Patrick Mitchell

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Patrick Mitchell at the age of 12
Born	2002/2003 (age 20–21)

Patrick Mitchell with his mother Alison. She allowed her son to take her own oestrogen hormones when he was 13 years old.

An Australian schoolboy who decided to transition into a female has changed his mind two years later. At just 12-years-old, Patrick Mitchell, begged with his mother to begin taking oestrogen hormones after doctors diagnosed him with gender dysphoria - a condition where a person experiences distress because there is a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity. "You wish you could just change everything about you, you just see any girl and you say I'd kill to be like that," Mitchell told 60 Minutes. After heeding advice from professionals who suggested that it was right choice, his mother was fully supportive and Mitchell began to transition. He grew out his hair and started to take the hormones, which caused his body to grow breasts. But two years on, Mitchell had a change of heart. In the beginning of 2017, teachers at school began to refer to him as a girl which triggered Mitchell to question if he had made the right decision. "I began to realise I was actually comfortable in my body. Every day I just felt better," he told Now To Love[ext]. Patrick's mother said he used to dress up in girls clothes (60 Seconds) As a result, Mitchell confided in his mother and explained that he wanted to transition back into a boy. "He looked me in the eye and said 'I'm just not sure that I am a girl'," his mother explained. Now, in a bid to revert back to his original body, he has stopped taking his medication and is about to have an operation to remove excess breast tissue in what will be the final stage of his transition. At 12-years-old he began taking oestrogen hormones after doctors diagnosed him with gender dysphoria (60 Seconds) While gender dysphoria is rare, the number of people being diagnosed with the condition is increasing, due to growing public awareness. A survey of 10,000 people undertaken in 2012 by the Equality and Human Rights Commission[wp] found that 1% of the population surveyed was gender variant, to some extent. If you think you or your child may have gender dysphoria, the NHS suggests seeing your GP who, if necessary, can then refer you to a specialist Gender Identity Clinic (GIC).

– Sarah Young

"I'm just not sure that I am a girl": Teen who began gender transition at 12 reveals WHY he changed his mind and wanted to go back to being a boy Australian boy Patrick Mitchell was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at age 12 Patrick, now 14, developed breasts after taking mother's oestrogen hormones Two years later he has made a dramatic u-turn and stopped taking medication Patrick needs surgery to reduce the breasts he developed because of treatment An Australian boy decided he wanted to become a girl after he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at the age of 12. But after two years taking his mother's oestrogen hormones, Patrick Mitchell had a change of heart. 'I started developing like a girl would - which was the thing I wanted at that time. But now that's no so helpful,' Patrick, now 14, told Channel Nine's 60 Minutes program. 'You have an image of what being a boy and being a girl is like, but when you actually experience it, it's very different.' Patrick Mitchell decided he wanted to become a girl after he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at the age of 12. Two years later, he had a change of heart Patrick grew his hair long and began developing breasts as a result of taking his mother's oestrogen medication After growing his hair and developing breasts as a result of his treatment, Patrick looked his mother in the eye and said: 'I'm just not sure that I am a girl.' 'I guess I just realised that I could be happy without completely changing who I am,' he said. Patrick had believed he was a girl trapped in a boy's body from a young age and became severely depressed when he reached puberty. 'I would get out of the shower and walk past the mirror and I wouldn't look at myself because it just upset me,' he said. 'I would just wonder if I really needed to be alive.' Patrick (pictured as a young child) would wear women's clothes from a very young age His mother, Alison, made the decision to give him puberty blockers before she allowed him to take her own oestrogen hormones when he was 13 years old. Under Australian law, teenagers must wait until the age of 16 and need court approval before they can begin hormone replacement therapy. 'Our motivation for second stage [oestrogen] treatment was that Patrick was growing very tall and very broad,' she told the program. 'One thing that oestrogen will do is halt bone growth to more of girl pattern of growth. 'We were wanting to fuse his bone growth so that we could reduce his height a little bit and also soften his features.' Senior paediatrician Professor John Whitehall said he held grave concerns about giving oestrogen to transgender teenagers. Patrick's mother, Alison, allowed her son to take her own oestrogen hormones when he was 13 years old I started developing like a girl would - which was the thing I wanted at that time. But now that's no so helpful,' Patrick, now 14, said 'There is no proof that this is going to work. You think their emotional problems are going to get better by giving them oestrogen - fine,' he told the program. 'That's called optimism. It's not called scientific method. The whole thing is experimental in that sense.' Now Patrick is sure he is male, his mother said doctors were wrong to 'pigeonhole him so quickly' when he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Some of the affects of oestrogen hormones are permanent, and Patrick will need surgery to reduce the breasts he developed while taking the treatment. 'I think it's probably the final step in getting me back to being normal,' he said. 'I guess I look forward to not having to wear baggy clothes and being able to go swimming and playing sports.' Patrick will need surgery to reduce the breasts he developed taking his mother's oestrogen Patrick will need surgery to reduce the breasts he developed taking his mother's oestrogen Patrick and his mother will travel to South Korea for the surgery, one of the few countries willing to perform the procedure on a 14-year-boy, according to 60 Minutes. 'I don't have any regrets. You don't make any of these decisions lightly,' his mother said. 'I'm sorry that he was confused and for the dark times, but I'm really happy with who he is today.'

– Max Margan

See also

• David Reimer

External links

This article based on an article 12-year-old boy who transitioned to female changes his mind two years later from Independent on September 7, 2017.

This article based on an article I'm just not sure that I am a girl: Teen who began gender transition at 12 reveals WHY he changed his mind and wanted to go back to being a boy from Daily Mail Australia on September 11, 2017.