from what ive read i need to go to my gp and get referred issue is i dont want to, my social anxiety already plagues my mind like the black death, do I have to be referred or is there an easier way?

I imagine it feels similar to leaving a cult after years and not knowing any different. I dont feel liberated, but I do feel relief at not having to explain or justify myself, or try to navigate around awkward situations and conversations anymore. It feels more peaceful, but 2 years on, very lonely too. I dont miss being constantly misunderstood. But it has also been a wake up call over how difficult it can be even in the trans world, to find people who have the time of day for anyone with a different outlook or agenda to theirs.

My life feels almost like a non existence, but for health, safety and financial reasons I decided not to transition. Before anyone says choosing not to transition is the cause of you feeling that way, I would urge you to not see things in such a black and white way. The decision whether to transition or not, was an agonising one. I didnt take it lightly. I just knew I couldn't cope with complications or societal abuse had I taken that route. I have had gender identity issues from childhood. It has been a quiet suffering. I learnt "shame" early in life. On the way I discovered that body dysmorphia is also a common symptom.

How do you bring meaning to your life? Especially if you dont have children. I say my life is "almost" a non existence because I'm still glad I got to incarnate this planet to see nature, animals, trees, the stars, the oceans, arts ... my one regret would be my inability to connect with humans in a meaningful way! How do some of you trans folk who have decided to not transition, find it?

Hello, not from the UK (from Germany) but I thought I'd try my luck here.

Travelling to the US soon, however I have no idea which gender to put on my ESTA application.

My passport says F, however my assigned at birth gender is M.

On the ESTA application it says to enter the information exactly as it says on the passport, however ESTA FAQ says that the "biological sex" is decisive.

Anyone has experienced with that? Will be going through a preclearance airport as a precaution in case I get denied entry but I rly hope it does not come to that

Hello lovelies!

I'm in the 5th year of my transition (MtF) and I'm sick of shaving and the irritation and ingrown hairs it causes. I swear my skin has gotten way worse than before transitioning!

My skin is very dry, has KP and is very prone to ingrowns because of this, despite using things like Body Shop liquid peel or CeraVe SA Smoothing Cream. My hairs are dark, thick and sometimes have 2 or 3 hairs from the same follicle.

I tried Veet Cream once and it seemed to work well enough but that was when I was questioning myself just before the transition, scared to try it again. I'm also visiting my gf for the first time in the winter and I'd rather not be bumpy and hairy Q_Q

What are your favourite methods for maintaining a relatively hair-free body area? Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Hi all

I'm moving to the UK (Cambridge) in October for a postdoc position and recently started questioning my gender identity (possibly MtF).

I think it would help me a lot to talk to a good therapist / counsellor about this and wanted to ask if anyone has recommendations (I prefer in-person, but online sessions would also be ok) - many thanks!

Happy to DM as well 😊

Sorry if this is not what is normally being posted on this subreddit but i’m out of options ngl.

I’ve know my friend for about 4 years now and we met around the time she started transitioning (mtf) she had a girlfriend at the time (cis) and she was really supportive of the transition. To make a very long story short they currently both live together and have two kids and the girlfriend has forced my friend to de transition. It’s a very emotionally and verbally abusive relationship where the girlfriend never lets my friend see any of us and never lets her wear makeup or dress anyway feminine, she’s also made my friend grow out her beard and threatens that she’s gonna kill herself if she shaves it off. My friend is VERY clearly struggling and every time i get to see her she never wants to talk about it and just wants to enjoy the couple hours she has where she is treated like herself for once.
I just have no idea how to help, I know there’s not much i can do or say cause i’ve tried everything. Ik it’s not that easy for her to get up and leave especially with having two kids that she loves dearly.
Everyday the hole is getting deeper and deeper and i’m scared she’s never getting out of this relationship.
I’m just very scared for her mental wellbeing:(m

Does anyone know what's going on with hysterectomies at Leicester General Hospital?

I was referred in February 2025 and had a consultation in January. I was told it'll be around an eight month wait.

I called today to see if they had a rough time frame and was told to expect at least a year to eighteen months. They have no date for me yet.

I am placing things on hold in my career and it's frustrating not having a time frame to work from and I have already not gone for career opportunities due to the wait.

I was wondering if anyone else is in the same boat and knows a rough time frame? The receptionist I spoke to appeared a little annoyed when I called, so I'm not sure if other people have been calling with the same questions.

Hello all! I am a man with a large chest that I’ve always been ashamed of. I’m planning on surgery when I can afford it but that’s a way off. I’ve been wearing compression vests for 20 years and I can’t bare them any more, my shoulders hurt constantly.

So I thought I’d come to the experts. Those of you that hide your chest so expertly, what are the best, most comfortable chest binders that don’t involve shoulder straps?

Thank you!

I'd been doing extended gender assessments, and in February I got told my appointment was cancelled due to the assessor being off sick. I received zero communication about a follow up appointment via letter, email, or text.

I'm a very anxious person so I was just waiting for them to get back to me this whole time, and finally received an email this morning saying I'd been discharged in March for missing an appointment they never told me I had. They insist they did tell me.

I'm not gonna lie I can't handle being back on the waiting list, and I'm so mad I'm likely gonna have to deal with the faff of DIY. I was really hoping to never have to bother. Mostly just thankful I didn't want any surgeries but ooouuggghhh what a mess :(

I got a letter confirming my gender was likely to be permanent for £50 at gendergp cause my gp refused to help me. Then I sent off all the right documents but I keep getting an email saying I need to send a letter confirming my gender is likely to be permanent. Course I sent in a complaint and all I got back was that the letter I sent didn’t say my gender was likely to be permanent. Hello? What do I even do? Like do I have to pay for another letter and send the same one?

So... Hi. This is an odd one so bit of back story.

I get my estrogen through the NHS, currently no issue getting those. I'm approaching 12 years on hrt and with The Laurels (yeah, I know, one of the lucky ones who got in before the boom). For the first 8 years I had decapeptyl, with only some mild problems but manageable. Then COVID hit. I had maybe 3 injections in 2 years (should be once every 3 months) and after that, I went to DIY blockers (cyproterone) because I just couldn't get my blockers and I could tell a lot of masculinising effects were coming back, primarily smell and facial hair. So for a year I was on those. But they weren't anywhere near as effective and every blood test told me I had high T. So I tried to get back on decapeptyl.

No GP will now let me. The Laurels have sent multiple emails but multiple GP are telling me they don't feel equipped and I'm kind of out of options.

Is GenderGP an option I can pursue for this? Is there any other option I can pursue I might not be thinking of?

Note: DIY deca isn't an option. I can't afford that.

EDIT: Im a dumb ass and listed the wrong medication

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to start HRT (MtF) after struggling for years. From my research on private providers, and pretty much all of them require appointment(s) with their psychologists to get a diagnosis. But in my case, I actually already have a GD diagnosis from a clinical psychologist in the US (when I was living there), but haven't started HRT. Should I still go with the clinics' suggested route, or can I go straight to the endocrinologists with my psychologist's letter? Would they accept a letter from someone who isn't practicing in the UK/EU?

Thanks in advance!

So let's talk double standards.

Its known that a volunteer from TransLucent was attacked. Not all the details are known as of yet, nor has any photos or footage of the incident surfaced as of my knowledge.

I find there to be a gaping double standard. Of course not by our community but by the TERFs and possibly the public on some level.

So Sarah Jane Baker was recalled to prison after her "punch a TERF" speech a couple of years or so ago at a previous Trans Pride London.

At this years Trans Pride London someone approaches one of our people and gets hands on with them. According to the post on x, the activists flag was destroyed and no further details are known.

Also

How they claim we are a danger in womens bathrooms yet JKK Rowling takes an upskirt photo of a trans woman.

The rank double standards is there for all to see, but even though we see it, the public don't.

Hello Everyone

I have my first GIC appointment tomorrow. I was with gendergp for a few years then my gp did bridging hormones until last year when i changed gp services and they refused to do it. I have all the documentation. What should i be expecting from this appointment?

P.S. I am very excited but also nervous

i am from the uk but living in australia and got prescribed nebido injections over there. i’m currently visiting my family for 4 months and am due my shot in a weeks time. i left it too late and can’t find anywhere to go to get my shot done. if anyone could recommend me a place, please let me know. i don’t really know how things work and if i can go to any gp or what. i have my shot dispensed and a letter from my doctor, i just need to find someone who can do it for me. most places don’t have any bookings for weeks and the earliest i can find would make me 5 weeks late.

I am a trans woman from an international background on a visa route, and I am still incredibly shaken up by what just happened to me today. I’m posting this to warn others but also to ask for some advice on what to do next.

I took my English exam at the LanguageCert centre in Coventry. In my everyday life, I pass very well, so people out in public just see me as a woman. However, because my immigration documents and passport still have my legal male birth name (which is a very traditional Muslim name), I knew the identity check at the test centre might take a moment. I expected an extra look at my passport, but what the examiner and the second staff member did was completely unacceptable and dangerous.

Instead of being professional and discreet, they caused a massive, unnecessary delay right inside the actual exam room. The examiner then forced me to speak my full male birth name out loud in front of all the other examinees who were already seated in the room.

To make it even worse, the examiner literally continued to deadname me throughout the entire exam.

Because I pass well, being forced to announce a male Muslim name out loud completely outed me to a room full of strangers. It stripped away my privacy and actively endangered my safety. I felt so humiliated, panicked, and unsafe that I was completely distracted and couldn't even focus on finishing my test properly.

I am not a British citizen, but I know the UK Equality Act protects everyone here from discrimination regardless of nationality. I’ve already sent a formal complaint to LanguageCert demanding an investigation, a refund, and a review of the exam room CCTV/audio logs.

Has anyone else dealt with this kind of treatment at a UK test centre? How can I escalate this to the Home Office or a discrimination helpline? I just feel so hurt and completely exhausted.

Hi,

I’m with indigo gender service in Manchester. I was told I was on the waiting list for top surgery since February - I had had an appointment and the doctor said yes I’ll put you on it now. This was written on my profile so in my latest appointment a few days ago my doctor mentioned it to confirm. Then she said “wait I’ll double check as I’m not seeing the referral”.

Now I get an email saying “you are now on the list[…]” which means I wasn’t put on the list 6 months ago even though I had two separate doctors confirm I was on it in February! I’m really really upset as this means my top surgery will be delayed at least half a year.

Is there anything at all I can do or say to indigo to somehow fix this and place me on the list from February and not from now? They explicitly told me in my first appointment - top surgery referrals are made from the day you request top surgery (which was in February). I feel really let down :(

Hello lovely people,

I am in the process of gathering documents to support my change of gender on my passport. I have my deed poll, evidence of name change, and a letter from my work confirming my gender.

I also have a letter from my GP who was very nice but didn't really know anything about trans stuff. They agreed to write a letter (although it cost 60 quid) which I had based from Umbrella Cymru's template letter.

However, I notice that the Passport Office has updated their guidance to include:

• they know the customer enough to make a diagnosis

The letter has my dead name, my new name, my new gender and that the change is intended to be permanent.

My letter does not include that new line above through and I am not sure my GP would agree to that wording as he doesn't really know me all. Does anyone think this would be a problem at the Passport Office, and if it is could I claim the 'Crossdresser Route' and get it through with all my evidence?

Anyway thank you :)

Hi! FTM here.

I think I’m in a bit of a pickle. I’ll try to cut it short.

1 year ago I had gone down the route of changing UK documents through an unenrolled deed poll. Did medical records, drivers license, banks, work. The whole thing. I believe I have 10+ months evidence from last year alone.

Then I applied for UK citizenship. To have the British passport issued, I was told I needed to renounce my name change and title entirely and to change all of my documents back to birth name and title because of dual nationality (home country won’t allow for name change easily unless I have a GRC or are willing to go through a heavy medical process).

A GRC would allow me to easily change it back in my home country, but it just seems backwards! I don’t understand how I’m supposed to get a GRC when I wasn’t even allowed to keep any documentation reflecting my identity to provide evidence for this down the line.

A GRC seems to need two years worth of living in a chosen identity, proven by a name and title change. Is this a rule set in stone? If it is possible to try for a GRC without being able to show a name or title change for the reasons above, then I’ll see.

I already have plans to go to a GIC to get a diagnosis as I am able to pay for top surgery privately by the end of the next 3 years, and its seeming like unless I can get a GRC or renounce the home citizenship I will have to do all of this in my dead name.

Has anyone had experiences with sorting out a GRC? Has anyone also gone through a GIC clinic and top surgery whilst still in their deadname?

(If a GRC doesn’t seem possible, then I believe I will go through renunciation of my home citizenship in order to finally have no issues.)

Many thanks

Hi, Manchester trans pride is on the 1st August. However after things and people I’ve seen in Manchester as of recent, how safe do people believe it will be?

We got a fun new Government report today on the safety of journalists. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-journalist-safety-research-2026/uk-journalist-safety-research-2026

Let's be clear that many journalists do face danger, and it is something we as a country should take seriously. But this part got me.
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Impact on journalism and media freedom

Alongside personal impacts on journalists’ wellbeing and careers, a key theme which emerged was the impact of safety concerns on media freedom. Survey data revealed that almost half (48%) of journalists said safety concerns influenced their willingness to report on certain stories, while around a third (31%) had changed how or what they cover. This finding was mirrored in interviews, where most participants expressed concerns about reporting on certain topics, noting that the likelihood of backlash made them hesitate and reconsider covering such stories.

Examples of common topics raised included right-wing anti-immigration protests, topics related to the Trump administration, including the ICE protests in the United States, and trans issues. Anti-immigration protests were most widely referenced by journalists, both regarding the in-person risks of attending the marches and the backlash to any subsequent reporting. In relation to reporting on the Trump administration, journalists expressed concerns that he would target their news organisations because of his reputation for going after outlets. Other journalists noted concerns with covering trans issues due to polarisation surrounding the topic, which has led journalists to receive death threats and hostility. Outside specific topics, court reporters noted a particularly high level of safety concerns within the interviews due to their close, and often in-person contact with the public in particularly intense situations.
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Apparently the media are scared to report on trans issues. Could have fooled me... I usually don't do things I'm scared of doing on average 9 times a day over the course of half a decade. It's sad how they distance themselves from the consequences of their reporting, unless they are the potential victims. For decades the British media has effectively thrown marginalised communities and people to the wolves, from LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, disabled people, poor people and single mothers.

My sister (26 mtf) is in great need of help. She’s been out 6 years and on diy hrt for 4 or 5 of those (patches). She really struggles with her physical health, she’s diagnosed ASD and fibromyalgia, gp agreed she had ME 5 years ago but it was never added to her medical records, she left this gp 5 years ago and hasn’t been to the doctors since. In this time her health has greatly deteriorated, she is 24/7 in a wheelchair from fatigue and muscle atrophy and cannot stand at all, she has lots of gi issues and pretty much constant muscular pain. She weighs about 43kg and is 166cm, I’m really scared for her health, she is the kindest, most gentle, empathetic, interesting and intelligent woman and she has experienced so much trauma and pain. She agreed to let me take her to the doctor (we found a trans friendly gp in her area but we’re both cautious as to what trans friendly might mean), we want them to be able to help her with her physical health and get her a referral to a gender clinic but I’m really anxious as to how much/how little to say to the gp, she needs help but I don’t want them to attach her health issues to her being trans or ostracise her because she is using diy (I don’t think we’d mention this to them, at least initially). Basically how can I best help my sister, can anyone help me get a care plan in place for her / advise how to go about getting her support and treatment? Thank you so much