My child is trans, help!

[jacksmom53]

I apologize for this post if any find it offensive or ignorant. I was referred here by my sister, who told me that livejournal had many good communities for this kinds of issues

Comments

[amor_demi_alma]

I don't know too much about being trans, but I just wanted to say that your son is so, SO lucky to have you. Thank you so much for being so supportive of and concerned about him. You're a wonderful person, and you should be so proud of yourself for being such a strong, informed, devoted parent. Your post gives me hope that more GLBTQQIA kids these days are destined to be greeted with support instead of disdain, and that makes me so happy.
Thank you.

[thisbequeerchik]

I have to agree with gairid and agent alpo - you're doing the right thing by coming here, to a group of people who would like to offer you support and understand the LGBT community, rather than having a knee jerk reaction and making excuses for why he can't possibly know what he's thinking.

As far as your worries about not being able to reverse transition, look into Lupron Depot. It's a drug that blocks the onset of puberty, and is completely reversible. It is very expensive, and I don't know if there are any doctors in your area that will prescribe it (although if you can find a gender therapist, finding a doctor to prescribe it shouldn't be a problem). This article, from SF Weekly, tells the story of Marty, a transgender boy who went on Lupron Depot. It's a couple years old now, but it's a very good article

[nikolche]

First of all...can you be my mom? So few trans adults have supportive parents, let alone young teenagers.

Second, you'll probably want to find local groups for both yourself and your husband and your son. PFLAG has a support network for families of transpeople called TNET that could be of some use. Unfortunately, they aren't quite as common as PFLAG itself just yet

[keito_f]

Do you know why medical doctors are unwilling to prescribe hormone therapy before puberty? As a doctor of anatomy, I would think that the results would be much better if you act early than if you wait. Also I have a friend who is intersex, and I know he has been on hormone therapy since he was very young. Obviously being intersex is not the same thing, but if children who are intersex can receive hormone therapy early on, I do not see a medical reason why trans children should not.

[nikolche]

There isn't a real medical reason, to be honest. Trans children are so new that no one is quite sure how to deal with them. Right now there's still a huge fear that it's just a phase and they'll be stuck with undesired physical effects for the rest of their lives. While there certainly ARE instances of gender variant children growing up to be gender normative adults (so far the few studies show that most will be gay, a handful will be trans, and a very small minority will be straight and cisgendered), by the time puberty hits the numbers drop significantly

[keito_f]

*nods*

Hormone blockers does seem like a good way to deal with the issue if you want to make sure a child is ready. I would just be worried about letting puberty proceed and then trying to reverse it. The body would be much easier to shift if it is done before puberty engages.

[iconoclast]

This post touched me deeply. There's something about seeing a parent as supportive as you that reaffirms my faith in the human condition, especially when so much hate and scorn are heaped on sexual minorities daily.

[molestahlestah]

I just wanted to toss you a link to TYFA- TransYouth Family Allies. I think you'll find Kim Pearson and all the folks there immensely helpful.

http://www.imatyfa.org/index.html