The 3 Key Secrets to Successful Gender Transition!

[@Preciouspink]

6:12 Absolutely. The experience of gender often reaches far beyond traditional categories, becoming a profound journey toward self-acceptance and personal identity. For many, exploring or expressing gender is intertwined with finding a truer sense of self, a way to be authentic in the world. That process-whether it involves navigating gender binaries or rejecting them altogether-can be deeply affirming because it encourages one to fully acknowledge and embrace who they are at their core. It’s an act of honoring one’s humanity, and that goes beyond labels to something more intrinsic and validating.

[@RoyGoneMad]

Beautifully said.

[@kentalwinweaver]

I guess all those hours of listening to Alan Watts lectures about "my self" are beginning to pay off or enrich me. You have framed my endeavor to "go beyond the pale," to step out of my ego experience again without hallucinogens, and use hormones instead. And find my authentic SELF, and cut out the NOISE of living here. THANK YOU!

[@serenasynthesis]

When I stepped into gender transition it was because I was so sick and tired of dealing with my dysphoria… so I was very much “running away” rather than “running to”. My dysphoria / euphoria has always acted more as a compass than a map. I’ve felt pulled in directions… but there’s never been any real “X marks the spot” when it comes to this… I started hormones because “I wanted to be more woman-shaped”, and I’d seen many other trans gals receive miracles in this context. I did not. The double-bad part about this is that when I started getting into surgeries, I honestly thought that medical science could make miracles happen… things got better, but I still didn’t really land all that close to anything I considered a goal. It’s really hard to set goals in the beginning especially if one has no idea the ingredients that one is working with. One of my first steps was the financial piece… figuring out my insurance and backstopping that by speaking directly to my company’s HR team to confirm what I could and couldn’t get. From there I could at least figure out my beginning spot… but I really didn’t fully understand all of my own ingredients towards my new life until a decent while into my process, so building a goal was kind of difficult. The long and the short of it is that I metaphorically journeyed through my wilderness hoping for something better and thinking that I might find this fantastic place that had mountains on one side, the beach on the other, and endless fruit trees and honey in the middle. I wanted to be model-quality gorgeous and to have all the opportunities that such an outcome could provide… but that did not happen. I didn’t know what was in my wilderness… but I did manage to find at least a slice of happiness. The big thing here though is that I had to do a lot of work to get here and I m finding myself still doing a lot of work to make it better. Re:goals, it is good to have some level of parameters but it’s very limiting if one allows the perfect to be the enemy of the good. I would absolutely recommend reimagining oneself in many different ways to figure out what things one wants from every reimagining and then to understand how much effort it might take… and then to aim at whatever ranks high on either the “ease in obtaining” scale or the “desire to obtain” scale… and to do everything to understand that (re)building a life is a journey rather than a weekend, or even two weekends.

[@fiamedknuff]

Definitely do your homework when it comes to insurance. My insurance did not cover any surgeries, so I ended up getting another health insurance that would cover it. It didn't delay the process because I caught it early and was able to switch during open season. I now have great insurance that paid for my FFS back in January and will pay for my SRS in December.

[@wilburshuman]

If I may ask........... What do you have for insurance ????????? Thanks in advance !!!!!!!!!!!! randi.

[@fiamedknuff]

@wilburshuman CareFirst BCBS through my employer.

[@kentalwinweaver]

Pray tell, what is that insurance you found. So far, only Aetna is at the top of my list of prospectives.

[@fiamedknuff]

@kentalwinweaver CareFirst BCBS

[@AshokTiwari-hz8ir]

Okdoctrok❤😂

[@fernandoclavijo5211]

Thank you doctor for your excellent work with the trans community. My story is that 6 years ago gender dysphoria was discovered, but I put it off, the depreciation and the anxiety of being a woman, I couldn't take it anymore. I started M2F, but the testosterone blockers affected my liver. The endocrinologist and the urologist recommended bilateral orchidectomy and after a few days I start taking estrogen.

[@princessjulieta]

My end game goal is female presentation. So I need to do a start to finish transformation to achieve this goal.

[@watermeloncherry1960]

Starting transition soon, perfect timing! Thanks as always Dr. Z

[@beckett7707]

Best of luck to you on your journey!

[@watermeloncherry1960]

@@beckett7707 Thank you!

[@metatechnologist]

Another top notch video. Thank you.

[@mllecamill3]

Yeah, I know what I want, and I have already came out at work, which is supportive. The next step next month is speech training at a speech therapist, which is covered by health insurance in Germany. I also have an appointment with an endocrinologist in December 2025, which is crazy. But at least it’s slowly moving forward. You definitely need to be patient.

[@hazzyeyes773]

Forever thankful for your content! The best support trans people can have! ❤😊

[@liasheeha9391]

thank you DrZ this video really helped me put into perspective a lot of the ideas iv had for my transition and its made me realize i need to be more clear with my doctor in the future

[@DscntnuousMgntic]

This was exactly the video I needed right now, 41, egg just cracked, trying to figure out what the next steps are. Thank you so much for the clear and honest strategic point of view about transitioning.

[@LaHayeSaint]

Dr Z -- Your pearls of wisdom are most profound! (That sounds a good opener if any!). Yes, clear goals regarding how far you wish to take your transitioning process. In addition, it is good to be honest with the support group (or not) around you. Would you be ostracised from whatever community you are in (including family) if you transitioned. Finally, there is the cash. In the UK, medical transitioning can be carried out under the NHS (National Health Service), so we don't have to pay for this. All these points must be considered before you start your journey into transitioning.

[@troycantrell1549]

im on my way ,i know what i want and now slowly reaching for my finally,takes time,wish i could snap my fingers but no shortcuts.thank you alwayz

[@madeline_alice]

dr z you are so often hitting the most important topics in my transition- thank you! ❤ i have insurance but it is high deductible and does not cover anything considered remotely cosmetic. i have adjusted my timeline but not my plans. i have taken on debt that i am ashamed of but i can afford it and i really want what i want regardless of the bad financial deal it is. the real shock was finding out that although i have a plan that covers bottom surgery i cannot find any surgeon willing to negotiate an agreement with the insurer. i can’t afford to pay out of pocket and gamble on what they will reimburse. i’ve complained to hr since they seem so proud to cover trans care but they just thanked me for my input and will consider it when they next consider changing insurers. ::sigh::

[@deathguitarist12]

The whole passing question is one thats interesting to me. When i started out on this, i never expected it to be an option so i never set it as a goal. After 3 years on horomones suddenly it was achievable which left me quite caught off guard. I doubt i will ever be fully cis oassing in the way you describe. Probably just not physically possible. But with minimal effort, i think thats achievable. But now that it seems possible all of my goals have changed dramatically. FFS is an absolute must. BA is a nice to have. I got decent development so its not crucial. I finally realized last night just how badly I actually need SRS. Now it can't come fast enough. Its weird though. I started this journey almost 8 years ago. And even now sometimes it feels like its just beginning. My goals have shifted dramatically 3 separate times as more and more of myself was revealed to me and more things seemed possible. In some ways i am glad i didnt worry about passing early on. Everything would have been far far more stressful. But sll that said, idk why it took me so long to realize some of these things

[@youngman287]

Thank you :)

[@CG-yh6js]

Here(Canada) they pay for chest and genital but nothing for face. In many cases , including mine, I dont mind the genitals or the chest. It's the face I have the most dysphoria with. Why cant I choose?

[@aemiliadelroba4022]

Interesting 😊 😊😊😊

[@Mallory-Malkovich]

The deliberate cruelty of the American insurance system it horrifying. How can any nation allow corporate thieves to rob sick and suffering people like that?

[@jilliand6591]

I wish I had a better goal when I started and for the first 8 years I was kinda just coasting through transition and due to my fear of taking medication I was on a low dose of Estrogen and defiantly had changes but not the kind of progress I wanted and now about 2 years ago I got a better doctor and have increased my dosage and added progesterone and to some extent it feel like I'm restarting my transition and im pretty upset that I wasted the last 8 years and only in the last couple years have I started taking transitioning more seriously and embracing my femininity more.

[@colmonhs]

🙌🙌

[@fernandoclavijo5211]

My question is what are the long and short term consequences of this surgical operation? My penis is atrophied. What is the future?for one Vaginaplacia, thank you doctor

[@Jakie_8]

❤

[@Journey-of-1000-Miles]

I wish I could present feminine, and not be perceived as a man in a dress.

[@anneallison6402]

me the same!

[@Aavagirl]

same