Yeson Voice Feminization Surgery

[Inarasarah]

Thanks Denjin, this is helpful

[Inarasarah]

I am now just under 50 days out from VFS at Yeson.  Everything is booked and one of my best friends is going with me.  February cannot get here soon enough.

Thanks to all of your amazing posts, I have had a lot of reading to get caught up on.  All of it has been insightful and ever so helpful. 

Sorry I don't post a lot, work and life tend to take over.  Just like last week when I went back to Colorado to visit my Mom and let her know I was going for surgery.  She was wonderfully supportive.  I also found that I really don't want to tell a lot of people, I am telling those closest to me--Mom, my sister, and my best friends.  But I really have a "let them figure it out" attitude about everyone else...is that weird?  I am sitting down with my team next month, because they are like family to me.  Funny story about that, I did talk to one of my teammates last week about the surgery and from all indications about our conversation I don't think she knew I was trans.  Given that I have known her over 5 years now I was a little suprised at her responces to our conversation.  Maybe she was being polite, or maybe not...I will take the win

The world is a fantastic place and I am so glad I discovered this proceedure and Yeson.  I am so happy right now.

Cheers!
-S

[EmmaD]

I too am hanging out for February for exactly the same reason! All booked and set for the procedure on the the 14th.

I met Dr Kim and Jessie last Sunday when he visited Melbourne with the Facial Team and Marci Bowers.  While I was already booked, it was nice to have a brief analysis done and not have any obvious issues that might impact the outcome.  It will really be up to me to get the most out of it.

Excitement building.

All the best for February.

Emma


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[Inarasarah]

Emma that is wonderful.  I will be one week ahead of you as I am scheduled for the 7th.  I have my one week follow up on the 13th, then my friend and I fly back to the states on the 14th.  She arranged it so we can have Valentines sushi in Tokyo...LOL.

Best wishes to you Emma. And here is to, as my sister put it "everything in 2017" 

-Sarah

[Inarasarah]

Only 4 more weeks.  28 days. 

Nope, still not counting...not at all

[Inarasarah]

Just curious for those who have gone to Yeson, did you use AMEX for payment?  I think Jessie said it was ok, but always get nervous before that they might not.  So I thought I would ask if anyone here used AMEX as a payment option

Thanks
-Sarah

[Inarasarah]

I am now 2 weeks out...I swear time is moving so slow. 

Two trips this week to Los Angeles, then one full week before I head to Seoul.  I am sooooo ready.

[anjaq]

Sounds all good. Regarding the payment - make sure your credit card company will be fine with this. I aked mine before the trip and they openly told me that they cannot guarantee that the payment would work and that I could not do anything about it as they have random checks or something like that and a big payment made in a very distant country may trip security blocks. So I ended up doing a money transfer in advance to be safe.

February in Seoul is COLD - like snow and ice... Be prepared, also do everything to fend off getting a cold or infection.

Your situation sounds very familiar. My transition was in 1998-2000 and I did VFS 15 years later. Back then I knew someone who had VFS and it was horrible - a 1m90 tall woman with a Minnie Mouse voice. No one in the group did get VFS for years after that. Singing after the surgery works, but it is not perfect. I am trying and it seems to be ok, someone I know had some issues with diplophonia though, Amy however seems to do fine as a professional musician and singer. The vocal rang does not change that much though. In my case I lose a bit at bottom and top, but regained much of the top part, but it is not really going higher than it used to go. My higest pitch still is 1-2 notes below where it was, but that was the E5 range, so I am not going to be a soprano anyways. I am happy to have gone from bariton to alto...

[Inarasarah]

Thanks Anjaq,

Sounds all good. Regarding the payment - make sure your credit card company will be fine with this. I aked mine before the trip and they openly told me that they cannot guarantee that the payment would work and that I could not do anything about it as they have random checks or something like that and a big payment made in a very distant country may trip security blocks. So I ended up doing a money transfer in advance to be safe.

I already called AMEX and they are fine, so that I am not worried about I just hope Yeson can process AMEX.  I assume they can

February in Seoul is COLD - like snow and ice... Be prepared, also do everything to fend off getting a cold or infection.

Yep, I am ready for this, warm boots, gloves, scarves, and jackets.  Last time I was in Seoul it was August and so very hot and humid.  I guess I like the extremes...LOL

Your situation sounds very familiar. My transition was in 1998-2000 and I did VFS 15 years later. Back then I knew someone who had VFS and it was horrible - a 1m90 tall woman with a Minnie Mouse voice. No one in the group did get VFS for years after that.

This is EXACTLY what I encountered.  Back in 2004, I was at a party for the local gender center and there was a woman there about my height who had voice surgery and sounded like Minnie Mouse.  The voice did not fit her frame and seemed odd.  At that point I pretty much resigned that voice surgery would never be an option.  Then I heard the Yeson results and my eyes were opened.  I have another friend who transitioned around the same time I did and she is now considering Yeson.  She is eagerly following my progress

Singing after the surgery works, but it is not perfect. I am trying and it seems to be ok, someone I know had some issues with diplophonia though, Amy however seems to do fine as a professional musician and singer. The vocal rang does not change that much though. In my case I lose a bit at bottom and top, but regained much of the top part, but it is not really going higher than it used to go. My higest pitch still is 1-2 notes below where it was, but that was the E5 range, so I am not going to be a soprano anyways. I am happy to have gone from bariton to alto...

I currently have a very dynamic singing range, so I am interested in seeing what happens.  Thankfully I am not a professional singer, so if I lose my ability I will not be crushed, maybe saddened.  But I will survive.  If I can still sing me some Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, or Chrissie Hynde that would be amazing.

Thanks again for the post.  I will probably do the videos for rainbow passage.  Eeeek, I am so exicited.  Leaving in 4 days OMG!!  <3

[anjaq]

I already called AMEX and they are fine, so that I am not worried about I just hope Yeson can process AMEX.  I assume they can

ASK! - AMEX is not that common, internationally. Better write Jessie an email about it and make sure of it. It would be a mess if you are there and need to organize payment in a hurry.

This is EXACTLY what I encountered.  Back in 2004, I was at a party for the local gender center and there was a woman there about my height who had voice surgery and sounded like Minnie Mouse.  The voice did not fit her frame and seemed odd.  At that point I pretty much resigned that voice surgery would never be an option.  Then I heard the Yeson results and my eyes were opened.  I have another friend who transitioned around the same time I did and she is now considering Yeson.  She is eagerly following my progress

Yes - I also met someone else back then and she had a totally hoarse voice. So voice surgery in the 1990ies was out of the question for me. FFS did not really exist in Europe - so I got none of these - and left the community. I was amazed when I came back 15 years later that now there are options to get the voice changed properly and that one can alter the face, so I did the VFS at Yeson, but am not sure about the FFS thingy - it worked ok for 18 years and I am a bit scared of it.

I currently have a very dynamic singing range, so I am interested in seeing what happens.  Thankfully I am not a professional singer, so if I lose my ability I will not be crushed, maybe saddened.  But I will survive.  If I can still sing me some Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, or Chrissie Hynde that would be amazing.

Well, it will be interesting to know. I tried doing singing lessons this winter, but I am not that good at it - it works ok, but my voice control is not good and I tend to get some roughness in some parts. I struggle with the transition from head to chest voice. But I never did singing before, so I guess it is more related to that lack of experience.

[Inarasarah]

I am willing to give up having a good singing voice if I can have a voice that passes every day.  To me that is a worthy tradeoff.  If I can manage to sing in addition, that is a wonderful bonus.  Time will now tell.

[Inarasarah]

ASK! - AMEX is not that common, internationally. Better write Jessie an email about it and make sure of it. It would be a mess if you are there and need to organize payment in a hurry.

I am taking a Visa card as a back up.  Amex is better option for me since I don't have to pay the foriegn transaction fee with them.  But if it doesn't work, I will survive...I always do

Thanks Anjaq for all your insight, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.  Hugs

-Sarah

[Inarasarah]

In 65 hours I board a plane for Seoul, South Korea.  This will be my second trip to Seoul, the last one being in August of 1990.  I don't remember much from that trip, as it was the end of a month-long trip which was primarily centered on Hong Kong.  But I do remember it was beautiful and I found it much more appealing that Hong Kong was.  I will admit to being a little nervous, but anxious at the same time.  This journey is one that I never envisioned I would ever take.  It always seemed like an impossibility, but the possibility is now upon me.

I have two more days of work to finish up, two more long runs through the neighboring town, a few goodbyes with some close friends, and then I am off on a new adventure.  It is hard to believe that only two and a half months ago, I had never heard of Yeson.  Thank you everyone for your kind words in this thread and your PMs.  Those of you who have reached out to me personally, I cannot express how much your kind words have meant. 

I still need to pack, and prep my new laptop so I can do some personal stuff on it, in addition to a few work things (heck if I can bill a few hours when I am out there, why not do it).  I promise to post some updates from the road.  I do know it is going to be cold, so I might be spending lots of time in the nice warmth of my hotel. 

Hugs,
Sarah

[Inarasarah]

I am now 24 hours away from leaving my house to head to the airport.  Insomnia is waking me up and my brain is running a million miles an hour.  I know this feeling because I have had it before, back in 2004 before I went down to Scottsdale for SRS/GCS.  I have such love and support from my family, friends, and neighbors.  My next door neighbor A, she and I are the same age and both young for the neighborhood, gave me a huge hug while constantly expressing how happy she was for me.  My friend S came over for lunch yesterday, which made my day mainly because I am in love with her (not that it is going anywhere or that she knows or I will ever tell her. I am 100% fine with this btw, just kinda wanted to acknowledge it publicly and anonymously for the first time ). I called my mom and had a great talk, I just wish she could empathize more.  I know she cares deeply for me and wants me to be loved and safe, she just has difficulty expressing it, it is somewhat of a character flaw with my family.  I ended up being the empathetic one in the family, which doesn't help when I need that shoulder.  Oh well, that is why I have friends.

Today I have one meeting in Redmond, a trip to the bank for some traveling money, a quick stop at my lawyers, then home to finish packing.  My friend Slammi (derby name), who is accompanying me on this adventure managed to get us upgraded to business class.  Super excited about that.  I managed to get us upgraded on the hotel, so if all goes according to plan we should have 10 days of comfort and relaxation. 

If anyone has any recommendations for site seeing or restaurants I am open to suggestions. We will be staying in Itaewon. 

Now I am going to try and rest my brain.  These are the time I wish I had a significant other to kick me in the head and tell me to relax and go back to bed.  Stoopid monkey brain...

[EmmaD]

I just wanted to wish you all the very best in Seoul and at Yeson.  I am a week away from my trip to Seoul. Getting excited and everything else!

By the way, I can relate to the insomnia - it is 4:25am here right now and I am typing this!


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[Lynne]

Good luck to both of you!

[Inarasarah]

We are at the airport:

<imagur.com fail>

[Inarasarah]

We made it to Seoul, it is chilly here, but everything seems to be heated, even the toilet seat.  LOL.

Tomorrow is pre-op.  Tonight we are going to sing some karaoke...fun times

[barbie]

We made it to Seoul, it is chilly here, but everything seems to be heated, even the toilet seat.  LOL.

Tomorrow is pre-op.  Tonight we are going to sing some karaoke...fun times

Weather forecast says it will be colder tomorrow. Air quality (Asian dust or micro dust) is usually bad at Seoul in winter, but today it is 'average' (no so much bad). Most stores here accept AMEX. Yes. I also once carried and used AMEX about 15 years ago here in Korea.

Itaewon is a kind of old town, but you may find some restaurant there. I once had dinner in a restaurant there last year, and my impression was it was expensive compared with my hometown (Jeju island).

As it is not so far from Itaewon to Yeson, you may take Taxi. A kind of Uber service is available if you have a smartphone: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kakao.taxi&hl=en
If English interface is not available, then refer to: https://www.10mag.com/kakaotaxi-for-the-english-speaker/
I am sure it will be tricky for English users, and you may ask a staff in your hotel to call taxi for you.

Also public buses are available (you may ask the hotel staff).

barbie~~

[barbie]

If anyone has any recommendations for site seeing or restaurants I am open to suggestions. We will be staying in Itaewon. 

You may go to Seoul tower by taxi or the National Museum of Korea. It takes less than 10 min to the tower and about 11 min to the museum.

barbie~~