This story is from the comments listed below, summarised by AI.
Authenticity Assessment: Not Suspicious
Based on the provided comments, this account appears authentic. There are no serious red flags suggesting it is a bot or not a real detransitioner/desister.
The user shares consistent, detailed personal experiences (e.g., mastectomy, going off T, getting implants) and expresses complex, passionate opinions that reflect the nuanced and often painful perspective of someone who has lived through this experience. The language is natural, and the arguments are well-reasoned and supported with personal insight.
About me
I started testosterone and had a mastectomy at 14 because I felt so uncomfortable with my changing body during puberty. I now believe my distress was really from an eating disorder and other mental health struggles, not from being male. Transitioning didn't fix my problems and I deeply regret the permanent changes I made to my body. After detransitioning, I had reconstructive surgery and am learning to accept myself as a female. I'm moving forward now, understanding that being a woman doesn't mean you have to fit into a specific box.
My detransition story
My whole journey with transition and detransition was long and complicated. I started medically transitioning when I was 14 years old. Looking back, I think a lot of my feelings were rooted in a deep discomfort with puberty. My body was changing in ways I didn't like, and I felt very different and out of place. I now believe this is a common feeling for a lot of teenagers, but at the time, I thought it meant I was a boy.
I had a lot of other issues going on that I think played a huge part. I struggled with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia. I hated my developing breasts and my changing shape. I’ve since learned through my own research that there’s a strong link between eating disorders and trans-identification. The distress I felt about my body was likely a symptom of my eating disorder, but it got interpreted as gender dysphoria. I wish someone had treated my eating disorder first instead of just affirming my gender confusion.
I also had anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. I’ve read that psychological trauma and other mental health difficulties can often lead to gender confusion, and I think that was true for me. I felt like I didn't fit in as a girl, so becoming a boy seemed like an escape from all those uncomfortable feelings. I think I was influenced by what I saw online, too; it seemed like a solution.
I was prescribed testosterone and had a double mastectomy. For a while, I thought it fixed my problems. But eventually, I realized I had made a mistake. The medical transition didn't address the root of my issues; it just gave me a new set of problems to deal with. I regret transitioning. It didn't solve my underlying mental health struggles and it permanently altered my body in ways I now have to live with. My greatest difficulty is looking at old pictures and not knowing who I could have been or what I would have looked like if I had just gotten help for my real problems instead.
Detransitioning was one of the hardest and most vulnerable things I’ve ever done. I was so embarrassed and scared to tell people. But I was surprised by how accepting people were, including my partner who I told on our first date. He was wonderfully supportive.
After detransitioning, I had breast implants to reconstruct my chest. My surgeon did an incredible job and I am very happy with the results now. I’m off testosterone and trying to move forward.
My thoughts on gender now are that the current approach to diagnosing gender dysphoria is flawed. It’s based on self-proclamation and doesn’t look deeply enough at other mental health conditions that could be causing the distress. Not every person who feels uncomfortable with their body or who doesn't fit stereotypes is transgender. I’ve learned that being a woman doesn't mean you have to be a certain way; I’m a tomboy and that’s okay. I just needed to come to terms with the woman I am.
| Age | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 | Started taking testosterone. |
| 14 | Underwent a double incision double mastectomy. |
| (Age not specified) | Stopped taking testosterone. |
| (Age not specified) | Underwent breast implant surgery for reconstruction. |
Top Comments by /u/pineconepygmy:
This is just common across the board in individuals who are trans-identified. I noticed this too. When writing a research paper on detransition I found statistics to back this up.
I included two sources-
“Effects of Treating Gender Dysphoria and Anorexia Nervosa in a Transgender Adolescent: Lessons Learned.” Here, Strandjord explores the presence of eating disorders in a case study of one transgender individual. The patient discussed was a 19-year-old transgender male, female to male transgender. This article essentially dissects the journey of the patient in navigating disordered eating. Four months after he began treatment for anorexia nervosa, the patient began expressing gender confusion and requested counseling. The patient appeared to have body dysmorphia, which is a common symptom of anorexia. Soon after being evaluated for his gender confusion, he was diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria. The patient was prescribed testosterone and underwent an elective double-mastectomy after five months on these hormones (Stranjord, 943). This is not unique to this individual. In a survey conducted by the Journal of Adolescent Health, 300,000 college students were asked about diagnosed eating disorders. The results found that 15% of the transgender people surveyed reported being diagnosed with an eating disorder within the last year, compared with 3.52% of cisgender sexual minority women, 2.06% of cisgender sexual minority men, 1.85% of cisgender heterosexual women, and 0.55% of cisgender heterosexual men (eatingdisorderhope.com).
I think this is something that is not talked about enough. Body dysphoria is a symptom of both Gender Dysphoria and eating disorders, who is to say one did not cause the other?
You are welcome (though I’m new to this subrebbit so I’m not the gatekeeper XD). You don’t need to have taken hormones or gone through surgery to have an impactful story.
Gender ideology is harmful to every little boy and girl who feels different, who feels “othered”. Your story is just as important as those who have medically transitioned- I am so happy you didn’t though.
This entire subreddit is about detransition and people who regret transition. I would say this is not an an objective place to find guidance on whether or not to transition.
I wholeheartedly regret transitioning and it ruined my life, I speak from that experience. I will not adjust my approach to anyone else under the guides that they may actually be trans- they can see a gender therapist for that.
This is a subreddit for people who, for the most part, regret transitioning. It hope it does not bend to appease people who hope to silence our voices.
The problem is, the current approach to diagnosis is what also lead many of us to transition. Many of the people here, by self-proclamation, checked the boxes that filled a diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria. It’s hard to know if you’re really trans because the professionals that are meant to diagnose you are specialized in gender therapy. And the current approach to treating gender dysphoria, as a gender therapist, is to affirm the gender you identify with.
No one can tell you if you’re trans or not. It sounds like you’re just insecure with your more masculine traits. I wish I was the dainty feminine girl, but I’m not. I have always been short, awkward and tomboyish. That doesn’t make me less of a woman, I just needed to come to terms with the woman I am. I don’t get to be the effortlessly preppy, hot girl, because I’m not.
This doesn’t exactly sound like gender dysphoria either, many men and woman want to be a different variation of the person they are.
Not really. I started transitioning medically at 14 years old. Looking back at old pictures of myself, it’s hard to know what I would have looked like. That is my greatest difficulty having detransitioned. I don’t know who I could have been, what I would have looked like.
That’s false. There are medical professionals analyzing the onset of gender dysphoria; they found that mental illness and unfortunate life-altering events essentially prompt gender confusion.
There is ever-growing literature that psychological trauma, specifically in childhood, often aids in adolescent trans-identification. Commonalities in transgender individuals should be a consideration when evaluating treatment; there seems to be a subset of traumatic events and difficulties that lead to Gender Dysphoria. These include anxiety, depression, self-harm, sexual abuse or childhood neglect, autistic traits, body dysmorphia, difficulty in coming to terms with puberty, unconscious homophobia in same sex attracted peoples and attachment trauma (Withers, 871).
Withers, Robert. “Transgender Medicalization and the Attempt to Evade Psychological Distress.” Journal of Analytical Psychology, vol. 65, no. 5, Nov. 2020, pp. 865–89. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5922.12641.
I told my partner on the first date and he was wonderfully supportive. I had only gotten a double mastectomy but was newly off T.
There are lovely people out there who will recognize detransition as a strength. It’s an incredibly vulnerable and difficult step to take.
I got implants. My surgeon did an incredible job. My double mastectomy was double incision but after implants, I am now a B cup. Message me if you would like a referral, I don’t feel comfortable sharing my doctors name here.
I specifically asked for very natural looks breasts my my surgeon delivered. I am almost a year post op from my implants and I could not be happier with them
So happy for you. I was so embarrassed to detransition, I was so scared to tell those I was close to but people are so much more accepting than you think. I think people realize just how difficult this is, or try to. It’s not an easy thing to do and I’m proud of you :)
This is actually a great point and entirely where I am coming from. “We are waiting for concrete information, not just speculations.” We should not be giving children/adolescents life-altering hormones or surgeries without all of the information. If a child exhibits signs of disordered eating, the eating disorder should be treated first.
Is there any journal you can cite that states eating disorders causes gender dysphoria? Would gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia not be one in the same? We don’t even know what truly causes gender dysphoria- diagnosis is based on self proclamation/identification. There’s nothing clinical about our current approach to diagnosis.
Even The Mayo Clinic acknowledges that there is no one pill fix to Gender Dysphoria, all care must be individualized and gender-affirming care may never fully ease the distress of dysphoria.