Hi,
I am a post-operative transgendered lady(we used to be called transsexuals). My first surgery(orchiectomy)was done in Portland, Oregon in 2001, and my second surgery(full SRS)was done in Bangkok, Thailand in 2004. I'm here to let you know that if you're on Medicaid, you're not limited to the surgeons in your state. I wasn't told that; initially. You have options.
By the way, you can climax after your surgery. They can happen spontaneously. Undergoing SRS was the best thing I've ever done for myself. Before my surgery, I asked post-ops tons of questions about the surgery and was met with very simple responses. My simplest response to anyone who wants to know what it's like to be post-operative is: Everyone(male and female)starts off with the same tissue, so all your surgeon is doing is surgically re-morphing your anatomy into that of the opposite sex's. Expect the same sensations; just rearranged. That's really it. Your just turned inside in. As you are forming in utero, your stuff grows on the inside if you're going to be a girl and grows on the outside if you're going to be a boy; for the most part.
So kids: There's nothing to be afraid of if your in the hands of a trusted surgeon. All I wanted was a minor revision surgery which would have taken the surgeon I was scheduled to be operated on by an hour or so to perform. The surgeons were going to do a minor surgery on my labia and remove a small amount of spongiosum from the entrance of my vagina which made me a little self conscious during intimacy. They didn't get back to me with an answer to a question my primary care physician and I had which was decidedly important.
Now that insurance companies and Medicaid in some states are being required to cover transgender surgery, you can shop around since there are more doctors doing these surgeries and your insurance coverage is portable(transgender related). You're not in the situation I was in back in the 90's and early 2000's. I tried to castrate myself in 2000 because I didn't have the money to pay for a medically performed orchiectomy. A friend paid for one a few months later. In 2004, my SRS was carried out in a scary, hovel of a hospital in Bangok. The surgeon in Thailand left me with fully functioning female genitalia, but I've been somewhat dissatisfied with the cosmetic result. MassHealth will cover the cosmetic revision. Hooray MassHealth!
That said; I am very likely going to see a surgeon in India at the end of the summer because I don't want to end up on a long waiting list. My time was thoroughly wasted in Massachusetts. Sisters: Consider your options. They are there today!
