SRS questions

[beccacurls]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions on the SRS procedure that I have not been able to find anywhere so I want to ask them here.

1. For those that have had the surgery done, have you noticed any physical changes to your body after? To be more specific, was there any more feminization now that your body no longer produced T in the same amounts?

2. A question about depth. If one is really skinny, how much depth (generally) can one expect to get? I am worried that my smaller body size automatically means very little depth despite having enough material to achieve a significant amount of depth

3. I have a few questions surrounding insurance but I will wait to see if I get any responses for these  questions first. If you all can recommend surgeons too, that would be appreciated. Looking at having it done in the U.S. (but while I am looking for surgeons here, I am still trying to keep open since I do not yet know what would be considered in network for the plan that I am on).

Thanks everyone for your time! Take care. Bye.

[Missy~rmdlm]

I have never met and observed a post op that didn't have quantifiable feminization. There must be something to removing the T factories regardless of the level of HT.
This obviously is only applicable to post ops I know, perhaps not post ops I have met/seen that I didn't identify as women with a TS past.

I did get my SRS covered by insurance. I work a government position and have United Health Care. My political entity employer "self insures" with UHC as the administrator. When I started six years ago there was a specific TS treatment exclusion, then -poof- three years ago it disappeared without a word. Getting covered hasn't been an issue, and I've never queried HR about it. I simply applied for claims as usual and they were covered, up to and including my recent SRS, Marci's office staff handled that insurance claim.

[Jenna Marie]

I had some additional feminization, but no more or faster than I had been getting before, so it's hard to say if it was GRS or just time that did it. (Though I also had very very low T before HRT, and it was female-range pretty much instantly on low dose E, so I suspect my own T factories gave up the ghost very early.)

I don't think depth has to do with skinniness, though it probably does with height to some degree - it's a question of how much room is in your torso vertically, of course. That couldn't change unless you were *severely* underweight, like "internal organs visible through the skin, everything contracted tightly to your spine" emaciated, and might not even change then.

[Vicky]

As an old Trans* bat who had been on HRT for 3.5 years when I had my surgery, the greatest change in my femininity has been in a place my underpants cover, and they were a mess for over 6 months post op.  My major changes had occurred in the pre-op days, but I too had had low T at the beginning of HRT.

As far as depth goes, it will depend a bit on what you have, and how the doctor uses what is there.  Your overall pre-op weight and figure are not much of a factor there.  What will be a factor is how YOU CARE for what you get afterwards.

I am post op from Dr. Bowers and keep in touch with a "sister" who is so beautifully slender and who I hate for that but love otherwise, and she and I sink the boys (dilators) in the same depth basically, per the little dimples on the magic wands. .

I paid for my surgery out of pocket because I was on the table a year before it kicked in here in my state.

[JennX]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions on the SRS procedure that I have not been able to find anywhere so I want to ask them here.

1. For those that have had the surgery done, have you noticed any physical changes to your body after? To be more specific, was there any more feminization now that your body no longer produced T in the same amounts?

2. A question about depth. If one is really skinny, how much depth (generally) can one expect to get? I am worried that my smaller body size automatically means very little depth despite having enough material to achieve a significant amount of depth

3. I have a few questions surrounding insurance but I will wait to see if I get any responses for these  questions first. If you all can recommend surgeons too, that would be appreciated. Looking at having it done in the U.S. (but while I am looking for surgeons here, I am still trying to keep open since I do not yet know what would be considered in network for the plan that I am on).

Thanks everyone for your time! Take care. Bye.

1. No. If you have been on HRT (E + AA) for 3 or more years, you've effectively chemically castrated yourself. Post SRS my E & T levels did not change nor did my physical attricutes. My labwork backs this up. IE You won't experience much physical change after 3 or more years on HRT.

2. Depends on your definitions of "small & skinny" mean. Different docs use different techniques. Best to book a consult and discuss in-person.

3. There are several well known US surgeons out there. Just scroll threw the lists of posts in this very forum to get an idea.

[beccacurls]

1. No. If you have been on HRT (E + AA) for 3 or more years, you've effectively chemically castrated yourself. Post SRS my E & T levels did not change nor did my physical attricutes. My labwork backs this up. IE You won't experience much physical change after 3 or more years on HRT.

2. Depends on your definitions of "small & skinny" mean. Different docs use different techniques. Best to book a consult and discuss in-person.

3. There are several well known US surgeons out there. Just scroll threw the lists of posts in this very forum to get an idea.

Thank you everyone for your time in posting. I really appreciated it all!

Just to give some more info.

At the time of writing, I have been on HRT for a little over 2 years now. My T is low but my E seems to be too high but that could be the result of the timing I take my shot and when my blood evaluation is done.

To give a sense of "small & skinny", I am around 5 foot 5 and weigh around 105lbs. I am just concerned this may be a problem in achieving decent depth since this is something that really concerns me in addition to appearance and function.

But relating back to my 1st question. In terms of female body fat distribution, not much of that has happened for me so far. I guess that is the extra feminization I was primarily interested in. Like would my breasts grow bigger? Even a tad bigger is desired since I am not even a full A cup, nor do I have any thighs or butt to talk about (like really, NONE!). :-/ By the way, extra feminization is NOT why I feel I need this surgery but it was just something extra I fantasized about.

To the insurance and surgeons, I attend college and they hopefully going to add coverage soon. *crosses fingers and toes* Again, I do not know what they would consider in network but I still want to make a list. Seems as though most here have gone with Dr. M. Bowers? Anyone here want to comment on their experience with her? And yes, I have been reading other threads with people's experiences.

Thank you all for your time.

[beccacurls]

Bump. I would really like to hear some more opinions here. Thanks again.

[Boca.Lisa]

My opinion is you are a lucky girl. 5' 5" and 105, girl you've got it easy. I started at nealy 6' and almost 300lbs. Managed to get down to 200 before srs and then lost another 15 after which I attribute to surgery.

You will lose some muscle mass once post but depth will be based on how diligently you dialate. Most people that I've spoken to get 5-6" And lost 1/2 to 1" in the first 18 months after. As long as you have enough tissue you wont have any problem.

Best of luck!