Surgery and Transitioning

[*~Milo~*]

Hello, I am nonbinary transmasculine, I prefer the pronouns they/them but also use he/him. I am okay with presenting masculine or adrogynous. I have a lot of dysphoria issues - I have never taken hormones or puberty blockers. The only thing I take is a birth control pill to stop my periods which a doctor prescribed to me because before I would stop my periods by not eating. Anyway my breasts are much smaller now however they are still there and, biologically speaking, my body is still 100% female, so eating causes me to have panic attacks sometimes. Furthermore, I am very self-conscious about how high my voice is and the fact that it is a dead giveaway that makes it hard to pass, so I kind of haven't been talking for a while. This is a little problematic and my family is getting sort of fed up with my habits so here's what I'm trying to figure out:

1. What are the steps involved in getting top surgery? If I were to begin now, about how long would it take until I can have surgery?

2. How much would surgery cost/ what would be the smartest way to begin saving up for surgery?

3. What would taking testosterone supplements do for my voice? I am apprehensive of doing full testosterone therapy because I am aware of how erratic its effects can be and I feel reluctant to start growing facial hair. I also am unable to do blood work regularly, and I've been told that taking T requires consistent blood draws. 

Any help and information would be very much appreciated, thank you

[Jani]

Hello Milo and welcome to TransPulse.   There are a number of guys here that will hopefully stop by soon to discuss numbers 1 and 2 since I really cannot address them.  

Testosterone will cause your voice to eventually drop.  It won't be immediate but it will happen.  I don't know how erratic T is on a AFAB body, never hearing of issues, but it is a very strong hormone.  The effects seem to be stronger than those that us on estrogen experience.  This is just my experience from interacting and talking with my trans guy friends.  Hair growth is also something that will also be based on your genetics.  For example, I was AMAB and males in my family are average concerning hair, yet I have no body hair and (had) a light beard.  Somewhere in my family was someone like me.    

I won't say blood tests are constant but when you start HRT there is the need to establish your baseline levels and to see where the dose you are prescribed ends up.  A low dose may provide what you need mentally/emotionally but not provide much physical change.  You only know by trying.  Eventually the testing will even out.  

Good luck and I'm glad you're here.

Jani

[Dev]

Welcome, Milo!

As Jani did, I'll defer to the guys in the forum on points one and two, except to say that generally surgeons will require a letter from a therapist giving the okay for surgery before they'll operate.  I'm also in Idaho, and I haven't heard of anyone in the state who does things by informed consent.

Testosterone will probably give you the changes to your voice you're looking for, but it's a mixed bag - HRT either way has all the effects of puberty; it looks like you're aware there's no picking and choosing.  Just as with those born AMAB, introduction of testosterone could affect your voice slightly or significantly or somewhere in between.  All part of the vagaries of the human condition.

You're welcome to come into our chat room and ask these questions to the gentlemen who hang out in there as well.  Right this minute I see three who I know have at least started the process, and we have several others at different times of day.

Again, welcome!

[*~Milo~*]

 

56 minutes ago, Jani423 said:

Hello Milo and welcome to TransPulse.   There are a number of guys here that will hopefully stop by soon to discuss numbers 1 and 2 since I really cannot address them.  

Testosterone will cause your voice to eventually drop.  It won't be immediate but it will happen.  I don't know how erratic T is on a AFAB body, never hearing of issues, but it is a very strong hormone.  The effects seem to be stronger than those that us on estrogen experience.  This is just my experience from interacting and talking with my trans guy friends.  Hair growth is also something that will also be based on your genetics.  For example, I was AMAB and males in my family are average concerning hair, yet I have no body hair and (had) a light beard.  Somewhere in my family was someone like me.    

I won't say blood tests are constant but when you start HRT there is the need to establish your baseline levels and to see where the dose you are prescribed ends up.  A low dose may provide what you need mentally/emotionally but not provide much physical change.  You only know by trying.  Eventually the testing will even out.  

Good luck and I'm glad you're here.

Jani

Thank you very much Jani for your reply, this was helpful. I didn't consider projecting how changes may work out based on genetics - these changes are pretty consistent for the males in my family in that they involve moderate amounts of facial hair. This is good to keep in mind and I think it's a good idea to try a low dose. I really appreciate your help~*

41 minutes ago, Dev said:

Welcome, Milo!

As Jani did, I'll defer to the guys in the forum on points one and two, except to say that generally surgeons will require a letter from a therapist giving the okay for surgery before they'll operate.  I'm also in Idaho, and I haven't heard of anyone in the state who does things by informed consent.

Testosterone will probably give you the changes to your voice you're looking for, but it's a mixed bag - HRT either way has all the effects of puberty; it looks like you're aware there's no picking and choosing.  Just as with those born AMAB, introduction of testosterone could affect your voice slightly or significantly or somewhere in between.  All part of the vagaries of the human condition.

You're welcome to come into our chat room and ask these questions to the gentlemen who hang out in there as well.  Right this minute I see three who I know have at least started the process, and we have several others at different times of day.

Again, welcome!

Thank you, Dev. I appreciate your help, any information about T is very much appreciated. Also, I am from Idaho as well and am aware that there are no surgeons who can help me out here, so I've been looking in other nearby states just to gather more information about how these operations work. Thank you also for directing me to the chat room, I had not considered asking for help there yet c: I'm sure I can find more useful advice there too, so thank you for your help~*

[Dev]

One other thing to consider, Milo.  Have you thought about getting a binder?  You can generally find a good one for under $40 and with proper care they last long enough to be worth the expense.  With a binder on, you'd still know your breasts were there, but your outward appearance would be more in line with what you'd like to present.

[*~Milo~*]

On 7/26/2017 at 5:52 PM, Dev said:

One other thing to consider, Milo.  Have you thought about getting a binder?  You can generally find a good one for under $40 and with proper care they last long enough to be worth the expense.  With a binder on, you'd still know your breasts were there, but your outward appearance would be more in line with what you'd like to present.

Thank you for this, I actually do wear a binder. The one I use now is the cheaper kind though I'm working on getting a proper one. The binder does help immensely, as in I can only eat when I have it on, but it only helps so much and sometimes I'll still panic even when I'm wearing it, but I'm still very grateful for it. Thank you for the advice~