Is everyone really satisfied with just an orchiectomy?

[CosmicJoke]

Hi everyone. I am an MtF. I had the orchiectomy procedure back in 2012. This was around the time I first started transitioning medically.

At first I thought I would find satisfaction with just that but then I found it was more of a "half step for me." I still desire vaginoplasty and the dysphoria hasn't really fully gone away.

I know there are probably some MtF who can be satisfied with just an orchiectomy, but do some need to go the "whole way" to alleviate their dysphoria?

Anyone is welcome to add their thoughts. I'm genuinely interested in what other people's desires are surgery wise!

[Laura Squirrel]

ME ME ME ME!!

My ONLY regret was that I didn't do it a decade sooner. But I was deep in an intoxicant rabbit hole that derailed my plans for years.

[Allie Jayne]

We do what we need to do at the time of life and the circumstances we are in. I once thought that occasional dressing in private would suffice for the rest of my life, but the relief began to wane, and I needed more. For many, orchie will rid them of the poison infecting their body, and that will be enough, but for many others, a different path to peace is required.

Do what is right for you at the time, but be open to changing needs. It can be a mistake to just need orchie, but get full genital surgery 'in case the orchie isn't enough'. We just need to honestly asses what we need, not what others do, and trust our decisions.

Hugs,

Allie

[Stottie Girl]

I am actively saving for an orchiectomy. Living in the UK I either need anything between £27,000 and £37,000 to get GRS outside of the NHS route and if I go the NHS route I could be waiting 8-10 years for surgery! I cannot wait that long, the orchie will be an excellent half step for me. Costing around £4,500 I get to be free of the T factories and hopefully an end to erections for good (yes I know I will still need to stretch the skin but this can be done without an erection). Since my body switched to a female sexual response, I have no need for it to get hard anymore, I am not at all interested in penetrative sex and can reach the big 'O' while tightly tucked (so no erection there).

The biggest thing I am hoping for is a secure, smooth, effortless tuck. I would love to be able to attend yoga classes, go to the gym in active wear or go hiking in leggings in a hiking group, go cycling again in tight bib shorts etc etc. If I loose the bulk I really hope this is achievable.

I am in no doubt though that this will be a step on the road not the final destination. I might actually prioritise the orchie as the next big thing I do as I've got nearly enough saved already. It depends on how much private healthcare is going to hammer me for referrals, diagnosis etc. Plus I could get a loan for any shortfall.

[Laura Squirrel]

The biggest thing I am hoping for is a secure, smooth, effortless tuck. I would love to be able to attend yoga classes, go to the gym in active wear or go hiking in leggings in a hiking group, go cycling again in tight bib shorts etc etc. If I loose the bulk I really hope this is achievable.

I don't know about that. But that's because I was never concerned with tucking since there really wasn't much there. A silver lining, I guess. There has been quite a bit of atrophy, post-orchie. So much atrophy, in fact, that I had to modify cleaning techniques. It was a trip.

[Stottie Girl]

I don't know about that. But that's because I was never concerned with tucking since there really wasn't much there. A silver lining, I guess. There has been quite a bit of atrophy, post-orchie. So much atrophy, in fact, that I had to modify cleaning techniques. It was a trip.

See that actually appeals to me quite a bit.

[Petunia]

I've been thinking about this a fair bit lately.

I can wear bike shorts as a guy and I have noticed young women staring at my groin because there is no bulge.

I was never big but now...

I think being on blood pressure medication has shrunk my junk, or maybe it's just age.

At times it looks like what happens when you blow up a beach ball and push the teat back in.  Literally.

I wonder how much I'll atrophy if I start hrt but I don't think there will be much left at all.

[Tills]

I had a bilateral orchidectomy in 2014. I did it first and foremost because the androgen blockers were giving me hell. I had all manner of trouble on various types of T block medication and I saw an orchie as the most obvious and easy solution. I was already living in Bangkok so I had it done there: £2000 all in.

But I'd also heard about the atrophy issue, which wasn't likely to be good for vaginoplasty, so I had prosthetic testicles put in to keep it all stretched. I'm not sure that was particularly wise really.

Oh @Stottie Girl the erections didn't stop for me. They're a little less common but I still wake up with them sometimes.

Anyway, I was due to have the vaginoplasty when covid hit and it has ended up being a long 12-year wait for the vaginoplasty, which I'm booked in for this month.

Would I do an orchie again? Yes. But I wish I'd gone for the full surgery down below much closer to that time. It hasn't been easy to be in what, for me, has felt like a half-way house. Perhaps if much of the world hadn't become so toxically anti-trans it wouldn't have mattered so much but people do look and judge and I now want and need to present 'fully female'.

And I do personally really resonate with something @Valerie.Val wrote on a different thread: "if I do hormones and change my presentation, I'll come to realise that something will no longer fit between the legs." That's exactly it for me: I have come to realise that for as long as that dangly bit hangs down below my body feels incongruent.

Just my road. Others may well have very different ones. There's no perfect one-size-fits-all solution.

xx

[Petunia]

Would I do an orchie again? Yes. But I wish I'd gone for the full surgery down below much closer to that time. It hasn't been easy to be in what, for me, has felt like a half-way house. Perhaps if much of the world hadn't become so toxically anti-trans it wouldn't have mattered so much but people do look and judge and I now want and need to present 'fully female'.

And I do personally really resonate with something @Valerie.Val wrote on a different thread: "if I do hormones and change my presentation, I'll come to realise that something will no longer fit between the legs." That's exactly it for me: I have come to realise that for as long as that dangly bit hangs down below my body feels incongruent.

Just my road. Others may well have very different ones. There's no perfect one-size-fits-all solution.

xx

Tills, I so get that.
I haven't even started  hrt yet so I'm a bit cart before the horse at the moment.

If, If, I can go on hrt, If, If, I find it is what has been missing all my life and If I need blockers (if I get to here I probably will due to already higher T than the normal range) then it makes no sense to me to keep the danglers.

I can't say much about how I am going to feel from then on, but the tiny thing that's left won't really matter even if it doesn't shrink.

I would still like to be able to achieve orgasm even if it's not using the same methods   

[Stottie Girl]

I had a bilateral orchidectomy in 2014. I did it first and foremost because the androgen blockers were giving me hell. I had all manner of trouble on various types of T block medication and I saw an orchie as the most obvious and easy solution. I was already living in Bangkok so I had it done there: £2000 all in.

But I'd also heard about the atrophy issue, which wasn't likely to be good for vaginoplasty, so I had prosthetic testicles put in to keep it all stretched. I'm not sure that was particularly wise really.

Oh @Stottie Girl the erections didn't stop for me. They're a little less common but I still wake up with them sometimes.

The erections have already stopped for me. I would like to not even be able to have them on demand in all honesty. If I never have one again I will be a happy girl. I haven't had morning erections for probably 4 years in all honesty. The erections are very rare unless err manually activated.

I have had nightmare problems with blockers so far (currently not on them at all) so geting an orchie would solve that issue though I am willing to give GnRH injections a go. I also really want everything to be as small as possible down there. I hope to be able to tuck easily and without the pain of skin getting trapped. If I had the money I would go private for a hybrid PPT vaginoplasty but I don't and I'm looking at a 10 year wait on the NHS. That is too long to have the two little fellas hanging about.

With PPT being an option, I'm not too worried about atrophy, one day I will have enough funds to do it, in the meantime I have no interest in using it conventionally so as small as posssible and tucked away is what I want.

[Charlotte Kitty ✅]

I looked at getting an Orchi here but then worked out for just a little more I could get full vaginoplasty in Thailand so just thought oh well just bite the bullet and go gor it. Originally was planning to wait for the NHS as would have saved me £8-9k, but I was wanting to rip them off all the time so  ot good. And I'm not confident the NHS route will even be available in the 10 odd years it would take to get there. I want to have the benefit now, not in 10 years, if I'm even still around then. There are no guarantees except right now...thats my thinking.

I'm so glad I'm doing it. It's only money. As said in Charlie and the chocolate factory...they print more everyday.  Past caring about it, when its gone its gone!

Charlotte  😻

[Stottie Girl]

I looked at getting an Orchi here but then worked out for just a little more I could get full vaginoplasty in Thailand so just thought oh well just bite the bullet and go gor it. Originally was planning to wait for the NHS as would have saved me £8-9k, but I was wanting to rip them off all the time so  ot good. And I'm not confident the NHS route will even be available in the 10 odd years it would take to get there. I want to have the benefit now, not in 10 years, if I'm even still around then. There are no guarantees except right now...thats my thinking.

I'm so glad I'm doing it. It's only money. As said in Charlie and the chocolate factory...they print more everyday.  Past caring about it, when its gone its gone!

Charlotte  😻

Well yeah, as I said if I had the money I would go for full vaginoplasty. If that is an option and it is definitely right for you, do it. If I had the cash I would be booking in today! But life's not like that for me. I have no option but to wait and hope. One day I will inherit enough to do it so I do have that to fall back on if the NHS fail to come up with the goods but either way, I'm stuck playing the long game.

[Briana22322]

I've been wondering the same thing. I really want to get it done, cause they are in my way constantly. I've never wanted them since I can remember. But,should I wait, and have everything done at once? I'm unsure of having just the orchiectomy would satisfy my dysphoria enough.

[Stottie Girl]

I've been wondering the same thing. I really want to get it done, cause they are in my way constantly. I've never wanted them since I can remember. But,should I wait, and have everything done at once? I'm unsure of having just the orchiectomy would satisfy my dysphoria enough.

Only you can answer that question Briana.

For me it is about the length of time I will need to wait to get GRS on the NHS (likely 9-10 years!) I cannot wait that long. I need the relief asap. If I only had to wait a year or maybe even 2 then it might be a different story.
I have had a bit of a torid time with blockers lately. I may try GnRH injections first but they are expensive long term I think it makes more financial sense for snip snip and done!

Then there is the comfort levels. It apparently makes tucking sooo much easier and in truth this is probably my biggest reason for doing it.

I do not intent to use mine if I can help it. I am too dysphoric about it so the sooner that stuff shrinks away and becomes inactive the better. Most people still activate it regularly to maintain erection ability so that's still an option for those that want that. Not for me though.

It will absolutely just be a half way house for me though a step on the road to GRS It will help dysphoria no doubt but it absolutely will not silence it.

[Devlyn ✅]

I wasn't planning on any surgery, but spironolactone wasn't reducing my T levels and was causing undesirable side effects. My medical history and conditions meant that the blocker that my doctor would have liked to prescribe wasn't available in the US. So we agreed an orchiectomy would be the best option for me.

In the words of Forrest Gump: "And that's how I ended up in the No-nutz Club". 🙂

[Charlotte Kitty ✅]

I was thinking about it because i really just wanted to pull mine off and did try. But looking at costs it was not a huge leap to go for full GRS so I opted for that. Of course depends on your means, but for me i didn't see the point in doing what i know personally was not enough. But I am all or nothing minded so take with a pinch of salt!

[coral]

Thank you, everyone.  I am scheduled for a consultation with the surgeon for bottom surgery next week.  Originally, I was just pursuing an orchiectomy.  I do not want a full vagina requiring dilation due to my age.  I will be 79 next week and did not want something someone else would have to maintain if I was no longer able. 

I would love to have a vagina.  Is it possible for the surgeon to create a minimal or no depth vagina when doing the orchiectomy?  My existing appendage is very small. So could probably just fit inside a vagina.    I plan to ask the surgeon next week.  However, I would love responses from the girls on Susans.

Your thoughts, please.

Coral

[Tills]

Thank you, everyone.  I am scheduled for a consultation with the surgeon for bottom surgery next week.  Originally, I was just pursuing an orchiectomy.  I do not want a full vagina requiring dilation due to my age.  I will be 79 next week and did not want something someone else would have to maintain if I was no longer able. 

I would love to have a vagina.  Is it possible for the surgeon to create a minimal or no depth vagina when doing the orchiectomy?  My existing appendage is very small. So could probably just fit inside a vagina.    I plan to ask the surgeon next week.  However, I would love responses from the girls on Susans.

Your thoughts, please.

Coral

Hi Coral,

That's a question for a professional medical but as a layperson response my understanding would be 'no': an orchidectomy simply removes the testicles. What you are asking for there is a vulvoplasty or sometimes called a minimal depth vaginoplasty. That's a more complex surgery which involves turning the penis into a vagina, or vulva with minimal depth vagina.

A different option occasionally appears mentioned on this forum which is a penectomy, where the penis is removed but no vagina created at all but it's a pretty rare solution as it ultimately leaves you with neither male nor female parts.

If you definitely don't want a vaginal depth then perhaps speak with your surgeon(s) about a vulvoplasty.

xx

[coral]

Thank you, Tills

MY WPATH letter just says approved for top and bottom surgery.  I plan to ask the surgeon when I see him next week. This appointment is to discuss the bottom surgery.

Not looking forward to the recovery, but anxious for it to happen.  I've been on hormones for over 7 years.  Doctor would not approve testosterone blockers.  So have wanted this the whole time, but wife would not approve. She is no longer part of my process.

  Coral