Initial request packet for SSL

Hello,
I'm not sure whether this is the correct place to post this question, but I will try here first.

According to the documentation, to connect to the back-end using SSL a special start-up packet (SSLRequest) is required before the front-end can begin with the SSL hand-shake.

My question is, can this initial request be avoided in any way - is it possible to start with the SSL handshake without the request?

The reason I'm asking is that I've been asked to write some software that will establish a secure connection through a HTTPS proxy server to a PostgreSQL database. My research shows that to tunnel through a proxy requires first the connection to the proxy server and then the SSL hand-shake. Many HTTPS proxy servers will not allow any data to be transmitted before the SSL hand-shake, which in the case for PostgreSQL is going to cause problems if I'm required to send the SSLRequest packet first.

Any thoughts would be appreciated,
regards
Donald Fraser.