Hello all
So, here we are 15 months post-op and I find myself in the strange situation where my body appears more masculinised — more chunkier — than pre-op. Some fat distribution has moved back to my abdomen. Granted, I was on a completely different HRT regime but looking back at some pics, I can see that I've actually built muscle in my upper arms and legs, my breasts are now smaller and when I'm sitting on a hardish surface, I can quite uncomfortably feel the bones in my bum — I've lost my padding. Clothes don't fit the same. :(
Understandably, this is a little upsetting as well as puzzling. I saw my endo a few weeks ago but the results aren't due in for another couple of weeks or so.
So just to try and put my mind at rest, I thought I'd ask those of you who might be post-op — 3 years or longer — whether things changed much in your body after 18 months or so. Or whether you experienced a similar situation post-GRS...
Thanks for any feedback.
Stormy,
My third birthday will be this May but I have experienced that when I exercise I will put on more muscle, not as much as before but will gain in muscle tone like a male. My breast still grow a little but not much, I think they are about to stop growing as they are not as thick as they were before. I'm still on the patch which I wasnt before. I really haven't changed all that much. I didn't start HRT until I was about 51 or 52 I think. I'm now 57. I try to keep my weight down and watch what I eat. I have a tendancy to gain weight real fast. If I exercise I will gain it twice as fast.
Sheila
Oh boy, a wonderful thing to look forward to.. ::) ::) ::)
I've heard the same thing from another friend who is now post-operative. IMO it has a lot to do with estrogen levels, for the amounts of estrogen after SRS are considerably reduced. While it is true that your body does not need a massive amount of estrogen to lower your testosterone levels after sex reassignment surgery, it is also true that your body does suffer the consequences of a minimal hormone regimen, estrogen in this case.
tinkerbell :icon_chick:
Thanks for your comments... In my case, I was on HRT pre-op for about 10 years (postponed surgery a couple of times due to work) and had got accustomed to being a certain way. And I was taking enough estrogen to fell a horse, if you get my drift.
Now I'm on a completely different tablet and things aren't the way they were. :-\
That's not to say that this is the same for everyone, Tinkerbell. But believe or not, some things were better pre-op, for me at least. Still, we'll see what my endo comes back with in a few weeks. Better shut up and get used to it, I guess. ;D