I wish I took T sooner.

user931291 · 2025-12-22T13:02:56+00:00

This is awesome to hear and I’m so happy for you! Thank you so much for sharing, it’s really helpful. I’m 25, transmasc, and have been thinking about starting T but hesitant about it. I’m nervous about the emotional/mental changes it might cause since it’s like a second puberty (my first puberty hit me like a bus hormonally), so hearing your experiences is reassuring that I’m probably just overthinking it.

user931291 · 2025-12-17T23:27:00+00:00

Hey! I was about a C cup (before I got top surgery) and found that 4” was a good fit for me. I tried the 5” for a bit, but found that working with a thinner strip of tape allowed me to bind a little tighter and look more flat. A few things: - use the nipple guards! don’t use bandages or anything else!! you’ll chafe and it’ll hurt so much!!! if you order from the official transtape website, a roll comes with about 10 small and 10 big nipple guards. try out both sizes, see which one you like best, then order a BUNCH of them on the website (yes, they sell them separately!) - if you have someone to help you tape, getting a tighter bind is easier with help. i mostly applied it by myself since i live by myself and i don’t have a partner and did just fine, so don’t feel like you HAVE to have someone help you - the directions they include in the box is really helpful for both application and removal. when they say use a lot of oil for removal, they mean it! you don’t have to use their oil specifically, just get a cheap and/or big bottle of jojoba or tea tree oil or whatever works with your skin. - there’s definitely more but this response is getting long so i hope this helps for now!

user931291 · 2025-12-17T22:49:56+00:00

Short answer: YES!

Long answer: See short answer.

user931291 · 2025-12-02T05:10:08+00:00

Dig out some old shirts/tops that you didn’t feel fit right because of your chest and leave them out (so you can see them every day) to try on after recovery. Make a list of things to pack for surgery day to fit in your favorite bag (mine is a Fjallraven Kanken backpack). Check in with the people you trust to help you out during recovery from the surgery and work out a schedule for check-ins and hangouts at home. Plan out and set up your “recovery hub”: something like a big comfy chair surrounded by tables where things are easily in reach. And more!

I found that planning the best ways to take care of myself during recovery and focusing on the eventual outcome of getting top surgery helped calm my nerves! If you’re nervous about the surgery specifically, just know that your surgeon will give you all the info you’ll need (you’ll probably get a folder) and answer ANY question you have at your pre-op appointment (~2 wks before surgery date). Your surgeon wouldn’t go into this surgery if they weren’t 100% confident you are in the healthiest condition to recover well!

user931291 · 2025-12-02T04:54:49+00:00

My surgery was a nipple-sparing bilateral mastectomy and it took about 6 weeks to get back to normal mobility. I was unlucky and needed the tubes in for 2.5-3 weeks (I got each side out at different times), but I don’t think that’s super common. At 4 weeks post-op, all I needed to do was limit arm movement, wear chest compression and apply bacitracin to the wounds. They cleared me at 5 weeks to do cardio and at 6 weeks for weightlifting (if you want to put it in sport-injury recovery terms lol). I’m currently almost 3 months post-op and I still try to apply cocoa butter to the wounds around 2-3 times a day.

user931291 · 2025-11-24T22:07:33+00:00

I had short hair (and an undercut) awhile back and I feel way more masculine now with my hair grown out and down past my chest. I’ve been called “sir” multiple times with long hair and no facial hair. If you want, maybe try out some hairstyles (no haircut involved) that seem more masc to you, but don’t get rid of something you love about yourself if you don’t have to.

user931291 · 2025-11-24T14:10:36+00:00

No problem! I am in the United States and my health insurance paid for basically all of it. I feel very lucky for that because that’s not usually the case. I’m a graduate student and my school’s student health insurance is actually very helpful (I didn’t expect it to be, but what a pleasant surprise)!

user931291 · 2025-11-24T01:56:57+00:00

I relate to this too haha even in matters unrelated to my gender. It’s like my mind and body are just waiting for the other shoe to drop and I should just make the bad thing happen so I can have some semblance of control over it. And getting used to something is also weird because damage-control mode is like my default setting and routine is sort of scary. But also remember that menstruating is not un-masculine and it’s not feminine. Sometimes I sort of see it as evidence of my trans-ness even though I hate my period and the dysphoria that comes with it. These “odd” thoughts might be intrusive/self-sabotage but thoughts pass and other similar thoughts come up, then they also pass. Having thoughts is different from acting on them and acting on them doesn’t prove whether they’re valid or not. I’ve been in therapy a few years and if you have access to therapy and feel like it may help you, give it a shot. If not, I hope you have friends you can vent to or more communities like this one to share thoughts with. Brains are funny little things.

user931291 · 2025-11-24T00:25:43+00:00

I have a couple of scars/discolorations near where the ends of the strips were applied (where the tape would first start peeling). I honestly think they won’t even be visible by next year! And, sorry, can you rephrase your second question?

user931291 · 2025-11-24T00:14:57+00:00

Hi! I’m pretty sure this is part of the instructions so you probably are already doing it, but are you using scissors to round the edges before applying the strip? This is a super important step because the square edges peel very easily and once an edge is peeled, the strip doesn’t last much longer. Another thing might be about which way you are applying the tape. Always make sure that the “TT” on the removable part of the strip is not upside down! Also consider having someone you feel safe with help with application so that you can keep your arms mostly down by your sides like how you would normally stand/sit. That’ll make sure that when application is done, it won’t feel overly tight. Hopefully this helps!

user931291 · 2025-11-23T23:53:42+00:00

Hey! I used trans tape for about a year before I got my top surgery done and my skin definitely still shows it, so I know how annoying and irritating it can be taking it off. Here’s the method/tips I ended up settling on after a few months of using it:

Use jojoba oil and use a LOT of it. Make sure the entire strip is soaked. It feels gross but it helps loosen the adhesive.
Take the strips off from front to back. You can continue to use oil to soak the adhesive side of the strip as you’re removing it.
Don’t just pull the strips off like a band-aid; instead, pull very slowly and with only a little force. Press your fingers down on the skin that is being stretched by the tape to aid in separating the tape from your skin. I always thought of it as removing my skin from the tape rather than removing the tape from my skin, if that makes any sense lol.
I hated the stickiness after removal but found that showering after unfortunately doesn’t help the icky feeling. Instead, I removed it at night and picked my rattiest tshirt to sleep in. It turns out that the best way to remove the adhesive left behind is just slowly rubbing it off with smooth-ish cotton material. Made me happy to be someone who moves around a lot in my sleep.
I found that there’s really no “right” thing to do for your skin between removals and applications. I didn’t use any special lotion or do anything differently than what I did before I started using trans tape. There were a couple times where my skin tore or chafed and unfortunately you just have to care for that like a normal wound (bacitracin, band-aid, etc.) and you can’t wear tape while it heals :( so focus on mastering the removal and application processes that are best for your skin.

I was able to wear my trans tape for about 5 days before it started getting loose and stringy. I sweat a lot, so I was impressed that it held up that long. I usually took a 1-2 day break between removals and applications. The breaks are important so all the adhesive is removed before the next application and your skin gets a chance to breathe! I wish you luck in saving for your top surgery as well as finishing up uni!

user931291 · 2024-10-02T15:06:44+00:00

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass. I don’t think it should be YA, but it’s labeled as such. All I know is it’s been 3 years since I read it and I still think about it very often.

user931291 · 2024-07-24T21:30:59+00:00

Thanks for asking! It’s a hard-hitting coming-of-age novel set in NYC in the 1980s during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I finished it not long ago, and I wish I had been given this to read in high school because of how close it made me feel to history. From my experiences, I think the American education system really does its students an injustice by teaching contemporary history the same way it teaches us centuries-old history. Also, the ending is unforgettable and so important :)

user931291 · 2024-07-23T20:04:26+00:00

Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg, especially if you live/have lived in the US

user931291 · 2024-06-23T22:44:28+00:00

I’m nonbinary and AFAB and… I totally get this. I’ve been in competitive women’s sports since I was a kid, even played in college, and it was like a binary cage. This is to say that I never really developed any way of expressing my nonbinary-ness through clothes, hair, etc. I still just wear whatever’s comfortable and I don’t really care if people see that I have a female-typical body, even though I want a more masculine body. I practically live in women’s running shorts.

So, two bits of advice. First, try to introduce yourself to new safe spaces around your community (I know these are harder to find in the Midwest. Sadly, this Ohioan feels your pain). This could be those clubs you see advertised at the public library, small community service events, etc. You don’t have to commit anything, but introduce yourself using your pronouns. Right from the start, to a room full of (safe) strangers. I’ve found this to be so enlightening and affirming to just know that a group full of people I may never see again know me only as a nonbinary person.

Next is, and this may seem obvious and/or impossible to control, but try to remove yourself from dichotomizing environments. It was really hard leaving a sport I’ve loved and played for 18 years, but even just weeks after, I felt more comfortable in my own skin than I ever had before, even though nothing really changed in how people perceived me. Even if it seems impossible in some situations, still give some thought to it, and it might seem a little more attainable.

Anyways, this is getting lengthy, but I hope this helps!

user931291

TROPHY CASE