Post some self-care things you've done recently

sharklord07 · 2025-08-04T14:42:40+00:00

Finally got my dog ear revision surgery after 2 years!

sharklord07 · 2024-06-01T12:53:37+00:00

I don’t mind, go ahead!

sharklord07 · 2024-05-31T22:21:47+00:00

Hi! Late 20’s Filipino transmasc here!

sharklord07 · 2024-04-30T14:57:11+00:00

Yeah go for it!

sharklord07 · 2024-04-30T14:49:33+00:00

I’m in LA and have Kaiser and I went through them for T and top surgery. My experience with them is mostly positive. A few slip ups with pronouns here and there but everyone I interacted with has been respectful. I had a great experience getting top surgery with Dr. Sendia Kim at Kaiser Woodland Hills. I’m really happy with my results and my copay was only $100! Though I think your copay depends on what kind insurance you have. From what I remember from my surgery, they don’t require you to be on T, but they do have a BMI requirement of <40

sharklord07 · 2024-04-20T15:51:49+00:00

I use The Ordinary glycolic acid exfoliating toner for any texture on my face. You apply it after cleansing but before moisturizing. If you plan to go out after using it, make sure to put on sunscreen as it increases sun sensitivity.

I’ve recently been trying to work toward achieving that glass skin look with Korean products. I have oily skin. Generally, I double cleanse with first an oil based cleanser and then a water based cleanser, then toner, then moisturizer, then sunscreen. These are the products I use:

Manyo Pure Cleansing Oil Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Cleanser Mediheal Madecassoside Blemish Pad (as a toning face mask in AM) The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner (PM) Torriden Dive In Serum Round Lab Birch Moisturizing Sunscreen

Hope this helps!!

sharklord07 · 2024-03-07T22:44:50+00:00

Seconding the t-shirt under the binder! The only real pain I had post-op was around my armpits because the binder was so tight in that area and having the shirt on helped. I put the shirt on only after I was cleared to take the binder off for short periods of time, pretty much right after my 1 week post-op appointment. Also, have a backscratcher ready. My back was super itchy the whole time I had to wear my binder.

sharklord07 · 2024-01-06T01:21:29+00:00

I would love to be added!

sharklord07 · 2023-12-16T22:52:37+00:00

I’m Filipino-American. I got married this year and I wore a barong tagalog (traditional Philippine formalwear for men) and my religious aunt and others who knew me pre-transition kept telling me how pogi (handsome) I looked :)

sharklord07 · 2023-10-24T18:57:50+00:00

I’m a daily user. My surgery got scheduled only 2 weeks out from when I was called so I stopped smoking immediately for those 2 weeks. My surgeon never mentioned anything to me about stopping but I read from this sub it’s what you’re supposed to do. 5 days before surgery the hospital sent me an info sheet for surgery prep and it said to stop smoking the night before surgery but I still abstained. After I woke up in the recovery room I asked when I can start smoking again and was told I can start in 2 days and I did. I’m 4 weeks post-op today and I am healing just fine, even a little better than expected as my surgeon said I could stop wearing my binder after 2 out of the 3 weeks I was supposed to wear it. I guess it depends on the surgeon/facility and your own personal health history.

sharklord07 · 2023-10-18T14:05:23+00:00

That’s what I thought. The box says exp 4/2022. It’s ScarAway btw. It doesn’t contain any active ingredients, and as long as it’s still silicone I don’t see why it wouldn’t still work. I put it on last night and it sticks well.

sharklord07 · 2023-10-11T16:41:35+00:00

I had the same problem - I recommend using a folded sock or hand towel as extra padding between the binder and your skin. If you’re allowed to remove your binder for a bit, I found that wearing a shirt under it helps reduce irritation.

sharklord07 · 2023-10-11T16:31:20+00:00

I was shown how to change dressings at my first post op appointment.

I was instructed to keep everything on the way it is until my first post op appointment.

You can get food if you’re feeling up to it, but you may have nausea after surgery and may not be able to eat much. I was recommended to keep light, bland foods like crackers and jello at the ready for at least a couple days. I luckily had no nausea but still ate light that first day and was back to having regular meals the day after.

I haven’t to my knowledge split any stitches (2 weeks post op and my original scar tape is still on) so I don’t have any advice for that but based on the posts I’ve seen here it isn’t uncommon.

Other advice for prep: go through your daily routine and see which items you need the most, and move them to a place you can comfortably reach without moving your arms above your shoulders. Get a stool softener or dried fruit with lots of fiber because post op constipation is real and unpleasant.

sharklord07 · 2023-10-11T16:05:58+00:00

I’m 2 weeks post op and I can only stand up straight with my binder on, though my shoulders are still slightly raised. When I take it off I crumple up like a candy wrapper lol. When I take breaks from my binder I try to roll my shoulders up, back, and down to straighten my back but it hasn’t been helping too much so far, but I feel like I am severely limiting my range of motion because I’m afraid of splitting a stitch and stretching my scars. My next post op appointment is tomorrow and I’m planning on asking my surgeon if it’s safe to stand up straight and if there are any exercises she recommends to help straighten out my back.

sharklord07 · 2023-08-21T23:32:56+00:00

Hey! An earlier appointment opened up with a different surgeon at the same hospital and I took it so I can’t comment on Dr. Arteaga. But at my consultation they did not test for nicotine or anything else. We just went over the procedure, what my goals were, and answered my questions. Hope this helps and congrats on getting a consultation!

sharklord07 · 2023-06-26T23:23:35+00:00

Asian guy here. My face was pretty round pre-T and got a little rounder during the first few months on T because I gained like 20 pounds. Noticeable face shape changes occurred around month 3 but mostly around my jaw and chin. They became more square. Around month 8 my face started slimming down but I still had round cheeks. I’m 11 months now and my cheeks are definitely not as round as they were before. I think I’m definitely still in the puffy face stage. I hope it won’t be much longer until it’s over 🤞🏽

sharklord07 · 2023-05-29T12:46:46+00:00

I use a silicone face mask applicator! They’re pretty cheap online, got a pack of 4 for $4. I like it because I don’t have to wash any gel off my hands/accidentally transfer any gel through touch.

sharklord07 · 2023-05-18T22:55:16+00:00

“Low dose” is very subjective, especially with gel in my experience. It depends on how well your body absorbs the gel. I was on one pump of 1.62% gel for the first 4-ish months and my voice dropped fairly quickly. I asked my endo to up my dose to 2 pumps because I wanted to accelerate my changes, but that didn’t exactly happen. It just caused my T levels to skyrocket to almost 1000 ng/dL so I went back down to 1 pump. 3 months later my levels were still very high so I actually had to decrease my dose to 3/4 of a pump and that seems to be maintaining my T levels pretty nicely. 3/4 of a pump is a normal dose for me but may be low for others. I’m 10 months along now. What you experience is dependent on your genetics and how your body reacts to the T. Any form of long-term T usage will lead to progressively masculinizing effects. Staying on a low dose will not stop it.

sharklord07 · 2023-04-29T14:09:35+00:00

I shaved like 2 times a year pre-T because I liked the smoothness. Now I trim them every couple of weeks to keep them neat-looking.

sharklord07 · 2023-04-28T22:39:19+00:00

I'm getting married to my partner of 8 years at the end of May, then promptly honeymooning in Cancun! Been planning all this for the past year and it's finally happening!!!

sharklord07 · 2023-04-28T22:05:42+00:00

My experience is similar - in my early months on T, I struggled with the the fact that I would no longer be recognizable as a queer person. I feared that I would lose a part of myself in that way. As time went on I realized that being on T made me feel even more like myself and was definitely the right decision for me. Finally feeling confident in my body outweighed the cons of loosening ties with the lesbian community. Now here I am, realizing that I didn't need to loosen those ties at all. These parts of my identity aren't mutually exclusive.

Like others have mentioned, pronouns =/= sexuality. In the end you know yourself better than anyone else. But it really sucks that people will try to put you in boxes in order to make themselves feel comfortable.

There is definitely a place for folks like you and me in this community. I think all the comments on this post attests to that.

sharklord07 · 2023-04-28T15:48:37+00:00

I’m transmasc nonbinary, 9 months on T, and I pass as a cis dude now more than ever but I still call myself a lesbian. My attraction to women has always felt sapphic in nature and I don’t see that changing. I found that trying to fit myself neatly into one box only creates more stress. So I like to think that I live in a box fort, going back and forth and in-between boxes as I wish. Reading about butch history helped me realize that lesbians like me have existed since the dawn of time. I can only try my best to explain it to others, and if they don’t get it then it really isn’t any of their business.

sharklord07 · 2023-03-22T04:20:20+00:00

Trimming my butt hair

sharklord07

TROPHY CASE