Well I was wondering how many guys only take hormones. I figure you can pass very well as a guy anyway because your breasts shrink on t and make it easier to bind.

In my own case, it's the money that keeps me from getting top work done right now.

I'm hoping the T and weight training and lower body fat can result in a nice flat chest in the meantime.

Apparently the most usual path for our transitions is T then top surgery then hysto then a metoido or phallo if we get any bottom work done, many don't.

over here you're "mandated" to be 1 yr on HRT before any surgery.

My breasts did not shrink on T what so ever my body shape changed but my breasts didn't change at all. I was on T for 10 months before I had surgery.
There was no mandatory time before having my surgery however I live in England.. so the NHS would be different.

Jay

mine deflated.  i like to use the analogy "you can take your keys out of your pocket, but the pocket is still there."

as far as never having top surgery, ive only ever met 1 person who wanted (and was on) T but didnt want top surgery.  he was more queer though, not really a transMAN.

You can be on T and not have top surgery if that's what you'd prefer.  That said, T isn't gonna take most guys' man-boobs away entirely.  Yeah, there's usually some fat loss, but the breast tissue will still be there.  So will the skin.  That's where I'm at now: skin bags filled with hard breast tissue and nearly no fat.  They smash down flat with an Underworks double-front binder, but binders aren't exactly the greatest things to wear long-term.  Just a few hours in mine was enough to decrease the diameter of my rib cage by a couple inches (took a day for it to return to normal) and result in wheezing breath (fluid buildup in my lungs).  Maybe I'm just a wuss; it seems most people can put up with binding for several hours a day.  But I'm still not taking any chances with malformed ribs or decreased lung capacity.

And then there's that whole going shirtless at the beach thing...

Quote from: Eryk on September 12, 2009, 08:02:04 PM
...That said, T isn't gonna take most guys' man-boobs away entirely.  Yeah, there's usually some fat loss, but the breast tissue will still be there.  So will the skin.  That's where I'm at now: skin bags filled with hard breast tissue and nearly no fat...

actually, T can break down breast tissue.

Mine just started to sag pretty bad. They lose elasticity or mine did, as opposed to shrinking. For me I just couldn't stand to look at them anymore, as soon as I had top surgery scheduled it definitely made it easier to live with them. I did have to shave them as hairy breasts were no something my SO or I found attractive. I can understand the not having money thing. You do what you can and if it's only T for now then that is what it is. You will get great results from the T.
Myles

Quote from: Josh on September 12, 2009, 08:25:53 PM
actually, T can break down breast tissue.

Then I wish it'd work some more on mine >.<

I dunno, maybe my chest is just unusual.  The last time I had a chest examination, the doctor took pause and was just murmuring words along the lines of 'strange... so small and all nodular tissue.'  He wasn't the first doc to do that.

I just want the ugly things gone.

Eryk, you may have fibrous breasts... I do, and while I can get the fat to mash down pretty well, the breast tissue itself is pretty hard and refuses to bind incredibly well.

However, to speak to the general topic, I've been on T for about 14 months, I think, and haven't had top surgery. Most of the reason is lack of funds, though some of it is that I'm terrified of having surgery of any kind. Mine were about a 36B before I went on T, and I don't think they've shrunk in the slightest; however, they have begun to sag quite a lot. The couple of people I've been around without a binder recently say they can't tell I have them, but I think that since I'm still a tad overweight, I can get away with having what look like bitch tits. I don't want them, though. I wish there were a way to get rid of the things without having painful, costly surgery, but there isn't.

So yeah... you could likely get away with just doing T and never having top surgery if you're really small-chested and don't mind having bitch tits. It will break down the breast tissue a bit, but personally, I think mine sag more because of the 3 years of binding than because of T.

SD

Yes the NHS (Britain's national health service) is accused in the US of "rationing" healthcare, meanwhile in the US the "rationing" is much much more extreme, as in, if you're poor, no health care at all.

Quote from: Alex_C on September 13, 2009, 01:11:05 AM
Yes the NHS (Britain's national health service) is accused in the US of "rationing" healthcare, meanwhile in the US the "rationing" is much much more extreme, as in, if you're poor, no health care at all.

Welcome to my world.

I've only been on T for a month and binding for a bit longer than that, but i have already bought my surgery date forward to december. I have large ones, and they have definately sagged, but not gotten any smaller. With a NZ summer coming up i really don't want all those layers on, the thought is incredibly depressing, and i also want to be read more quickly, so i can't wait for my top surgery. And to think that before starting t i thought i'd wait a year to get it. Hell no!

Once I started T I wanted the lumps gone ASAP and scheduled accordingly.


Jay

Well, yes, of course you can start T without having had top surgery.  Why someone who was seeking to pass as male would abstain does not compute in my brain.  Before I had top surgery, I was always afraid someone would see or feel them, that my shirts didn't lay flat enough, that i was restricted from so much (swimming, locker rooms, etc)...   not to mention the obvious safety issues that arise from being gender non-conforming.