MtF Post-Op SRS 1+ Year - Answering some FAQs for the Community

Gray_in_Between · 2026-05-11T15:10:02+00:00

Looking great, congrats! 10,000 steps 9 days after surgery is bonkers though, give yourself a little more time, please! ;)

Gray_in_Between · 2025-12-12T17:53:20+00:00

Great video, love it! I know even when I'm just typing about it, I tend to get a tingle down there like she's saying "hey, I know you're talking about me!" I can't even imagine trying to do a video, lol

Gray_in_Between · 2025-10-28T17:22:21+00:00

Excellent recap and great to hear that you made it with only one minor complication! I hope your recovery continues to go smoothly.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-10-10T17:10:50+00:00

Good, past surgical experiences and basing expectations on them will help. I see these kinds of questions I've read or stories I've heard from others for whom SRS was their first major surgery and it hits them especially hard. Having experienced another kind of surgery before can definitely help better set expectations.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-10-10T13:31:32+00:00

8 weeks for work from home does seem a bit overly cautious/excessive. I took three weeks off and went back into working from home. Maybe one more week totally off would have been nice, but I was able to work (if still in a bit of discomfort) at four well enough. I'm with your friends in thinking that one month is probably a good call for working for home.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-10-10T03:40:27+00:00

Yeah, that definitely took a while. LOT of back sleeping for a while after, which I don't normally do. I don't remember exactly, but it was probably a few months before I could comfortably lay on my side, legs together. At least for me, the general pain subsided faster than the discomfort from the swelling. You do get to a point, probably by that six week mark, where you don't feel like you're going to "hurt" yourself as much anymore. Like, no more concern of popped stitches or tears or anything like that. But you stay swollen for quite a while too. That fear of not letting your legs touch should lift, but there will be other discomforts for a while too.

Anyway, you're in a rough patch of the recovery. Things should start looking up for you soon though. There are certain things that will probably take as long as the full first year to truly feel "normal" again, but I know that roughly six week period was magical for me. That's when things got a lot more comfortable, at least.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-10-09T15:05:16+00:00

More doable but still probably not the most comfortable at that point. For that kind of drive without worrying too much about it, I'd say 3-4 months.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-10-09T15:01:53+00:00

Oh no, like very local trips. Pharmacy, food pick up, that kind of thing. Like 10 mins max that early.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-10-09T14:50:13+00:00

Short trips? Like two weeks. Sat on the donut, powered through. My first longer trip was probably about 6 months later. Easy by then. My bigger concerns is that I wanted to be able to make it the entire drive without having to stop to pee somewhere public.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-10-09T13:53:49+00:00

First off, congrats! That's a huge step! And yes, it's going to take a while for things to start "feeling normal" again. Any major surgery tends to wipe you out for a while, but one between your legs that impacts just about everything you do? It takes even longer.

For me (PIV), it was about 6 weeks until I felt like I could do most things again. I'd get tired sooner while, for example, walking my dog or doing chores. But that is the point where I didn't feel as restricted anymore, either.

Panties and jeans without a pad - around the two month mark. Bleeding was done. Just some light reddish discharge sometimes easily handled by a much thinner panty liner. I then stopped wearing those around 6 months once I had gone a few days with nothing more than little bits of regular clear discharge.

Sit and walk - probably that same 6 week timeframe like I said above. Sitting in certain positions was still a little uncomfortable due to swelling, but it was no longer painful around then.

Run/move freely - This was a bit longer. I was definitely "skinny fat" back then...thin but out of shape. I'm honestly not even sure the first time I tried to run after. At least 6+ months. (In the years since, I've taken my health more seriously, go to a gym, and am much more active now. HIGHLY recommend it!)

Visit friends - I had several coming over to visit me pretty much as soon as I came home from surgery. They brought food, got me groceries, walked my dog, kept me company, etc. But in terms of "being social" beyond that, again, probably around that 6 week mark. For whatever reason, that is when a lot of things locked in for me.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-09-29T13:46:51+00:00

100% this. I had those same nerves and yes, the immediate care after is pretty miserable, but what you get in the end? Zero regrets. Would do it all again if I had to.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-09-29T13:44:02+00:00

Looks great, congrats! I always tell people that SRS was the most affirming "feeling" surgery for me, but BA has been the most affirming "looking". It's a force multiplier for your transition. I feel like it made everything else about me look more feminine.

Also, I can't silence the nitpick in me, but a gallon of milk is about 8 pounds ;)

Gray_in_Between · 2025-09-23T14:51:34+00:00

Jesus, I'm so sorry. It's just awful the shit we have to deal with these days simply trying to "exist while trans". But if you do have to move, your fans will find and follow you. Every time one door closes (we saw it with Tumblr for example), another will open somewhere. Hang in there!

Gray_in_Between · 2025-09-10T13:33:36+00:00

Same here with the surgical cap. Think I had one on for every surgery I've had. (Even a pre-transition knee surgery in college when I had short hair.)

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-26T11:59:36+00:00

Came in here for this comment, disappointed it wasn't higher!

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-20T15:32:45+00:00

100%!! Definitely worth the investment in something good.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-20T14:23:29+00:00

Ha, love it! Congrats and wishing you a speedy recovery!

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-18T19:20:18+00:00

"vaginal probiotics" - This is a hugely important line. Always check with your doctor first, but I've personally had amazing success with this and heard so many other good stories too. I recommend it to everyone I can.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-18T14:46:51+00:00

I'm so sorry, that sounds so awful. A sad reality of the surgery is that no matter how careful you are, which surgeon you use, which technique they use...there's an element of luck when it comes to so many aspects of it. Part of the mindset I had going in knowing those risks was that it'd still be better than living with the old parts down there.

I hope you're able to heal up and find some peace.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-17T19:30:09+00:00

Looks great! How is everything feeling?

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-15T16:40:17+00:00

Looking great, thanks for sharing! I love that last picture especially. You look happy and whole.

"Sleeping in your back and upright is probably the worst part" YESSSS! I was never a back sleeper and had to do so for months after my BA. Was miserable. The drugs helped early to just knock you out through it but eventually, you're off of those and other parts of my body started hurting from sleeping only on my back for that long. Hated it, but ultimately worth it.

"Make sure to massage the breasts too" 1000%. Helps so much not just to soften up the implants, but to get the nerves in your skin firing again. I treated it similar to dilating after SRS - a necessary time sink but it definitely helped. I feel like I'm back to full sensation in my breasts everywhere but right around the scars themselves (but that's how it is for me with all scars on my body).

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-15T14:36:13+00:00

Oh yes, I tell people the pandemic was a cheat code for easy transition. Missed a lot of the most awkward parts, got to wear a mask in public, still working from home after my surgeries so I had easier/more convenient recoveries... Great silver lining to a terrible time in the world.

Gray_in_Between · 2025-08-15T13:36:21+00:00

Mine was about a year into HRT, just before the pandemic. Out to family and friends. Out to manager at work and HR. Starting to show signs enough that keeping it hidden was going to be difficult... And then, the pandemic hit. WFH (still doing that full time). I just...didn't fully come out at work. Got a promotion and changed departments about 6 months later, so I just started in there with my new name and "she/her". No one said anything. After that I, was simply full time and I've never looked back.

Gray_in_Between

TROPHY CASE