The time is getting closer and closer.  I applied for and was granted my payout for my 401K.  I am now just waiting for my check.  And as I wait a thought comes to me as to what to expect once it happens.

Some facts about this old bat.....
1. I am 55 years old.
2. Most likely already went thru male menopause.
3. Been on Sprio for the last 18 Months.
4. Not much shrinkage in that department.

Reason for Orchidectomy.
1. I really need to have them gone. For no other reason that to tuck more efficiently.
2. Psychologically a boost to my transition.  I need to move forward.
3. I have no knowledge as to when I will get SRS.


But what I am looking for, right now, is what to expect afterward.
1. Will I or can I expect better development.
2. Will I experience menopause type symptoms.
3. Body hair.  Will it reduce or become lighter.
4. Head hair.  Will it or can it fill in better than it is now.

And anything else that someone may wish to contribute.  I am have it regardless because I need them gone.  I would prefer SRS, but saving the money is not possible because it will be taken from me by others.

Doctors never seem to have the answers, I want to know what others, who have had one experienced.


Janet

I wish you much luck and happiness Janet. I hope everything comes out okay for you.

Deanna

Sorry hun.
No advice except that when you have gone with your heart it seems to have worked out.




Cindy

I think that even when effective anti-androgens were used beforehand there can be subtle changes post-orchi/SRS.
A bit of extra head hair growth might be a benefit.
I wouldn't count too much on spectacular breast growth.
I do know a case where they developed a linea nigra!

Are you taking estrogen as well?  I don't really believe that you will experience more development if you are not.  One of the only benefits of an ochi is that you'll be able cut your spiro dose down to a minimum.  However there are other areas of the body that produce testosterone, even women naturally produce a certain amount of "T".

-={LR}=-

@ LR Yes I have been on estrogen for as long as Spiro.

@ Renate I already have a scar in the very same area.  so that is no biggy.

I am wondering what mental, emotional, and physical changes may happen.  And some of you girls who have had a SRS without a prior orchie would have experienced the same things. 

I am still looking forward to it but I have been looking on the net and can't seem to find anything.


Janet

Quote from: Janet Lynn on October 19, 2009, 06:20:35 AM
@ LR Yes I have been on estrogen for as long as Spiro.

@ Renate I already have a scar in the very same area.  so that is no biggy.

I am wondering what mental, emotional, and physical changes may happen.  And some of you girls who have had a SRS without a prior orchie would have experienced the same things. 

I am still looking forward to it but I have been looking on the net and can't seem to find anything.


Janet

If I recall correctly (While I have a good memory, it's awful short ) there was no euphoria or shouting from the roof tops so to speak once my SRS was completed. I did have a feeling of finally completeness, a sense of finality, the end of one life and the start of a new one.  (Hmm maybe that is euphoria.)  I could finally be the person I was, and not wishing to sound like a cliche; the woman I was, as while many argue otherwise, I needed the male genitalia to be gone, women don't have male genitals (My thoughts.)  I'm not sure if you will experience the same, but who knows we are all different and do different things for different reasons.

-={LR}=-

I had an orchi some 2 years prior to my GRS.

The procedure was in the morning. I had hot flashes in the evening. They stuck around a little on day 2, but were pretty much gone by day 3.

I had transitioned 5 years prior. I didn't experience any significant additional development. But my partner and her parents tell me that my personality changed a lot afterward. I lost a lot of anxiety and was able to toss my mood stabilizers.

Also, a funny little detail that makes sense in light of the anxiety -- before the orchi, my eyebrow twitched when I was stressed. Afterward, no twitchy.

The big thing that I hadn't expected was the nature of the swelling and the time it took to dissipate. After an orchiectomy, there is some generalized swelling throughout the area, but the main things that will annoy you for months are the ligated cords. Immediately after the procedure, the cord-ends swell up with blood and fluid. They congeal and harden to little lumps that feel disturbingly like the organs you pay the doctor to remove.

YMMV, but generally they take months to go away. For the first few weeks, they were the size of walnuts. By the second month they were the size of almonds. By the third month they were the size of raisins. And then they were gone.

This process then repeated itself when I had my GRS, because my surgeon had to "clean things up". The doctor who did my orchiectomy was kind of sloppy with his ligation and moreover did not use dissolvable sutures. That made sense, because I felt them moving around and causing occasional pain for the years between procedures.

Either way, I healed fine from the orchi, and it didn't affect my GRS other than some extra time under anesthesia.

I was disturbed in retrospect. I felt lucky to have such a minor problem. I knew the guy who did my orchi was kind of batty, but I went ahead with it anyway.

Why? Because my old out of state driver's license was expiring, and I had run into a brick wall trying to get an F on my license without having had surgery. I preferred the batty doctor to the M.