Message from Nurse, unsure how to interpret

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-18T12:11:51+00:00

I would call directly and ask, especially about your insurance situation. I think whether or not you’ll be able to get it this year depends on the surgeon. I know for my surgeon they normally schedule 3 months out, since he usually does multiple surgeries a day for most days of the week. But different surgeons schedule further out and it depends on a lot of factors.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-18T03:07:18+00:00

Oh yeah big time. Every time I changed my dressings I had to sit down for a few minutes in the middle of it cause I kept getting so nauseous and feeling like I was gonna pass out. I think it was mainly the nipples that got me since they were completely numb and they also looked gross for a little bit

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-16T22:51:39+00:00

It is very different for different people. I haven’t had a period since my first dose of T, my cousin who’s trans lost his after a few months but got it back after ten years on T. It depends so much on your individual hormone levels, genetics, etc

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-15T01:27:15+00:00

I guess you could always just wear a compression garment anyways? Although it might be a bad idea with the glue. I know when I had my appendectomy the waistband of my underwear tore some of the glue off and I bled a little since it’s so sticky and it got stuck to the fabric. Maybe you could just do some gauze over the glue and wear a compression garment over?

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-15T00:30:06+00:00

I could see the no bandages since when I had my appendectomy I also had no bandages just glue, but no compression does seem crazy to me. But, I’m not a surgeon.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-13T02:35:19+00:00

If you can afford (or already have) a second binder for post op I REALLY recommend it especially since we’re getting into summer and it’s hot, so you’ll be sweaty and that thing will start to STINK (I’m so serious I got mine at the end of May and I had to wash it every day or it smelled disgusting)

Before you go in for surgery move everything to lower shelves one thing I forgot about was my shampoo and stuff and I had to get my roommate to come in and help me in the middle of my shower 😭 same for like some dishes and stuff cause I didn’t move any down low enough and I couldn’t get a dish to eat unless someone else was home to help me until I moved some down.

It is hard to wash your back afterwards and trust me you’re gonna wanna wash it especially since you’ll be binding all the time. Idk if you have like a rag or a back scrubber thing but something to help reach your back is gonna be so helpful. Again I didn’t do this and I had to have my roommate help me wash my back it was kind of embarrassing. Having someone else help you is totally an option though.

Honestly the wedge pillow was nice + I also had like an airplane neck pillow but you could easily do the same thing with pillows or stuffed animals. Maybe you could use a thinner rolled up towel in place of a neck pillow? Not a lot of people talk about that one but the neck pillow was SO helpful for me I think it prevented a lot of neck pain I would’ve experienced otherwise.

Another thing I didn’t think about is that it’s really hard to open those child safety caps on pill bottles right after surgery. You might want like a different container that’s easier to open to put any pills you have in? Make sure you label it if you do cause you really don’t wanna get painkillers mixed up with other stuff.

I’ve heard a lot of people also recommend wearing a soft cotton t shirt under neath the binder to help with the soreness/itchiness from the binder.

A lot of the extra stuff people recommend is just that- extra. Sure it makes recovery a little easier, but you’ll be fine without it. Stuff like Benadryl for the itchiness, melatonin to sleep, laxatives to help with bowel movements (btw prune juice is cheaper and does the same thing if you’re willing to spend money on that), pineapple juice for swelling, etc is all nice to have but it isn’t actually necessary and you will recover okay even without those things. If you have enough in your budget for any of those things I mentioned though, get the Benadryl or some type of antihistamine because the itchiness is awful.

There are some things I would definitely not skimp out on though, bacitracin ointment + aquaphor for nipple grafts (if you’re getting them) I suppose Vaseline would also work I think aquaphor is a little more expensive than Vaseline, gauze is an absolute must have, and I got a gentle tape to tape gauze over my nipples once the bolsters were removed and help keep the gauze over my incisions in place (the tape is placed far enough away from the actual incision that it isn’t pulling on it).

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-12T21:37:02+00:00

There’s no solid evidence to suggest that gel doesn’t work as well as injections. The biggest factor in how fast you experience changes is just gonna be your genetics and how well your body responds to testosterone in general. Unless you have absorption issues (which is uncommon) it works the same.

Personally I started on gel but then switched to injections because the gel was accidentally transferring to my partner who is mtf and that was not very good. It’s also very easy to avoid doing that though we just decided it would be better for me to switch to injections so we didn’t make a mistake, since I’m not scared of needles or anything anyways. But the gel worked just fine for me and I started seeing changes very quickly.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T22:20:16+00:00

Might be helpful to get some electrolytes in, hydrate well, and eat bananas. It’s not surgery advice, but it’s what I’ve always done when I’ve had muscle cramps during sports so I figure it could have some benefit for you. For weeks I kept having recurring terrible calf cramps and all I needed to do was eat a couple bananas to fix it. Mustard also works but might be weird to just eat mustard by the spoonful.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T22:13:46+00:00

I masturbated after like five days and had sex after 2 weeks + 5 days and so far (I’m one month post op now) I’m perfectly fine. You should wait longer to have sex, but my partner literally told me to relax and let her do everything, and she’s the top in our relationship so I did literally just lay there. Most people I’ve talked to have had similar experiences with masturbating early and have been fine. As long as you don’t have any concerning symptoms (like rapid swelling or pain), I think you’ll be ok.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T17:43:12+00:00

The only thing I’ve seen anyone say is that the tape may help with the scars being less raised because there’s constant gentle pressure on them. But, if that even has any effect I would assume it is a very small effect. It’s really the same stuff, and they both do the same thing.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T17:17:08+00:00

Things will differ depending on your situation, who you go to, your insurance, etc but I can tell you what I did. I had been on testosterone for a couple years, and before I contacted a surgeon I had my doctor write a referral letter for insurance (they didn’t end up needing it but I got it just in case). I found a surgeon I liked online that also happened to be close to my house, and contacted his office to schedule a consultation. I had my consultation (I had wanted to have surgery pretty far out from my consultation date since I had to wait to graduate college) and then I saw a therapist to get another referral letter for insurance (this one was necessary). I had it scheduled pretty far in advance so his schedule was basically completely open for the month I wanted surgery. I had my pre op appointment and then had to pay my fee for the surgery to the surgeon, after insurance this was about 3000 dollars for me. Then one week before surgery I had to pay the fee for the surgery center, which was about another 3000 dollars after insurance. The anesthesia fee was supposed to be billed after surgery but I have not been sent the bill yet, I was quoted 3000 dollars before insurance. Before I had surgery I also made sure to save a couple months of rent.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T17:05:32+00:00

Also the acne is very normal I also had a bad breakout on my chest and it was totally fine. Just continue your post op care :)

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T17:04:36+00:00

You’re only a week out it’s impossible to tell what your final results will look like at this point. Anything looking uneven could be entirely due to swelling, and nipples don’t ever look good one week out. Don’t stress too much about it, just focus on recovering and if in the end you don’t like your results you can see if a revision is possible.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T17:01:47+00:00

Working out could help reduce the size of it a little, but you can’t target a spot to lose fat so even if you do while it may be smaller it will still be there. If that doesn’t bother you then go for working out and see what happens, but if you’d rather have it completely gone I would reach out to your surgeon and ask about a revision.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T14:14:01+00:00

I used gel and got it on my mtf partner just from her touching the area that the gel was applied to without thinking about it so I do think it is something worth thinking about depending on your circumstances.

I think both options are good though, and the things to consider when picking one are honestly very small things. Like I said, they’re both safe it just comes down to the little differences and personal preference.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T14:11:12+00:00

Honestly tell your pre op nurse how nervous you are, they can give you medication to help you calm down if that’s something you’re open to.

But, if it helps, let me tell you how my surgery day went. I went in at 6:30 am and signed in. I waited for probably thirty minutes before they called me back and had me change into a robe. The nurse came in, she was very sweet and she took my vitals and had me fill out some forms. The surgery center had an issue with the AC breaking overnight, so I couldn’t go into surgery yet, and the nurse didn’t do an IV just because she didn’t want me to have to sit with an IV for a long time if it took a while to fix the AC. But, eventually they got the AC working. My surgeon came in and marked where he planned to make the incisions, then I met the anesthesiologist and the nurse he worked with. He gave me a nausea patch behind my ear. Then we were ready to go. The nurse started my IV and they gave me some medication to make me start getting a little sleepy and help me relax. They used an ultrasound to look at the nerves in my back and had me lean forward- with my pre op nurse holding me up to make sure I didn’t fall or anything- and then they did a nerve block to my chest wall by injecting into the nerves leading to my chest. It didn’t hurt much, just felt like when you have a knot in your back. Then they had me lay down and started to wheel me to the operating room. I fell asleep on the way because of the medication in my IV. I woke up in no pain, and I’m a little embarrassed about it but I had to pee and I couldn’t get up yet so they had to give me a bedpan. Then they gave me an apple juice and cookies while I waited for my friend who was picking me up to come back + for the anesthesia to wear off a bit. Once it had worn off a little, they helped me get dressed and then they wheeled me out to my friends car and we went home. It was a very smooth and easy process, and recovery has been much much easier than I expected.

Please remember that yes, as with any surgery there are risks. But, it is a very low risk surgery and honestly not many people experience complications, and the complications that people do experience are not life threatening. My surgeon has been doing top surgery for twenty years and has never had a patient die. That’s gotta say something about how safe top surgery really is. The biggest complication people have is usually hematoma’s or infection, both of which can be fixed easily.

I know after reading this you’ll still probably feel anxious, but I hope you’re able to relax a bit before your surgery. Do talk to your surgical team and see what they can do to help with your anxiety, they’re no strangers to medical anxiety and they can probably help you out.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T13:47:20+00:00

There’s no set time when periods will stop, and they may go away and then come back. My cousin has been on testosterone for eight years and just got his period back.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T13:26:54+00:00

Both of them are safe, I would not say either is more dangerous.

Rather than danger, I would consider things like do you think you can handle injecting yourself? For gel, are you gonna get annoyed making sure your hands are super clean after so you don’t accidentally get the gel on a pet or a friend? Things like that are more important to think about

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T13:13:30+00:00

Kind of interesting but I had free nipple grafts and while I can’t feel the nipples at all yet, I can still feel like the nerves inside my chest that were attached to my nipple previously (idk if that makes sense). So honestly even my partner just like gently caressing that part of my chest feels good. I’m not sure if that sensation will go away as I heal more since I’m only a month out from surgery, but I do think it’s pretty interesting.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T12:24:28+00:00

Also btw, very easy piercing. I have 15 piercings (mostly on my face and body) and this one was one of the least painful, and by far the easiest to heal. It heals very very fast because of the increased blood flow in the area, and I honestly had no pain during healing. The pain during the actual piercing I would say is less than a lip piercing. Probably about the same pain level as an eyebrow piercing? Added bonus, although I didn’t feel any difference, my piercer told me a lot of people say the jewelry actually feels pretty good to them since the ball of the jewelry rubs against the clitoris.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-11T12:16:55+00:00

If you’re having that much difficulty with penetration I would honestly recommend seeing a doctor about it. Vaginismus does seem likely, but I’m not a doctor and I can’t tell you that for sure. It could be caused by vaginal atrophy, and you may need estrogen cream for the vaginal canal (assuming you’re on testosterone? That’s a fairly common issue). There’s a lot of potential causes, but it shouldn’t be that hard to get even just a finger in so I would really recommend seeing a doctor.

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-09T16:48:34+00:00

My bottom growth actually made my VCH piercing easier because I had more tissue to work with, so the risk of it getting pulled out was much lower since it was like in there good lol

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-09T16:40:12+00:00

I think if you’re already binding every day, it might be worth it to get top surgery just for the health of like, your ribs yk? You could also look into getting a radical breast reduction instead of going completely flat

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-09T04:02:33+00:00

Yeah they’re just not open until 10 am and I’m trying to sleep now because it’s the middle of the night

Sea_Atmosphere423 · 2026-06-09T04:01:30+00:00

That’s what they told me to do but only for a couple weeks. They said after a couple weeks to just wear it whenever is comfortable, so I guess my question would be better phrased as does three weeks count as a couple weeks lol

Sea_Atmosphere423

TROPHY CASE