A Trans Woman Looking to Start my Transition

Hi, I'm Elizabeth. Just over a year ago, I came out as trans. I'd known for four years, but it took a long time to finally come out and start living my life. I've been living as a woman for over a year now, but things haven't been quite as plain sailing as I hoped.

In that year, I've started working full-time, and moved away from home. That's left me, naturally, in a position where I don't have a significant amount of disposable income. As I'm sure plenty of people know, the NHS' trans healthcare provision is basically non-functional at the moment. I have tried to access treatment through one independent organisation, but after sinking over £300 into it, I still have nothing to show for it, with no useful response from the organisation and with my GP seemingly unwilling to prescribe on their recommendation.

At this point, I have two options, other than just wait around hoping that the service I've given my money too (who I'm only seeing negative experiences of online right now as well) magically works exactly as I need it to.

The first is going DIY. It isn't technically an impossibility, but it is expensive, and it has severe limitations. It'll cost me as much as any private clinic just for a year's supply, and in a year I'll have to pay that again. And that's before you take into account what happens if I want to up my dosage.

The second is to just start from scratch. To go to a different service, which seems to have a better reputation right now, and which will hopefully allow me to get onto hormones in a stable, sustainable way, as well as to be able to do so in a way which gives me a clearer path to being able to adjust dosages and medications as I need.

Either way, the simple reality is that I cannot afford it. Especially after having wasted money on a service that clearly doesn't have the capacity to give me what I need right now. So, I am doing the only thing I have left to do, and that's ask for help. I'm trying to raise the funds for the appointments I need. Everything else, the actual prescriptions, travel, I can manage, but I just can't afford to pay hundreds MORE pounds than I already have.

I wish I could offer something in return, but I can't. I just have no other options left than to ask for your help. So, if you can, please help me.