Hello!

I’m looking to buy these because I need them for my shots but I can’t find them on the needle exchange website and the only ones I can find are from amtech but they’re kind of expensive and will get them if there’s nowhere else. Cheers.

I've been looking for clinic that can start me on HRT but so far all of the places I've been to all cost like 500 to 2000 NZD per appointment. Im also unfortunately not a citizen here yet. Can someone please recommend me to some place so that I can start my HRT within a reasonable amount of wait time?
Im 18 years old and I live In a suburb call Flat bush in Auckland

I hope it's not against the subreddit rules to make two posts in a row!! And this may be a very silly question, but does it cost to start testosterone here in NZ or is it all payed by your health insurance? And if it does cost, how much? I know appointments with your GP and Psychiatrist to actually start getting ON T will cost a bit, but I was wondering if the weekly/monthly T injections themselves cost any money. Again apologies if this is a silly question, I just haven't been able to get a clear answer from anyone. Thanks in advance!! :D

I've recently just saved up enough money to afford a legal name change and gender marker change (FtM), but I'm wondering if it'd be worth it to get a gender marker change at all?

I plan on flying pretty regularly over the next year, and I'm not sure if AirNZ or NZ airport security systems are super friendly to trans people in or if it'd cause more issues than it's worth.

I'm not on T yet, but I plan on starting soon-ish, and I'll be travelling between the North and South Island and also (hopefully!!) to the US.

Any tips or advice for going through NZ airports while being trans is super duper appreciated, thanks!!

Hi Y’all wonderful people.

Before you read further, apologies for the long message, I’d appreciate if you read my ramblings and try help out. But also feel free to go on with your night/day :) and I appreciate you anyway.

Just reaching out as I’m looking for a general vent followed by some long questions at the end. I seem to be perpetually undecided on transitioning. I am 26 nearly 27 and have been questioning for the last 10 odd years. I haven’t been able to transition for one reason or another, but due to life circumstances I may be nearing a point where I could. I tend to go through periods where there is nothing else in the world I want more and then others where I just accept my situation and try to be content being a man for the rest of my left. I currently am struggling a little with the idea of Fomo and regret, I don’t want to be re gretting not transitioning when I get to 50 years old.

Trouble is while I have this intense desire to present as my true feminine self and help lessen/eliminate some incongruous features, I have never felt like I truely identify as trans. I haven’t ever grown up around other trans people, friends etc. I want to dress all feminine, but I still have very male focused interests. I’m not sure if it’s like internal shame, or a desire to fit in or something, but I don’t want to be trans at all, I just want to be a woman. I tried reaching out to ASHS for counselling a few years ago and the response I got at the time was basically we don’t have the funding for that, figure it out and then get back to us when you are sure.

Few questions for you all.

• health insurance. I know that it won’t/is unlikely to like cover any procedures etc. Even if I accept that, am I like screwing myself over if I go on HRT..? Like has anyone experienced them void all coverage or anything like that. I don’t have any conditions etc per se, I just like the insurance/safetynet of it. Health is wealth after all.
• If I was to go on HRT I would want to stealth as long as possible, until I felt like I could/was close to passing. Has anyone experienced like negative push back/stand in your way from people in the health sector that view you as “not trans enough” as a result. I celebrate all of you that are confident enough to go straight out presenting as your true gender straight off the bat, but that’s just not me.
• One of the things giving me confidence in starting HRT was an argument I saw online. Saying pretty much (paraphrasing) “what is the harm in at least trying it. Most of the short term changes aren’t permanent and if you don’t like it, you can just stop again”. Is this like the wrong mentality…? Obviously I wouldn’t say that to a doctor, but is it ‘dreaming/naieve’ to think like that..?
• What’s everyone’s coming out stories to family, friends, acquaintances, works people and going out in public? (Both good and bad). I’ve already tried coming out once a few years ago to my parents, didn’t go well, but I guess at the time they had some valid reasons not to believe me. They kind of confronted me and while I admitted it I then kind of deflected it onto a bad breakup I had recently had. My mental state wasn’t great at the time and I just couldn’t go through with it. With my parents now moving away, it gives me a bit of breathing space a few years later, that if I stuck to it, I believe that there wouldn’t be any issues on the family front. I’m also fortunate enough to work in a fairly female dominated company in an industry that can be pretty inclusive. I have built up a good reputation working there for a couple years, but I’m struggling with if I come out as trans I could be benched away from clients for a while and some/all of that hard out could be lost. I’m not sure if I have been reading too much fear directly from America after the election, but I’m kind of just looking for a truer representation of what it’s like in what I hope is a more friendlier part of the world.

Anyway thanks for getting this far and maybe answer some questions if you can :)

-Lissa xx (maybe/maybe not the girl that never was)

Im a transmen and I have NO IDEA where I can find testosterone.. I've heard you can find it at Walgreens but do I have to be prescribed for it?..im 14 years old and I have no clue on how much it is because im trying to save up to buy it because my parents are religious and they are against Trans..my parents know im a transmen but they hate that abt me and I've been researching about testosterone but they all say different things! I dont even know how to get all these therapy's for transitioning and when I turn 16 im planning on getting top surgery but I have no idea on where I am going to get it can someone plsss help my lil brain??

I just rode through it on my morning ride, completely oblivious! I think they start first events at 8am.

Good luck to those doing it. That light rain is lovely!

Kia ora koutou

I run the Wellington Binder Exchange, and often get asked by parents where they can buy binders from.

I'm out of the loop, in my day Under Works and GC2B were the leading binder brands.

I've heard GC2B's quality has gone down hill since COVID, so looking for recommendations of binder companies.

Chur

Hi everyone. I very recently kind of had an explosive revelation that I am very likely trans (woman). This has made me feel much better about myself and alive again after 5 years in depression-coma but also gives me a lot of things to worry about and be afraid of. I live in rural greater wellington. I rely on my family, who are very transphobic. I'm 23, so have gone through full male puberty.

So, I have a few questions.

1. What is the cost for HRT? How do you go about getting it asap? How hard is it to hide from others for as long as possible (both the obtaining of it and results)
2. Is there anyone, any group that I can join for help? All the groups in my local area are dormant.
3. Any late transitioners, how hard has it been to be comfortable with yourself?

I really am like frothing at the mouth to talk and understand trans stuff more. I would love to meet in person with some people. Transness always felt so alien to me in the past even though I've always been secretly jealous of those brave enough to be themselves. I don't think I'm brave because now I consciously (with much ongoing difficulty) accept I'm trans I feel desperate to transition as quickly as possible!

I know it’s a massive stretch but I’m an American here on working holiday and want to start T. I’m hoping to transition to a longer term visa but if it’s possible to get started sooner rather than later on T in the meantime that would be ideal. Does anyone have any experience with this? Obviously willing to pay private as I don’t have access to public on a working holiday visa.

specifically for transgirls and some place near the Southeastern Suburb in the city of Auckland, Flatbush is preferable

How much in total did it all cost to get started on HRT and how long did the whole process take to start?

I heard that you'll usually need to visit a specialist/endocrinologist afterward which costs 500 a session and it might take 1-2 sessions before you can start informed consent

what method did you went through

this is what im scared of and pebbles are slowly dropping down the mountain to create an avalanche.

T controls are unfair but the DIY networks will remain reliable bc as someone else i read said - cops love roids, cis gymbros/bodybuilders are the main demo, cis men run the world and will not make it any harder than it is now to source T.

society hates women as a rule and cis women's healthcare is also on the chopping block everywhere, and if society doesn't care about women it specifically doesn't care about menopausal women, if this was done as part and parcel of the HRT attacks then it's an attack on both cis and trans women with the gun aimed at the latter. for this reason incl our geographic isolation and our hyper intrusive 'ecology-minded' customs regulations being easily weaponisable for right wing ends (remembering when for instance u could get amyl in until suddenly u couldnt) i think trans fem DIY here is extremely fragile and i am more convinced that the anti trans govt attacks here arent gonna stop in the face of public opposition or polling and the playbook is probably american style eradication from public life and the illegalisation of any transition at all

Kia ora !!

I am looking into having surgery with Dr. Chris Porter in Christchurch and was wondering if anyone has had top surgery (FTM) with him? And if so, would anyone feel comfortable enough to show their post-op results ??

I've been in touch with his team and they stated that they are unable to share photos due to privacy reasons, which is fair enough, but I personally do not feel comfortable not knowing what his previous results look like before committing to surgery with him.

Any result pics from him would be awesome, but I have been told I would qualify for double incision so I would love to see results for that !!

I just want to see how accepting people are of transgirls, and by people I meant men

When I said "passing", I meant that people wouldn't think that you're trans without telling them

I just want to manage my expectations, because rejection doesn't stop hurting so so so so much, it hurts much more when it's because of something that you can't decide

I'm sorry for I'm excluding people and doomposting

SounthernCross Insurance claim to be pride affirming, but their healthcare policies explicitly exclude all surgical procedures for trans people, and they state…

“It is excluded for a range of reasons based on our previous reviews which include, but are not limited to, the cost and availability of this type of surgery within New Zealand”. Even though some gender affirming procedures are funded if it is for a non-GA reason (eg Orchie).

And “We understand the importance of access to this type of procedure for our members and will continue to review relevant medical information as it becomes available”.

This sounds like corporate bullshit to me, as their actions and words are inconsistent.

Hello :) I'll be coming to Aotearoa in February to work as a language assistant at two schools in Wellington, therefore I figured it makes sense to sort out how I get my hormones pre arrival. At home, I usually get my injection done by my doctor, but it seems to me that it's normal for you all to do injections yourself? Do doctors even offer to do the injection for you? Because if I'd have to do it myself, I'll change to gel before arrival, I don't see myself capable to do injections myself. Thanks for any responses :) Cheers!

i've researched as much as i can but i can't find too much nz-specific info outside of gender minorities aotearoa. tl;dr, my medical service found out i was DIY-ing with a friend's t vials so they squeezed me in for the assessment as fast as possible.

it's so scary knowing that on thursday, somebody else gets to tell me if i'm trans or not. somebody else gets to tell me if i'll ever be happy or if i should just give up now.

i know i'm going to have to downplay my mental health (even though i know most of those issues started YEARS after finding out i'm trans), but i'm not sure HOW much. apparently they're going to look at my file and they'll see two hospitalisations... should i give up now?

For the last few years, and particularly last Xmas I felt a bit dysphoric with the presents I got. They were typical 'Dad' presents and I felt weird trying to say to people that know I'm trans to maybe focus on more feminine presents.

I'm not sure if I say something this year or just hope that people realise I'm a lot more feminine this year and gift accordingly. I'm not one for requesting presents as I feel it's just manufactured giving.

Just popped into my head now so I thought I'd ask if anyone else has similar feelings

Is there any experience people have had going into places like the big banks or firms (like big4, not for their pay) as a trans person in NZ?

I’m a closeted transfem from Auckland who’s just finished uni and really looking for just something better to get me up the ladder (I work in a small business that isn’t super inclusive). I’m currently in between seeing the risk posed to me if I commit to fully living the way I want now, not really passing vs living closeted (oh the pain!) then transitioning between jobs or just transitioning at a job.

I’m really just interested in what to expect out of it.

Hey everyone,

Just thought I'd write a post.

I had my Orchiectomy today at Palmerston North Hospital.

Timeline wise i went to my GP in April to go on the public list got my acknowledgement letter in July and got my consult in October.

I got rung on the 20th of November to have the surgery on the 22nd of November so was short notice but it's a day surgery so was on the cancellation list either way I was super excited 😊

Had to fill out usual paperwork before the surgery and had to be there by 0730 this morning, once I got there I got taken to the waiting room and saw the nurse she was amazing, she was really nice throughout the entire process.

Got changed and then met the surgeon he explained what technique he uses which is a middle line incision and then met with one of the two anesthesiologists which was just a normal check of what will happen and allergies.

We then went to another waiting room with recliner chairs and waited to get called for surgery and met the other anaesthesiologist and was the same as the last basically a double check.

Then called and taken to theater at 10am they put a needle in my hand and all the monitoring equipment attached, put a mask on and I was put to sleep.

Surgery took about an hour and a half, I woke up in recovery at 11.45am just felt groggy and had quite a bit of deep aching pain in my groin they gave me more morphine a couple of times to manage and then eventually a morphine tablet as well as I was a day surgery so will help with the drive home. (Also got a lemonade iceblock which is amazing afterwards😁)

After an hour was taken back the after care and they put me in a recliner and had to wait at least an hour and had to pee before getting discharged and finally got some food and a cup of tea.

I got discharged at 3pm and the ride home wasn't to great but bearable now in bed and my nurse wifey is doing an amazing job looking after me.

All of the staff were amazing, all asked my pronouns and went over above with my care.

I basically have paracetamol and codeine for pain management so far pain is about a 1 or 2 just annoying little aches really.

I am so happy this is finally done I can't stop smiling that they are finally gone.

I hope this is helpful to others looking to get this done too.

If you have any questions I'll try and answer as best I can ❤️

Gf has been struggling alone with her thoughts. Since I came out, she has been alone with these thoughts. Only just told me the other night when she couldn't keep it in.

We love each other to the moon and back as she always says.

She admitted that she doesn't like women. And blames herself for lack of sex life. She was sick for a long time so we couldn't do anything. But now we have no sex life because my junk no longer works. She blames herself for everything.

I'm autistic so I'm terrified of putting my foot in my mouth. Don't know what to do