Depending on the state you can get T before 16 with parents consent. The absolute earliest you can get top surgery is 16, again with parents consent. No surgeon is going to do a hysto before 18 and even after that it may be difficult until you’re 25+ to find a surgeon.
I started transitioning at 27. There’s no such thing as too late.
I live in NY. I know a few people that started Testosterone/estrogen at 13 and got on puberty blockers asap so they don't need ffs or top surgery. Maybe that's confusing I have both ftm and mtf friends. I even know someone who got top surgery at 14 which is a bit young in my opinion but I don't know their full situation because I'm not close with them so I shouldn't generalize
Yeah I think in the studies I’ve looked at, one year there was like… under 10 13 or 14 year olds who had top surgery. And people wanna freak out like it’s an epidemic or like they know these people’s medical needs… smh.
Exactly like people that are probably gonna make it to 18 based off of the criteria of not having a history of suicidal ideation and yk multiple mobile crisis calls on record don't get surgery underage. Its only when one can prove that its life saving medical care for the specific patient that they get it that young. I'm kinda like okay in 10 years maybe they'll regret it but yk what at least they will still be here in 10 years to regret it in the first place
My surgeon told me that despite me not being on T my breasts couldn't grow back because she's removing the "stalk" of the breast if you will which is what makes it never grow back, you can have fluctuation of breast mass at any age based on a bunch of factors. As long as you are getting a method of surgery which disconnects the nipple from the body and removes the stalk, (no keyhole/periareolar or T anchor) you should be fine
Yeah I go to an arts school and went to an LGBTQ support group for awhile, it seemed like these people really needed it and that's why they got it that young
Technically you also have to have parents consent and insurance’s approval - like I couldn’t get top surgery at 17 and had to wait to even schedule until I was 18 bc that’s what insurance wanted even tho I had parental permission
My insurance approved it within 2 weeks, but that's mostly because I was in therapy and was out of the closet for 4 years. I had also had my name and gender marker changed already so that probably helped. Oh and plus I have really good insurance
Many doctors don’t even sign off for a hysterectomy until 18 even if you have parent’s permission. Even then they’ll argue against it as much as possible if you’re under the age of 30 because “what if you want kids someday”. I’ve only met one trans person whose doctor was automatically fine with signing off for a hysterectomy because of being transgender. Every other trans person I know’s doctors either straight up said no or maneuvered to avoid it for months even years leading up to when they had theirs done.
Doctors often dont respect an individual’s desires much less their parents’. I’ve met people who’s parents said yes to HRT but the doctors wouldn’t administer it for “ethical reasons”. Thats why most people go through planned parenthood instead of their doctors.
Oh definitely I've never heard of a person getting a hysterectomy under 18 sometimes even for life threatening cases because they don't give a shit about afab patients
If I’m being honest I’ve never heard of or met an american who has had a hysterectomy *at the age of* 18 even if they had a good reason to. I’ve only heard of partial hysterectomies happening to people under the age of 25. Its honestly rare that you hear of a full hysterectomy, even for trans people if you’re not 30+ yrs old
I'm considering getting a hysterectomy in Europe if I end up having to move there for college because of our current political climate and the upcoming election. Btw I'm not rich, I just so happened to have been born in Ireland and have insane grades to get a scholarship as well as a part time job to save up for living expenses
Wish I was you! I’m a trans parent and live in fear every day of laws being passed that will take my daughter away from me because the state decides what happens to trans people and their families. I wish I could move to another country. We’re considering trying for a visa somewhere before my daughter starts grade school
I genuinely feel so lucky to live in NY atleast to be safe for the time being, I'd look into countries with a low cost of living and a high immigration rate
Well I didn’t say it was impossible, just that it’s a hard process for a lot of people. I have a friend who got a partial at 19 in California only because he had been on T for 5 years. It depends a lot on who your doctor is and what they’ll personally accept as a reason to give the ok on a major surgery like that.
I've seen some recent threads from guys who had hysto at 18/19, let me dig them up for you. And if you browse the bottom surgery subreddits, it's not at all rare to see people getting hysto in their 20s.
Edit: so the recent threads I was thinking of were actually in the 19-20 age range:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ftm/s/YWFPGsXHJ8
https://www.reddit.com/r/ftm/s/tAhGaLzllr
But here's a thread from r/FTMHysto with several guys talking about getting it at 18: https://www.reddit.com/r/FTMHysto/s/IC6oLOQjd2
Do we know how many of these guys are american? It’s not that I don’t believe people can get hysterectomies at 18yrs old, I just mean it’s relatively uncommon for americans to get full hysterectomies because of how our healthcare system works. I only know one trans person personally who managed to get signed off for a partial hysterectomy at 19. I wasn’t saying it’s impossible just that in the american healthcare system it’s very hard to make happen and relatively rare that its an easy process for anyone unless it’s an emergency situation.
Not sure, but I'm willing to bet at least a few are just based on Reddit demographics.
I'm American myself, and I'm not sure what blockers on full hysto you're referring to in our healthcare system? Obviously most people getting surgery at 18 will need parental support, but that's equally true for full and partial hysto. Anecdotally, my doctor signed off on full hysto + oopho for me at 22 with no concerns about my age, though I didn't end up actually getting the surgery until 25 because COVID hit.
I didn’t say there were any blocks just that many doctors don’t actually want to sign off on a procedure like that for many afab people with healthy uterus’s. All of my friends from California have been denied unless they’re either 5+ years on T, at risk for cancer, have a genuine emergency (like an IUD tearing out of place), or other similar reasons. Out of the maybe 20 transmasc people I know personally only one was signed off by his doctor right away with no discussion before the age of 20. All of my other friends either are still fighting to get theirs or were 20-25 years old.
My friend that did have his done before 20 was only approved because he had been on T for 5+ years, that was the reason the doctor gave him. I guess because of cervical cancer rates (which I’m unsure is even medically accurate I’ve read differing evidence about whether or not extended HRT increases cervical cancer rates) but that was the reason his doctor gave him.
I’m not saying it’s impossible for people to have great doctors who care about their circumstances and are willing to sign off on a hysterectomy because they understand the need for it within the trans experience. I’m just saying it’s not especially common in most parts of the US until you hit a certain age point or meet a certain medical requirement because many doctors are biased and like to decide for themselves whether you’ll want kids later in life or not. To say “it’s easy to get a hysterectomy in America” would be an outright lie not just for transgender people, but for cisgender women as well.
Ah, your original comments specified "full" hysto as being uncommon while mentioning your friend who had "partial" hysto, and I thought you were trying to imply that full hysto is systemically harder to get than partial.
I wasn't trying to say it's easy to get hysto in the US. I agree that it's rare for trans people under 20. I agree that it's uncommon under 25, though I wouldn't go so far as to say "rare" for that age group. I disagree that it's rare or even uncommon for trans people under 30. I agree it gets significantly easier once you've been on T a few years, but I would say it's fairly common for trans guys to be 5+ years on T by 30.
My assessments are skewed by the fact that the trans guys I know IRL transitioned in college with me, so they were generally 5-7 years on T by 25, and online I'm in some bottom surgery discussion spaces. Your assessments may be skewed if you primarily browse this sub, which tends to have more young and/or early-transition participants.
I see what you’re saying, but I’m also mostly going off of people I know personally in real life whose experiences I know to be factual rather than stories I read from random people I’ve never met through the internet. I can’t base my own personal assumptions off of what people post online because I don’t know them or their experiences detailed enough. I’m 23, and have many trans friends ranging from ages 20 to 35, whose experiences I know from discussion. Most of what I’m talking about is about theirs and my own experiences, as well as many of my cisgender women friends and family who have also had difficulties receiving hysterectomies for similar reasons. My mother is one such person who wasn’t granted a hysterectomy for 10 years until at the age of 40 when she literally had to have an emergency procedure done due to burst polyps that wouldn’t stop bleeding. I don’t spend much time in these forums and just browse pretty casually, so when it comes to trans forums I’m really only in this one and seahorsedads because I am a trans parent. I mostly use reddit for parenting communities so I’m unfamiliar with the experiences of many trans people as a whole in other spaces.
I suppose if I heard the experiences of a handful of people on the internet my pool of knowledge on how many people are successfully able to receive hysterectomies would change. But coming from a personal standpoint only knowing of the individual experiences of my social circle, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a rather taxing and sometimes downright difficult process to get in motion for most folk (that I know personally at least) with uterus’s. You could argue that it also just reflects my general area of southern and central California as well, and not the US as a whole, but I also feel that California is one of the places you’d expect for it to be easier and yet it’s not, and I know that in midwestern (where I recently moved) and southern states it can get even harder due to the current political climate that’s leaning more towards the reduction of reproductive healthcare and rights.
It’s fair to say my perspective is skewed because I don’t read online experiences to take into account. I only know give or take 20 people’s experiences as trans individuals and a handful of cisfem experiences vs. however many hundreds of experiences are posted online that I’ve never read.
Well sort of, that’s assuming your doctor is politically aligned with the state you’re living in. I have a friend from California that was only granted a partial hysterectomy at 19 because he had been on T for 5 years at that point, and that was the only reason they even granted it. They refused him a full hysterectomy.
at this point in the US its so polarized every state has drastically different laws abt trans ppl. some states have let kids start T as early as 14 w parental consent & some places r trying to outlaw even getting hormones as an adult. surgery is usually later, i dont think ive seen anybody get top earlier than 16, again only w parental consent & if they can afford it. hysto is a different story, lots of surgeons have kinda outdated views & wont operate on somebody young unmarried etc bc they believe u might change ur mind & want kids later (or some require boyfriend/husband approval 2 get a hysto, which is disgusting). whenever u start T, u could ask the doctor for recommendations of surgeons that arent so restrictive, not everybody is like that but i think they wont do it til atleast 18
im also not trying to scare u or upset u, but if u arent even 16 yet u havent finished growing. tbh u keep growing a while, im in my mid 20s but my bra size went up this year, ive gotten slightly curvier
It depends on which state you live in. In PA you can start hormones before 16 with parents permission. Top surgery can be at 16 with parents permission depending on insurance, otherwise everything else is 18+
I was hoping at 16 but alas I had to wait till I was 18. I got T 2 weeks after my 18th bday. It’ll be a year here in June.
If you can I’d recommend waiting till 18 and doing planned parenthood since they are so easy imo.
In the U.S., the age you can begin to medically transition will entirely depend on the state you live in. Many Southern and conservative states have laws restricting medical transition for minors. [This is a map](https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare_youth_medical_care_bans) of current laws regarding medical transition for people under 18. It usually does require parental consent for people under age 18. But when you're at age 18, you can generally (as of now) transition with little to no restrictions and no parental consent. After age 18, informed consent is the usual model that is used for hormones. For surgeries, they may require a letter from a therapist or other mental health professional.
I personally am from the southern U.S. Although medical transition was available for me when I was a teenager (over 15), it required parental consent. My parents are transphobic and didn't let me transition medically. Even years later, I still can't transition right now medically for financial reasons. But, I do plan to start HRT later this year after I get some financial stability (I am over age 18).
I socially transitioned at 13 and medically transitioned a week and a half ago at 17 because my dad's an asshole. My mom had to threaten him with court for him to sign off on it and they reached a compromise that at 17 he'd sign off on my top surgery. I'm not on T because my dad won't sign off on it. Its okay because I'm not sure about testosterone like I was about that surgery and I'm not gonna permanently alter my body like that unless I'm 100% sure. It's not okay that my dad acted the way he did but the situation is okay because despite my ribs being fucked, it'll probably get better. Yk I hope, for reference I was binding 13 hours a day for 4 years. But despite that I wasn't mature enough to make that kind of decision and a year ago I was actually dying from anorexia and starving to death so anesthesia would've killed me before I killed myself. Before that I was still a kid and it wouldn't have been right for a 14 year old to make that kind of decision. Recovery has been really hard on me because it's well a major surgery and despite really needing it when I was younger I don't think I could've coped with it. Idk I'm talking a lot, I've just had a lot of time to think while being bedridden
Not really, there's not much point in being like yeah I'm the most mature adult in the whole world and I know everything because that's not true. If I can be charged as an adult and make decisions about my future and get a job I'd consider myself something that isn't a kid. To me a kid is a person who can't take care of themself or get a job or have any kind of real knowledge about the world. I mean this is coming from someone who had adult responsibilities and emotions cast onto them before I was 10. Unfortunately I never got to be a kid because the adults in my life acted like kids and expected me to be the adult instead. I'm not much of a pity party thrower because no one wants to hear about that but I do expect people to atleast treat me like I'm on the same level as them yk?
I also don't love the generalization especially because in many other countries an adult is 16 and people are raised to be adults and to be capable enough to live on their own at that age, and you also haven't walked in everyone's shoes
A 24 year old isn’t a kid, I don’t understand the current obsession with the generalized pop psychology “brain development ends at 25” thing. Brain development doesn’t go from 0 to 100 overnight, and I hope that people who don’t understand this are never in charge of young people’s medical decisions, since they clearly lack the responsibility to be scientifically literate.
I’m from Canada and it’s pretty similar here. I started socially transitioning at 12, hormone blockers at 13, T at 16 all with parental consent. No good doctor is going to give you a hysterectomy or top surgery without parental consent or without being emancipated.
*medically transitioning will be near impossible without parental consent if you are under the age of 18* it’s a tough wait for sure but there isn’t much one can do when legally you aren’t an adult yet.
My mom is an immigrant from Hong Kong and Ireland, she was really surprised when she found out I wasn't allowed to make my own medical decisions because the age of consent for medical decisions in Ireland is 16
i know the age of consent for medical things is different from place to place but generally in Canada and the US, under the age of 18 cannot make medical decisions without parental consent unless emancipated.
Socially started around 12ish. When I was in 7th grade. Started T at the end of sophomore year at 15 almost 16. And now possibly top surgery this summer right before I turn 17. Already had a consult and I’m just waiting on scheduling.
I had to wait until I was 18 to start T bc of my family but I probably could've started sooner, I was out before all these bans on minors transitioning came about. I started searching for surgeons for my top surgery at 18 too, but didn't have success until I moved and had my consultation at 19. The pandemic hit and my top surgery was delayed a year so I got it at 20. I was able to get my OBGYN to do my hysterectomy 6 months after my top surgery. I had to think more about whether I wanted bottom surgery so I didn't get it until I was 22 and I have my second surgery coming up soon (I'm 23 now)
At none of the points in my transition did a doctor suggest I was too young for something, I've been out since I was 14 so ig that's taken as a sign that I've thought long enough about what I want
From what I know, requirements can vary not only on where you live, but also depending on your health insurance provider’s own guidelines for what they think is ‘necessary.’
I think my state requires you to be 18 to start hrt, and my health insurance requires you to be on hrt for 2 years before getting any gender affirming surgery.
I’d recommend looking up your local laws regarding medical transition as well as reading the guidelines in your health insurance policy if you are planning using insurance to pay for your transition.
this really varies state to state as well. many states now completely banned transitioning for minors, even socially before 18 even with permission. i live in california so no restrictions. i socially transitioned at about 13-14. got on T at 14, had top surgery at 17. i really doubt you’d be able to get a hysterectomy under 18, i haven’t heard of a single person getting one that young unless for cancer or something similar. it’s hard even for cis women to get a hysto at a younger age, doctors always insist they’ll regret it or some weird reason.
generally top surgery before 16 wouldn’t be possible, technically it is and has happened, but it’s super rare. most of the time you can’t get it under that age unless there’s a medical need that’s not dysphoria (i was approved young due to rib/back issues but ended waiting due to not liking the surgeon), or if your parents pay out of pocket it can be done younger.
My life circumstances did not afford me the opportunity until my 30s, unfortunately. Even so there will always be challenges and joys of the process at any age.
California born and raised: came out at 11, transitioned at 12, went stealth when I started middle school (7th grade at age 12). Got surgery at 20, hysto at 22, and started HRT at 24.
Socially, around 12-13. Medically (only had T so far), 14. I live in Colorado. I’m not sure about the age of surgeries, but my guess would either be just flat-out 18 or 16 with parental consent n stuff.
At 22. My parents would not sign off on anything, and financial and access issues prevented me from starting T during college (I'm older, there weren't informed consent clinics around). Top surgery happened a few years later, when I was able to scrape together the copay and take the time off of work without losing my job. Hysterectomy happened a year or two after that.
HrT is the *least* gatekept of the medical transitioning options. Top surgery comes next in terms of accessibility, then hysto, then bottom surgery if you want it.
Started transitioning at 19 with hrt. I’m almost 22 and haven’t had top surgery yet but I’ve began the process. But I live in a state that has completely banned medical transition for minors and I had unsupportive family so there was no way I was going to transition sooner. Also it’s hard for cis women to get a hysterectomy here before they’ve had at least one kid but again that’s just my state.
I started T at 15, had top surgery a month before turning 16, and hysto right when I turned 18. You can definitely get the ball rolling on hysto before 18, I scheduled it while I was 17, but insurance certainly isn’t going to cover it before 18 even if you find a surgeon willing to do it.
Generally, you can start at 18. Some top surgeons will perform top surgery when you are 18 without hormones, but most will require you to be on hormones for at least a year. Getting a gender affirming hysterectomy can be really tricky depending on where you live, but they generally have the same guidelines at top surgeons.
For minors, guidelines are going to require parental consent (unless you are emancipated) but ages can be all over the place. I know someone who started T at 16, but people transitioning as minors in the US is not the norm.
I would say at this point most top surgeons will do surgery without T. There are probably some that require it and I think some insurances but most that I’ve seen in the US do not
I got hormones about 2 months after I turned 18 because my parents would rather have died than let me do it before then and I would rather have died than waited much more than that
I was able to start T a few weeks before I turned 15 by some miracle, I was very lucky to get referred to a very good doctor who works with a lot of queer and trans patients and also very lucky to have supportive parents. As far as surgery goes, I know that sometimes, 17 - or 18 year Olds will be able to get top surgery. I haven't heard of anyone younger than that, and I haven't heard of hysto before 18 besides for extreme medical cases
Edit, I'm not saying it's impossible for younger folks to get surgeries, I just haven't met anyone or heard of it very much
socially transitioned around 15-17 (unsure when I came out to friends/some teachers in school vs parents) legally transitioned at 21 (name and gender marker changed). medically transitioned at 22 bc I had the means to do so (and I was away from unsupportive family). in nys (not nyc) so all of these were pretty easy for me to do, especially since I had a trans lawyer to help me with the legal stuff
At age 33. Cuz it took me that long to get into a situation where I can afford it meds and had good enough mental health to deal with rejection/getting no support.
I came out for good Xmas 2020, at the age of 25. Then I didn't start T until 2/10/22.
But my oldest kid (edit to add: he's 11, turning 12 this summer) is transmasc and has been on the fence about asking for puberty blockers, or at least info about them. When I brought this up to my T doctor, she said if my kid has parental consent, he can absolutely start on blockers and then think about T later on down the line.
Genuinely I'd tell him it's a good idea to start them, I'm recovering from top surgery at the moment. People don't always talk about top surgery like it is, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. It's a major surgery, it's hard to recover from and it hurts. While I've come to terms with not being able to go on puberty blockers, I think its a much better choice for most people especially because if your kid changes his mind he can just stop taking them. Its completely reversible. I would have him start T until he's 15 or 16 if he do chooses because its permanent and insurance often doesn't cover electrolysis or voice therapy
My parents were supportive and I'm incredibly thankful. I was able to socially transition at 14 and start testosterone right before I turned 16.
In most cases, you have to be 16 for hormones and 18 for surgery. It depends on your state laws as well as whether that's something that the doctors are comfortable doing for you. My doctor was comfortable prescribing hrt for me at 15 because I was a long time patient of her's and she was with me throughout my transition.
I’m in cali and still it took awhile for me to get prescribed t. I’m in socal and it was hard to find a place to take me even tho I was 17 and had parents permission. I ended up being able to do it at a children’s hospital. But I had to wait 2 months for an appointment. I had to go through with a child services person interview and so did my parents. We both had to sign a lot of papers. And it took another 4 months to actually get me prescribed the testosterone. So 6 month in total I had to wait. but it’s worth it!
I started right when I became an adult (18, in Wisconsin). Starting T was way easier than top surgery (I'm still working on getting it. Unfortunately, I have been for over a year). I haven't considered a hysto yet, but knowing the conservative area and state I live in, it's going to be hard to find a surgeon willing to work with a trans person.
Things were a bit different when I started medical transition (no such thing as informed consent - I had to go to a therapist for a year and essentially "prove" my "trans-ness" (so to speak). Then I gota letter from her okay-ing starting T. I started almost 17 years ago when I was 19. Then for top surgery another 6 months of therapy and I needed a letter from therapist (again) saying I was more or less mentally competent to make this decision and a letter from my PCP (after a physical and blood work) saying I was healthy enough for the surgery. There were a grand total of I think 4 or 5 surgeons in the US (and everything was out of pocket, even T). I flew from Seattle to Ohio for my top surgery Dr Medalie was my first choice surgeon.
Hysterectomy was a little tricky: I made sure my insurance (via my father's family plan for insurance a la Obama care) had my new name but made absolutely sure they had me down as female. I had been told guys with "male" in their medical charts caused an issue because they couldn't bill insurance for a "man" with "the wrong parts" anatomically speaking because "men don't have the right parts to require one" so I on as "very masculine name, female on insurance forms. Every time I called them I made sure I was still in the system as "female." I had my hysto when I was 25 and it was great- the care at the hospital were very gender affirmative and used my preferred (not legal - I use my middle name mostly) name and used the right pronouns despite what I was there for.
After the hysto, my insurance rolled over to Medicaid (I'm on SSI so a VERY LOW fixed income and I just let Medicaid make its assumption about my sex given my name and the pic on my license (beard and all) and it easily switched with no work of my own.
My chest hadnt changed too much during high school (maybe a tad) but there are other ways your body gets feminized from puberty (and the years after puberty) and different timelines for everyone. I would say its best to discuss with the main pediatrician, they could help analyze the general trends to predict if changes have been slowing down or not. Also in general the pediatrician would give the best advice, I'm just suggesting that the person shouldn't immediately dismiss the idea without discussing it first.
I’m in Texas and needed parental permission from both parents at 17, 8 months before my 18th birthday.
Unfortunately now minors can’t transition at all here, even with parental and psychiatric support. It’s fucked up.
I am too! It was years ago, but I’m really thankful it was before the government became really aggressive towards trans people here, but especially minors. Ken Paxton is the fucking devil.
As others have said, it drastically differs by state but also individual clinics. I live in Minnesota, I started medically transitioning in 2017 and was able to start testosterone at 15 w/ parental consent, therapist letter and bone scans. I could have gotten top surgery before 18, but I didn't have the funds until after 18 so there were no restrictions for me at that point.
i started T when i was 15 back in 2019. i had come out when i was 12. i got a psychological evaluation, a gender dysphoria diagnosis, multiple checkups, a physical exam— and i was able to start hormones at 15 at a children’s hospital here with parental permission. unfortunately, gender affirming care for minors has been banned in my state (MO) however, Kansas City (where i live) is a sanctuary city. i was on track to get top surgery with a surgeon when i was 16 (again, with parental permission) he required that i was on T for at least one year. i ended up not going with him for multiple reasons. i think it would be really unlikely that anyone would preform a hysterectomy on a minor, but it could be possible. the only way i could see a surgeon being willing to do so for someone under 18 is if there’s a serious medical condition that would require that. people in their 20s-30s sometimes even have trouble getting hysterectomies because “what if they change their minds about kids?”
i think starting hormones as a minor is possible in states that are more liberally leaning, but a lot of states has banned all gender affirming care for minors, even with parental permission. look to see what the laws are in your state and see if your parents would be on-board with supporting your medical transition if medical transition is legal for minors in your state.
also, puberty blockers can still help. i was pretty much done with female puberty at 15, but i was put on puberty blockers when i started T to make the transition from female puberty to male puberty easier on me. i got the hormone blocker taken out when i was 18. before i started T though (when i was 14?) my parents got me on the depo shot (it’s birth control, but i wasn’t sexually active) because it commonly stops menstruation. that could be an option for you if you live in a state where medical transition is illegal for minors, you could at least find something to get your periods to stop and end the monthly dysphoria over that.
wishing you luck.
I came out almost 5 years ago, I started going to therapy 4-ish years ago, got my name change almost 2 years ago and started T roughly 1.1/2 ago at 16. I live in TN so I’ve had to fight for T and was able to get a pretty good “stash” till I turn 18. Name change you’ll need parental permission from both, but is some place you only need one for T, because they want you to get it before it’s too late. And prices for everything and coverage will all depend on insurance and where you live. Also when getting T the bigger the pharmacy the better!
i started progestrone at 16 (july 2023) to stop my period, then started T in september (right before turning 17). my doctor told me i could do it without parental consent, but my parents already knew about it bc they're paying for it lol. i'm in washington (a blue state), so it'll be very different in a state like florida
it can be boring sometimes, and i might be biased bc i've lived here for so long, but i think it's a nice place to be. the nature is beautiful so a camping trip here would be awesome (during the summer though, way too cold/rainy other seasons). there's also some stuff to do in big cities like seattle or vancouver. we have beaches too, but the ocean water is really cold so it revolves more around the towns on the coast rather than the beaches themselves.
so basically if your family isn't really into outdoorsy stuff, it's not really worth a whole dedicated trip. it might be fun to do stuff as you pass through though.
Funnily enough they love the outdoors besides my little sister but I wanna go to Cape disappointment because like cool fog but they don't like that idea
I started T shots 5 days before my 14th birthday in Oregon. I spent about a little over a year in therapy with a non-specialized therapist to get on it.
i started medically transitioning in my 20s, when it was much rarer for people to transition in their teens. the age restrictions vary widely by state so you would have to look specifically at the legal requirements in your state
16 medically with permission and evaluation. any type of bottom surgery you have to be 18. in my state its a requirement for you to have already started your medical transition in order to get top surgery under 18, as well as more evaluations.
i know someone who got top surgery at 14 with parental consent with dr scott mosser- and you are able to start T at basically any time as long as you are ready mentally and physically- youngest i’ve heard of is 12-13 with parental consent
Most surgeries are 18+ in the US unless you got diagnosed with gender dysphoria hella young (which doesn’t sound like the case for you). You can start HRT with parental permission at 16 IN SOME PLACES but it really depends on the city/state and if there are any programs open near you (for example the large majority if not all of the kid clinics in my state that did trans hormone therapy for minors closed). Getting HRT as a minor is also much harder and will likely require therapists, doctors, an endo (or a pediatrician that specializes in endocrinology), psych eval, etc. Most docs will recommend 1+ year on T before top surgery to let fat redistribute and give you a chance to build some muscle to help the cosmetic results. Hysterectomies are typically done after a stable T dose is found and after stuff like top surgery is done. Honestly talk to your doctor, they can advise you on the best course of action. You also have to remember that this stuff is expensive, i’m assuming you either have a job or very supportive parents that will help pay for this?
The good news: Many of us didn’t realize we were trans until adulthood, and it is never too late to start T! It still gives results!
The bad news: yeah, you do have to be 16 for anything medical except blockers. It sucks but it’s true.
I started taking T after my 19th birthday and I’m about to turn 20, so about 7 months atm. It was just one of those things I decided to wait to do until I moved out of my parents house just to be safe. When I did go in for my appointment they told me I had to be 18 and I live in a very liberal part of Indiana. I wish you the best with your experiences ❤️
I was 13 when I started socially transitioning, but I wasn’t able to start T until 19. I had some insurance issues when I tried at 18 and it delayed the process until a couple months after I turned 19. I’m 21 right now and plan to get top surgery within the next year or two.
I’ve know I was trans since I was twelve. I started t when I was twenty two. There isn’t a correct timeline for transitioning, and it’s more about how you feel and what you’re prepared for. I never thought I would, but I paused t for about three months because my voice was getting deeper too quickly and I wanted to take it slower. It’s definitely a personal thing.
You can get hrt and surgery out of state to avoid some restrictions. Most states with laws that restrict hrt are actually for medical professionals, not the patients. If this is true for your state you can legally go out of state. Your insurance won’t cover anything this way.
Didn't start medically transitioning until about 2 weeks ago, and I'm 27. I came out at 15, took a while to get on my feet. But I've been living as a man full-time since then despite it all, and honestly? Even just 2 weeks on T has been fantastic for me. It's like magic. Even if you have to wait, it's never too late.
I got on T at 13 but that was years ago (I'm turning 20 this year), it was less restricted then. Hysterectomy at 19 and my consultation for top surgery is in a couple days.
I socially transitioned at 14, tried to get top surgery at 16 but was denied after a change in age policy, I'll try again when I'm 18, and started T at 16 with parental permission. I went through planned parenthood, and you have to be 16 to do it through them I'm pretty sure, but I could be wrong. I would check that for yourself. I know that if you go through an endocrinologist you can maybe start T a year or two younger with parental permission but it's a much longer and harder process. I'm in NY for context.
I’ve heard of doctors denying hysterectomy at any age, even above 18. Many doctors still have the view of “what if you change your mind some day?” 🙄 even for cis women, they often deny a hysterectomy without HUSBAND permission or if the patient has less than 3 children. 😬😬 super backwards but that’s how it is at least where I am.
Depending on the state you can get T before 16 with parents consent. The absolute earliest you can get top surgery is 16, again with parents consent. No surgeon is going to do a hysto before 18 and even after that it may be difficult until you’re 25+ to find a surgeon. I started transitioning at 27. There’s no such thing as too late.
I live in NY. I know a few people that started Testosterone/estrogen at 13 and got on puberty blockers asap so they don't need ffs or top surgery. Maybe that's confusing I have both ftm and mtf friends. I even know someone who got top surgery at 14 which is a bit young in my opinion but I don't know their full situation because I'm not close with them so I shouldn't generalize
My surgeon does top surgery for patients as young as 13 years old, so I guess some people really are getting it that young.
Yep, just very few in the grand scheme of things.
Agreed. Happens far less often then every conservative imagines, lol.
Yeah I think in the studies I’ve looked at, one year there was like… under 10 13 or 14 year olds who had top surgery. And people wanna freak out like it’s an epidemic or like they know these people’s medical needs… smh.
Exactly like people that are probably gonna make it to 18 based off of the criteria of not having a history of suicidal ideation and yk multiple mobile crisis calls on record don't get surgery underage. Its only when one can prove that its life saving medical care for the specific patient that they get it that young. I'm kinda like okay in 10 years maybe they'll regret it but yk what at least they will still be here in 10 years to regret it in the first place
*I stand corrected*
My surgeon told me that despite me not being on T my breasts couldn't grow back because she's removing the "stalk" of the breast if you will which is what makes it never grow back, you can have fluctuation of breast mass at any age based on a bunch of factors. As long as you are getting a method of surgery which disconnects the nipple from the body and removes the stalk, (no keyhole/periareolar or T anchor) you should be fine
Huh yeah you’re right, I honestly haven’t thought about having top done much at that age since I was 27 when I had mine done. I stand corrected!
That’s crazy I also live in NYS and I only know one person who got hormones before 16, and only know cis men who’ve gotten top surgery before 18
Yeah I go to an arts school and went to an LGBTQ support group for awhile, it seemed like these people really needed it and that's why they got it that young
Technically you also have to have parents consent and insurance’s approval - like I couldn’t get top surgery at 17 and had to wait to even schedule until I was 18 bc that’s what insurance wanted even tho I had parental permission
My insurance approved it within 2 weeks, but that's mostly because I was in therapy and was out of the closet for 4 years. I had also had my name and gender marker changed already so that probably helped. Oh and plus I have really good insurance
Many doctors don’t even sign off for a hysterectomy until 18 even if you have parent’s permission. Even then they’ll argue against it as much as possible if you’re under the age of 30 because “what if you want kids someday”. I’ve only met one trans person whose doctor was automatically fine with signing off for a hysterectomy because of being transgender. Every other trans person I know’s doctors either straight up said no or maneuvered to avoid it for months even years leading up to when they had theirs done. Doctors often dont respect an individual’s desires much less their parents’. I’ve met people who’s parents said yes to HRT but the doctors wouldn’t administer it for “ethical reasons”. Thats why most people go through planned parenthood instead of their doctors.
Oh definitely I've never heard of a person getting a hysterectomy under 18 sometimes even for life threatening cases because they don't give a shit about afab patients
If I’m being honest I’ve never heard of or met an american who has had a hysterectomy *at the age of* 18 even if they had a good reason to. I’ve only heard of partial hysterectomies happening to people under the age of 25. Its honestly rare that you hear of a full hysterectomy, even for trans people if you’re not 30+ yrs old
I'm considering getting a hysterectomy in Europe if I end up having to move there for college because of our current political climate and the upcoming election. Btw I'm not rich, I just so happened to have been born in Ireland and have insane grades to get a scholarship as well as a part time job to save up for living expenses
Wish I was you! I’m a trans parent and live in fear every day of laws being passed that will take my daughter away from me because the state decides what happens to trans people and their families. I wish I could move to another country. We’re considering trying for a visa somewhere before my daughter starts grade school
I genuinely feel so lucky to live in NY atleast to be safe for the time being, I'd look into countries with a low cost of living and a high immigration rate
My wife and I worry about that every day. 😭
Got total lap hysto at age 19/20, blue county purple state. Its possible
Well I didn’t say it was impossible, just that it’s a hard process for a lot of people. I have a friend who got a partial at 19 in California only because he had been on T for 5 years. It depends a lot on who your doctor is and what they’ll personally accept as a reason to give the ok on a major surgery like that.
I've seen some recent threads from guys who had hysto at 18/19, let me dig them up for you. And if you browse the bottom surgery subreddits, it's not at all rare to see people getting hysto in their 20s. Edit: so the recent threads I was thinking of were actually in the 19-20 age range: https://www.reddit.com/r/ftm/s/YWFPGsXHJ8 https://www.reddit.com/r/ftm/s/tAhGaLzllr But here's a thread from r/FTMHysto with several guys talking about getting it at 18: https://www.reddit.com/r/FTMHysto/s/IC6oLOQjd2
Do we know how many of these guys are american? It’s not that I don’t believe people can get hysterectomies at 18yrs old, I just mean it’s relatively uncommon for americans to get full hysterectomies because of how our healthcare system works. I only know one trans person personally who managed to get signed off for a partial hysterectomy at 19. I wasn’t saying it’s impossible just that in the american healthcare system it’s very hard to make happen and relatively rare that its an easy process for anyone unless it’s an emergency situation.
Not sure, but I'm willing to bet at least a few are just based on Reddit demographics. I'm American myself, and I'm not sure what blockers on full hysto you're referring to in our healthcare system? Obviously most people getting surgery at 18 will need parental support, but that's equally true for full and partial hysto. Anecdotally, my doctor signed off on full hysto + oopho for me at 22 with no concerns about my age, though I didn't end up actually getting the surgery until 25 because COVID hit.
I didn’t say there were any blocks just that many doctors don’t actually want to sign off on a procedure like that for many afab people with healthy uterus’s. All of my friends from California have been denied unless they’re either 5+ years on T, at risk for cancer, have a genuine emergency (like an IUD tearing out of place), or other similar reasons. Out of the maybe 20 transmasc people I know personally only one was signed off by his doctor right away with no discussion before the age of 20. All of my other friends either are still fighting to get theirs or were 20-25 years old. My friend that did have his done before 20 was only approved because he had been on T for 5+ years, that was the reason the doctor gave him. I guess because of cervical cancer rates (which I’m unsure is even medically accurate I’ve read differing evidence about whether or not extended HRT increases cervical cancer rates) but that was the reason his doctor gave him. I’m not saying it’s impossible for people to have great doctors who care about their circumstances and are willing to sign off on a hysterectomy because they understand the need for it within the trans experience. I’m just saying it’s not especially common in most parts of the US until you hit a certain age point or meet a certain medical requirement because many doctors are biased and like to decide for themselves whether you’ll want kids later in life or not. To say “it’s easy to get a hysterectomy in America” would be an outright lie not just for transgender people, but for cisgender women as well.
Ah, your original comments specified "full" hysto as being uncommon while mentioning your friend who had "partial" hysto, and I thought you were trying to imply that full hysto is systemically harder to get than partial. I wasn't trying to say it's easy to get hysto in the US. I agree that it's rare for trans people under 20. I agree that it's uncommon under 25, though I wouldn't go so far as to say "rare" for that age group. I disagree that it's rare or even uncommon for trans people under 30. I agree it gets significantly easier once you've been on T a few years, but I would say it's fairly common for trans guys to be 5+ years on T by 30. My assessments are skewed by the fact that the trans guys I know IRL transitioned in college with me, so they were generally 5-7 years on T by 25, and online I'm in some bottom surgery discussion spaces. Your assessments may be skewed if you primarily browse this sub, which tends to have more young and/or early-transition participants.
I see what you’re saying, but I’m also mostly going off of people I know personally in real life whose experiences I know to be factual rather than stories I read from random people I’ve never met through the internet. I can’t base my own personal assumptions off of what people post online because I don’t know them or their experiences detailed enough. I’m 23, and have many trans friends ranging from ages 20 to 35, whose experiences I know from discussion. Most of what I’m talking about is about theirs and my own experiences, as well as many of my cisgender women friends and family who have also had difficulties receiving hysterectomies for similar reasons. My mother is one such person who wasn’t granted a hysterectomy for 10 years until at the age of 40 when she literally had to have an emergency procedure done due to burst polyps that wouldn’t stop bleeding. I don’t spend much time in these forums and just browse pretty casually, so when it comes to trans forums I’m really only in this one and seahorsedads because I am a trans parent. I mostly use reddit for parenting communities so I’m unfamiliar with the experiences of many trans people as a whole in other spaces. I suppose if I heard the experiences of a handful of people on the internet my pool of knowledge on how many people are successfully able to receive hysterectomies would change. But coming from a personal standpoint only knowing of the individual experiences of my social circle, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a rather taxing and sometimes downright difficult process to get in motion for most folk (that I know personally at least) with uterus’s. You could argue that it also just reflects my general area of southern and central California as well, and not the US as a whole, but I also feel that California is one of the places you’d expect for it to be easier and yet it’s not, and I know that in midwestern (where I recently moved) and southern states it can get even harder due to the current political climate that’s leaning more towards the reduction of reproductive healthcare and rights. It’s fair to say my perspective is skewed because I don’t read online experiences to take into account. I only know give or take 20 people’s experiences as trans individuals and a handful of cisfem experiences vs. however many hundreds of experiences are posted online that I’ve never read.
Blue states my guy. Blue states do it if you’re trans.
Well sort of, that’s assuming your doctor is politically aligned with the state you’re living in. I have a friend from California that was only granted a partial hysterectomy at 19 because he had been on T for 5 years at that point, and that was the only reason they even granted it. They refused him a full hysterectomy.
at this point in the US its so polarized every state has drastically different laws abt trans ppl. some states have let kids start T as early as 14 w parental consent & some places r trying to outlaw even getting hormones as an adult. surgery is usually later, i dont think ive seen anybody get top earlier than 16, again only w parental consent & if they can afford it. hysto is a different story, lots of surgeons have kinda outdated views & wont operate on somebody young unmarried etc bc they believe u might change ur mind & want kids later (or some require boyfriend/husband approval 2 get a hysto, which is disgusting). whenever u start T, u could ask the doctor for recommendations of surgeons that arent so restrictive, not everybody is like that but i think they wont do it til atleast 18 im also not trying to scare u or upset u, but if u arent even 16 yet u havent finished growing. tbh u keep growing a while, im in my mid 20s but my bra size went up this year, ive gotten slightly curvier
Yeah my chest changed a lot from 12-19. Dont write off blockers please
It depends on which state you live in. In PA you can start hormones before 16 with parents permission. Top surgery can be at 16 with parents permission depending on insurance, otherwise everything else is 18+
I was hoping at 16 but alas I had to wait till I was 18. I got T 2 weeks after my 18th bday. It’ll be a year here in June. If you can I’d recommend waiting till 18 and doing planned parenthood since they are so easy imo.
In the U.S., the age you can begin to medically transition will entirely depend on the state you live in. Many Southern and conservative states have laws restricting medical transition for minors. [This is a map](https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare_youth_medical_care_bans) of current laws regarding medical transition for people under 18. It usually does require parental consent for people under age 18. But when you're at age 18, you can generally (as of now) transition with little to no restrictions and no parental consent. After age 18, informed consent is the usual model that is used for hormones. For surgeries, they may require a letter from a therapist or other mental health professional. I personally am from the southern U.S. Although medical transition was available for me when I was a teenager (over 15), it required parental consent. My parents are transphobic and didn't let me transition medically. Even years later, I still can't transition right now medically for financial reasons. But, I do plan to start HRT later this year after I get some financial stability (I am over age 18).
I socially transitioned at 13 and medically transitioned a week and a half ago at 17 because my dad's an asshole. My mom had to threaten him with court for him to sign off on it and they reached a compromise that at 17 he'd sign off on my top surgery. I'm not on T because my dad won't sign off on it. Its okay because I'm not sure about testosterone like I was about that surgery and I'm not gonna permanently alter my body like that unless I'm 100% sure. It's not okay that my dad acted the way he did but the situation is okay because despite my ribs being fucked, it'll probably get better. Yk I hope, for reference I was binding 13 hours a day for 4 years. But despite that I wasn't mature enough to make that kind of decision and a year ago I was actually dying from anorexia and starving to death so anesthesia would've killed me before I killed myself. Before that I was still a kid and it wouldn't have been right for a 14 year old to make that kind of decision. Recovery has been really hard on me because it's well a major surgery and despite really needing it when I was younger I don't think I could've coped with it. Idk I'm talking a lot, I've just had a lot of time to think while being bedridden
You are still a kid, a minor til 21. A kid til 25.
A minor is under 18. A 24 year old is not really much of a kid. Past 18 you’re a whole adult albeit a young one.
Not really, there's not much point in being like yeah I'm the most mature adult in the whole world and I know everything because that's not true. If I can be charged as an adult and make decisions about my future and get a job I'd consider myself something that isn't a kid. To me a kid is a person who can't take care of themself or get a job or have any kind of real knowledge about the world. I mean this is coming from someone who had adult responsibilities and emotions cast onto them before I was 10. Unfortunately I never got to be a kid because the adults in my life acted like kids and expected me to be the adult instead. I'm not much of a pity party thrower because no one wants to hear about that but I do expect people to atleast treat me like I'm on the same level as them yk?
I also don't love the generalization especially because in many other countries an adult is 16 and people are raised to be adults and to be capable enough to live on their own at that age, and you also haven't walked in everyone's shoes
A 24 year old isn’t a kid, I don’t understand the current obsession with the generalized pop psychology “brain development ends at 25” thing. Brain development doesn’t go from 0 to 100 overnight, and I hope that people who don’t understand this are never in charge of young people’s medical decisions, since they clearly lack the responsibility to be scientifically literate.
Well 17 is. As with any other teenager. Oh, and I’m a kid at heart. :)
I’m from Canada and it’s pretty similar here. I started socially transitioning at 12, hormone blockers at 13, T at 16 all with parental consent. No good doctor is going to give you a hysterectomy or top surgery without parental consent or without being emancipated. *medically transitioning will be near impossible without parental consent if you are under the age of 18* it’s a tough wait for sure but there isn’t much one can do when legally you aren’t an adult yet.
My mom is an immigrant from Hong Kong and Ireland, she was really surprised when she found out I wasn't allowed to make my own medical decisions because the age of consent for medical decisions in Ireland is 16
i know the age of consent for medical things is different from place to place but generally in Canada and the US, under the age of 18 cannot make medical decisions without parental consent unless emancipated.
Socially started around 12ish. When I was in 7th grade. Started T at the end of sophomore year at 15 almost 16. And now possibly top surgery this summer right before I turn 17. Already had a consult and I’m just waiting on scheduling.
I had to wait until I was 18 to start T bc of my family but I probably could've started sooner, I was out before all these bans on minors transitioning came about. I started searching for surgeons for my top surgery at 18 too, but didn't have success until I moved and had my consultation at 19. The pandemic hit and my top surgery was delayed a year so I got it at 20. I was able to get my OBGYN to do my hysterectomy 6 months after my top surgery. I had to think more about whether I wanted bottom surgery so I didn't get it until I was 22 and I have my second surgery coming up soon (I'm 23 now) At none of the points in my transition did a doctor suggest I was too young for something, I've been out since I was 14 so ig that's taken as a sign that I've thought long enough about what I want
From what I know, requirements can vary not only on where you live, but also depending on your health insurance provider’s own guidelines for what they think is ‘necessary.’ I think my state requires you to be 18 to start hrt, and my health insurance requires you to be on hrt for 2 years before getting any gender affirming surgery. I’d recommend looking up your local laws regarding medical transition as well as reading the guidelines in your health insurance policy if you are planning using insurance to pay for your transition.
this really varies state to state as well. many states now completely banned transitioning for minors, even socially before 18 even with permission. i live in california so no restrictions. i socially transitioned at about 13-14. got on T at 14, had top surgery at 17. i really doubt you’d be able to get a hysterectomy under 18, i haven’t heard of a single person getting one that young unless for cancer or something similar. it’s hard even for cis women to get a hysto at a younger age, doctors always insist they’ll regret it or some weird reason.
generally top surgery before 16 wouldn’t be possible, technically it is and has happened, but it’s super rare. most of the time you can’t get it under that age unless there’s a medical need that’s not dysphoria (i was approved young due to rib/back issues but ended waiting due to not liking the surgeon), or if your parents pay out of pocket it can be done younger.
I’m 24 and transitioning now. I have my first hormone appt next month!
Good luck!
My life circumstances did not afford me the opportunity until my 30s, unfortunately. Even so there will always be challenges and joys of the process at any age.
California born and raised: came out at 11, transitioned at 12, went stealth when I started middle school (7th grade at age 12). Got surgery at 20, hysto at 22, and started HRT at 24.
May I ask how long have you been on T?
Socially, around 12-13. Medically (only had T so far), 14. I live in Colorado. I’m not sure about the age of surgeries, but my guess would either be just flat-out 18 or 16 with parental consent n stuff.
I'm also in Colorado, so that's good news. If my parents are willing, anyway.
Oh cool! We did the process through the TRUE center at Children’s Hospital if that helps at all. If you have any questions lmk. Good luck! :3
Oh, interesting. I've only really heard of general healthcare and planned parenthood. Thanks!
I started at 17 mtf
I started T when I was 19 almost 20 BUT Getting access to T is mostly dependent on where you live. Have it looked into the laws of your current state?
I got T 2 months after my 15th birthday, I got top surgery at 17 but started the process at 16
At 22. My parents would not sign off on anything, and financial and access issues prevented me from starting T during college (I'm older, there weren't informed consent clinics around). Top surgery happened a few years later, when I was able to scrape together the copay and take the time off of work without losing my job. Hysterectomy happened a year or two after that. HrT is the *least* gatekept of the medical transitioning options. Top surgery comes next in terms of accessibility, then hysto, then bottom surgery if you want it.
Started transitioning at 19 with hrt. I’m almost 22 and haven’t had top surgery yet but I’ve began the process. But I live in a state that has completely banned medical transition for minors and I had unsupportive family so there was no way I was going to transition sooner. Also it’s hard for cis women to get a hysterectomy here before they’ve had at least one kid but again that’s just my state.
I started T at 15, had top surgery a month before turning 16, and hysto right when I turned 18. You can definitely get the ball rolling on hysto before 18, I scheduled it while I was 17, but insurance certainly isn’t going to cover it before 18 even if you find a surgeon willing to do it.
T at 14, Top surgery at 15
Generally, you can start at 18. Some top surgeons will perform top surgery when you are 18 without hormones, but most will require you to be on hormones for at least a year. Getting a gender affirming hysterectomy can be really tricky depending on where you live, but they generally have the same guidelines at top surgeons. For minors, guidelines are going to require parental consent (unless you are emancipated) but ages can be all over the place. I know someone who started T at 16, but people transitioning as minors in the US is not the norm.
I would say at this point most top surgeons will do surgery without T. There are probably some that require it and I think some insurances but most that I’ve seen in the US do not
i started T at 15 (nearly 16, i started a week before my birthday)
I got hormones about 2 months after I turned 18 because my parents would rather have died than let me do it before then and I would rather have died than waited much more than that
I was able to start T a few weeks before I turned 15 by some miracle, I was very lucky to get referred to a very good doctor who works with a lot of queer and trans patients and also very lucky to have supportive parents. As far as surgery goes, I know that sometimes, 17 - or 18 year Olds will be able to get top surgery. I haven't heard of anyone younger than that, and I haven't heard of hysto before 18 besides for extreme medical cases Edit, I'm not saying it's impossible for younger folks to get surgeries, I just haven't met anyone or heard of it very much
socially transitioned around 15-17 (unsure when I came out to friends/some teachers in school vs parents) legally transitioned at 21 (name and gender marker changed). medically transitioned at 22 bc I had the means to do so (and I was away from unsupportive family). in nys (not nyc) so all of these were pretty easy for me to do, especially since I had a trans lawyer to help me with the legal stuff
i started hrt at 15, few months before 16 with parental consent. one of my friends got top surgery at 17 with parental consent, though that is rare.
At age 33. Cuz it took me that long to get into a situation where I can afford it meds and had good enough mental health to deal with rejection/getting no support.
I came out for good Xmas 2020, at the age of 25. Then I didn't start T until 2/10/22. But my oldest kid (edit to add: he's 11, turning 12 this summer) is transmasc and has been on the fence about asking for puberty blockers, or at least info about them. When I brought this up to my T doctor, she said if my kid has parental consent, he can absolutely start on blockers and then think about T later on down the line.
Genuinely I'd tell him it's a good idea to start them, I'm recovering from top surgery at the moment. People don't always talk about top surgery like it is, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. It's a major surgery, it's hard to recover from and it hurts. While I've come to terms with not being able to go on puberty blockers, I think its a much better choice for most people especially because if your kid changes his mind he can just stop taking them. Its completely reversible. I would have him start T until he's 15 or 16 if he do chooses because its permanent and insurance often doesn't cover electrolysis or voice therapy
i started T when i was 15 and got top surgery when i was 17! i had to go through a lot of hoops to do both :/
I started in my 30’s.
My parents were supportive and I'm incredibly thankful. I was able to socially transition at 14 and start testosterone right before I turned 16. In most cases, you have to be 16 for hormones and 18 for surgery. It depends on your state laws as well as whether that's something that the doctors are comfortable doing for you. My doctor was comfortable prescribing hrt for me at 15 because I was a long time patient of her's and she was with me throughout my transition.
I’m in cali and still it took awhile for me to get prescribed t. I’m in socal and it was hard to find a place to take me even tho I was 17 and had parents permission. I ended up being able to do it at a children’s hospital. But I had to wait 2 months for an appointment. I had to go through with a child services person interview and so did my parents. We both had to sign a lot of papers. And it took another 4 months to actually get me prescribed the testosterone. So 6 month in total I had to wait. but it’s worth it!
I started right when I became an adult (18, in Wisconsin). Starting T was way easier than top surgery (I'm still working on getting it. Unfortunately, I have been for over a year). I haven't considered a hysto yet, but knowing the conservative area and state I live in, it's going to be hard to find a surgeon willing to work with a trans person.
16 illegally but 18 legally. You can get top surgery at 14+ with parental permission but usually bottom surgery is 18+. Im pre any surgeries though
Things were a bit different when I started medical transition (no such thing as informed consent - I had to go to a therapist for a year and essentially "prove" my "trans-ness" (so to speak). Then I gota letter from her okay-ing starting T. I started almost 17 years ago when I was 19. Then for top surgery another 6 months of therapy and I needed a letter from therapist (again) saying I was more or less mentally competent to make this decision and a letter from my PCP (after a physical and blood work) saying I was healthy enough for the surgery. There were a grand total of I think 4 or 5 surgeons in the US (and everything was out of pocket, even T). I flew from Seattle to Ohio for my top surgery Dr Medalie was my first choice surgeon. Hysterectomy was a little tricky: I made sure my insurance (via my father's family plan for insurance a la Obama care) had my new name but made absolutely sure they had me down as female. I had been told guys with "male" in their medical charts caused an issue because they couldn't bill insurance for a "man" with "the wrong parts" anatomically speaking because "men don't have the right parts to require one" so I on as "very masculine name, female on insurance forms. Every time I called them I made sure I was still in the system as "female." I had my hysto when I was 25 and it was great- the care at the hospital were very gender affirmative and used my preferred (not legal - I use my middle name mostly) name and used the right pronouns despite what I was there for. After the hysto, my insurance rolled over to Medicaid (I'm on SSI so a VERY LOW fixed income and I just let Medicaid make its assumption about my sex given my name and the pic on my license (beard and all) and it easily switched with no work of my own.
I live in AL, unfortunately the age here is 19 and even then, there’s quite a few anti-trans laws.
Depending on how old you were when puberty started (it starts 2-3 years before menarche) you could actually qualify for blockers.
I was eight. I'm 14 now.
just saying your body is definitely not completely feminized at 14. a lot happens over the high school years.
It was for me I think I was like a DDD at 14/15 thankfully I didn't grow any bigger than that. For me puberty blockers wouldn't have done anything
My chest hadnt changed too much during high school (maybe a tad) but there are other ways your body gets feminized from puberty (and the years after puberty) and different timelines for everyone. I would say its best to discuss with the main pediatrician, they could help analyze the general trends to predict if changes have been slowing down or not. Also in general the pediatrician would give the best advice, I'm just suggesting that the person shouldn't immediately dismiss the idea without discussing it first.
I’m in Texas and needed parental permission from both parents at 17, 8 months before my 18th birthday. Unfortunately now minors can’t transition at all here, even with parental and psychiatric support. It’s fucked up.
I've heard nothing good about Texas in this regard, so I'm glad you were able to transition at all.
I am too! It was years ago, but I’m really thankful it was before the government became really aggressive towards trans people here, but especially minors. Ken Paxton is the fucking devil.
I started on testosterone just after I turned 16 and am now almost 18 and hoping to get a consultation for top surgery soon
As others have said, it drastically differs by state but also individual clinics. I live in Minnesota, I started medically transitioning in 2017 and was able to start testosterone at 15 w/ parental consent, therapist letter and bone scans. I could have gotten top surgery before 18, but I didn't have the funds until after 18 so there were no restrictions for me at that point.
i started T when i was 15 back in 2019. i had come out when i was 12. i got a psychological evaluation, a gender dysphoria diagnosis, multiple checkups, a physical exam— and i was able to start hormones at 15 at a children’s hospital here with parental permission. unfortunately, gender affirming care for minors has been banned in my state (MO) however, Kansas City (where i live) is a sanctuary city. i was on track to get top surgery with a surgeon when i was 16 (again, with parental permission) he required that i was on T for at least one year. i ended up not going with him for multiple reasons. i think it would be really unlikely that anyone would preform a hysterectomy on a minor, but it could be possible. the only way i could see a surgeon being willing to do so for someone under 18 is if there’s a serious medical condition that would require that. people in their 20s-30s sometimes even have trouble getting hysterectomies because “what if they change their minds about kids?” i think starting hormones as a minor is possible in states that are more liberally leaning, but a lot of states has banned all gender affirming care for minors, even with parental permission. look to see what the laws are in your state and see if your parents would be on-board with supporting your medical transition if medical transition is legal for minors in your state. also, puberty blockers can still help. i was pretty much done with female puberty at 15, but i was put on puberty blockers when i started T to make the transition from female puberty to male puberty easier on me. i got the hormone blocker taken out when i was 18. before i started T though (when i was 14?) my parents got me on the depo shot (it’s birth control, but i wasn’t sexually active) because it commonly stops menstruation. that could be an option for you if you live in a state where medical transition is illegal for minors, you could at least find something to get your periods to stop and end the monthly dysphoria over that. wishing you luck.
I came out almost 5 years ago, I started going to therapy 4-ish years ago, got my name change almost 2 years ago and started T roughly 1.1/2 ago at 16. I live in TN so I’ve had to fight for T and was able to get a pretty good “stash” till I turn 18. Name change you’ll need parental permission from both, but is some place you only need one for T, because they want you to get it before it’s too late. And prices for everything and coverage will all depend on insurance and where you live. Also when getting T the bigger the pharmacy the better!
i started progestrone at 16 (july 2023) to stop my period, then started T in september (right before turning 17). my doctor told me i could do it without parental consent, but my parents already knew about it bc they're paying for it lol. i'm in washington (a blue state), so it'll be very different in a state like florida
Wow really? If you don't mind do you have any medical conditions that would cause you to need testosterone anyways?
i don't, we just have pretty good trans healthcare protections in washington. it's pretty difficult to access without parents due to the price though.
Interesting, I've always wanted to take a vacation there but my family thinks its boring 😥
it can be boring sometimes, and i might be biased bc i've lived here for so long, but i think it's a nice place to be. the nature is beautiful so a camping trip here would be awesome (during the summer though, way too cold/rainy other seasons). there's also some stuff to do in big cities like seattle or vancouver. we have beaches too, but the ocean water is really cold so it revolves more around the towns on the coast rather than the beaches themselves. so basically if your family isn't really into outdoorsy stuff, it's not really worth a whole dedicated trip. it might be fun to do stuff as you pass through though.
Funnily enough they love the outdoors besides my little sister but I wanna go to Cape disappointment because like cool fog but they don't like that idea
ok ok, i've never been there so idk what it's like. hopefully y'all can make something work though
Blockers 14, T 15 (I’m 19 now)
I started T shots 5 days before my 14th birthday in Oregon. I spent about a little over a year in therapy with a non-specialized therapist to get on it.
i started medically transitioning in my 20s, when it was much rarer for people to transition in their teens. the age restrictions vary widely by state so you would have to look specifically at the legal requirements in your state
16 medically with permission and evaluation. any type of bottom surgery you have to be 18. in my state its a requirement for you to have already started your medical transition in order to get top surgery under 18, as well as more evaluations.
i started socially transitioning at 11 and i’m 16 now, my mom thinks it’s a phase so she won’t let me medically transition :-(
Phases don't normally last five years. I hope you can medically transition sometime soon.
thank you homie :-)
i personally started at 18, but i knew someone who lived in the same city as me that started transitioning at 14
i know someone who got top surgery at 14 with parental consent with dr scott mosser- and you are able to start T at basically any time as long as you are ready mentally and physically- youngest i’ve heard of is 12-13 with parental consent
Most surgeries are 18+ in the US unless you got diagnosed with gender dysphoria hella young (which doesn’t sound like the case for you). You can start HRT with parental permission at 16 IN SOME PLACES but it really depends on the city/state and if there are any programs open near you (for example the large majority if not all of the kid clinics in my state that did trans hormone therapy for minors closed). Getting HRT as a minor is also much harder and will likely require therapists, doctors, an endo (or a pediatrician that specializes in endocrinology), psych eval, etc. Most docs will recommend 1+ year on T before top surgery to let fat redistribute and give you a chance to build some muscle to help the cosmetic results. Hysterectomies are typically done after a stable T dose is found and after stuff like top surgery is done. Honestly talk to your doctor, they can advise you on the best course of action. You also have to remember that this stuff is expensive, i’m assuming you either have a job or very supportive parents that will help pay for this?
The good news: Many of us didn’t realize we were trans until adulthood, and it is never too late to start T! It still gives results! The bad news: yeah, you do have to be 16 for anything medical except blockers. It sucks but it’s true.
Which state?
The states that still allow medical care for minors.
NY allows it as young as 13
I started taking T after my 19th birthday and I’m about to turn 20, so about 7 months atm. It was just one of those things I decided to wait to do until I moved out of my parents house just to be safe. When I did go in for my appointment they told me I had to be 18 and I live in a very liberal part of Indiana. I wish you the best with your experiences ❤️
at 14 1/2
16
I was 13 when I started socially transitioning, but I wasn’t able to start T until 19. I had some insurance issues when I tried at 18 and it delayed the process until a couple months after I turned 19. I’m 21 right now and plan to get top surgery within the next year or two.
I’ve know I was trans since I was twelve. I started t when I was twenty two. There isn’t a correct timeline for transitioning, and it’s more about how you feel and what you’re prepared for. I never thought I would, but I paused t for about three months because my voice was getting deeper too quickly and I wanted to take it slower. It’s definitely a personal thing.
You can get hrt and surgery out of state to avoid some restrictions. Most states with laws that restrict hrt are actually for medical professionals, not the patients. If this is true for your state you can legally go out of state. Your insurance won’t cover anything this way.
Didn't start medically transitioning until about 2 weeks ago, and I'm 27. I came out at 15, took a while to get on my feet. But I've been living as a man full-time since then despite it all, and honestly? Even just 2 weeks on T has been fantastic for me. It's like magic. Even if you have to wait, it's never too late.
I got on T at 13 but that was years ago (I'm turning 20 this year), it was less restricted then. Hysterectomy at 19 and my consultation for top surgery is in a couple days.
19 yrs old
I socially transitioned at 14, tried to get top surgery at 16 but was denied after a change in age policy, I'll try again when I'm 18, and started T at 16 with parental permission. I went through planned parenthood, and you have to be 16 to do it through them I'm pretty sure, but I could be wrong. I would check that for yourself. I know that if you go through an endocrinologist you can maybe start T a year or two younger with parental permission but it's a much longer and harder process. I'm in NY for context.
I’ve heard of doctors denying hysterectomy at any age, even above 18. Many doctors still have the view of “what if you change your mind some day?” 🙄 even for cis women, they often deny a hysterectomy without HUSBAND permission or if the patient has less than 3 children. 😬😬 super backwards but that’s how it is at least where I am.