I'm reposting this from the LC thread, as I guess 27off doesn't want me to derail that thread:

Which size do you have now? Which size is planned post OP? Does your health insurance pay for it? How did you choose the doc?

well its something millions of women have gone through before, so while being nervous is understandable, I dont think theres anything to worry about!

What is your stance on squeezing? Are you going to be one of those "omg feel how amazing they are" types? asking for a friend

Yes, my health insurance covers it, but that also means I didn't get much choice in a doctor. I basically just went with the hospital that was closest to me.

I'm a 38A right now, which is not a good look - it just isn't proportionate. I wear masectomy prosthetics all the time. The prosthetics are 450cc and that takes me to 38C. But it limits me in what I can wear, you always have to wear an ugly ass masectomy bra to hold the prosthetics, and they can get hot and sweaty.

When I went for my consult, I told the doc I wanted a similar size to the prosthetics, and she told me that 500cc was the biggest she could fit in me. Given it was only 50cc difference, I decided to go for it . I think I'll end up a full C.

I doubt it. No-one really told me quite how painful boobs are, particularly when they were growing in. They are still pretty sensitive, so I doubt I'm gonna be looking for guys to squeeze them.

I'm on the waitlist for FFS. That is a big surgery, and I can't even think about it till I've gotten this one out of the way. I can't imagine going to another country for it. I'd just want to be home for the recovery.

My insurance doesn't cover vocal cord surgery. Their rationale is that its an invasive surgery with a long recovery and mixed results. They also claim you can get just as good results with vocal training. They did cover speech therapy, which ended up being a meeting with a doc who basically gave me an app to download. However, its been a really useful app! It records your speech and lets you know whether you're talking at a male or female pitch, sort of like biofeedback. Its made a surprisingly big difference to my voice, after about 6 months of doing it about 10 mins a day. Now I'm glad they didn't cover the surgery, because I would have almost certainly had it.

That is soooooo cool! A dude (sooooorrry. I know I know, you are not a dude, but you have been) finally really truly getting some aspects of being a woman.

Gl Jo Any type of surgery talk makes me squeamish so I will probably avoid this thread but just wanted to wish you all the best. It's a pity you can't choose the doctor though.

Good luck!

My wife is getting her Master's in speech therapy and she had a couple of friends who specialized in voice feminization. She told me there are groups at the University where students work with people who are transitioning. Maybe if you have a University in your area that has a speech therapy program you could join one of those groups.

Best of luck on the surgery!

LOL, yes its a rare perspective. I was chatting with another trans woman once, and we got onto the subject of painful boobs, which naturally led to a 10 minute discussion about which would hurt more - being punched in the boobs or kicked in the balls. Afterwards, I realized that was possibly the most trans conversation ever

Thank you all for the good wishes!

The worst part so far was the consult, 6 months ago. The doc found a lump (I fainted when she told me) and I had to wait four days to get a mammogram and an ultrasound. I spent most of that time convinced I had breast cancer (I could feel the lump myself once she'd pointed it out to me) and beating myself up that if I'd never transitioned I'd have never got breast cancer. After a couple of days I had a moment of Zen, when I thought to myself that if it was my time to go, then so be it, because I wouldn't change the last 18 months for anything, even if I somehow knew I was going to get breast cancer - they'd been way better than the previous 40 or so years combined.

Anyway, the lump turned out to be my rib attachment and my final diagnosis (officially on a piece of paper) was "dense breasts" .

How bout them mammograms huh? Esp for us in the itty bitty titty committee!

Let me handle your boob, hold it in place between 2 pieces of glass and then let’s flatten it until it’s a pancake.

“Does that hurt?”

And they always seem to want more than was captured between the plates.

“Move closer and let’s do this again.”

I’d love to know how the surgery & recovery go.

Are you getting silicone or saline?

Beneath or above the muscle?

meta - trans talk has a lot of potential.

hey jo. cool thread concept, might be ahead of its time right now. i'm curious how the process of conversion (sry if wrong or offensive terminology) affects mental health - do you have mood issues, have they changed with the course of physical transformation and drug regimens?

My wife refers to it as going to the squishery.

I think it’s barbaric and not all that efficient. Unsure if I will return to the squishery next year.

How’s Arizona weather?

Josie,

I was worried about the mammogram because of everything I'd heard, but to be honest, it was just fine. On the other hand, after weekly electrolysis sessions for over a year, my pain threshold has probably gone up quite a bit

I'm getting silicone and under the muscle - both so I get a more natural look.

I'm currently getting like daily phone calls from random departments of the hospital, giving me tiny slivers of information. Today's was to tell me to expect a phone call on Friday which will go over what to expect and then to ask me whether I had any questions

Thanks Tuma. The whole process is referred to as transition, and the surgeries are called gender confirmation surgeries.

EVERYTHING changes with the hormones. I went on them in November 2016. The anti-testosterone kicks in immediately, but they build up the estrogen more slowly, because it can cause blood clots. So there was about two or three months where I had zero hormones. It was a very weird time. It felt like I was just going through the motions of life - very calm and even keeled - but everything also felt kind of pointless.

The first mental change I noticed was that sports were no longer as compelling. My team (go Pats) were in the Superbowl and I could barely follow the game, because I just kept getting distracted chatting with my girl friends. So I thought, well that sucks, I've lost something, and I started wondering what I was going to gain.

A few days later, I was driving into work and I remember being overwhelmed about how beautiful the blossoms on the trees looked. I couldn't remember colors being that vivid. I don't think that's an affect of the hormones directly, but I think I'd just had low grade depression all my life from the gender dysphoria. It had lifted, and the whole world looked more vibrant (and has continued to do so).

I guess the thing I would miss most, if for some reason I ever had to give up the hormones, would be the easy way I can access my emotions. It really is like having a sixth sense. Someone will say something to me, and I can very vividly tell that the emotion behind it is different from the content. I remember a woman saying something perfectly pleasant to me, but it was as if she'd just punched me in the face, and I realized that she wasn't being sincere which, in turn, meant she was being a total dick. The flip side is I can kind of go into my own head and lose myself down a chain of implications, which is part of why women need to talk things through with one another. The fact that emotions get such a bad rap in society in general is lol ridiculous to me.

My friend commented at the weekend (as I dragged him to the third nightclub of the night) that hanging out with me is like hanging out with a girl in her 20s. I'm fairly sure he meant this in a good way . It's like getting a new lease of life - I get to do everything I've previously done in my 20s and 30s, but this time its a lot more fun, because I'm the gender I'm supposed to be.

Good luck Jo !

unfortunately the outlook isn't great. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...mpts/31626633/

hopefully she is proactive and sees a therapist right away. best of luck.

That's very interesting, you'll probably have a lot more free time not watching sports, God I know I would. Good luck with the surgery Jo

I relate to the bolded a lot, maybe I'm partially female. My hypothesis was the expansive thought was due to my own depression lifting, but if it's actually that I'm a woman so be it.

Damn, I was about to comment how impressive it was that the 2+2 regressive jackwads hadn't invaded this thread yet only to find preki towards the end.

Congrats jo and best wishes going forward.

Interesting thread, updates would be cool.

Good luck and best wishes, Jo!

how am I being regressive pointing out a fact with an article to back it up? I wished her luck and said to find a therapist. With a 40% suicide rate, don't you think that's the smart move?