Is Transitioning Worth It?

I'll try answering these as best as I can, k?

- (Obviously) Being scared
* About surgery and needles (T)
If you're scared of any sort of medical procedures, I am here to assure you that it can be managed, if not overcome! XD I am a severe needlephobe, but I'll be starting T soon... I'm also a teenager near the age you mentioned, so that should give you some hope. If you want specifics on how to overcome your phobia, you can always message me.
* About making a mistake and/or not being satisfied with my body after.
This is a very important thing to consider indeed, but my question is: Why do you hate your body? Are you just uncomfortable with it in general, or do you want to look more male? If you want to look male, then you have to work really hard to start that process- luckily age isn't as much of an issue for trans guys transitioning as it is for trans chicks, but it IS better to start young I'll admit.
* About what people with think
You shouldn't worry about random people, or even friends: Those who truly care about you will be around no matter what, and though safety can be a concern, trans men aren't at insanely high risk of being killed, unlike trans women. :/ Just be careful, and try to use the body system when walking- that's a good system to use no matter who you are.
* About being pushed away from my family (They're not the most accepting)
Yeah... That sucks... But the questions at the end of the day are: Will this make you happy? If so, is it worth giving up some of your family connections for? Pretty morbid, but you really do need to think about this. For some people this is a no, for some people this is a yes, but either way you need to come to think about it.
* My family has a very prominent history of Ovarian Cancer (There are ways to avoid the risk, but it's still a risk I'd have to take)
There is no definite risk you'll get Ovarian Cancer on testosterone, and from what I've seen, it's not a super common thing for trans men to get. Still, it's perfectly understandable if you don't want to get on T because you're scared of this... but yeah, you have to decide if the possibility is worth the risk or not. :/ It'd really suck if this was the only thing holding you back though, since you already are at a pretty decent risk of it no matter what, as you said...
- Cost
* My family does NOT make a lot of money
A lot of trans men's families don't, but usually there's a way to make it work. :/ Still, if you can't, you can't.
* If I tried to make it all myself, it would take too long (plus, I wouldn't know how to get that money)
"Too long?" Do you mean you'd finish puberty? You might if you wait until you can get a normal full-time job, but that doesn't make it too late... Still, I understand why this is something you worry over. X_X
* My family would (most likely) not pay for anything
Again, you might need to wait until you're 18 then, since your family would have to sign off on you getting hrt before you could get it anyway...
* From what I know about my insurance, I'm not covered for things related to transition
Honestly, I'd just worry about this when it's something in the near future for you- just make as much as you can, and you should be fine. :/
- Plan & Time
* I would probably want to start T somewhere around 15-16
As I said, if you're under 18 and your parents don't approve that might be an issue, but yeah, 16 is the recommended time for trans people to start hrt...
* (I feel) The best time to get top surgery (if I get it at all) would be 18 or so
Same here! XD Don't worry about it though- I am talking to my therapist about maybe getting it in two years and I'm still not worrying! Just get as much information as you can on it, and you should be fine.
* I don't think I want bottom surgery at all (too dangerous)
Erm, it's not particularly dangerous, but yeah, you won't have as much sensitivity probably then, and personally I don't think the bottom surgeries for trans men look realistic, but yeah, it's fine if you don't want to.
* My family refuses to even try pronouns and my name until I'm 'sure' this is what I want (Somewhere within 2-3 years :icon_sad: )
:/ Be patient with them- at least they're saying they're just waiting until you're sure. That might not be accepting, but that's not flat-out transphobic either... Don't hound them about pronouns, but do remind them from time to time if they really seem like they're trying to push you to be a girl...
* I'm 13 now and I start working as soon as I turn 14
Cool! ^_^ Good luck!

 

Obviously it depends person to person. In my case, yes transitioning is worth it. I was having a conversation with my mum today and I told her that "I'd rather kill myself than live as a 'girl'" and I think that put in perspective just how much this matters to me. Like you say, you are 13 and if youre having doubts there's absolutely no reason for you to rush into it. I questioned myself for 2-3 years before ending up in a place where I was certain that social and medical transitioning was what I needed to do. About the money side of things, you can make it work if youre determined enough. Set up a justgiving page, sell things you don't use or need, put aside a little every week, if you make any kind of art then you could sell that. It might take a couple years to accumulate all that you need but if you start now by the time things like T and surgery comes, I think you'd be able to gather enough.

 

You'll have a long time to think about this. As for the ovarian cancer thing...If you do end up transitioning you will most likely need a full hysterectomy and oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries), especially because of your history of ovarian cancer. So that will actually eliminate your risk of ovarian cancer!

And money...I've recently come to realize that hormones are actually pretty cheap, like 50 bucks a month. Bloodwork can be expensive but your insurance should cover that. The surgeries are of course expensive but most people save for a long time for those. Therapy is expensive as well, but your parents may eventually be willing to help you with that and most insurance will cover therapy at least like half of it.

Your plan sounds reasonable (though you may have trouble saving for top surgery so soon), but just keep in mind it will probably change a lot.

Good luck and we're always here if you have more questions or need to talk!

 

I'd like to mention that what Ricky said is probably only going to be a suggestion you get, and you should carefully consider that too, since if you get your ovaries removed and then have to stop taking T for some reason, your body won't have a lot of hormones running through it and will naturally weaken pretty severely over time due to that.

 

Oh certainly. Not saying everyone gets this or that you have to. I plan to personally though, but not for at least 5 years.

 

I know everyone's case is different and maybe mtf is different than Ftm, but once somone is rid of their ovaries/testes, doesn't the dosage of cross-gender hormones usually get drastically reduced? Since you have to have either E or T to stay healthy, you'd have to be REALLY sick to not be able to stay on a maintenance dose of testosterone, especially since t has less health risks than estrogen and you'd already be masculinized. I wouldn't worry about that except as inspiration to live healthy