FFS with Dr. Bart on Aug.26.14

[Julia-Madrid]

Hey Carly

You're looking great, girl.  Keep taking the meds, and for heaven's sake don't skimp on the painkillers - I needed them every 8 hours for the first week.  Arnica is nice, but ibuprofen is vital..!!!!!

And rest - plenty of rest - at least a siesta every 3-4 hours!

Some of my friends still think I was nuts, but you know, it's grrrrreat to go out now, and everyone just sees a girl.

Un abrazo enorme from Madrid.

PS:  I've just returned from a business trip to Ireland, so getting through passport control came with quite some trepidation each time.  And the first three times they didn't even look at me.  Then last night as I was returning through Spanish passport control the border guard did a double take.  A quadrule take, more like!    He had huge trouble reconciling the uuuugly aggressive dude with the girl he had in front of him.  He called a colleague and they peered at my papers for a while.  I offered to show them my ears; those haven't changed.  Then I pulled out my papers from the gender clinic and explained in more detail.  So it's just as well that I'm going to get my UK passport changed in London next week!  And you know what - it felt BRILLIANT, because these border guards see thousands of people, and yesterday with me, they only  saw a girl.  Yeah!!! 

[alena]

Hey Carly,

Wishing you a speedy recovery, get plenty of rest 

[shedevilcanada]

Recovery

And a quick piccy of recovering little me with black eyes and all!!!



I've been taking the arnica and bromelain and applying the arnica cream dr bart gave me and it all seems to be acting fast as a few hours after that pic the bruising is progressing from black eyes and starting to look yellow on the edges which is good ...

Notice the fuzzy eyebrows, dr bart told me to just grow them out before surgery to know exactly where to place them , I am really looking forward to staring to shape them and tweeze them again cause right now I look like animal from the muppets!!! Lol

Thank u ladies for checking up on me and my progress, my forehead looks very nice and flat already for what I can see but I will post pics of all that soon

Hugs to all x x

Carly

Wow Carly I can see the results will look amazing, so happy for you, if I could have succesful results like all of you, I would be extatic

have a speedy recovery xo

[f_Anna_tastic]

I can't wait to see the final results. I'm currently saving for my FFS and will probably be visiting Dr Bart 

[calicarly]

Update

Thank you rocker girl , I'm doing my best!   little by little . 2nd day, we're getting a hold of the routine with ice packs, pain killers, my vitamins, etc. I slept a lot more the 2nd night and that in itself makes me feel much better . Drinking lots of juice and had a soup for dinner last night, and actually managed to eat some scrambled eggs for breakfast today. Yoghurt for snacks also . Can't wait to see more progress so i can see the results of surgery. Just having patience and trying to get as much rest as possible now that I can finally rest.

Julia, you are absolutely right about the painkillers, once the need for them kicks in I really can't scrimp on them or the discomfort and pain increase a lot. But so long we keep on top of them on time I seem to be just fine. I received an email from you a few days before I left from belgium sorry I haven't answered I have been so busy and in and out of consciousness but will do soon . Your story about going through passport control is so interesting. I bet you couldn't believe what was happening!

It looks very promising so far, nothing lots of rest and some time and healing won't soon reveal. One more day of healing... Let's hope tomorrow gets even easier than today. Anna, dr Bart was my choice after extensive research. So I do think highly of him. Sheila, hopefully in your case third time's a charm.

Carly
Xoxo

[Julia-Madrid]

Hiya Carly

Keep rockin' girl...!!   Leave my email until you're better... It's an odd one, but I'll explain more when you're ready, offline of course ;-)

BTW, ladies, I got approximate pricing today from an eminent SRS surgeon in Spain.  BRACE YOURSELVES:

SRS: €24,000  (that's $31,600 folks - for a gold-plated vagina!  At this price, it must also have diamonds !!)
BA:  €12,000   (for $15,800 you get bigger breasts "made in Spain" - filled with Sangria, obviously!!)

And all this from a surgeon who prefers not to have any information published about his work....

Guess where I'm NOT going....

Juliaaaaaaaaah

[calicarly]

Hiya Carly

Keep rockin' girl...!!   Leave my email until you're better... It's an odd one, but I'll explain more when you're ready, offline of course ;-)

BTW, ladies, I got approximate pricing today from an eminent SRS surgeon in Spain.  BRACE YOURSELVES:

SRS: €24,000  (that's $31,600 folks - for a gold-plated vagina!  At this price, it must also have diamonds !!)
BA:  €12,000   (for $15,800 you get bigger breasts "made in Spain" - filled with Sangria, obviously!!)

And all this from a surgeon who prefers not to have any information published about his work....

Guess where I'm NOT going....

Juliaaaaaaaaah

OMG and I thought there couldn't be anyone more expensive than British surgeons!!! That's like double the going price for both those procedures!

[Julia-Madrid]

OMG and I thought there couldn't be anyone more expensive than British surgeons!!! That's like double the going price for both those procedures!

Hiya Carly - yes, I kept deadpan when he told me, but I was frankly astonished.
 
I'm not usually a cynic, but here's my take:  from the very small amount of info you can glean from girls who have had SRS in Spain, the results aren't so good. And most of them go via the public health system.  These prices are designed to dissuade anyone from doing the procedure privately, possibly to avoid subsequent claims.

So, I think I need to get my bags packed for Thailand.... 

[marie]

Guess where I'm NOT going....

Juliaaaaaaaaah

My dear

do not try French butchers too ...

[Dash]

Glad to read that you're recovering nicely, Carly. Hopefully it's getting easier day by day pain-wise.

Rest well. : )

[Donna Elvira]

Nice to see you out the other side Carly and already very much back on your feet. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how quickly you will put the whole episode behind you. Given both your excellent starting point (I was a real challlenge for Dr VdV, not you..  !) and Dr VdV's skills you should be in a very happy place a few weeks from now.
Hugs and my very best wishes for a speedy and trouble free recovery.
Donna

[Donna Elvira]

Hiya Carly

Keep rockin' girl...!!   Leave my email until you're better... It's an odd one, but I'll explain more when you're ready, offline of course ;-)

BTW, ladies, I got approximate pricing today from an eminent SRS surgeon in Spain.  BRACE YOURSELVES:

SRS: €24,000  (that's $31,600 folks - for a gold-plated vagina!  At this price, it must also have diamonds !!)
BA:  €12,000   (for $15,800 you get bigger breasts "made in Spain" - filled with Sangria, obviously!!)

And all this from a surgeon who prefers not to have any information published about his work....

Guess where I'm NOT going....

Juliaaaaaaaaah

Julia
10750€ (including a 750€ supplement for a skin graft) for both procedures with Dr Chettawut here in Thailand and so far, absolutely nothing significant to complain about.  My breasts in particular are already turning out exactly as I wanted both in terms of size and softness as I'm very deligent about the exercices that they recommend. A lot more time required to draw any conclusions about the GRS except to say that it has been 100% trouble free so far.
Hugs
Donna

[calicarly]

Glad to read that you're recovering nicely, Carly. Hopefully it's getting easier day by day pain-wise.

Rest well. : )

Dash!, it is getting easier and easier definitiely! But still having to keep on top of the painkillers! The strap around the chin and head and the one on the nose make pressure that adds to the pain a little bit.

Like Donna says, I'm looking forward to 2 weeks from now when it's all coming together for me but 4th day down and things still healing along well each day seems to have me feeling better and brighter. I'm not sure I mentioned my first post op yday, but that went great, Dr Bart also was very pleased and happy with how it's all coming along and said that apparently the TV show is almost a done deal now, so I reassured him that I'm ok with that as previously said. As someone said, hopefully he won't be raising his prices after that.

He added some new US dates for consultations in LA and NY, I facetimed with my twin (yes, identical in every way, trans and al!)  in Long Beach to let her know that He's gonna be there, she wants to go for a consultation now too (of course!) we talked in length about FFS cause she didn't really know what I was having surgery for (she has a super busy schedule working in the fashion industry, so I don't like to overwhelm her with my stuff either) anyhow. I spent a good hour on FaceTime with her and her husband and she seemed happy for me but I think a little thrown off that I hadn't been more specific about what the surgery was... I really enjoyed catching up.

Belgium has turned out to be an interesting place...  Here's some of the images I've captured...














And the waiting area at Piccard Clinic where the magic happens! (Starring Rob's foot lol)




Like said, Dr Bart and myself are happy with my recovery so far . Day 4 hasn't been too eventful otherwise, just happy to feel better each day. He said there is a lot of swelling in some areas, I'm happy about the nose reduction though, I am surprised at the size difference already.

Nice to see you out the other side Carly and already very much back on your feet. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how quickly you will put the whole episode behind you. Given both your excellent starting point (I was a real challlenge for Dr VdV, not you..  !) and Dr VdV's skills you should be in a very happy place a few weeks from now.
Hugs and my very best wishes for a speedy and trouble free recovery.
Donna

I agree Donna , I feel like I will be very very happy with the results, so happy that your GRS and BA both are healing without any trouble...

I am feeling grateful to have my Bobby with me, I didn't really know how much or how little help I would need while here but I knew I would need some. Thank God I have a caring and dedicated man that is taking care of me through this. Please ladies, those of you who are travelling and are having more than one FFS procedure please try and bring company with you if possible, you will be glad you did.



Carly x x

[Julia-Madrid]

Hey Carly, I'm assuming you were strongly in ironic mode when you said that Belgium is turning out to be an interesting place...if I'm wrong, apologies - it was the sangría talking 

Oh, the chin-strap! Since mine came with 6 straps I called it my sextopus.  It seriously made swallowing difficult, and I don't know whether you've had a few endotines implanted in in your forehead as part of any brow lift, but those straps are really annoying if you've got 'em.

Photos----photos---- we want photos! 

Hugs
J/A

PS:  let the record show that I am lightly envious that you have a kind boyfriend on the scene to look after you     

[EmmaD]

Hi Carly,

I have lurked for a while following your FFS adventure.  You seem to be bouncing back very well.  Congrats.

Thanks so much for sharing with us all.  Your journey (along with Julia's and Roni's recently) have helped me keep a bit grounded as frankly I am getting a bit nervous about mine!  Unfortunately, I will be doing mine alone (most of my trans voyage has been that way) but that is just the way it is. 

Anyway, I really appreciate your posts as it is a huge help.

Love

Emma

[Shantel]

Oh Carly, you poor baby! I always cringe at the FFS photos but I know you're going to look even more beautimous then pre-op where you looked really pretty to begin with. Hope the recovery is speedy and the swelling subsides quickly for you dear. Can't wait to see how you look when you're ready. Way to go girl! 

[Erica_Y]

Hi Carly, hang in there you are already looking great! Having been through a FFS surgery myself recently I can really say that it does get better. A wise friend told me this " You will not remember the pain and you will not remember what you looked like" and I am just beginning to think they are right!

Congrats on taking this big step

[jgirl76]

Hi Carly!! Just jumped on here to see how you were doing after surgery and it looks like all is well! Can't wait to see with the bandages off! Glad you're alright and healing well. Hugs and kisses from Seattle XOXO. Take care and rest up

Jonnie

[Julia-Madrid]

Thanks so much for sharing with us all.  Your journey (along with Julia's and Roni's recently) have helped me keep a bit grounded as frankly I am getting a bit nervous about mine!  Unfortunately, I will be doing mine alone (most of my trans voyage has been that way) but that is just the way it is. 

Dear Emma, you show immense strength to be doing this on your own, but you will have us nearby, truly you will.  The best practical advice I can give you is to lightly fatten yourself up beforehand, since eating, or the desire to prepare food, will both probably be hard.  Prepare thin soups or purées in advance; buy milkshakes and protein drinks, and REST a lot.

We'll be with you!

xxx
Julia

[calicarly]

Day 6

Girls, a few days have gone by, and although I do feel a lot better and the bruising and swelling is definitely progressing. I still don't look good enough to justify a piccy just yet. It looks like I might still have bruising by Wednesday on the flight back.i think it shows that although there is girls like Julia who can heal faster, I am one that seems to be just little bits better everyday but at a slow pase. So, something to have in mind. I do think the bromelain and arnica have helped though! But the recovery process from FFS is not a walk in the park. Particularly when there are pressure bandages involved!

Hi Carly,

I have lurked for a while following your FFS adventure.  You seem to be bouncing back very well.  Congrats.

Thanks so much for sharing with us all.  Your journey (along with Julia's and Roni's recently) have helped me keep a bit grounded as frankly I am getting a bit nervous about mine!  Unfortunately, I will be doing mine alone (most of my trans voyage has been that way) but that is just the way it is. 

Anyway, I really appreciate your posts as it is a huge help.

Love

Emma

Hi Emma! I do think you are brave for going ahead and doing it all on your own, but i am I've of the people that also think better alone than in the wrong company. It makes me feel so good and warm just to know my posts may help anyone with preparations and expectations. That is the reason I am sharing my FFS journey here... And like Julia said, you always have us! I saw your ticker and it says your FFS is coming up 2 months from now, I can see why you must be starting to get nervous and excited. Julia is kinda right about try gain some weight as funny as that sounds lol x

Hi Carly, hang in there you are already looking great! Having been through a FFS surgery myself recently I can really say that it does get better. A wise friend told me this " You will not remember the pain and you will not remember what you looked like" and I am just beginning to think they are right!

Congrats on taking this big step

Thank you Erica! I will hang by that phrase for some days here definitely!! I read another one of your posts in a different thread about being emotionally/mentally prepared for FFS and it's recovery and I could not agree with you more. You obviously have valuable comments and I appreciate that, and your pic avatar looks great !

Jgirl!!! I hope you keep saying hi Hun, you're another person with valuable feedback in the forum!! So glad to have a post from you I am doing my best to just relax and let the healing process do it's thing!

So just about to have some breakfast here and after passing by Dr Bart's for some more painkillers we might go for a little drive here ... We'll see what we feel up to ...

Ttyl ladies xo
Carly