Hi and welcome.

I'm going to disagree with Abi's positive statement that you must go all the way, there is every chance that you may not need to go all the way, many of us on here don't have that need. I can relate exactly with wanting to be the pretty girl rather than wanting to have her!

As for the brands, get your SP over the counter in Holland&Barrett, get the PM either from Pueraria.co.uk or Ainterol. Not much in price difference, both deliver in about a week, sometimes sooner, and both work.

There is the chance, yes. It's just that her story is that of a classic transsexual trying hard to resist going all the way. As long as that resistance remains a classic transsexual will never be complete, or happy.

I guess it's possible she's not as classic as she comes across though. But I decided it was better to get the warning out rather than be all "yeah, PM and SP will most definitely help you resist!"

Thanks for giving her the tips about where to buy her stuff. I don't know the UK market at all very well. Is the SP in Holland & Barrett standard and without nasty fillers?

I could buy mine at brick and mortars too, but they always have a ridiculous markup compared to online. Even factoring in shipping, online comes out cheaper over here. I only do that in a pinch. Only exceptions are super common stuff like Iron that I can get easily at places like Walmart. But multi's sold in places like Walmart are always filled with artificial crap that won't absorb fully, so when you get to examining effective dosing, buying my whole multi from Swanson's comes out ahead.

Hi and welcome.

I'm going to disagree with Abi's positive statement that you must go all the way, there is every chance that you may not need to go all the way, many of us on here don't have that need. I can relate exactly with wanting to be the pretty girl rather than wanting to have her!

As for the brands, get your SP over the counter in Holland&Barrett, get the PM either from Pueraria.co.uk or Ainterol. Not much in price difference, both deliver in about a week, sometimes sooner, and both work.

Thanks Pansy! I passed Holland & Barrett an hour ago. I should have gone in!

Rachel

Hi Rachel
Welcome to the conversation. I would like to reaffirm what you've already been told, your experience will likely be slightly different than anyone else here. Your body will react in it's own unique way and your mind will as well. When I first heard about PM, it sounded like a miracle cure to me and I proceeded to imagine all the wonderful things it would do for me. Then I started taking it and it was far less dramatic than I imagined but after a month or so, I started realizing subtle changes in my desires and mood. The changes aren't much like what I imagined but certainly all good. I was going crazy wanting to transition prior to starting PM but now, at least for the time, I'm content to remain as I am. Perhaps it's because I have hope of growing physical manifestations of my inner girl (boobies!) and the fact that I have estrogen coursing through my body (as it should be). I'm much less irritable which in turn has improved my relationship with my wife which in turn has made her more understanding of my GID. ...But your experience may not, and likely wont be, exactly like mine.

I completely agree that you should start with the lowest possible dose of PM and be alert to how you're body is reacting. MY HYPOTHESIS is that there are metabolic pathways and biochemical reactions that your body may not be prepared to perform which might result in a negative initial reaction. Give your body time to adjust and be prepared to skip a dose or two here and there as needed. Then, slowly increase to (in my opinion) the lowest dose that gives you breast growth sensations and or mood changes (which will probably be hard to detect at first).

Oh and one more thing, the search feature on this forum is awesome and usually yields better and more abundant info than starting a new thread. Your bio is great, your experiences are interesting and encouragement is always welcome but I THINK I speak for many "newbies-with-experience" and veterans when I say we are less likely to respond to generic questions, like dosing, that have already been asked several times. I'm guilty of it myself so I don't say that in a scolding tone, on the contrary, I want to help you find what you're looking for.

Again, welcome to the forum & don't be a stranger.

Hi Rachel
Welcome to the conversation. I would like to reaffirm what you've already been told, your experience will likely be slightly different than anyone else here. Your body will react in it's own unique way and your mind will as well. When I first heard about PM, it sounded like a miracle cure to me and I proceeded to imagine all the wonderful things it would do for me. Then I started taking it and it was far less dramatic than I imagined but after a month or so, I started realizing subtle changes in my desires and mood. The changes aren't much like what I imagined but certainly all good. I was going crazy wanting to transition prior to starting PM but now, at least for the time, I'm content to remain as I am. Perhaps it's because I have hope of growing physical manifestations of my inner girl (boobies!) and the fact that I have estrogen coursing through my body (as it should be). I'm much less irritable which in turn has improved my relationship with my wife which in turn has made her more understanding of my GID. ...But your experience may not, and likely wont be, exactly like mine.

I completely agree that you should start with the lowest possible dose of PM and be alert to how you're body is reacting. MY HYPOTHESIS is that there are metabolic pathways and biochemical reactions that your body may not be prepared to perform which might result in a negative initial reaction. Give your body time to adjust and be prepared to skip a dose or two here and there as needed. Then, slowly increase to (in my opinion) the lowest dose that gives you breast growth sensations and or mood changes (which will probably be hard to detect at first).

Oh and one more thing, the search feature on this forum is awesome and usually yields better and more abundant info than starting a new thread. Your bio is great, your experiences are interesting and encouragement is always welcome but I THINK I speak for many "newbies-with-experience" and veterans when I say we are less likely to respond to generic questions, like dosing, that have already been asked several times. I'm guilty of it myself so I don't say that in a scolding tone, on the contrary, I want to help you find what you're looking for.

Again, welcome to the forum & don't be a stranger.

No problem Doodlebug. That was a lovely answer and so encouraging! I'm intrigued as well as excited over what's going to happen as hopefully the testosterone slides away and the oestrogen creeps up in its place. Lost of people seem to talk of a sense of calm, which in itself would be wonderful, never mind what the physical manifestations might be. Mostly I'm hoping I'll get a sense of 'rightness', that this is the way I was always meant to feel. That may be enough in itself and stop me going further down the road to complete transition. Whether I'm transgender or transsexual I'm not entirely certain, indeed how can you tell (wise comments would be useful here!), but we shall see what we shall see. I will certainly not be a stranger and will keep you updated on developments as and when the PM actually arrives

Rachel xxx

Hi Rachel, and welcome!

My experience is similar to Pansy-Mae and Doodlebug in that PM has calmed my gender dysphoria and greatly eased the strong desire to express as female. To me that actually confirms that I am TG, but gives me the freedom to choose whether transition is in my future or not. For my part I choose not to transition because I am older (mid 50's), married, 4 children, and have a successful (ongoing) career. Had the resources (mostly the Internet) and the products (PM) been available to me much earlier in my life I could well have chosen a different path.

So, without knowing your age and your stage of life, I can only suggest that you try PM (starting at a low dose) and decide where to go from there based on your body's reaction. While many have indicated the use of PM has made "staying male" tolerable, others have said that PM dramatically increased their desire to be female. How it affects you is a question only you can answer.

Keep in mind that even if you decide to stay male (like me) your body WILL react to the PM in a feminizing way. You will grow breasts, fat will re-distribute to "female" locations, your body hair will get finer, and your nails will get stronger. How pronounced these changes are will depend on your dosage and your own body. Going off PM to prevent the changes will probably result in a return of the gender dysphoria (which will most likely result in starting PM again) so be prepared to be taking it for life!

Good luck, and keep posting!

Misty

...Whether I'm transgender or transsexual I'm not entirely certain, indeed how can you tell (wise comments would be useful here!)...

Rachel xxx

Yeah, I'm confused about that too. I'm trans... something but not sure which. Both terms seems like "political geese" as do, Gender Identity Disorder and Gender Dysphoria. ...All I know is I would prefer to be inside the other version or model, so to speak.

There is the chance, yes. It's just that her story is that of a classic transsexual trying hard to resist going all the way. As long as that resistance remains a classic transsexual will never be complete, or happy.

I guess it's possible she's not as classic as she comes across though. But I decided it was better to get the warning out rather than be all "yeah, PM and SP will most definitely help you resist!"

You may well be right Abi, that I am a classic transsexual. I don't get any great thrill out of cross-dressing, I don't desire to be the other sex, I just feel I am the other sex. The surgery involved with full transition would only give me a facsimile of what I really desire. However, if a degree of natural PM-induced feminization, including manageable breast development, gives me a sense of well-being I can live with, I hope I will be happy. If it doesn't then I will have to take stock. But I think it's worth taking the risk.

Rachel

xxx

Hello Rachel.

Welcome to the board. (I like your avatar by the way.)

It feels like a lot has already been covered in this thread, so I don't want to repeat anything.

If you want to get feedback on your breast growth once you start taking your pm and sp, I recommend posting your pictures in your picture thread.

...Whether I'm transgender or transsexual I'm not entirely certain, indeed how can you tell (wise comments would be useful here!)...

Rachel xxx

Yeah, I'm confused about that too. I'm trans... something but not sure which. Both terms seems like "political geese" as do, Gender Identity Disorder and Gender Dysphoria. ...All I know is I would prefer to be inside the other version or model, so to speak.

Some may disagree with me, but generally speaking, a transsexual is a person whose body and mind are not in sync, i.e., female brain, but male body, or male brain, but female body, hence the need, not desire, but need, to change the body to match the mind since attempts to change the mind to match the body have all failed; it appears to be hard-wired. Somewhere along the way, someone invented the word "transgender" to encompass all people who are gender variant. In other words, all cross dressers, transvestites (not sure why the term is used separately when it is Latin for cross dresser), gender queer, gender f#ck, transsexuals, and anyone else who does not fit the gender binary are transgender. It is an umbrella term that a lot of transsexuals hate.

Dysphoria means what it says--a state of unease. In this case, gender dysphoria would be a state of unease with one's gender as determined by the body and the mind not matching. Gender is in the brain. Sex is determined by the configuration of the genitalia.

GID is the fancy term used by mental health professionals to categorize anyone suffering from a mismatch between genitalia and brain gender. When I say suffering, I mean just that--it causes psychological pain. The only accepted cure is to fix the mismatch through hormones and surgery. However, not everyone fits that extreme. There are plenty of people who aren't absolutely 100% either gender and wish to live somewhere in the middle between the two extremes. I suspect there are a lot more people in the middle than anyone knows or suspects.

Some may disagree with me, but generally speaking, a transsexual is a person whose body and mind are not in sync, i.e., female brain, but male body, or male brain, but female body, hence the need, not desire, but need, to change the body to match the mind since attempts to change the mind to match the body have all failed; it appears to be hard-wired.

Exactly. That's the KEY difference between other forms of gender variance and a classic transsexual. For us there's a NEED, not just a desire, but a very real, very PRESSING need to be the opposite of what people expect us to given our genetics.

There's also people who are transgender simply for choosing to change gender representation when they learn they were actually intersexed and their previously latent sexual organs begin to assert themselves. They still qualify as transgender because they still had the incorrect term applied to them at one point.

It's a great big rainbow with not just different hues, but variances in brightness and shade, and in saturation. It's a spectrum, truly, not even a sliding scale.

But my point earlier, besides just making sure SOMEONE made a warning, was that in every way *I* can think of, the OP sounds like a classic transsexual. The absolute extreme end of the "mismatch" side, opposite the absolute extreme of a match. (Your stereotypical super butch heterosexual manly man or your stereotypical girly girl who were actually born in those genders).

She may not be a heterosexual girly girl, but she's definitely well over towards that direction. Like me. I'm a girly girl, but I'm bi, but with a slightly greater preference for men. I think. I'm honestly not completely sure on that, cuz girls DO turn me on. A lot. But mostly I'm imagining myself as being them when I'm watching movies, and in sexual scenes... yeah... I'm both enjoying seeing the girls... and I'm dreaming about BEING one of them. And getting in on the action, either from another girl or a guy. But mostly I just want someone to cuddle most of the time. It's really hard to describe... And just as hard to wrap my own head around exactly what's going on in there.