and a piece of phallus. It is nothing like a real woman's vagina.Many transpeople are deceived that surgery can replicate nature. My clitoris is just a piece of glans. My artifical vagina bleeds all the time. I have had major infections too.
Thanks for your kind words and advice on web sites. Since my last message my wife and grown up children have been so supportive and realised that this is part of my makeup. They have all said that I should not feel so guilty for the hurt I have caused them and that they will support me no matter what the outcome. For my families sake I am trying so hard to manage my GD and keep it under control with private time but I am repulsed by certain parts of my body and I constantly feel that I am the wrong shape, I should have a female body.Good luck for the future.Donna M
There is always one thing that we all find to be totally uncontrollable and that is personal feelings and it is so dangerous to hold them back. Inner uneasiness leads to major earthquakes that break people and leave them crumpled in heaps of broken pieces and the worst thing of all, in the epicentre of that earthquake is a broken heart. I wish I had the answer to all of this. Personally, I have a faith in one greater than we know and that keeps me reasonably level but to most, that may seem rather pie in the sky and they would need something rather more earthly for a prop.My hope would be that by telling my story, it would help others by giving them the knowledge that they arenāt alone in their plight. It is now known to the medical and psychology profession that to have a dysphoria of this nature is not rare and treatment is becoming more available. Obviously, this knowledge is not helpful to those within a situation such as yours, Donna Michelle. I wouldnāt normally give website addresses on a board like this but we seem to have a bit of an emergency here. I do hope the Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ in their wisdom would just let me give you this one, www.gires.org.uk. Gires are an organisation specialising in Gender Dysphoria and they offer information to sufferers relations, friends and of course their closest loved ones. This information is given in the purest and simplest language. If the site address is wiped from this message, type Gires into any search engine and you should be able to find them.I donāt really know if this would be of any help to you, Donna Michelle but unfortunately I canāt at this moment in time think of any thing else. I feel for you deeply, I cried when I read your post. People on the outside just wonāt understand the reasons for that but I just know exactly where you are coming from. I know what I did to my family and for me the only way to stay alive was to selfishly let my inner feelings lead me on. I am now here in my completeness but my family lies around me bruised and battered. I have to tell myself that things may have been worse if I didnāt do what needed to be done.
I am having a really difficult time right now because I feel so ashamed and guilty due to the hurt that I have caused my wife since telling her of my GD. She is not coping very well with her anxiety and nerves and I do not know what to do.She feels that she is holding me back from making the decision to proceed to being a woman full time, which I am because of my love for her. I keep explaining to her that I can not help how I feel inside. I liked your video and I feel that you were so brave and done really well. Best Wishes DM
we just had a Transgendered info fest here in Phila, pa USA. Five days off info, doctors , mental health and out reach. Help is out there . Wish there was a way to write to Jaqui.
Its now April 07 - having read the whole series of articles - I really hope your GRS went well and your now happy with the body you should have been born intoHuggzJanet
At long last My wife has agreed to me having my private time at home in my private space, to be the woman that I feel I should be. She even went shopping with me to help,me buy a few things, but now I have the courage to buy things myself and I find shop staff very friendly. Thats another mile stone achieved.I am so glad you are doning well Jacqui.Best wishes for the future.
Donna Michelle, I'm so glad that my contribution has been of help to you because that's all I want to do.. I didn't do the interviews to blow my own trumpet, I just need to try to be of some help to the many others who have been going through the same pain that I have known. It has taken a very long time to get to where I am now and I don't think I did anything to progress my treatment other than to relate the truth of who I am and I'm sure that is how you have been with your children. By being frank and truthful, you are winning yout fight to be yourself, God bless you. As for being lucky, I don't think it is 'luck', things happen at the right moment and please believe me, there is a reason for everything including the waiting. Throughout my long wait, I have discovered so much about myself and all the bad bits, well, I resolve to look at them objectively and do something about them. I do feel for you, Trinity, please be really truthful with yourself and to those who care for you. I wish you well and that things may come right for you.
Me, well, I've had my vaginaplasty now and since, whilst trying to cope by myself at home, contracted an infection which caused swelling damaging my wounds. This is now healing nicely after further surgery.
At last after 58 years, I am feeling contentment although still in considerable pain.
I wish ALL who have contributed to this stream, all that you, yourselves would hope for.
For the lucky few, care on the NHS is fair, for the rest of us its a never ending nightmare of hoop jumping, waiting and depression.
I hope the surgery went well and that you are making a speedy recovery.I just wanted to say thankyou after reading your story, has this helped me to build up the courage to tell my grown up children how I feel about my gender dysphoria,although initially very shocked,they were fantastic and incredibly understanding and for once I got agood night's sleep. I can not wait until I am a full woman.Good luck for the future.
I am in my early 50's and over the past few years have been trying to come to terms with my gender dysphoria. I am married with grown up children and I feel totally trapped in side the wrong body and it really hurts especially seeing the sadness on my wife's face. I have recently been referred to a specialist and waiting for an appointment which can not come soon enough.I wish you well Jacqi and at least you have given me the courage to hopefully correct my body to suit my mind.
to a young transexual .you should respect the older transexual who has had to wait years before being transexual was even heared of nether mind a public topic they have paved the way for the path that you have walked . i once thougt that the nhs route was not neccessary.but having been down the route myself im glad i did as it gave me time to realy learn about myself and made sure my feelings were ingrained and not a passing fantasy can some one who fast tracked be sure of this its not all about money taking the nhs route
Dear me, Young Transsexual, You are bitter aren't you dear. Seems very odd that it took that long for you to even get referral from your trust. Could be your local therapist wasn't convinced that you were right for treatment. Anyway you are obviously so full of your own opinions of what why and when, and the reasons why you waited so long, you read accounts of other peoples lives without an open mind and interpret them in your own perspective. By the way, my surgery 2 years ago was a vagina-colonplasty which was very successful. You are probably a very lovely person, Young Transsexual (sorry, how rude of me, I havenāt learnt your name) but please don't blame the whole world and the amazing people who perform these life saving techniques for your misfortunes. There is nothing wrong with the techniques that are used in fact the inversion technique is far safer, less likely to prolapse or develop a fistula than the op I had. The reason I was recommended my surgery was because there wasn't enough skin tissue to work with. I'm just happy that Charing Cross could offer the alternative, which has been available now for over 3 years alongside the other two methods. Please get your facts right.
Before you condemn people for there feelings, I have been married and I have two adult daughters who were sired in my confusion. I like Jaqui, if you read her story properly, didn't understand my SUICIDAL feelings until later in life when I went screaming to my doctor pleading with him to tell me what was wrong with me. Until you get help, there is no way of telling that you are truly transsexual but you can get to such a fever pitch that you convince yourself that you are and then the danger is that you get very fixed in your own opinions that everybody elseās is wrong.
I am also so pleased to have had extensive psychiatric treatment to confirm my feelings, it really helps to put you at ease.
I mourn a dear friend who killed herself in torment, not understanding her feelings. She is not the first to lose her life and she wonāt be the last, so you see Transsexualism is most definitely a vicious killer. Donāt you dare say otherwise.
What a caring attitude you all have, judging from the responses.
Anyone would think that you've been viciously attacked judging from your reaction.
I waited 6-years (6 YEARS!!) for a referral to CHX by whichtime enough was enough. They managed to lose all of my medical notes, and had no idea who I was when asked. And then I had to jump through all of the NHS hoops all over again, starting at the GP referral stage to local phych.
By whichtime my house had increased in value and I went to States for my SRS.
As for giving me warnings. Don't you think it's a bit late for that!!
I suspect that your motives are not genuine, since clearly you're not concerned about me and my treatment. Your only concern is defending your own beliefs.
Furthermore, the procedures in the UK only extend to the Penile Inversion technique. Something which I believe is outdated, and the high incidence of infection in UK hospitals makes the whole thing outrageous.
If you're going to do this, then you have to sacrifice EVERYTHING. I never married and I never fathered children. WHY? Because for someone who knows (apparently) that they are transsexual, to marry and have children is one of the most devestating and selfish things you could do.
So at the end of that. I don't think about any of this until I read threads screaming victimisation. Hey, I probably even work with you and you don't know my past, yet I'm not using my background to gain popularity or acceptance.
Are you really concerned about me, or just about yourselves? Very double standards I say. Cancer kills viciously, transsexualism doesn't. Get your priorities right.
wow how i connected with your story the same happend to me went jan 12th operation 25th feb hope everything is going ok.i agree about lisa how nice is she.im there 5th feb for my pre op .will be thinking of you take care and enjoy your new life xxxx jessica james
There are quite a few of us, people who have been born with a strange mix up of hormones and chromosomes that create total conflict between brain and body. There are those who call us weird, perverted or even mad as they would with any other on the verge of mental breakdown. They are the same people who would call someone who is deaf, stupid or those with Downs Syndrome, Spastic or even condemn a person for the colour of their skin. For God's sake, learn the facts before you pass judgement.
The Government realised the need and set up the Gender Recognition Act in 2004 after consultation with medical and mental health bodies. This is in recognition of the very real need that is catered for in the rest of Europe, Asia, USA and other parts of the civilised World. Having said that, there are also those who consider themselves 'transsexual' without thorough diagnosis and go head-long with a pile of cash, convinced that if they have surgery, that would solve all there problems. It is a known fact that if someone goes along that line early in life without at least two years of vital and continual psychological treatment, they are more than likely to reject their actions and therefore wrecked the rest of there lives and waste a lot of money. I did pay for my surgery but I also paid for my psychiatric and hormone treatment. I am now, like Jaqui, in my late 50's. I recognise the real need for this to be catered for on the NHS as with any other real physical and mental dis-ease. Gender Dysphoria will completely blight fellow human beings lives. I am so pleased for Jaqui I commend her patience and understand her relief. I wish her well and hope for her full and successful recovery. The team and appointed surgeon at Charing Cross are well noted for their excellence.
What a peculiar attitude! That āyoung transexualā should consider the implications of what s/he has said. To say Jacqui should live a little longer with āalienā genitalia (because that is what it is) and in a living hell because of it, after 3 years of professional psychiatric and medical treatment which, in fact, confirms HER case. You say you are in the same position but if you can say that, I am not convinced. It is obvious that āYoung Transexualā has gone head-long into his/her (whatever) gender reassignment with money but with no proper professional psychiatric and thorough medical attention. As a GP (gender female, may I add) who has been studying Gender Dysphoria over the last few years, I have learned that this is a very genuine and devastating disorder which, with the right procedure can be put right and the powers that be recognise this as do I, now and others who are educated to that fact. It is absolutely devastating for an individual and quite rightly available with the National Health Services help.It is high time that this ādisorderā is brought to light as other ācancersā that eat away lives have. Like I say, it is absolutely devastating for an individual and creates complete mental breakdown to the point of suicide. It is a fact that the draconian idea was to try to āshockā the brain into thinking in line to how the body looks. Thank God for modern medical science and the realisation that this cannot be achieved and there is, most definitely, far more to this than being āall in the mindā and also Thank God for the ability of doctors & surgeons who perform these wonderful procedures. If this had been recognised years ago, we could have saved so many lives. Gender Dysphoria is amazingly common and always has been did we but know it and now lovely people like Jacqui, have been bold enough to talk about it. Thank you so much, Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ for listening. You are over there in Suffolk but this story should be heard nation-wide, nay, World-wide! Wake up, āYoung Transsexualā and Mr Pearson.
As a nurse, I find that 'young transsexual's comments rather absurd about patients 'threatening and hounding'. If anyone did that in my hospital they would most certainly be sent to the back of the queue!! I know of the expertise that goes on at Charing Cross and I know the specialists there are very respected and I'm absolutely sure that they would know when there is a deserving case. To say that they would bow to such tactics is a slur on their profession. I have been following Jaqui's story on Ā鶹Ō¼ÅÄ Suffolk and I find it intriguing and in my view as a member of the Medical Profession, a very suitable and worthy case for treatment and I would most definately hope it would be funded by the NHS
It's a shame that the young transsexual who posted here didn't take all my story in and itās a shame that I havenāt been able to tell everything. There are thing that are too painful to tell. There again there are those out there with bigoted views who just donāt want to listen.
In case you hadn't realised, young transsexual, at the age of 58, I'm probably old enough to be your grandmother and I've patiently waited all my life to get where I am although it took only three years of treatment.. and that was nothing to do with any pushing and shoving, it is because a panel of specialists had discussed my case and found it was right for surgery. I'm afraid I cannot afford my own treatment as I've always lived on a low income. I don't know where you get the idea that people threaten and hound Charing (One r) Cross because I know if anybody tried that, they would be politely told where to go. I have got there through years of sheer patience. It seems that you are one of those who have bullied the system by using your money to take these dedicated specialists away from those who have been waiting in mental agony so long for treatment.
Forgive me for asking but did you have a course of the very necessary psychiatric treatment beforehand? Because if you didn't you may regret, in later life, that you were so impatient to have your srs. This is major surgery and anyone who thinks it is just to change your bits so you can go out there and have a good time is gravely mistaken, it is just one more step to being the person you should have been from birth by fine tuning your body to harmonise with your brain. This major surgery is an important life saver, you should know that, Young TS, if you were serious about yours and the need to stay sane and alive. It is far from a whim.
People who threaten and hound Charring Cross get treatment ahead of young patients who sit on a waiting list for years being further messed up by the system.
I don't mean to be cruel to Jacqui and I do have a valid say as I am a transsexual.
I agree with Nick Pearson. I have paid for all of my treatment myself. And without being subject to criticism along the way.
If a MtF transsexual is unable to live with their birth genitals for a little bit longer, then there are definitely other issues that need to be addressed first.
Sorry. You want it. You have to be prepared to pay for it.
Thats rubbish about priority. Anybody who needs medical treatment to help give some quality of exsistance should be able to get help in a civilised society. Anybody who says not has got the mentality of Hitler!! It shouldn't be down to cash flow. By the way I am a cancer patient myself.
I've always been a woman, I'm not turning myself into one Nick, Medical and psychological science has shown that there has been a hormonal descrepancy from birth. It's just that I need to look like who I am otherwise it'd just not worth carrying on. Can you imagine how you would feel if your body looked like that of a woman?
It's obvious that Mr Nick Pearson is ignorant to this situation and that is is as life threatening as any cancer
Lets hope this individual is paying for this procedure and we are not taking much needed money out of the NHS. A 38 year old work make has had to fight hard to receive much needed life saving cancer drugs from the NHS due to funding, causes like his carrier a higher priority than turning yourself into a woman. You are in: Suffolk > People > Profiles > Preparing for the big op |
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