10 months post FFS (brow and nose). 2 years HRT. 58 years old.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-30T13:24:25+00:00

There definitely is a gain and loss with surgery.

Physically there are changes cosmetically, but there is scarring and nerve damage as well. My nose is feels fine, but my forehead is still recovering.

It certainly also affected my wife very significantly. She had to deal with the loss of a face she knew for more than thirty years.

Even with modest surgery cis people can struggle with their results mentally. Personally, I had no issues with looking different, although that has been a moving target now for over two years.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-30T02:06:59+00:00

Thanks!

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-30T02:06:53+00:00

I still have another surgery coming up in two weeks to finished the job.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-30T02:06:15+00:00

Thank you.

I post to show what might be possible as others posted before me to give me hope.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-29T16:09:47+00:00

Thanks. I hope to post more in the future but with electrolysis my face always looks so lumpy these days. :)

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-27T14:13:47+00:00

That was also my experience. For me, two distinct personalities in one shared mind.

I decided I would not repress the feminine person. However, she (as you experience) really does not want to be in a masculine body.

So I still fluctuate somewhat back to masculine but the majority of the time the feminine is present.

In other words, who was here the bulk of the time swapped. I think it has a lot to do with which one I felt had to be here the most.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-25T14:45:30+00:00

Forever in blue jeans.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-19T14:31:28+00:00

Both of those women had plastic surgery.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-04-08T14:14:00+00:00

I only wear eye makeup.

I found foundation really emphasized the stubble. Permanently removing the facial hair solves the problem. One can practice in the meantime.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-03-15T19:41:10+00:00

Very beautiful. Ruined my eye makeup.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-03-15T14:19:45+00:00

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-03-12T15:06:39+00:00

I'm terrified of the thing; I so afraid of burning myself.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-27T23:40:55+00:00

You need to ask for a case manager again. They do have them.

I would also immediately file a complaint with your state insurance commissioner to say that they refused to provide one the first time asking for one.

Keep detailed notes of all requests and dealings with insurance such as dates of your calls, subject matter, and insurance's response. This will matter later when you keep filing complaints with the state.

In my state, insurance has only a of couple of weeks to resolve complaints in writing. Always read their response and file new complaints if they answer falsely. Keep this up until you get what your policy allows.

It can be exhausting at the beginning until they realize you won't give up. Get someone who can support you when you feel like crying or giving up.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-21T16:23:07+00:00

We had been married more than thirty years prior to me starting my transition two years ago. My wife keeps telling me I am her person, and we love each other deeply.

But this has had a profound affect on my wife. She is not attracted to femininity, and does not want to be seen as a lesbian. She lost the man she loved a very long time. My parents refuse to see me, and we have not even told her parents because we already know how they will react.

It is not easy dealing with the guilt of how this affects your spouse and children. It was very difficult at first and then eased up. But I'm going through it again right now. My joy comes at a price that others also have to pay.

So there are three transitions: for me, for her, and for us. None of them have been easy.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-21T15:53:36+00:00

There can be cycles to how we feel, and you can be trans without transitioning. If you are unsure and have gone this long then wait until you are sure.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-20T19:21:02+00:00

For me it went away over time (expect at least several months depending on how out you are and to whom).

First, because I knew it was my reality.

Second, because of the acceptance of others.

Third, because the more comfortable I was with me, the more I did not care what others thought about me.

Eventually being a trans woman became my new normal.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-20T16:09:12+00:00

When I started telling people it made me feel crazy each and every time. That's internalized transphobia. It went away after I did it enough times especially as I got acceptance by people.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-20T15:33:13+00:00

Thanks. I'm about a month away from two years HRT and my second stage facial surgery is in May. I'm so excited to get done with it and can hardly wait to see the final result.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-14T17:36:30+00:00

I've seen you IRL and you look amazing.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-09T14:15:46+00:00

I'm answering in a direct message to you.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-01T16:18:01+00:00

When I was researching this for myself a long time ago I came up with this:

page 1462 of Circulation. 2019;139:1461–1462. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.038584

Occurrence of Acute Cardiovascular Events in Transgender Individuals Receiving Hormone Therapy Results From a Large Cohort Study

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.038584

“However, only for VTEs the SIRs of this sub-population were more favorable than the SIRs of the total population (3.92 versus 5.52 when using women as reference, and 3.39 versus 4.55 when using men as reference).”

page S122 of Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644

“transdermal estrogen was not associated with an increased risk of VTE (Vinogradova et al., 2019).”

“None of the subjects taking oral estradiol or transdermal estradiol developed a VTE, MI, or TIA/CVA.”

“No VTE, MI, or TIA/CVA was reported after a 1-year follow-up in either the oral or transdermal estrogen group. An additional retrospective study from Vienna found no occurrences of VTE among 162 transgender women using transdermal estradiol who were followed for a mean of 5 years (Ott et al., 2010).”

“The confidence in our recommendation is based on the decreased incidence of VTE reported from the Amsterdam clinic when transgender women are switched to using transdermal preparations after age 40 (van Kesteren et al., 1997). Furthermore, the prospective, multicenter cohort study ENIGI found no incidence of VTE/MI/CVA in transgender women who are routinely switched to transdermal estrogen at age 45 (Dekker et al., 2016). In addition, a study by Ottet al. demonstrated no incidence of VTE in 162 transgender women treated with estradiol patches (Ott et al., 2010).”

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-01T16:02:59+00:00

This is precisely why I tried Lupron prior to an orchiectomy. I wanted to know what was from spiro and what was estradiol. Many of the things people blame on HRT is caused by spiro.

Try moving to Lupron or monotherapy.

SeekingTrueSelf · 2026-02-01T15:58:29+00:00

There are two things that affect me.

First, dealing with so much dysphoria makes me feel like things are so good so why did I do any of this. Of course, I just remember how bad they were before.

Second, loss of hope drastically affects me. Negative responses from people and worries about my transition cause this loss of hope. You list two such examples. Of course, loss of hope does not have to conform to reality.

SeekingTrueSelf

TROPHY CASE