GenderLife Forum: The Information Exchange

Thirty three years ago I got the dream of becoming a girl. I should have done something about achieving my dream many years ago, but due to the type of society I lived i I did what I could to be a man! I won't go into my past life, but now I want nothing more than to be a woman, my neet is so string I can almost taste it!!!

However, I have been diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and over the past yeas I have started to rely on crutches merely to walk outside my home!

The reason behind this posting is to ask if anyone knows of any girls with MS who have been able to transition or has my thoughts of girlhood finally gone?

That's awful! My mother-in-law has, though, and she's actually doing quite well. It's been almost ten years since she was diagnosed. She gets better and worse. With treatment, you can have a good quality of life for years... plus, we might see new treatments that can restore mobility and extend life for MS patients in the near future. I suggest that you try to transition, if that's really what you want. You've definitely got a hard road ahead of you. I'm not sure if docs will be willing to prescribe hormones or if you'll find a surgeon willing to operate on you if that's what you want...

But seriously, there are two possibilities here:
1) You've got at least several years left, and you'll be sorry if you don't transition.
2) You're going down fast, and so everyone should kiss your ass: do it!

I think you should talk to your doctors and probably a therapist as well. Get their opinions and then go with what feels right for you. I have never known a transwoman with MS personally, but, I am sure some must exist. I have known of plenty of women that have transitioned with other various medical conditions. Of course, it may complicate things a little for you, but, the benefit of living your authentic life is huge as well.

Well dear, there is a history of it in my family, and one cousin is near to gone now. It was thought I had it at one stage, but it proved negative. I had a below par immune system instead and malfunctioning adrenals..and suffered from chronic fatigue..anyhoo..I did spend a week in a homeopathic hospital and it was full of MS patients..it really taught me many things about the illness.

My cousin has had it for 20 years, it has ruined his life, no question...but he still went on to have a musical career and was a quite well known pop star in the 80s...He DID manage to achieve great things..but it did get him in the end.

The people I met in hosptial were all near the end. Some had shakes down one side, some both sides, some near blind, speech badly affected. It could be considered a harrowing experience...and indeed some of them were extremely bitter. Point is..some of these people were diagnosed a long time before they got to the seriously afflicted stage..and some of them had still achieved great things.

I'd say you can..no question. You may have to fight extra hard and you will be against the clock..but ain't it always that way anyways.

Good luck.

PS, if british doctors say you can't on medical grounds..you say you can..do not take their word for it.

Sorry for your situation Davinia but it sounds like an excellent argument for not hanging about in life while you could be living the life you were meant to live.

BTW, this is true for you and everyone else on this forum who is waiting for some mythical 'right time' to be a woman.

honey i really dont know

for once im stuck for words pm me hon

Yes, I do know of a girl who successfully transtioned with MS. She was also involved in a study at NIH because she was 1 in 3 in her immediate family with the disease and was a perfect candidate for study during transition.

This was about 10 years ago.

I suggest you contact the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD and research her case. If you PM me I will give you her name.

Thank you ladies for your reassuring words. You've stopped me worrying quite so much. And above all, whatever happens, I hope my story may serve as a lesson in the perils of delaying things!

Davinia, none of us knows from one day to the next what the future holds...but we can know our dreams, and bring them to life as best we can.



Davinia, your story serves as a lesson in being brave in the face of adversity.

If I were you, I'd do it.
When you're in the last stages of MS and all you have left are your memories, it would be nice to remember that you achieved your dream.