#top surgery tip

[kingshovelbug]

top surgery tip 1)

get yourself used to sleeping on your back (and possibly elevated depending on your surgeon) BEFORE surgery.

[lookinghalfacorpse]

hey i got top surgery (almost) six months ago! felt like posting about my experience in the hopes that it helps others. there's very little about my surgeon online, and if you were like me, you were googling his name and looking for any sort of results photographs. if that's you, i hope this helps. i also hope that being candid about how i look in different lighting/poses is helpful.

my surgery was done by Dr. Isaac James in pittsburgh. him & his team were very respectful and attentive from day 1. despite there being very little information available on dr. james, on my surgery day i learned that i was the 3rd top surgery he did THAT MORNING, so he's very experienced with the procedure.

a couple of random thoughts:

i knew that i might feel differently about my hips after surgery, but i wasn't prepared for just how PROMINENT my hips are now :') they were always my biggest source of dysphoria (and now they're pretty much the Only source), but boy howdy they're bad. be prepared to feel differently about the rest of your torso. having a therapist lined up for the recovery period is always a good idea.

they told me upfront that having some muscular definition in my pecs before surgery helped them line things up, but also that it isn't necessary. i still did some heavy training in the months leading up to surgery, and i think it might've helped with the contouring. obviously my pecs aren't massive and need some work, so don't think you need to be hulked out or anything for good results.

that said, i could be a LITTLE nitpicky about my scar placement. in the photos where i'm flexed, you can see the scar is a good inch below the bottom curve of my pec. i'm hoping that this won't look strange as the scar fades, but we'll see.

if they offer you the nerve blocker shot (& you have the funds for it), take it. i guess it's new to top surgery, but it's a little shot in your back during surgery prep that will numb the area around your chest for about 24 hours, so it helps with pain management. parts of my hands were numb from it, too! the worst pain hit after that shot faded, which for me was about 3am of the first night. i was being stubborn and only took pain killers around 7am. don't be like me- take the damn meds.

you will be very stiff, even after you're approved to return to normal activity. you won't want to sit up straight or lift your arms fully above your head. it'll benefit you to stretch and monitor your posture; doing normal things like reaching high shelves will NOT stretch your scars (after you're approved to do so) (don't push yourself, though) (you'll learn the difference between a healthy stretch & pain)

i was off work for 11 days and felt that was a good amount of time. i originally took off for 8 and called my boss to ask for 1 more day (& the weekend). my drains were taken out during those extra days and i felt pretty normal after they were out.

everyone is right, the drains are the worst part.

[acepalindrome]

Suddenly remembered the heartwarming experience of watching Con O’Neill comment that ‘no one wants to see me with my top off’ as of like, 2019 or something? Only to do OFMD and discover that lots of people want to see him with his top off, and now he’s fully embraced the fact that he’s a hot 50-something with great tits.

[krisisisisisis]

i know that i have a little bit of tummy because of my uterus but like FUCK dude that but of pudge makes me so insecure and dysphoric :/

no matter how many lbs i drop or how often i restrict it literally won’t go away unless i get it removed, which is like, expensive and scary

a uterus doesn’t really fit my vibe lollll

[isa-ah]

ive simply decided that 2025 is the year of chasing my transition with abandon. ive been so anxious to try to save up for things like getting on t again or getting top surgery that ive put them off indefinitely. those arent things im allowed to have bc im too poor. but ive always been too poor and thats not going to change in my immediate future so FUCK IT! i want to be HAPPY! i want to have a beard by the time i turn 30! i want a flat chest! if i had started a gfm for top surgery the first several times id talked myself out of it then ID HAVE GOTTEN TOP SURGERY BY NOW! NO MORE!

the time will pass anyway so im going to start prioritizing myself in a whole new way. sorry if its annoying LOL i cant stop, ive waited 28 years to start my life and somethings gotta CHANGE!

[the-one-eyed-seer]

Top surgery notes:

I was nauseous when I first came to, but it faded within an hour or so, and I was able to eat even though the nausea. I was so, so hungry and eating both helped and hurt.

A lot of people say that you’ll be stuck as a t-Rex, but I find that having my arms down (and slightly out) is most comfortable. Moving arms to the side hurts the most, I have to turn in the direction of whatever I’m doing, and bend from the hips if I really need to.

I am far more independent than I thought I would be, but I still can’t do much. For the first few hours I drifted between napping and walking around

My office chair is almost as comfortable as my wedge pillow nap zone, and on that note:

Arms are important. Arm chairs, pillows on the side, just. Try to rest your arms without cutting off the drains if you have them

[abortedfetusgummy]

I had always been really nervous about being a HS wrestler pre top surgery, cause I was stealth but still had to wear binding tape (cause you can’t exercise in a binder). But then I learned about gynecomastia, where cis guys go through puberty and grow lots of extra breast tissue. So when I had matches in my singlet, guys would ask about what the tape was for and I could just say I had gyno and was self conscious about it. And after top surgery this summer, if anyone asks about scars I can just say I got my gyno removed. So for any stealth trans mascs out there dealing with peoples questions about binders/tape, just say you have gynecomastia! Cause cis guys can have tits too!

[sensible-tips]

Transition Tuesday

Helpful tips for selecting your gender affirming surgery surgeon.

[t4t-pathogen]

⚠️TRANS PEOPLE WITH CALIFORNIAN HEALTHCARE: YOUR SURGERIES ARE FREE⚠️

This official page from the California Department of Insurance states "health insurance policies are prohibited from arbitrarily excluding coverage for gender affirmation services including (but not limited to) hormone therapy, mental health services and surgical services."

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

[elline]

uuuhhhm mm. burps

[suc1d3-1z-th3-0nly-3sc4p3]

if your drawing top surgery scars on a character, dont always make them spiky and thick!!!!! this method is usually used “just for the aesthetic” and it also makes it look like the surgery for your character was rough and scary, getting top surgery for someone trans should be a relief and shouldn’t be scary! doing a line is perfectly fine but also have a little fun with drawing surgery scars, they come in all sorts of different forms and sizes. find some references and don’t always stick to the spiky thick type most people draw. But if it’s apart of your style then you do you, I’m just pointing out there are other less popular methods.

(not a call out post! im just saying what i want to say!!!)

[arttsuka]

If I may- *ahem*

BEGONE FOUL PESTILENCE THAT PLAGUES OUR DEAREST ARTIST’S TOOTH! BEGOOOOOONE! WASHASHASHASHASHAA!!! 🪄🪄🔥✨✨

Thank you for trying to magic away my pain, greatly appreciated ✨️

[satans-knitwear]

what if i told you.... me and the bestie are making plans for two weeks time....to get our nipples pierced together 🫣😳🥺

[cutmytitsintopieces]

IV fun facts:

hurts like hell when they put it in

the solutions they give you are at room temperature, so they will always feel cold and cool your hand down (either warm yourself up with your other hand or wrap a sweater around it)

every time you get a new solution, it will burn a bit at the start

the little access tube in your hand or arm gets entangled everywhere (your food, your clothes, the faucet)

removing the tube doesn't hurt at all

[famewolf]

speaking of ocd, I think I'm realizing that I truly don't have anxiety and it's literally just my ocd. im not anxious about anything until it involves me and suddenly I'm spiraling

[ppenguinpperson]

audrey is so transmasc. to me