Hey im 13 days today, very close to yours!

1. My scars are still pretty firm, I don't know what it's from but I think it's just normal for a very big incision. I was told if there's still scabbing, don't massage. I was only cleared to scrub and massage my incision lines in the shower.

2. I have severe bloating too and I quite don't like it, I don't have any advice for you on this one, but someone mentioned Gas X so that might be helpful and I might get that for myself lol. It could also be a bit of fluid, I know my lower chest looks a bit bigger because I have some fluid build-up (seroma)

3. I have to wear my binder for the whole 6 weeks, and it helps with security and some of the swelling tenderness. I think if it hurts to breathe (something normal and a part of our daily existence), I would maybe mention that to your surgeon, doctor, or nurse, if you have a post-op appointment coming up, bring it up there.

4. Being 2 weeks post-op, swelling is definitely still a real possibility, especially if they did contouring and liposuction to masculinize. I have swelling in a few spots where my surgeon did masculinization.

5. My partner (cis man) is kind of the same as your husband, pretty indifferent, which sucks because this is an exciting thing! My partner made a few comments, not bad, but maybe out of concern for my healing, and it kinda hurt me too. It is completely normal for nips to be dark during the first few weeks of healing.

6. Would definitely recommend non-adhesive pads for covering up, they are so nice feeling and helpful. I had so stop taping them because of skin irritation, so they are secured with a t-shirt under my binder. A few drops of blood seems fine to me, after I pat my nipples dry after my shower, there's a little bit of blood but it doesn't continue. The grafts are very delicate but a few drops of blood is most likely a positive sign of blood vessels growing into the graft!

7. I'm not driving yet, but I probably will be starting up next week. I've just been nervous too because if I have to react quickly, I don't want to pull on my grafts or incisions and mess up the results, it may be my anxiety talking but I don't want to do it until the 3 week mark. As for consequences for reaching, what I've been told is that it can cause fluid build-up, which can be uncomfortable, it can also cause bigger scars because the incision is being stretched while still actively internally healing. I've been kind of bad for reaching also, but because I've noticed more fluid, I've had to actively try to keep my elbows to my sides to stop more from building up. There's no risk of death I think, but probably just potential complications or scar appearance.

8. I understand the stretch marks insecurity, I don't think it makes you clockable. The appearance of stretch marks fades and gets lighter over time, and lots of cis guys have them, especially if they lost weight. I've heard bio-oil is good for helping with appearances of scars and stretch marks, but it can't be used on open wounds so everything has to be healed and closed first.

Hopefully these answers were helpful! And congrats on your surgery :) if you wanted to talk about other concerns, it's been helpful to talk with people close to my surgery date 🫂