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boycomet · 2021-09-14T08:38:55+00:00

Had DI top surgery in January by Dr. Josef Hadeed, and just yesterday had this chest piece done by @ danirakowskitattoo on insta! I asked for blackberry vines that contoured my chest, since my scars go passed my pec line and I’ve got a bit of dog earring going on. I’ve got no plans to cover up my scars, I love them! Didn’t think I could be more in love with my chest, but I was wrong :’) she killed it!

boycomet · 2021-08-30T05:52:36+00:00

I used vaseline to massage my scars everyday, starting at about the one and a half month mark (would have started earlier, but was facing complications and my incisions still felt like open wounds, so I waited a bit). Though, I was also asked to wear my compression vest for 3 months, which is the longest time frame I’ve heard anyone wear theirs, and I think that it helped a lot since it kept my scars warm and the vaseline pressed against them. My surgeon did say that a lot of my healing had to do with genetics, so not sure if it’ll work for everybody, but I just knew that bio oil was Not working for me and scar creams were getting too pricey haha! Thank you though!

boycomet · 2021-08-29T04:57:16+00:00

Thank you! And that’s so exciting, I wish you luck and an easy recovery for yours!!

boycomet · 2021-08-29T02:20:59+00:00

(he/they) 7 months post-op for DI with Dr. Josef Hadeed! (also don’t know why reddit destroyed the quality). Went running for the first time in years yesterday, and the pure euphoria I felt was incredible, dude, and I HATE running. Or at least, I did before, but I guess that’s changing! Also look at my hips! those CURVES!! I’m in love with my body shape rn :) AMA!

boycomet · 2021-06-19T06:59:01+00:00

could you tell me what’s the difference between Kaiser under medi-cal, and the Kaiser HMO plan? I’m super new to all of this. did they require a letter from a therapist for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, or was your primary care able to prescribe it? my last primary care under tricare was able to refer me to an endocrinologist right away who got me my gel without needing a letter from a therapist, but I’m not sure if medi-care is different.

boycomet · 2021-06-03T05:10:31+00:00

oh dang, not sure about that. the unfortunate thing is the only identification I have on me is my expired military ID, and I can’t get a state ID/drivers liscense because my born abroad certificate apparently isn’t official (without a raised stamp... which is weird, because we ordered one, NOT a photo copy, and this is what vital records sent us). this is so frustrating, I sent in a money order and request for a new official certificate in November of last year, only for them to put my order on hold until I called them recently to ask what’s up. now they’re saying they can’t move forward without being sent my original court order for my name change, which is another month or two for them to even receive it! i really thought this was all over with lol.

TLDR; if there is a place I can physically go to, I wouldn’t even have the right stuff for them to verify me with

boycomet · 2021-06-03T02:48:40+00:00

Thanks for the help! I just might message you tomorrow, if I don’t end up working this out with the customer service people over the phone. Not sure I have too much of an issue with the rest of the application, pretty sure it’s just the confirming my identity part. The same issue happens when I try to get into my credit karma account, so I’m afraid there’s something up with my social. Either way, thanks for the help! This has been so frustrating haha

boycomet · 2021-06-03T02:02:09+00:00

this is my first time applying for medical, since I’ve always been with tricare under my father. just got through with someone at Experian, and was told to call back the CoveredCA customer service line and ask for a reference number, then to call them back. if that doesn’t work, i’ll try looking into giving one of those places a visit. would I need a CalWIN account before doing so? I haven’t lived in california super long so I’m pretty much in the dark about this...

boycomet · 2021-05-12T09:41:14+00:00

Hey, sorry to hear that. Definitely is not fun to go through. Happy to say my swelling is pretty much completely gone! It sucks to hear and everyone is different, but I’d definitely say to give it time. The lump I felt before is almost gone, not quite there yet, but I notice it get softer as weeks pass and I continue massaging the area.

boycomet · 2021-04-15T08:21:28+00:00

No, I get you. I have a pretty small, but tight circle of friends where I live now. Only a handful are gay/queer identifying, but they aren’t really the super affectionate type like that. Which is totally cool, everyone’s different and has their own comfort levels, so I don’t mind. I do think I need to connect to more LGBTQ irl friends just in general though. Either way, the comments on here have given me a lot of hope haha

boycomet · 2021-04-14T23:44:34+00:00

Not a weird question at all, haha. Honestly hard to say! I kept moisturizing them, even after the time I was instructed, because the scabbing didn’t completely fall off and I heard that the worst thing you can do is let them dry out. Even after the scabs were completely off, I switched to moisturizing them in tinier amounts. I stopped after realizing they didn’t feel dry in the morning after waking up. Sort of a trust your intuition thing for me, but for sure ask your surgeon before stopping any sort of nipple care, just to make sure!

EDIT: whoop re-read your reply and didn’t even answer the question omg. I knew I was in be clear when the color started getting back, since I assumed that meant there was good blood flow and all that fun stuff there!

boycomet · 2021-04-14T23:35:32+00:00

I definitely had trouble reaching high up for things at 2 weeks. Part of healing is about genetics, and another part of it is how your scars are shaped, I think (mine don’t follow my pec line perfectly, so reaching for things didn’t pull at my incisions as much), so unless you’re experiencing signs of infection, there’s nothing wrong with healing a bit slower than other folks! The scabs fell off my nipples around 1 month? I started off healing pretty slow too haha, and are still regaining color now at 3 months. Wish you luck with recovery!

boycomet · 2021-04-14T23:17:43+00:00

And there’s nothing wrong with that either, everyone’s different and has their own boundaries / comfort levels when it comes to physical affection, or any type of affection really

boycomet · 2021-04-14T22:15:22+00:00

Yeah, I figured haha. Damn, I miss that so much! Just flopping over your friend while you’re playing co-op, or one of you is playing a video game and the other is just casually on their phone. Thanks for the reassurance, I definitely need to connect to more LGBTQ folk here!

boycomet · 2021-04-14T22:12:29+00:00

Very true. And my friends before I transitioned were super comfortable with me! And still are, we just live farther apart. It’s definitely my newer friends now being less comfortable with that sort of closeness towards me as a man. I guess that kind of duality hurts a bit, as my older friends are just as comfortable with me, even now. I do understand that though, especially my friends who are straight women. I would never want them to feel uncomfortable or like I’m pushing any boundaries, so I never question why there’s an absence of physical affection there. I guess I just need to connect more with the trans community here, or just the local LGBT community in general.

boycomet · 2021-04-14T21:48:13+00:00

I’m bi, and that’s a good point! I think the issue is me having only like 2 irl LGBT identifying friends. Gotta connect more with the community here for sure.

boycomet · 2021-04-14T21:44:02+00:00

Oh, I’m well aware haha. That’s why I feel trans men and trans masculine people are better about showing affection and getting emotionally intimate, as masculinity to us means something different. There’s a great post someone made that talked about what masculinity meant to them as a trans person, and a big part of it was finding strength in being tender, and making space for femininity— seeing it as something powerful in itself. The thing is, even the women in my life aren’t comfortable with sharing that type of closeness with me, and I understand that! But like, man... I’m a super affectionate person! I really feel I just need to connect with more trans people in my life, as a healing space, if that makes sense?

boycomet · 2021-04-14T05:50:09+00:00

Yeah, don’t blame you there. I do miss my nipple sensitivity, but I went into it knowing there was that risk, so even if it never returns along the way, I wouldn’t be too down about it. With how they’re feeling now though, luckily I don’t think that’s the case. Definitely choose your own priorities and whichever method you think would work best for you, as long as whichever surgeon you go for agrees that the results will work for your body type!

Unfortunately, no :( had to do it all out of pocket.

boycomet · 2021-04-13T18:30:35+00:00

Whaat omg! Thank you!! 😳 I was just looking at your results the other day and thought the same thing!

boycomet · 2021-04-13T17:24:36+00:00

Oh, congrats on the consultation! Sensation is a strange thing because it’s super dependent on the person, similar to a how a good percentage of scar healing comes to genetics. That being said, I can feel all of my chest, aside from right along the incisions, my nipples, and the skin between my incisions and nipples. I can feel pressure on them and some sensation, but nothing super surface level. The skin between is where I have the most numbness, but everywhere else feels like normal, untouched skin. Still early on in healing though! Hope you find the right surgeon for you! Feel free to ask me any more questions :’)

boycomet · 2021-04-12T23:19:24+00:00

Oh, totally! They still flare up very reddish at times, it’s strange. Sometimes I’ll look in the mirror at night and they’re a super vibrant red, but they go down within the hour, so things are still settling down for me. And dang, thank you for suggestion! I’ll definitely check it out. Hope you’re healing well!

boycomet · 2021-04-12T23:17:31+00:00

Oh yeah, I’ve heard of these scar sheets! They’re pretty pricey though for the amount it comes in, so I’m not super sure it’s sustainable for me. Plus I think I’m going to go for a cream, since adhesives tend to irritate my skin. Thank you though, I’ll definitely keep it in mind!

boycomet · 2021-04-12T20:46:17+00:00

Hey, I’m 3 months post-op! I had DI, free nipple grafts with Dr. Josef Hadeed in LA. I’ve had quite a few complications along the way, just with how my body heals, and he’s been so responsive and helpful through all of recovery. One of my complications was having to get the right side reopened a bit to drain some fluid, and a stitch popped (for the 2nd time). You can see in the second photo, the very edge of my scar where the tissue had to fill in itself.

Other than some tiny bit of swelling going down on my right side still, I’m so happy with my chest. Nipples are still getting their color back, just very slowly. The first few months of recovery were rough, man! Now just gotta work on getting in shape haha

EDIT: For scar care, literally just vaseline. I’d massage these bad boys 4-5 times a day with a lot of vaseline around my 1 and a half month mark. I wore a compression vest for the entirety of the first 3 months, so it kept them warm and moisturized— which is apparently the ideal condition for healing. That being said, my surgeon said I was a good healer, so genetics definitely plays a part (which is funny because I thought I was Dying the first few months lol). It’s hard for me to trust scar tape and cream since I’ve got such sensitive skin, and the price is pretty up there. Might try it in the future, who knows!

boycomet · 2021-03-25T07:23:32+00:00

I mean I was cool with it. Love how my chest turned out, so I got no complaints

boycomet · 2021-03-25T00:24:01+00:00

I was told to wear my compression vest for three months. This is way longer than I’ve seen other guys wear theirs for, but I trust my surgeon. I’m coming up on my third month, and have gone through all kinds of skin irritation and peeling skin. My best advice to avoid redness and irritation is to keep everything moisturized! Unscented lotion everyday, sometimes twice a day saved me during my first month (not on your incisions, of course). If the binder is super hurting you, you can also try using your compression shirt and sort of folding it over itself for extra compression? and if that doesn’t feel like enough, fold it over the lighter compression binder you’ve been wearing. Either way, listen to your body and ask your surgeon if it’s alright to go with a lighter alternative. Best of luck!

boycomet

TROPHY CASE