I had FFS about 5 weeks ago, and I really don't think I look like a girl, yet. :-(

I know you need to wait a while for things to settle in, but how long?  Seems like I've read posts of the changes being noticeable right out of the gate.  So, that has me concerned.  And besides, "settling" doesn't mean your face is completely rearranged; I just can't see how it'll be different.

Experiences?


-anna

for me i did not notice any changes right away. it was like week 4-6 when the ms started getting dropped to me.now im at i think 3 months and thts all i get. dont freak out till at least month 6. they say it takes 6-12 months to really see it. not to mention. others will see it before you. what i did was look at a before pic of myself and 2 months after and i could see some changes. who did yours? if you dont mind me

It was Dr. Spiegel.

I know I'm supposed to be patient, but... some things just aren't going to change.  I mean, the underlying bone structure isn't going to change.  One of the male things about me is my chin, and its shape is definitely not going to change -- it's not swollen at all anymore.  My nose is still swollen;  that could help.  But overall, I just can't visualize how it's going to happen.

What kind of changes did you see over time?

You're very pretty, BTW. :-)  I'm glad at least someone had luck with this!



-anna

You will be shocked to find out how much your face will change over time. 5 weeks is very little time to judge the results.

swan is right. me personally i dont see much of a change but after 6 weeks off from work and school people would walk right by me and i would be like what the hell? they would come back after i said something and be like Tristan? thank you by the way. i dont feel pretty but the more people say it the more i start to agree

Take a picture of yourself now.  I assume you have a picture of yourself before.  Then take a picture of yourself in a year.

Your changes will be dramatic.

It can take months or a year or more for the changes to manifest themselves completely.  Your face has been severely traumatized.  Tissue that was attached to bone has been separated.  Your face is still quite swollen.

The swelling will recede first, but it can take many weeks.  And the tissue will reattach to bone, but that can take months.

But it will happen.

Each day will bring a change, but slowly.  One day you will look in the mirror and finally see yourself as who you are.

And you will look at those pictures from before and see that person as someone you no longer know.  You have those memories and those experiences, but you will see them as you are then.  It will seem like stories from a dream.

-Sandy

Quote from: Tristan on June 11, 2012, 04:10:50 AMthey would come back after i said something and be like Tristan? thank you by the way. i dont feel pretty but the more people say it the more i start to agree

well, case in point, I guess.  It'd be hard to view you as male. 

And you have great cheeks!  I'm so jealous.  But I wasn't counting on cheeks in my FFS.  I'm a little older (not *too* old -- 40), but old enough so that your skin starts to get a little hollow there.  Though, if I gained a few pounds it might help...


-anna

I know how you feel. At 5 weeks, I was devasted and felt the exact same way. I felt that way for the first 3 months. Now, at 5 months, my face is still continuing to change and I'm much happier with what I see now.

Also, sometimes it's just our brain messing with us. Take lots of pictures everyday and compare them every once in a while. You'll be amazed at how much your face changes. You're brain sort of has to re-wire and get use to your new face.

Don't worry. Things will get better as time goes on. Just keep yourself occupied and try not to think too much about it.

Quote from: JenJen2011 on June 11, 2012, 07:35:54 AM
I know how you feel. At 5 weeks, I was devasted and felt the exact same way. I felt that way for the first 3 months. Now, at 5 months, my face is still continuing to change and I'm much happier with what I see now.

Thanks for the reassurance... I hope that's the case!  I don't want to go back under the knife!

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Also, sometimes it's just our brain messing with us. Take lots of pictures everyday and compare them every once in a while. You'll be amazed at how much your face changes. You're brain sort of has to re-wire and get use to your new face.

Yes, that's definitely true.  But... can you honestly say I don't look like a guy right now?  If you have to think about it... then, well, I do.

I know my face will change in the coming months.  But I suspect that it won't change *enough*.  It's like making a piece of furniture out of wood (or something).  When you put the pieces together, you basically know what it looks like.  Then, you can sand down the rough edges.  But the sanding is just finishing.

I think the basic structure of my face is how it's going to be.  Things will settle a bit more -- the "rough edges" will smooth out -- but that's not gonna make the difference. :-(



-anna

Give it a bit more time, I went to Dr Spiegel about 11 months ago, roughly, and had SRS about 6 months ago.. But anyhow! I felt the same way you do now for the first 2-4sh months right after FFS, but now I am much happier...

However I will say Dr Spiegel is not a very aggressive surgeon in my opinion, and I may go back to him for a few more tweaks. I am 22 btw. Rotate the photo! My laptop is acting up.

Wow!  You look a bit like my sister

Quote from: elle2011 on June 13, 2012, 06:22:59 AM
Give it a bit more time, I went to Dr Spiegel about 11 months ago, roughly, and had SRS about 6 months ago.. But anyhow! I felt the same way you do now for the first 2-4sh months right after FFS, but now I am much happier...


However I will say Dr Spiegel is not a very aggressive surgeon in my opinion, and I may go back to him for a few more tweaks. I am 22 btw. Rotate the photo! My laptop is acting up.

wow girl you look amazing, super hot!

Well, over a year has gone by, so I figured I'd update this thread.

Speaking to my original concern that my face was done changing at 5 weeks: I was partially correct.  It definitely has changed since then in some ways.  My chin is much more narrow than it was.  My nose is a little different.  But overall, it's not enormously different.  At 5 weeks, I was probably 85% there.

I'm still not 100% happy with the results.  My nose is huge.  There are weird angles in my face which look either male or just ugly depending on your perspective.  Even if I do look like a girl, I look like a homely girl. :-(

All that being said, apparently I look female to *other* people.  I almost never get misgendered, even close up.  I've made friends who have no idea I'm trans (or if they do, they're not telling me!).  I've been on dates where I haven't disclosed the secret.  So, I guess the surgery was successful on some level!


I'm not sure what to think about Dr. Spiegel.  I've talked to him several times about my concerns, and he hasn't exactly been receptive.  I find him really dismissive.  He actually told me that I should find a boyfriend so I'd feel better about myself!

He said there's no more surgery he can do (though he did do some minor adjustments to my nose).  This speaks to his highly conservative, minimalist approach.  It's disappointing.

One thing, though, I really fault him for is one of the things he said during his "sales pitch" at the initial consultation.  He basically told me that I'd be beautiful; he said "you won't believe how much attention you're going to get!"  Sorry, but this was a flat-out lie.  If he had been more honest, maybe I would've talked to some other, more agressive doctors.

Dr. S is OK, but if you go to him you have to expect very conservative changes -- regardless of what he may say.



-anna

When I had the consultation with Dr S he flattered me and said I was going to be very beautiful. Even though i knew in first hand he was only telling me what i'd like to hear. Anyways going to him was not a choice because of the high price, almost like Dr. O and i really wanted an aggressive forehead bone work  in order to be totally flat. I've read in other posts that surgeons who are expensive are not afraid to overcharge their customers rather than their quality and I believe it's true. I'm strongly thinking on seeing Dr. Harrison Lee I liked his techniques.

Quote from: Jessica34 on June 16, 2013, 01:23:19 AM
When I had the consultation with Dr S he flattered me and said I was going to be very beautiful.

Yes, that's *exactly* what I'm referring to!  He must say that to everyone.  It's borderline unethical, I think.  If he had told me something like, "You'll pass completely, but I can't guarantee how attractive you'll be" that would have been fine -- I might or might not have gone to him, but probably I would've anyway.  I'd just have reasonable expectations.

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Even though i knew in first hand he was only telling me what i'd like to hear. Anyways going to him was not a choice because of the high price, almost like Dr. O and i really wanted an aggressive forehead bone work  in order to be totally flat.

The forehead work was actually pretty good.  My forehead is almost totally flat and it also affected my eyes somehow -- opened them up.  The one thing I'm happy with is the forehead.

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I've read in other posts that surgeons who are expensive are not afraid to overcharge their customers rather than their quality and I believe it's true. I'm strongly thinking on seeing Dr. Harrison Lee I liked his techniques.

Yeah, shop around.  Sounds like you have more realistic expectations than I did.


-anna