how to deal with chest dysphoria?

[Guest Seth1992]

How do you pre guys deal with chest dysphoria? And how did you post op guys deal with it? I can't get surgery for like atleast another year, I'm planning to save up and get a job as soon as I go off to college in January, and will work all summer so I hopefully will have enough by my 21st birthday, and will prob get my parents to loan me a little bit of the money.

I think i'm going crazy because of my chest dysphoria i was binding all day every day but now I can't because i'm starting to have awful chest pains so am taking this day off of binding to hopefully ease the physical pain. I know my binders are sized correctly but I guess you aren't supposed to wear them 24/7 like I was. Ahh! Any advice?! Also curious how did you guys pay for your surgery? Thanks, I'm so glad I found this website.

[Guest thmidnightbeast]

I recently got my first binder and I keep getting annoyed with it. Like it dosent hurt at all and nothing physically bugs me, but I still feel like it isn't flat enough! The first day I got it I thought it worked so great but now as each day goes on and I wear it more and more it seems like it works just as well as a sports bra -.- I can't wait until I am 18 lol.

[Guest aleon515]

I just hate binders. I hate bras. Anyway, I have less than happy times with any of them. I am not really big but I am not so small either. I do a lot of layering. I got a slightly compressing undershirt (if you could wear underarmor that would work great) and then a t-shirt, and then a button-down shirt. If the shirt is a bit loose and has plaids or stripes or patterns it's better.

So that's what I do. I like how I look more in a binder but like how I feel better this way.

--Jay J

[Guest faint111]

I also layer when I'm particularly disphoric and don't think I look flat enough. Usually a bigger sweater zipped up all the way makes it look a bit better, or a button up. I don't think I'll ever be flat enough to be truly comfortable personally until I get top surgery.