Long-term changes in your body post-GRS

[Stormy Weather]

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.

[Sheila]

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

[tinkerbell]

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

[Stormy Weather]

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.