Hello, everyone:
I just have a couple of quick questions about SRS.
1. How much (or how little) did having it reduce your dysphoria and improve your overall mental health?
2. Have you experienced any feminizing effects since having the operation?
If I can expect SRS to have its desired effects, I feel like I could greatly reduce the depression I'm currently feeling.
Note: I'm not looking for advice, commentary on transition overall, etc. Every time I have asked a specific question on these forums, I have received unrelated/unsolicited commentary.
Thanks!
Quote from: VeronicaS1001 on May 03, 2018, 10:17:39 PM
Hello, everyone:
I just have a couple of quick questions about SRS.
1. How much (or how little) did having it reduce your dysphoria and improve your overall mental health?
My gender dysphoria was completely gone the moment I woke up from surgery.
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2. Have you experienced any feminizing effects since having the operation?
Most of the feminizing is done by hormones, however not having male bits down there is incredibly feminizing for me. I just feel right.
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I am hoping that having the surgery will ease my dysphoria, improve my life overall, and hopefully have some at least moderate, feminizing effects. I understand about not putting all the eggs in one basket, but if I knew that I might be able to expect SRS to have its desired effects, I feel like I could greatly reduce the depression I'm currently feeling.
Thanks!
Transition does this for most of us.
Keep in mind that while gender dysphoria causes depression in almost all of us, depression can be caused by other things as well. Many years ago, I knew a lady who had a problem with alcohol. After her surgery, she still had a problem with alcohol. For her, alcohol and gender dysphoria were two different things. Surgery will cure the gender dysphoria, but will not cure any other issues you may have. Surgery only physically changes 3% of your body. This means that you are still 97% the same person, but with the feminizing effects of HRT.
This is where your therapist can help you find all the causes of your depression. Women can get depressed just like men. We all need a careful diagnosis of our mental condition to be able to determine if transition is beneficial or not.
GCS definitely improved my genital dysphoria. I still have face and body issues I am working through, but GCS definitely made me feel 'right' with my body.
Post-op my Estradiol was cut in half, but the pace of changes has accelerated. My breasts have been tender and growing, my waist has shrunk a bit and thigh and hip fat deposits have grown. I've kept my weight more or less constant although that seems to be harder to do.
Facial appearance has softened a bit the past few months, a good thing.
Quote from: Michelle_P on May 04, 2018, 11:38:51 AM
GCS definitely improved my genital dysphoria. I still have face and body issues I am working through, but GCS definitely made me feel 'right' with my body.
Post-op my Estradiol was cut in half, but the pace of changes has accelerated. My breasts have been tender and growing, my waist has shrunk a bit and thigh and hip fat deposits have grown. I've kept my weight more or less constant although that seems to be harder to do.
Facial appearance has softened a bit the past few months, a good thing.
Hi, Michelle:
Thanks for your response. I'm glad to hear that surgery has worked well for you and that you've had those additional feminizing effects as a result.
If you have realistic expectation reached through enough therapy and if you are doing enough to treat your social dysphoria, surgery will eliminate your dysphoria. Because I wasn't on blockers and was full time for about 2.5 years, I didn't even realize the dysphoria was gone until a while after surgery. You don't think about an itch being gone until you realize that it's you have been a long time without that itch so the answer is yes for me. On the other hand, I see people who are post op and have been through 2 or 3 rounds of FFS but are still uncomfortable with themselves. In addition, I know of a few on the site who have done everything medically including surgery but haven't social transitioned and they still experience dysphoria. Understanding why your dysphoric and meeting all your needs is very important if surgery is to be your cure for dysphoria.
Before surgery my HRT treatment wasn't very effective and after surgery I was cut back pretty quick. The last two years my treatment has been a bit more effective so 35 years after surgery, I am still seeing changes. I will never be larger than a B cup however that doesn't bother me. I have a slim build more like that of a teen and as long a my body passes and the Sirs are minimal, it doesn't bother me. The only way you will have a shapely body is if you have the genes for it and I don't.
I had no idea my genital dysphoria was so bad until I awoke after GCS. GCS cured me of my genital dysphoria.
I still am getting some benefits from transitioning. I had GCS 1.5 years ago and have been on HRT for 5 years. I had a lot of surgery and that had helped to feminize me.
I started T low dose and that has had a big effect on me. I am losing weight. I am regaining a libido from having zero libido on just E. My E has remained at a high dose. The main reason I started T is because I started Travada and it can have a negative bone effect. I had a revision surgery in May and when all clear I will be looking for a partner. I actually feel good about my body (not perfect but good).
My GD is mostly gone and I am working on accepting and forgiving myself and living my life as me.
I'm 6 months post-op now.
Quote from: VeronicaS1001 on May 03, 2018, 10:17:39 PM
1. How much (or how little) did having it reduce your dysphoria and improve your overall mental health?
My dysphoria is totally gone. I look at myself in the mirror and feel so complete now. I used to dislike seeing myself naked in the mirror, but now when I do I feel good about my body.
Quote from: VeronicaS1001 on May 03, 2018, 10:17:39 PM
2. Have you experienced any feminizing effects since having the operation?
Yes, definitely. My Estradiol intake has been cut by a ΒΌ and my hormone levels are spot on for female. Even though I was on HRT for nearly 4 years prior to GCS, after GCS, my breast have become more rounded and my waist has become smaller while maintaining nice hips. Today I wore leggings and a workout top and my body is more feminine than it's ever been. I even felt confident enough to go to the store that way which is really awesome. My wife says she is jealous of my body now, but it also makes her feel good knowing I"m hers :)
There is definitely a difference between T being blocked vs the major T source being totally removed. Spiro can cause stomach size to increase so with that now being gone that has helped cause my stomach get smaller. The other thing is I'm sticking to my diet and eating right as I like how my body is looking and I want to keep improving that. It's all a win-win for me :)
One temporary negative thing from surgery was my hair thinned a little about a month or so after GCS from the anesthesia, but now it's thickening back up to where it was before surgery and maybe even more so now.
Like Dena, I was full time for a significant amount of time before I had SRS (almost 3 years - not by choice, but due to a lack of money to pay for the SRS), so the gender dyshoria was pretty much gone before I had the surgery (it was probably gone shortly after I went full time in Dec. 2000), but the body/genital dysphoria? That was around bigtime until I had my SRS. Once I had SRS, it was immediately gone.
As for physical changes - well, not to a major amount of them post-SRS. You see, I'd been on HRT since 1999, and coupled with an Orchie in 2001, I'd already had major hormonally caused physical changes. It also helped that I seem to have a rather high amount of estrogen receptors (unlike many of us, I was never even close to being on the maximum allowable dosage of Estradiol or Premarin - I was never on more than half of that value), so that I had major breast growth before I'd had SRS (I remember my doctor asking me in 2002 when I'd had the implants, only to respond to him, "what implants?", which elicited the response from my doctor, that I'd had serious amounts of breast development). Over the years there has maybe been a little bit of extra breast growth, but nothing major.
Had surgery last August. My dysphoria still comes and goes a bit at times but its not really an issue. I'm 66 and have been on HRT for 18 years so I was a bit surprised to see a bit of minor growth in my breasts and some additional fat to my hips. Was very happy with both. . . .
SRS was the beginning of a normal life for me............